Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1900-02-15
EXPLOIT OF A HERO.
ALMOST PERlsHlNo OF THIRST
IN A DESERT.
Sir George Grey, Leader Of an Austral.
asian Expedition, Walks Many Miles
to Procure Help for His Sick and
1ncapacitated Followers.

An explorers life Is often fine rec
ord Of determination. self-sacrifice and
Indifference to danger. Seldom. how
ever. does one hear a story more heroic
than that OF an expedition undertaken
in Australasia by Sir George Grey. who
afterward became one of the ablest CO.
lonal governors in the British service.
Here Is the story. told by his biogra-
pher:
Sir George had arranged to make
depot Of supplies on Bernier Island. AMI
had then continued his explorations. 4
terrible storm came up. and as the
food supply was giving out, the party
returned.
Sir George had dread lest the gale
might have ravished the stores in his
absence. Accordingly he took only one
or two Of his people with him. and
went. full Of anxiety. to the spot where
the provisions had been buried.
20 God. we are all lost" That was
the wall for Sir Georges ears as the
spade made 1t clear that the food stuffs
had been scattered by the storm. 1t
was almost the pronouncing of the sen
tence Of death upon the party. In a
desert country and far from civiliza-
ton.
II hadn't an hour to lose" Sir George
says, 80 back we hurried. ] delivered
the news, counselng calmness and
courage. We must endeavOr to make
Perth In the whale-boats. 1t was for
lorn chance"
The boats strained in boisterous
sea. and ultimately flung the voyagers
ashore three hundred miles from Perth
three hundred miles of a parched,
barren waste.
For a little while fair progress was
made. then strength declined through
want Of food and water. Sir George
sought courage and consola ton In the
dog-eared New Testament which he
had in his knapsack. The hymns his
mother had taught him came back into
his head and heart. true comforters.
A small company only were fit to trav-
ell. Sir George pushed on with these In
order to send back relief to those un-
equal to the sally. 1t was the perish
ing to the rescue.
A bird. shot. was welcome as mama
from heaven. and a muddy water-hOle
was the sweetest Of discoveries. Dew
was eagerly licked from shrubs and
reeds. Lips grew black. tongues swol-
len. eyes wild. and the hopeless cry
was: water, or we der
The native guide schemed to lead Sir
George from the others, begging. when
discovered. Yes. we two may he saved
II we 60 on: the others are so weak
that they can't walk" Sir George cock
ed his gun, and the guide led him back
to the party.
A blistering thirst Of three days and
two nights! Happily a waterhole not
bereft Of moisture was found in the
nick Of time. A few birds flew about
1t. but Sir Georges hand shook so that
he could take no aim.
How good to lie down and rest for
ever in the parched grass! Yet the bet
ter instinct asserted itself, and the Sec
ond half of the expedition. far in the
rear. cried for relief. On! on!
Sir George staggered across the miles
until, In the goodness Of fortune. he
met natives who gave him food and
water. He crawled into Perth. black
with the sun. haggard from want. The
good wife Of the Outermost settlement.
where Sir George knocked, seeking re-
freshment. took him for "inagic."
"When spoke to her in English" he
said. ''shc looked SO surprised that |
feared she might run away. However,
she merely explained: We'll. II you're
not "magic," who are your" Being
told. she brewed Sir George the most
delicious cup Of tea he ever drank.
Soon relief to the expedition was sour
rying across the plains.
At the outset OF his journey Sir
George had had his sextant. but having
to walk hungry and thirsty, he needed
to walk light. and hid the sextant In a
tree. Death raced him so hard that he
eased the burden Of keeping In front
Of 1t by tearing Off the boards from his
New Testament. and throwing them
away. To the Word itself he chung to
the last.