George Grey

“ Having gazed till weary at this painful picture of the weakness of human nature, I turned to the north-eastward, and there burst upon my sight a most enchanting view. In the far east, that is, some twenty or five-and-twenty miles away, stretched a lofty chain of mountains, flat-topped and so regular in their outline that they appeared rather the work of art than of nature. Between this range and the nearest one lay a large rich valley vying with the most fertile I have ever seen in an extra-tropical country. ”

“ Whenever a lull occurred the men, unable to resist the chance of getting a meal, would jump out of the boat, and give chase to one of these sting-rays, boat-hook in hand, and then loud peals of laughter rose from the others as the pursuer, too anxious to attain his object, missed his stroke or, stumbling, rolled headlong in the water. The fineness of the day, the novelty of the scenery, and the rapid way we were making made the poor fellows forget past dangers, as well as those they had yet to undergo. ”

“ HUNTING IN PARTIES IN THE BUSH.
The chase of the kangaroo conducted by a number of natives is a much more lively and noisy affair, but it is not to my taste nearly so interesting. When a single native hunts you see the whole energy and perseverance of which a savage is capable called forth, and his graceful movements, cautious advance, the air of quietude and repose which pervade his frame when his prey is alarmed, all involuntarily call forth your admiration and compel you to murmur to yourself, "how beautiful, how very beautiful." ”

“ To the west of us lay an apparently boundless expanse of sea, whilst to the eastward we had a low shore fringed with trees, not only down to the water's edge but forming little green knolls of foliage in the ocean itself; behind these trees lay low wooded hills, and in front of them stalked and swam about pelicans and waterfowl in countless numbers. We had only about three feet depth of clear transparent water, through which we saw that the flats beneath us were covered with vivid coloured shells of many genera, some of which were of a very large size ”

“ At length the pursuer almost reaches the edge of the water, and the scared cockatoos, with wild cries, spring into the air; at the same instant the native raises his right hand high over his shoulder, and, bounding forward with his utmost speed for a few paces to give impetus to his blow, the kiley quits his hand as if it would strike the water, but when it has almost touched the unruffled surface of the lake it spins upwards with inconceivable velocity, and with the strangest contortions. In vain the terrified cockatoos strive to avoid it ”

“ The space between these trees and the cliffs was filled by a dense forest, principally composed of the Pandanus and wild nutmeg trees. Rich grasses and climbing plants occupied the interval and twined around the trees, whilst parakeets of the most vivid colours filled the wood with their cries. Nothing could be more striking than this singular and novel scene; and we were all delighted as we wound our way up the beautiful ravine. ”

“ It is only enjoyed by the natives when they can surprise a seal upon the beach or in the surf, or when they swim off to some of the small rocky islands which are connected with the main by reefs, and are at no great distance from it; they are themselves fond of this sport, and the clambering about the wild rocks of their native shore, at one time leaping from rock to rock, spearing fish that lie in the quiet pools, in the next moment dashing into the boisterous surf to spear a large fish, to battle with a seal, or to turn a turtle, cannot but be an exhilarating occupation ”

“ I sat in the fading light, looking at the beautiful scenery around me, which now for the first time gladdened the eyes of Europeans; and I wondered that so fair a land should only be the abode of savage men; and then I thought of the curious paintings we had this day seen, of the timid character of the natives, of their anomalous position in so fertile a country, and wondered how long these things were to be. ”

“ It swam about from a dead shell of the Velella, to a nautilus, and from that again to some barnacles; each shell that it reached it climbed up, and folding up its fins ran all over it, so that it appeared like a little navigator which was roving from island to island in the ocean, seeking food and nourishment from all of them. Are not the ways of nature very wonderful? ”

“ We found the ravine bounded throughout its southern side by inaccessible cliffs. Occasionally little branch ravines ran into it; but on penetrating for some distance up these they invariably terminated in precipitous cascades. A great portion of this afternoon was spent up to our middles in water as we waded about the flooded valley; and the only thing we had to compensate us for the fatigue and suffering we underwent was the wild beauty of the scenery, which was as lovely and picturesque as impetuous torrents, foaming cascades, lofty rocks, and a rich tropical vegetation could render it. ”

“ I however lit a fire and laid down, Imbat again beginning to cook, and then chattering: "What for do you who have plenty to eat and much money walk so far away in the bush?" I felt amazingly annoyed at this question and therefore did not answer him. "You are thin," said he, "your shanks are long, your belly is small, you had plenty to eat at home, why did you not stop there?" I was vexed at his personalities, besides which it is impossible to make a native understand our love of travel. I therefore replied, "Imbat, you comprehend nothing, you know nothing." ”

“ Every here and there in the wood rose lofty and isolated pinnacles of sandstone rock, fantastic in form, and frequently overgrown with graceful creeping and climbing plants which imparted to them a somewhat of mystery and elegance. ”

