SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

Tasvma,

Journals Of two Expeditions of Discovery in North-west and Western Australia. during the years 1817,18, and 39, nudes the authority of her Modesty's Government. Describing many newly-discovered, important. and fertile districts ; with observa- tions on the moral and physical condition of the aboriginal inhabitants. Sec. Bre. By George Grey, Esq.. Governor of South Australia ; late Captain of the Eighty- third Regiment. In two volumes Boone. PAIUJAKIERTARy ORATORY, Sir Henry Cavendish's Debates of the House of Commons, during the Thirteenth Parliament of Great Britain. coati:m.411y called the Unreported Parliament. To which are appended. Illustrations of the Parliamentary -History of the Reign of George the 'Third; consisting of unpublished letters, private journals, memoirs. &c.; drawn up from the original manuscripts. By J. Wright. Editor of "The Parliamentary History of England," Sze. Sze. Vol. I. May 10, 1768—May 3,1770.

Lowman and Co.

GREY'S EXPEDITIONS OP DISCOVERY IN AUSTRALIA.

THIS is an important and interesting work, combining in itself the spirit of two distinct ages. It has the enterprise, the privation, the novelty of subject, and often the breathless interest of story, which characterize the narratives of the old navigators : it exhibits the refinement and philosophy of an advanced and humane civili- zation, in its estimate of the aborigines, its inquiries into their character and condition, its scientific observations upon nature, its enlightened speculations upon commerce, and the sketches it presents of colonial life. These qualities are accompanied by a considerable degree of literary merit. Captain GREY'S book is full of matter ; his manner is spirited, pleasant, and unaffected; his style clear and picturesque, occasionally varied by touches of enthusiasm, which the scenes and circumstances around him were well calculated to excite.

The regions explored in these expeditions of discovery were part of the Western and North-western coasts of Australia. In more definite terms, the second expedition surveyed the coast about five hundred miles beyond the Northern boundary of Swan River; the first explored the country round Hanover Bay and Prince Regent's River, between latitude 15 deg. and 16 deg. South. The undertaking commenced in 1837, during the Colonial Secretaryship of Lord GLENELG, in consequence of a proposal made by Messrs. GREG and LusnuroTow, then two young officers .who had not long passed their examination ; and was completed in 1839. Passing over the voyage from England—which is not, however, devoid of interest and amusement—we will begin with the arrival of the expedition in Hanover Bay, in December 1837. Having examined the neighbourhood, Mr. GREY chalked out a judicious plan ; determining to land the stores, to settle himself and part of his people on a selected spot, and to despatch the vessel to Timor for sheep and ponies, the surrounding country being explored in the interim, previous to a long expedition into the interior when provided with pack-horses. The difficulties of a new country, and the impossibility of foreseeing and providing against obstacles under circumstances totally unprecedented, prevented the full promise of so well-planned an enterprise from being realized. When landed, the ponies were exceedingly wild; their first pasture disagreed with them, and several died, as well as some of the sheep ; diminishing both the means of transporas and the provisions which transported themselves, whilst the ponies which survived were very weak. The mountainous parts were often so steep and inaccessible that paths had continually to be made for the ponies; and even then their advance was slow, difficult, and full of risk: when these obstacles did not exist, the ruggedness of the ground was injurious to the hoofs of the unshod little creatures, and there were no means of supplying shoes. The expedition did not start on its exploring journey till about the commencement of the wet season, and the Tropical rains swelled the streams, often rendering them impassable, and compelling a long detour : the swamps of the lowlands were similar impediments; and when they could be passed, it was slowly, from the ponies sinking deeply into the mire. To add to these physical obstacles, Mr. GREY had been wounded in the hip in an encounter with the natives, so that he could not walk : the party were by day exposed to the alternate effects of a Tropical sun and a peculiarly cold rain, which affected the feeling of the skin in a singular manner ; their nightly bed was always the ground, generally damp, sometimes floating with rain-water; and the regular allowance per man during the whole time of their exploration was 1.1 pounds of flour a day, which was mixed with a little water into dough, and baked or rather heated upon a flat stone, without spirits or any other stimulus. In despite of these obstacles, and the weakness and failing health they produced, the gallant little band persevered till it was found the provisions would barely suffice to carry them back again ; and Mr. GREY, in addition to his wound, was afflicted with a severe attack of rheumatism. Their return with their acquired experience being safely effected, Mr. GREY sailed to the Mauritius in the vessel he had freighted, and when his health was reestablished, to New Swan River.

