Ernest Favenc

“ The ship was flung bodily on to the reef, and, as she struck, the masts came down as though they were broken twigs, and a great green wave leaped up and boiled right over her hull. If any cry arose it was lost in the roaring of the storm. When the sea swept past, her deck was clear and empty. Still that great sea saved many lives, for it swept all alike, living and dying mixed with all the lumber of the deck, right over the reef into the sheltered water of the bay. The natives were ready, and plunging in brought all ashore they could see, assisting those who could swim. ”

“ There was one great factor in the reclamation of the desert that Oxley could not take into his calculations—for he did not know its power—the sure, if gradual change wrought by stocking. Under the ceaseless tread of myriad hoofs, the loose, open soil was to become firm and hard, whilst fresh growths of herb and grass followed the footsteps of the invading herds. The shaking bogs and morasses were to become solidified, and the waters that permeated them to retreat into well defined chains of ponds and lagoons. ”

“ We have now turned the last page of the story of those bold spirits who played no mean part in the making of Australasia by exploring the continent. For nearly a century and a quarter the white man had been restlessly searching out and traversing every square mile of the land, and now, at the beginning of the twentieth century, his work is finished. And throughout the long struggle it had ever been a stubborn conflict between the explorer and the inert forces of Nature. Through the weary toilsome years of arduous discovery, Man and Nature had seldom marched side by side as friends and allies. ”

“ From the mouth of the cavern issued a melancholy wail, the death-chant over the dead white man.
By a great effort Morton rallied himself, for it suddenly flashed across him what was going to happen.
"Come on!" he shouted, staggering to his feet and making to where an overhanging boulder afforded some slight shelter. With difficulty the others followed him. As they crouched down, completely unmanned, they felt the ground tremble violently; then came a terrific report, as if the very rocks were rent asunder, and the air was filled with blinding steam and scalding mud. ”

“ Years may have passed; higher and higher grew the spinifex, and its long resinous needles entangled themselves in each other, unchecked by fire for no black hunters came there in that season of drought, and the men's bodies lay there, growing more and more unlike humanity, scorched by the seven times heated earth beneath, and the glaring sun above untouched, save by the ants, those scavengers of the desert, or the tiny bright-eyed lizards. ”

“ Where the smoking funnels flare by night,
And the house-flags flaunt by day.
Ever the same strong "south-east" blows,
And ever we watch and wait –
The wardens we, in Australia's name,
The Guard of the Northern Strait. ”

“ Where lilies float, and the tall reeds stoop
'Neath the tread of the lonely crane,
There's a human form on the bare, hot sand,
That the sun in its fury has scorched and tanned,
That a pitying zephyr at times has fanned —
It feels neither pleasure nor pain. ”

“ No fringe of low mangrove covered flats, studded with inlets and salt-water creeks, masking the entrance of a river, was here to be found. A bold outline of barren cliffs, or a clean-swept sandy shore, alone fronted the ocean, and Flinders, constantly on the alert as he always was for anything approaching an outlet or river mouth, would scarcely have missed one here. As for any knowledge of the interior that was gained, of course there was none, even the conjectures of a worn out, starving man, picking his way painfully around the sea shore, would have scarcely been of much value. ”

“ Leichhardt is the Franklin of Australia, around whose name has ever clung a tantalising veil of mystery and romance. Truth to tell, his claim as a leading explorer rests solely on his first and undoubtedly fruitful expedition. But for his mysterious fate mention of his name would not stir the hearts of men as it does. Had he returned from his final venture beaten, it must have been to live through the remainder of his life a disappointed and embittered man. Far better for one of his temperament to rest in the wilderness, his grave unknown, but his memory revered. ”

“ Almost as dark as the savages around, painted like them with a hideous red smear on the forehead and a white triangle on the breast, the experienced whites yet felt sure that before them they saw one of their own race. Apparently the venerable being was either blind or nearly so, and he kept turning his face restlessly from side to side. From the half circle of blacks then arose a shout or chant that sounded like the repetition of "Mur! Fee! Mur! Fee!"
"Hullo! we're amongst countrymen," whispered Brown; "that sounds awfully like Murphy." ”