“ The native throws aside his cloak so that he may not even have this slight covering to impede his motions, draws his kiley from his belt, and with a noiseless, elastic step approaches the lagoon, creeping from tree to tree, from bush to bush, and disturbing the birds as little as possible; their sentinels however take the alarm, the cockatoos farthest from the water fly to the trees near its edge, and thus they keep concentrating their forces as the native advances; they are aware that danger is at hand but are ignorant of its nature. ”

“ When we reached again the mangrove flats a most amusing scene commenced; wading through the mud was bad enough before, but now that each man had a heavy keg of water upon his shoulders the movements became truly ludicrous, more especially as both landsmen and sailors were equally out of their element. Each desperate plunge elicited from the sufferers oaths and expressions which only those who have seen sailors completely at a nonplus on shore can conceive. ”

“ In an encampment at night the young men recount to one another their love adventures and stories; and the old men quarrel with their wives or play with their children; suddenly a deep wild chant rises on the ear, in which some newly-arrived native relates the incidents of his journey, or an old man calls to their remembrance scenes of other days, or reminds them that some death remains unavenged: this is done in a loud recitative, and the instant it is commenced every other sound is hushed. ”

“ The habits of the turtle are to swim lazily along near the surface of the water, about half immersed, biting and smelling at the various aquatic plants which they pass, and turning their long ungainly necks in all directions. When alarmed by the approach of a native the turtle instantly sinks to the bottom like a stone, and its pursuer, putting out his foot, the toes of which he uses to seize anything, just as we do our fingers, gropes about with it in the weeds, until he feels the turtle, and then, holding it to the ground, plunges his hands and arms in and seizes his prey. ”

“ Its width at bottom was not more than forty or fifty feet, on each side rose cliffs of sandstone between three and four hundred feet high and nearly perpendicular; lofty paper-bark trees grew here and there, and down the middle ran a beautiful stream of clear, cool water, which now gushed along, a murmuring mountain torrent, and anon formed a series of small cascades. As we ascended higher the width contracted; the paper-bark trees disappeared; and the bottom of the valley became thickly wooded with wild nutmeg and other fragrant trees. ”

“ The earth, the water, the trees, the skies, each are in turn subjected to a rigid scrutiny, and from the most insignificant circumstances he deduces omens. His head is held erect and his progress is uncertain, in a moment his pace is checked, he stands in precisely the position of motion as if suddenly transfixed, nothing about him stirs but his eyes, they glance uneasily from side to side whilst the head and every muscle seem immoveable ”

“ The peak we had ascended afforded us a very beautiful view: to the north lay Prince Regent's River, and the good country we were now upon extended as far as the inlets which communicated with this great navigable stream; to the south and south-westward ran the Glenelg, meandering through as verdant and fertile a district as the eye of man ever rested on. The luxuriance of tropical vegetation was now seen to the greatest advantage, in the height of the rainy season. The smoke of native fires rose in various directions from the country, which lay like a map at our feet ”

“ Opossum hunting by moonlight, excepting in the beauty of the spectacle, offers no feature different from what I have above described; the dusky forms of the natives moving about in the gloomy woods and gazing up into the trees to detect an animal feeding, whilst in the distance natives with firesticks come creeping after them, is a picturesque sight, and it is also pretty to see the dark body of the native against the moonlight as he climbs the tree, forcing the poor opossum to retreat to the very end of some branch, whence he is shaken off or knocked down with a stick. ”

“ I cut the girths of the saddle, which then with its load rolled over the precipice, and pitched with a heavy crash on a rock far down. Even then, if the brute had not been a denizen of a wild and mountainous country, it must have been lost; but now it no sooner felt itself freed from its encumbrance than, looking sagaciously around and then raising itself cautiously up, it stood trembling by my side upon the narrow terrace. ”

“ Grey, today we can walk and may yet not die but drink water; tomorrow you and I will be two dead men, if we walk not now, for we shall then be weak and unable. The others sit down too much; they are weak and cannot walk: if we remain with them we shall all die; but we two are still strong; let us walk. There lies the sea; to that the streams run; it is long since we have crossed a river: go quickly, and before the next sun gets up we shall cross another running water. ”

“ We were under the lee of the Peninsula and had it not been for this circumstance must undoubtedly have been lost. That gale of wind was a terrible and magnificent sight. I stood at the steer oar; the waves lifted the boat each time nearly broadside on, and it was all I could do to bring her head round in time to meet the next sea, but the men pulled steadily. "Now men, give way for your lives," I called out if they flagged, and renewed energy was instantly infused into all of them. ”

“ With the wizard wand of commerce he touches a lone and trackless forest, and at his bidding cities arise, and the hum and dust of trade collect, away are swept ancient races; antique laws and customs moulder into oblivion. The strongholds of murder and superstition are cleansed, and the Gospel is preached amongst ignorant and savage men. ”