The country explored during the first expedition lying within one degree of latitude, is of course less than seventy miles broad : the examinations of the interior ramified from the set- tlement, but the main journey inland did not exceed seventy or eighty miles in a direct line, though considerably more if the de. viations of the course with the ascents and descents are allowed for. So far as water is concerned, this region may almost be termed a peninsula ; being bounded by two large navigable rivers, the Prince Regent's, already known, and the Glenelg, discovered by our author, and supposed by him to fall into Doubtful Bay. Between the embouchures of these two rivers are three very fine

harbours, Port George the Fourth, Hanover Bay, and Camden Sound. 'The leading character of the country is threefold,—moun- tains of various kinds, and some not badly timbered or without grasses, but all unavailable for agricultural purposes : narrow Tallies in these mountains, forming in fact the courses of streams ; and though many of them possess fertile soil, yet not in sufficient quantity to permit of any thing beyond dispersed and casual settlers : lastly, the great valley of the Glenelg, through which the principal expedition directed its way ; and which, except where it swells into uplands, consists of a rich alluvial Tropical soil, marshy in some places, flooded in others during the rainy season ; but in most cases capable of drainage, and in the most watery adapted to rice cultivation. Of the climate Mr. GREY speaks in the highest terms.

I conceive the climate of North-western Australia to be one of the finest in the world ; and my reasons for thus thinking are grounded upon the follow- ing circumstances.

"I was resident there from the beginning of the month of December 1837 to the middle of the month of April 1838—a period of four months and a half; and during the whole of this time, the men under my command were exposed to great hardships and privations. On one occasion three of us slept in the open air, without any covering or warm clothes, for five successive nights, during three of which we had constant showers of heavy rain, and yet did not in any way suffer from this exposure. "Other detached parties were on various occasions subjected for a shorter period to exposure of a similar nature, and no instance occurred of any indi- vidual suffering in the least from it. One or two cases of slight diarrluaa oc- curred, but they could be always traced to some food that had been eaten the day before, and never were sufficiently violent to delay us for a single hour."

The evidence of Captain Wicxnam, commander of the surveying- ship Beagle, is to the same effect, so far as his experience of the coast extends : but it should be remembered that the men in both cases were picked men, accustomed to hardships and climate, and stimulated by the service in which they were engaged.

As a matter of inference, (but the facts are very limited,) Tropical Australia is not subject to such droughts as the Southern part, for water was not scarce when Mr. GREY arrived, towards the end of the dry season ; but it seems exposed to the same floods as the other parts of the continent,—grass and drift-wood being left in trees many feet above the ground, and some distance from the bed of the streams. In the river Glenelg, at an estimated distance of thirty miles from the sea, the tide rises twenty feet ; in Prince Regent's River and along the coast, to nearly forty feet.

The soil naturally produces some valuable woods, gums, mimosa- bark, and wild cotton. Mr. GREY considers the land and climate particularly favourable to the production of sugar, cotton, indigo, and rice ; and he confidently anticipates its colonization and suc- cess, both as an agricultural settlement and a commercial entrepot to the Indian archipelago. For the latter purpose it is unques- tionably adapted, from the convenience of its situation at the Westerly extremity of Australia, lying within a week's direct sailing. So far as we can judge from the data before us, the greater part of the country, requiring drainage and em- bankments fully to develop its riches, is more adapted to the extensive capitals, large views, and absolute command of labour possessed by great planters, than to small agricultural colonists. At all events, if its settlement should be resolved on, another survey should be made, if only to determine the embouchure of the Glenelg.