“ The smoke of native fires rose in every direction from the country which lay like a map at our feet; and when I recollected that all those natural riches of soil and climate lay between two navigable rivers, and that its sea coast frontage, not much exceeding fifty miles in latitude, contained three of the finest harbours in the world in which the tide rose thirty-seven and a half feet, I could not but feel we were in a land singularly blessed by nature. ”

“ Three of the men were stolid, ignorant fellows, who could be led for bad or for good by more astute minds. Of the other two I had grave suspicions; they were sly and cunning, and would never look a man straight in the eyes. One was a little, active fellow, named Berghen, the other, a great, gross, hulking giant, called Wegelhoe. They were fast friends, and as ruffians, just about equal. As for Paul, I now knew his character well. Swayed by any stronger mind, he was ready to lend the cleverness he undoubtedly possessed, to the first schemer who gained the ascendency over him. ”

“ Instead of rearing an unscalable barrier of gloomy mountains, Nature here showed a level front of sullen hostility. Nor did she lure the first explorers inland with a smiling face of welcome once the outworks had been forced, as she had drawn Evans when he reached the head-waters of the Macquarie and Lachlan. Beyond the sources of the western coastal streams, she fought silently for every eastward mile of vantage ground, spreading before the adventurous intruder the salt lake and the arid desert. ”

“ The short twilight is rapidly fading into the darkness of a moonless night. Scarcely darkness, however, for the brilliant constellations of the south and the radiant evening star in the west lend their rays to light up the scene. Under the verandah of a rough hut—mud walls with galvanized iron roof,—three men are sitting indolently smoking the evening pipe that usually follows the last meal of the day. It is far up in the north of South Australia, in fact almost on the boundary line that divides that colony from its dependency, known as the Northern Territory. ”

“ Because I was mad at being bundled in here and locked up like a thief!”
“And locked up like a thief you will be, until the Selwaert sails,” I replied; “then, as you say, we will square accounts. Are you better than a thief to try to put men on to steal their country from these poor people, who have done you nothing but kindness.”
“Diedrich!” cried Paul in an altered tone, “let me go in this ship. I will swear by all I hold sacred, by my mother’s grave, that no word of the gold shall pass my lips. Diedrich! I speak the truth. ”

“ No more was the outlook to be over smiling downs backed up by the fleecy-topped Alps, a scene that told of nothing but peace, prosperity, and all the riches of a bountiful soil. The way of the pioneer was, in future, to lead to the north, where the earth refused to afford him pasture for his animals, the clouds to drop rain, and the very trees gave no shade to protect him from the sun in its noontide wrath. ”

“ Some would have persisted in changing the direction they were following, and, led on by some mad delirious fancy in seeing water indications in some rock or bush, would have separated and staggered on to die alone. Their baggage would have been left strewn over the desert where it had been abandoned, and the men, one by one, would have shared the same fate. Into such a waterless and barren region the blacks would seldom penetrate, and what with the sun, hot winds, bush fires, and sand-storms, all recognisable traces would soon have been effaced. ”

“ If anything happened, and Zolca did not come, it would be better for us to cut our way out, or die fighting, than wait for morning to discover the exchange of prisoners. My gloomy forebodings were suddenly put to flight. A loud command in Zolca’s voice, so close that it startled even me, broke the silence, and a deadly volley of arrows stretched most of the guard low. Then came a rush of feet as with a loud shout they rushed on, my brother’s war-cry sounding loud above all.
He had found over a hundred men assembled, and with them had crept up unperceived, close to our place of confinement. ”

