DRY BED OF THE SMITH RIVER.
April 16.
We had not travelled above two miles this morning in an east-south-east direction when I found that we had reached the bottom of the valley into which we had yesterday evening commenced our descent. In this valley lay the dried up bed of a considerable stream, which I have named the Smith after my unfortunate friend. Its direction was from north-east to south.
LONG AND UTTER DESTITUTION OF FOOD AND WATER. SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST.
As we were now suffering a good deal from thirst we made a search in both directions along the bed, but although there were many pools (some of them being twelve or fourteen feet deep) we could not find the slightest indication of water having stood in them for a considerable time: in the bottom of one of the deepest of these pools was a native well, dug to the depth of about seven feet, but even at this distance below the surface we could see no signs whatever of water. There was much good land in the valley through which this watercourse wound, but all was barren and arid. In the course of the morning we had seen a flight of cockatoos coming from the eastward down the valley in which the bed of the river lay, which at the time made me imagine that water would be found in that direction in the interior, and the natives subsequently stated that such was the case, but our circumstances would not admit such a deviation from our course in a search which if unsuccessful would have proved fatal.
DISTRESSING SEARCH FOR WATER.
The sun had by this time become intensely hot, and the poor fellows grew faint for want of water, whilst it aggravated their sufferings that they stood upon the brink of a river, or wandered along its banks with eager piercing eyes, and an air of intense scrutinizing watchfulness peculiar to those who search for that on which their lives depend. One while they explored a shallow stony part of the bed, which was parched up and blackened by the fiery sun; their steps were slow and listless, and I could plainly see how faint, weak, and weary they were; the next minute another pool would be discerned ahead, the depth of which the eye could not at a distance reach; now they hurried on towards it with a dreadful look of eager anxiety, the pool was reached, the bottom seen, but, alas! no water; then they paused and looked one at the other with an air of utter despair. As long as they remained on the banks of this river bed a glimmering of hope remained; but I felt convinced from the general appearance of the country that there was not the slightest probability of our finding water there, and resolved therefore still to continue a direct route. When I gave this order the weak-minded quailed before it: they would rather have perished in wandering up and down those arid and inhospitable banks than have made a great effort and have torn themselves away from the vain and delusive hopes this watercourse held out to them.
With great pain I witnessed and bore my part in this distressing scene, but I at the moment felt that it would be necessary to save my energies for other occasions; suspecting that we were in a great tract of desert country, a large portion of which must still be passed ere we could hope for any alleviation from our sufferings; and I therefore at once commenced carrying into execution the order I had given, by walking on in a south by east direction. In about two miles we had gained the summit of the low range which bounded to the southward the valley where we had so vainly searched for water, and for the next ten miles we travelled over elevated sandy barren plains, thinly wooded with occasional clumps of Banksia trees.
DRY TEA-TREE SWAMP.
On our left was a lofty and well wooded range, distant only about four miles, and on our right lay extensive plains, the western extremity of which, distant about sixteen miles from us, was by the sea; these plains appeared tolerably fertile, being covered with tea-tree swamps, now apparently dried up. I still was led on by the hope, raised by the height of the range on our left, that we might find water issuing from it towards the coast, and had therefore not searched the plains which lay between us and the sea, indeed I felt fully convinced that the swamps we saw were all perfectly dry and the native coincided in my opinion; about an hour before sunset however we descended towards the plains, and turning due west we reached them in about half an hour, but found all the swamps quite destitute of water. As soon as it became dark I lit my fire and laid down by it, advising the others to pursue the same course and to preserve their energies for the morrow. But such advice was thrown away upon men almost perishing with thirst, and every now and then throughout the night I heard their weak husky voices as they wandered from swamp to swamp in the neighbourhood, digging holes with pointed sticks in a vain search.