We have endeavoured to convey a general idea of the character and results of Mr. GREY'S first expedition, but only a perusal can give a full idea of its spirit and interest. Living in the country for nearly five months, and constantly meeting with novelties, or having to provide for unexpected casualties, a Robinson Crusoe character Is attached to the whole, heightened by the large objects, scientific remarks, and general speculations which distinguish Mr. GREY. We will, however, pick out a few passages, not as superseding the book, but as samples of what may be found there.

ENTRANCE TO THE RIVERS OF NORTH-WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Sunrise offered a very beautiful spectacle : the water was quite unruffled, but the motion communicated by the tides was so great, that although there was not a breath of air stirring, the sea heaved slowly with a grand and ma- jestic motion. On two sides the view was bounded by lofty cliffs, from three to four hundred feet high, lightly wooded at their summits, and broken by wide openings, into which ran arms of the sea, forming gloomy channels of commu- nication with the interim- country ; whilst on each side of their entrances the

huge cliffs rose like the pillars of some gigantic portal. • • In general the openings to these rivers from the sea are very narrow, form- ing gorges which terminate in extensive basins, some fifteen or twenty miles inland the levels of these reservoirs are subject to be raised thirty-seven feet by every tide through their funnel-like entrance,; along which the waters con- sequently pour with a velocity of which it is difficult to form any adequate idea. By such a tide were we swept along, as we entered this nver by its Southern mouth.

On each side of us rose lofty red sandstone cliffs ; sometimes quite precipi- tous, sometimes from ancient land-slips, shelving gradually down to the water, and at these points covered with a dense Tropical vegetation.

VEGETATION OF A RAVINE; A PICTURE.

We here quitted the boat to enter a deep and picturesque ravine, of which the mean breadth was only one hundred and forty-seven feet, bounded on each side by perpendicular cliffs from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet high in the centre ran a clear stream, sometimes forming deep and extensive pools, sometimes divided into innumerable little rills, which gurgled along through a dense and matted vegetation ; and bordered on each side of the main bed by a lofty species of Eucalyptus, with a bark resembling layers of coarse white paper and a foliage pendant and graceful ; whilst the great height of these trees, for they raised their heads above the cliffs, contrasted strangely with the narrowness of the ravine in which they grew. 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 occu- pied the interval and twined around the trees, whilst parrakeets of the mos 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 oar way up the beautiful ravine.

GEOLOGICAL WONDERS.

We here remarked a very curious circumstance. Several acres of land on this elevated position were nearly covered with lofty isolated sandstone pillars of the most grotesque and fantastic shapes, from which the imagination might easily have pictured to itself forms equally singular and amusing. In one place was a regular unroofed aisle, with a row of massive pillars on each side; and in another there stood upon a pedestal what appeared to be the legs of an ancient statue, from which the body had been knocked away. Some of these time-worn columns were covered with sweet-smelling creepers ;

while their bases were concealed hy a dense vegetation, which added much to their very singular appearance. The height of two or three which I measured was upwards of forty feet ; and as the tops of all of them were nearly upon the same level, that of the surrounding country must at one period have been as high as their present summits, probably much higher.

From the top of one of these pillars I surveyed the surrounding country, and

saw on every side proofs of the same extensive degradation ; so extensive, in- deed, that I found it very difficult to account for : but the gurgling of water, which I heard beneath me, soon put an end to the state of perplexity in which I was involved, for I ascertained that streams were running in the earth be- neath my feet ; and on descending and creeping into a fissure in the rocks, I found beneath the surface a cavern precisely resembling the remains that ex- isted above ground, only that this was roofed, whilst through it ran a small stream, which in the rainy season must become a perfect torrent. It was now evident to me that ere many years had elapsed the roof would give way, and what now were the buttresses of dark and gloomy caverns would emerge into day and become columns clad in green and resplendent in the bright sunshine. In this state they would gradually waste away beneath the ever-during infia- ence of atmospheric causes ; and the material being then carried down by the streams through a series of caverns resembling those of which they once formed a portion, would be swept out into the ocean and deposited on sand-banks, to be raised again, at some remote epoch, a new continent, built up with the ruins of an ancient world.

