Their canoes are very simply constructed of a single sheet of bark of the gumtree brought together at the ends, and secured by stitching. The sitter squats down with his legs doubled under him, and uses a small square piece of bark in each hand, as paddles, with one of which he also bales the water out by dexterously scooping it up from behind him.
On May 23rd, a convenient spot for landing the overland expedition having been found on the shores of Rockingham Bay, we shifted our berth in the afternoon a few miles further to leeward, and anchored under the westernmost of the Family Islands, in order to be near the place of disembarkation.
LAND MR. KENNEDY'S PARTY.
On the two following days everything belonging to Mr. Kennedy's party (with the exception of one horse drowned while swimming it ashore) was safely landed, and his first camp was formed on some open forest land behind the beach, at a small freshwater creek.
The object of Mr. Kennedy's expedition, was to explore the country to the eastward of the dividing range running along the North-East coast of Australia at a variable distance from the shore, and terminating at Cape York, where a vessel with supplies was to meet the party in October, after which they were to start on their return to Sydney; proceeding at first down the western side of the peninsula to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and then shape such a course as was best calculated to bring them to the settled districts of New South Wales.
Of the disastrous results of this unfortunate expedition, I need not here speak; I shall afterwards have to allude to the melancholy death of its gallant leader, within a day's journey almost of the goal which he was struggling with desperate energy to reach--the nearest place where assistance could be procured for the few remaining survivors of his party, of whom, eventually, only three were saved. I last saw poor Kennedy on the evening before he broke up his camp; he was then in high spirits and confident of success.
THEY COMMENCE THEIR JOURNEY.
The party, of thirteen men and twenty-eight horses (with carts, a flock of sheep for food, etc.) appeared to be furnished with every requisite for their intended journey, and the arrangements and appointments seemed to me to be perfect. Nor did I, despite the forebodings of others, argue anything but a successful result to an undertaking, the blame of failure of which was AFTERWARDS attempted to be thrown upon those who had planned it.
The small granite island (one of the Family Group) off which we were anchored, afforded little of interest to us. Fresh water was found in small quantities, not available, however, for the use of vessels. The most curious production of the island is an undescribed plant of the singular family Balanophoraceae, not before known as Australian, which was found here in abundance in the gloomy brushes, parasitic upon the roots of the tallest trees. We also met with here--in probably its southern limit upon the coast--a species of rattan (Calamus australis) with long prickly shoots, well illustrated in the annexed drawing by Mr. Huxley, representing the process of cutting through the scrub, during an excursion made with Mr. Kennedy, for the purpose of searching for a way out from the low swampy district of Rockingham Bay.