“ Scarcely the note of a bird or insect broke the silence, as they toiled on without much heart for conversation. Towards evening a piece of good fortune befell them. On a small flat between two sand ridges they crossed a patch of short green grass, the result of a recent thunder-storm. No water could be found, the hot summer sun having evaporated all that had been caught in the shallow clay pans. The green grass was, however, a boon to the horses, who did not feel the want of water so much on the soft young feed.
Next morning they were saddled and packed up, ready to start by sunrise. ”

“ The moisture-laden clouds that visit us, break on the sides of this hat, giving the brim, or coast, the full benefit of their precipitation; drifting over the plateau, or crown, with rapidly decreasing bulk. Thus, the great plain, in size the greatest, and in soil the richest part of us, is always labouring under the curse of irregular and inefficient rainfall; and whatever good we may do in the way of water storage and we may do so much-we have always the threat of many years of drought hanging over, during which our treasury of water will be drained, and not replenished. ”

“ It was ever Sturt's misfortune to be the sport of the seasons; drought and its attendant desolation dogged his footsteps like an evil genius. Oxley had followed, or attempted to follow, the rivers down when a long period of recurrent wet seasons had saturated the soil, filled the swamps and marshes, and swollen the river-courses so that they appeared to be navigable throughout for boats. Sturt came at a period when the country lay faint under a prolonged drought and the rivers had dwindled down into dry channels, with here and there a parched and meagre water-hole. ”

“ The old men recognized their enemy at once. They stamped, raved, and spat at him; and one, picking up a spear, drove at him with such vigour, that only a nimble jump saved Columbus from being transfixed. For his part he returned their vituperation with interest, and the gins joining in, a perfect tempest of words ensued. Seeing that nothing could be done until they were alone, Morton told Charlie to go and round up the pack and spare horses, and, with Billy and Columbus, to take them some distance up the lake and camp on the bank, where he and Brown would join them. ”

“ Under Billy's guidance they soon reached the cave entrance, and found it to be a kind of tunnel evidently leading to a large cave, for a red glare of firelight came round an angle, and the sound of many chattering voices was audible.
"Shall we go on?" said Morton in a whisper.
"No, wait a minute," replied Brown; "it strikes me there's another entrance to this place; they must have a lot of fire going, but yet the place is not full of smoke. I can smell the fire, but that's all. I think there must be an opening in the top; let's send Billy up to see." ”

“ Adelaide was overjoyed at the news. The threatening desert that hemmed in their fair province to the north was suddenly converted into a land of milk and honey. The Surveyor-General, Colonel Freeling, immediately started out, taking with him both a boat and an iron punt with which to float on these new waters. But there was a sudden fall to their hopes when a letter was received from him stating that the cliffs, the bay, and the head-lands were all built up on the airy foundation of a mirage. The elves and sprites of this desolate region had been playing a hoax upon Goyder's party. ”

“ In our fair continent there are thousands upon thousands of square miles of fertile country that Nature herself has planned and mapped out into wide fields, with gentle declivities and slopes, fit for the reception of the modest channel that shall convey the living water over the great pasture lands; and now we want the magician to come, and, with the wand of human skill, bring the interior waters to the surface, and make the desert blossom. ”

“ Baxter urged Eyre to camp that night instead of pushing on, as rain seemed certain, and the rock holes by which they were then passing were well adapted to catch the slightest shower. Eyre consented, against his better judgment. It was necessary to watch the horses lest they should ramble too far, and Eyre kept the first watch. The night was cold, the wind blowing a gale and driving the flying scud across the face of the moon. The horses wandered off in different directions in the scrub, giving the tired man much trouble to keep them together. ”

“ Are we to be prosperous? I hope so, and I am sure you do. To-morrow we start for the ranges, and then for the waters, the strange waters, on which boat never swam, and over which flag never floated. But both shall ere long. We have the heart of the interior laid open to us, and shall be off with a flowing, sheet in a few days. Poole says the sea was a deep blue, and that in the midst of it was a conical island of great height. When will you hear from me again?"
Poor Sturt! no boat of his was ever to float on that visionary sea, nor his flag to wave over its dream waters. ”