I subsequently, during the season of the heavy rains, remarked the usual character of the mountain-streams to be, that they rose at the foot of some little elevation, which stood upon a lofty table-land composed of sandstone, then flowed in a sandy bed for a short distance, and afterwards mysteriously sank in the cracks and crevices made in the rocks from atmospheric influences, and did not again reappear until they had reached the foot of the precipice which terminated the table-land whence they sprang: here they came foaming out in a rapid stream, which had undoubtedly worked strange havoc in the porous sandstone rocks among which it held its subterraneous course. What the amount of sand annually carried down from the North-western

portion of Australia into the ocean may be, we have no means whatever of as- certaining: that it is sufficient to form beds of sand of very great magnitude, is attested by the existence of numerous and extensive sand-banks all along the coast. One single heavy Tropical shower of only a few hours duration washed down, over a plot of ground which was planted with barley, abed of sand nearly five inches deep; which the succeeding showers again swept off, carrying it far- ther upon its way towards the sea.

With the Indians of this part of the country Mr. Geer held no

communication ; because, when seen, their purposes were hostile ; and he was compelled to assume a similar appearance, and get rid of them. But he forms a more favourable opinion of them, and indeed of the aborigines generally, than other voyagers have doom In arts, language, ingenuity, and even food, he rates them higher than any other writer ; chiefly, we believe, because he studied them more, and brought to the, study a philosophical mind. As far as personal appearance goes, he considers the Northern Australian su- perior to the Southern ; and he traces a similar superiority in their huts, &c. In their habits in war or the chase, they appear to ex- hibit an equal skill with the Red Indians of North America.

The single conflict that took place with the aborigines was brought on through the misconduct or fear of one of his men; and Mr. GREY was compelled to shoot one of the assailants, but not until be had been wounded himself. As an example of his more sentimental vein, we will quote an eloquent passage descriptive of A WOUNDED EXPLORER'S REFLECTIONS.

I still pushed on until we were within two miles of the tent; when, as I tried to cross a stream, I 'strained my wounded hip severely, just reached the oppo- site shore, and fell, utterly unable to rise again. Coles, with his 111131181 courage and devotion to me, volunteered to go on alone to the party and send assist- ance; the other man was to remain with me and keep a look-out for the na- tives; and had they again attacked us, I should still have had strength enough to have shot two of them, and thus have sold my life dearly. I desired Coles to say that a tent, stores, the surgeon, and two men, were to be sent to me, for that I was not well enough to be moved. The water of the stream revived me considerably. My wound, however, was very painful; and the interim between Corporal Coles leaving me and assist- ance arriving from the tent, was spent in meditations arising naturally from my present circumstances. I sat upon the rocky edge of a cool, clear brook, sup- ported by a small tree. The sun shone out brightly ; the dark forest was alive with birds and insects: on such scenery I had loved to meditate when a boy; but now how changed I was—wounded, fatigued, and wandering in an un- known land. In momentary expectation of being attacked, my finger was on the trigger, my gun ready to be raised, my eyes and ears busily engaged in de- tecting the slightest sounds, that I might defend a life which I at that moment believed was ebbing with my blood away; the loveliness of nature was around me, the sun rejoicing in his cloudless career, the birds were filling the woods with their songs, and my friends far away and unapprehensive of my condition, whilst I felt that I was dying there. And in this way very many explorers yearly die. One poor youth, my own friend and companion, has thus fallen since the circumstances above described took place ; others have, to my knowledge, lately perished in a similar way. A strange sun shines upon their lonely graves; the foot of the wild man yet roams ever them but let us hope, when civilization has spread so far, that their graves will be sacred spots, that the future settlers will sometimes shed a tear over the remains of the first explorer, and tell their children how much they are indebted to the enthusiasm, perseverance, and courage of him who lies buried there.

