The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-25

on a British man-of-war. He told us OF
the settlement of Port Darwin, lying
TO the southwest, and he warned me
to avoid Van Dieman'S gulf, partly on
account of the alligatorS and partly,
also, on account OF the innumerable
creeks I Shauld have to ascend in
search OF the settlement, for 1t must
always be borne in mind that none OF
my informantS gave me exact and pre-
else information, some OF them simply
indicating the direction. We landed on
the northern coast of Melville island,
and after we had again reached the
coast of the mainland through ApSley
Strait, we experienced a terrible storm,
which must have driven us past Port
Darwin. For whole nights my native
wife and l would be Immersed in the
sea, clinging to the gunwale of our
fraiI craft. At last, about eighteen
months after we had left my wife S
home IN the Cambridge Gulf region, we
one day recognized certain islands and
also the coast and soon afterwards we
found ourselves, to my great surprise,
at the very spot from which We had
started. or course l had to pretend
that my return was anything but in
voluntary. The next attempt l made
was 10 the southwest, starting after
some months OF rest, and coaSCing IN
the dug-ouu as far as KING Sound. /
landed upon and explored many OF the
ISLANDS dotted along that extensive
stretch OF coast, and III some OF them
L found caves With rude drawings on
the rocks. On what was probably
BlgSe;S island i found Il cairn of
stones, which 1 readily saw must have
been the handiwork of a white man.
We returned to the old camp overland,
crossing the King Leopold ranges,
which were finely wooded and APP
peared to be largely composed OF gram
lite. beyond these ranges the country
was a moderately elevated plateau, IN
terSected by many very nne creeks and
rivers, and covered with long grass
from u To Is feet in height, SO nign as
to make travelling dIfficuIt; we even had
10 fire ii to clear a track. There were
also on this plateau a number of Curl
ouS-looKing abrupt pinnacleS OF bare
rock, rising above the general level
surface. We next struck an undulating
country, covered with sharp, broken
pebbles of white quartz, with hedges OF
slate creeping out. In this quartz [
saw gold Tor the first time L mad ever
looked upon ii III its native state.
We next struck what was probably
the Orde river, which we followed
down TO Cambridge gulf, and returned
along the coast 10 our own home. ON
returning from this journey / felt lit
tie inclination to make another at
tempt, and for three years l lived
the nativeA, becoming accus-
toned to the life, and finding it not
l was interested in
studying their customs, and the GUS
toms and languages OF their neighbors.
For this 1 had d motive; in those early
days 1t was always my object to make
the acquaintance OF tribes who could
render me assistance in escaping over
land. The desire to reach civilization
returned, and about the year 1873 |
started with my wife, resolving this
time to cross the continent to the
south, as l knew in d vague kind of
way tha+-there were great towns on
the coast somewhere to the south. L
nad only the very haziest idea, how
ever, of their position On our way
south We first crossed a range OF gran |
lie mountains running east and west. !
After crossing this range we came to |
4 low and Slightly Undulating coun- !
ry covered with dark, chocolate-col- |
'red loan of great depth. found here
: most extraordinary richness of vege- |
alton and animal life, especially a |
Kind OF water rat. In the soil along the |
banks of the creeks in this fertile re- |
zion L found creeks with very deem
channels cut in the soft, rich loan. We /
we're, l should think, about a week
,rossing this rich country, coming more
n less south. The tribes We're very
numerous, and altogether it was very
hiekly populated. 1 never Travelled due
outh, but found it expeditions to go
rom tribe to tribe and from water
iole to water-hole. As far as Dossi-
lie, l kept on my own course, bidding
he tribes adieu wien our ways lay in
Numerically opposed directions Be-
ides having my native wife with me,
was armed with certain mystic
aessage stick, and, best of ALL | had
he power of amusing the tribes by