The second expedition started under less favourable circum- stances than the first ; it was more disastrous in its course, less productive of results, and tragical in its close. Five months were spent at Swan River waiting for a vessel; which time Mr. GREY occupied in several excursions and in studying the native language; the Colonial schooner, when disposable, was found to want repairs that could not be performed in the settlement ; and in short, Milt Gam agreed with an American vessel to land him on an island near Shark's Bay, and determined to perform his Bur, veying-voyages in some whaling-boats he had procured. The object was to make this island the head-quarters of the expedition, whence the whole of the coast from the Glenelg to Swan River, as well as the country behind it, might be examined. The attempt, however, was frustrated by a series of disasters. The island chosen was without water ; and by a singular oversight, the vessel was allowed to sail away before this fact was ascertained. A series of tremendous storms confined them to this barren spot for some days; and when at great risk they had landed on another island, the bad weather still attended them,—staving one of their boats and damaging the two others, besides keeping all hands constantly on fatigue-duty. When the storm lulled a little, they buried the bulk of their provisions, set sail for the mainland, and explored with difficulty, from the surf and the weather' the coast and its back-land for something less than a degree of lati- tude, in about 25 deg. South. Returning to head-quarters, they found the tempest had washed away a good part of the island, and with it their stores. Nothing then remained but to return at once; as, under favourable circumstances, their provisions were not more than sufficient for their run of five or six hundred miles to the settlement. The weather continuing very rough and unsettled, they were obliged to land every night, and narrowly escaped ship- wreck several times in the day. At last, in beaching their boats through the tremendous surf of that coast, they received so much damage as to be totally useless.

"No resource was now left to us but to endeavour to reach Perth by walk- ing; yet when I looked at the sickly faces of some of the party, and saw their wasted forms, I much doubted if they retained strength to execute such a task ; lint they themselves were in high spirits, and talked of the undertaking as a mere trifle. I gave orders for the necessary preparations to be made, and then started with two or three hands to search for water. On reaching the valley I have before mentioned, we found a small stream, and following this to the northward for about a mile came out upon one of the most romantic and pic- turesque-looking estuaries I had yet seen : its shores abounded with springs, and were bordered by native paths, whilst the drooping foliage of several large sorts of casuarina, the number of wild swans on its placid bosom, and the na- tives fishing in the distance unconscious of our presence, imparted to the whole scene a quiet and a charm which was deeply felt by those who had now for so many days been either tossed about by the winds and waves, or had long been wandering over barren and inhospitable shores. * • * "We were now all ready to commence our toilsome journey : the provisions had been shared Out; twenty pounds of flour and one pound of salt provisions per man being all that was left. What I have here designated by the name of flour was quite unworthy of being so called : it was of a dark yellowish brown colour, and had such a sour fermented taste, that nothing but absolute neces- sity could induce any one to eat it. The party, however, were in high spirits : they talked of a walk of three hundred miles in a direct line through the country (without taking hills, willies, and necessary deviations into account) ass trifle, and in imagination were already feasting at home, and taking their ease after the toils they had undergone."

This, however, was not to be accomplished without severe priva- tion and suffering, and by one of the party never. The weight of the miserable articles which some of the men persisted in carrying to "sell at the settlement," the ruggedness of the road, the neces- sary detours, the influence of the weather, the night exposure, the previous weakness, but above all the want of food and occasionally of water, rendered their progress painful, slow, and toilsome. With strength, energy failed ; and a difference of opinion arose. Mr. GREY was for pressing on unceasingly ; conscious, he says, that every day diminished the strength of the men, on such a scanty allowance of bad food. Mr. WALKER, the surgeon of the expedi- tion, inclined to halt at favourable spots, and recruit the party by rests; and this view, which gave present ease, was supported by the majority. Dissension and traces of disobedience ensuing, Mr. Gast was fearful that discipline would be broken, and com- promised the matter. Taking with him the most robust and energetic to press on by forced marches, he left the remainder with Mr. WALKER to follow at ease, and undertook to send assistance from Perth on his arrival. But fearful were the hardships endured before he reached the confines of the settlements : their food was exhausted; they were too weak to hunt ; and to add to their dis- tress, they were passing through a district without water, and where the miserable resource of sucking dew-wet grass was unattainable. Even the aboriginal attendant upon Mr. GREY was doubtful ; and suggested, as the only chance of preserving their lives, that he and his master should abandon the others, and totter on till they found water or fell. Having led Mr. GREY from the rest and purposely lost him, he thus philosophized- " These thoughts thronged rapidly through my mind I indeed I was obliged to !In all things quickly now, for I felt that my existence depended upon my finding water within the next three or four hours. The native sat opposite to me on the ground, his keen savage eye watching the expression of my counte- nance as each thought flitted across it. I saw that he was trying to read my feelings • and he at length thus broke the silence—. Mr. 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 Bea; 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.' He paused for a minute, looking steadfastly at me, and then added, You must leave the others, for I know not where they are, and we shall die in trying to find them."

To this proposal Mr. GREy would not accede ; and by threats he compelled KAIBER to retrace his steps, till he found his few and Wretched followers.

"The men, who had been much surprised at the length of my absence, were at first buoyed up with the hope that I had found water ; but this hope had at last died away, and they knew not what to conjecture. They were all reduced to the last degree of weakness and want : indeed I myself was at this period suffering from the most distressing symptoms of thirst ; not only was my mouth parched, burning, and devoid of moisture, but the senses of sight and hearing became much affected ; I could scarcely recognise the voices of the rest; and when uncouth unnatural tones struck upon my ear, it took me some time to collect my thoughts in order to understand what was said, somewhat iji the way in which one is obliged to act when roused suddenly from a deep sleep. In the same manner my sight had become feeble and indistinct; but by far the most distressing sensation was that experienced upon rising up after having rested for a few moments. I then felt the blood rush violently to the head, and the feeling produced was as if it were driven by a forcing-pump through all my veins.

" Previously to starting again, I gave the men orders, which I believed at the time would be, to some at least, the last. I did not attempt to hide from them the dangers which surrounded us; but stating these, I represented that matters had now arriva at such a crisis, that in the event of any of them being un- able to proceed, it would be wrong to expect the others to halt on their ac- count ; and I therefore called upon all to exert their utmost energies, and boldly to make a last struggle for their lives. My intention, I told them, was to proceed slowly but steadily to the southward, and never once to halt until I dropped or reached water : even in the event of any being unable to keep up, I warned them that I should not wait for them, but still pursue a steady and undeviating course until water was found; but as soon as I had slaked my own thirst, I would return and bring assistance to those who might have been un- able to come on with me.

" Having thus imparted my intentions, I ordered them to throw away every superfluous article; and a very valuable sextant, which had hitherto been car- ried turn about by corporals Auger and Cola, was here abandoned. These our preparations having been made, we moved slowly on in sad procession ; and never shall I forget the wild and haggard looks of those that followed me: reason had begun to hold but a very slight influence over some, and I feel as- sured, that had it not been for the force of that discipline which I rigidly maintained, some of the party must now have lost their lives. As it was, not a word of complaint was heard as to the plan I pursued or the route I took; but they all reeled and staggered after me the silence being only broken by groans and exclamations. I preserved a slew uniform pace, proceeding still in a south-by-east direction—that is, in a straight line for Perth. The same sandy, sterile country was around, thinly clothed with Banksia trees. " We had marched for about an hour and a quarter, and in this time had only made two miles, when we suddenly arrived upon the edge of a dried-up bed of a sedgy swamp, which lay in the centre of a small plain, where we saw the footmark of a native imprinted on the sand; and again our hearts beat with hope, for this sign appeared to announce that we were once more entering the regions of animal life. We soon found that another part of the swamp was thickly marked with the footsteps of women and children; and as no water- baskets were scattered about, no doubt could exist but that we were in the vicinity of water. We soon discovered several native wells dug in the bed a the swamp; but these were all dry, and I began again to fear that I was dis- appointed, when Kaiber suddenly started up from a thick bed of reeds, and made me a sign which was unobserved by the others, as was evidently his in- tention. I hurried up, and found him with his head buried in a small hole of moist mud, for I can call it nothing else. I very deliberately raised Kaiber by the hair, as all expostulations to him were useless, and then called up the others.

"Kaiber had completely swelled himself out with this thick muddy liquid, and from the mark upon the sides of the hole, had evidently consumed more than half of the total supply. I first of all took some of this moist mud in my mouth, but finding a difficulty in swallowing it, as it was so thick, I strained a portion through a handkerchief. We had thirsted, with an intense and burn- ing thirst, for three days and two nights, during the greater portion of which time we had been taking violent exercise under a fierce sun. To conceive the delight of the men when they arrived at this little hole of mud, would be diffi- cult. Each, as he came up and cast his wearied limbs on the ground beside the hole, uttered these words, Thank God,' and then greedily swallowed a few mouthfuls of the liquid mud, protesting that it was the most delicious water, and had a peculiar flavour, which rendered it far superior to any other he had ever tasted.

" But it required some time before their faculties were sufficiently recovered to allow them duly to estimate the magnitude of the danger they had escaped. The small portion of muddy water in the hole was soon finished, and then by scraping it out clean we found that water began slowly to trickle into it again. The men now laid themselves down, almost in a state of stupefaction, and rested by their treasured pooL I felt, however, that great calls upon my ener- gies might still arise ; and therefore, retiring a little apart with the native, I first of all returned hearty thanks to my Maker for the dangers and sufferings he had thus brought me through, and then tottered'on with my gun in search of food. As might have been expected, game was here plentiful; numerous pigeons and other birde came down at nightfall (which was now the hour) for the purpose of drinking at this lone pool ; and the numbers of birds of different kinds that congregated here was a most convincing proof of the general aridity of this part of the country : indeed the natives subsequently reported, that the tract we had just traversed was at this season of the year totally devoid of water. It was in vain now that I raised the gun, for ng tremulous hand shook so that I could not for a moment cover the bird I aimed it ; and after one or two ineffectual attempts to kill something, I was obliged to desist in despair. I now dreaded that I had only escaped the pains of death by thirst in order to perish of hunger, and for a moment regretted that I had not died ere I found water; for I firmly believed, from the state of weakness I was then re- duced to that the bitterness of death had passed. But a short period sufficed to smother these unmanly and unchristian feelings in my breast ; and, seeing s flight of black cockatoos soaring about in the air, I determined to watch them to their roosting-place, and then, favoured by the darkness of night, to steal upon them. On my return to the party, I found the men sitting by the hole of water, anxiously watching until they again saw a little black mud in it, which they then eagerly swallowed. "I found some difficulty in inducing them to light their fire, and to choose a situation where they could repose for the night ; but having accomplished this, I sat down by my own, hand-rubbing my limbs until it ahould grow rather darker. At length I had the pleasure of seeing that the black cockatoos, who found we were not likely to leave them in possession of the water, had taken up their position for the night in a large clump of trees distant not more than half a mile, and I hereupon started with Kaiber to try and get a shot at them. "After about an hour's wandering and excitement, such only as the despe- rate gambler can know, whose life depends upon the stake for which he plays, I succeeded in getting a shot into a whole flight of roosting and snoring black cockatoos, and one fell. I pounced in triumph on it, and received a bite, which, famishing as I was, somewhat damped my ardour; Kaiber, however, hit it upon the head with a stick., and we then bore it off to our fire. The men had cooked one spoonful of flour each in the liquid mud which the pool afforded, and assured me that they found this thick water very nourish- ing; whence I concluded that the large portion of mud it contained in some degree gratified the cravings of the stomach. Kaiber soon plucked the cocks- too and roasted it : I gave him the entrails the feet, and the first joint of the legs, eating the head and thighs myself, and reserving the other portions as a store against future emergencies. I now felt assured that my life was saved; and rendering thanks to God for his many mercies, I laid down by the fire to watch for the first appearance of dawn."

Supposing Mr. WALKER'S plan had been properly carried out, halting only at places where fish or game could have furnished a supply of food without breaking in upon each man's allowance, we think it a better course for the less robust than Mr. GREY admits. But the plan was not carried out. As soon as the commissioned leader departed, every one did that which seemed right in his own eyes : obstacles that required exertion were not coped with ; each tangled bush seemed a lion in the path ; the men doubted their head, and at last each man walked his own way. Mr. WALKER, a robust and easy-tempered man, proceeded, by desire, direct to Perth ; which he reached without greater suffering than might have been expected. The others took to the sea-coast, occasionally getting a meal of fish. Woons, an old sailor, accustomed to hard- ships and to shift for himself, was found by the rescue-party sent out on Mr. GREY'S arrival, sound asleep on the beach; and though weak and worn, felt pretty confident that be could have reached the settlement. Three of the others were discovered further on in the last extremity, just in time to save their lives. Mr. SMITH, a youth of eighteen, the grandson of the late Member for Norwich, who had gone out as a volunteer to join his friend Mr. GREY, was found dead near the place where the survivors described him as having been left, unable to proceed further.

A close scrutiny of the beach," says Mr. Box, the leader of the party,

brought us, at the end of ten miles, to a !pot where Warrup observed the traces of feet in the sand. Following them up, they ascended a bare sand-hill to the height of twelve or fourteen feet, turned short round to the left, and -there terminated at the unfortunate object of our search, extended on his back, lifeless, in the midst of a thick bush, where he seemed to have laid himself down to sleep, half enveloped in his blanket. The poor fellow's last bed ap- peared to have been selected by himself; and at the distance of three or four yards from him lay all the trifling articles which had constituted his travelling equipage. These were his wooden canteen, his brown felt hat, and haversack, containing his journal, shoes, tinder, steel, gun-screw, a few small canvass bags, which he had used for carrying shell-fish, and a small bag, with thread, needles, and buttons. Life seemed to have been extinct rather more than two days; and from the position of the head, which had fallen considerably below the level of the body, we were led to conclude that a rush of blood into the brain had iansed his death, and at last without much suffering. With the help of the soldier and Warrup, we made a grave with our hands, and buried poor Smith deep in a sand-hill near the shore, about seventy-six miles to the north of Swan River. Even Warrup, notwithstanding the general apathy of the native character, wept like a child over the untimely fate of this young man, from whom he had formerly received kindness."

Thus terminated the expedition ; having surveyed an extent of coasts of' about five hundred miles, the general character of which was Australian barrenness occasionally interspersed with fertile spots, which Mr. GREY rather rapturously describes. But the opinion of men to whom water and the mere suggestion of fruit- fulness must have been bliss, is not to be implicitly received, espe- cially as the writer seems to have a natural enthusiasm in favour of colonization.

Notwithstanding the length to which this notice has extended, many topics are left unmentioned. Various subjects of natural .history, both animal and vegetable, were collected by Mr. GREY, (though he is not a professed naturalist,) and are described in his volumes. He also gave great attention to the commerce of the Indian archipelago, received many communications from practical quarters, and has embodied the results in his work. The habits, character, laws, and language of the aborigines, occupied much of his leisure; and besides a comprehensive view of these topics, he offers many suggestions as to the best means of improving their condi- tion, some of which have•received official sanction, and have been directed to be acted upon. Above all, he has presented the most striking glimpses of colonial life to the general reader that have yet appeared, and furnished the philosophical observer with the truest suggestions of the character of colonial leaders—the barons, as it were, of roving civilization, except that instead of "lifting". other people's cattle, they drive their own, and make use of expe- rience and speculation to acquire lands, instead of the " strong hand."