SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

TRAVELS,

Journal of an Exped:tiOn into the Interior of Tropical Australia, in Search of a tyrnii 'Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria. By Lieutenant-Colonel Sir T. L. Mitchell, Knight, fl. C. L., Sarveyor-Oeneral of New South Wales.

Lonnects and Cu. The Parson, Pen, and Pencil : or Reminiscences and Illustrations of an Excursion to Pat* Tours, and Rouen, in the Summer of 1847; with a few Memoranda oft rre.nch Farming. By G. M. Musgrave, aLA.. Yicar of Borden, Kent. In three Volumes Beeiley. DIDACTIC FIclION, The Russian Sketch-Book. By Ivan dolovIne, Author of "Russia under the En. peror Nicholas L" In two volumes Newby.

SIR T. L. MITCHELL'S axeznixtozt INTO THE INTE- RIOR or TROPICAL AUSTRALIA.

Ora of the objects in this expedition, which has occupied Sir Thomas Mitchell's mind for years, was to complete his survey of the Northern parts of New South Wales, that were left undetermined in his former ex- ploration. Another object was to discover the separating hig,hlaede whence the rivers flow respectively East and West. The main end of the traveller, however, was to trace an overland route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria, in order to substitute a land journey for the diffi- cult navigation of Torres Strait, and the troublesome passage thence along the Eastern coast of Australia to Sydney. By establishing the practicability of this communication, Sir Thomas Mitchell conceived the prosperity of New South Wales would be greatly assisted by the transit of passengers, as well as by an increase of the trade in horses to India. Upon both these points we incline to differ with him. Whatever may be the difficulties of Torres Straits, they are superable by care, especially now that they are laid down in the charts of the last surveying expe- dition. No person would willingly travel upwards of fifteen degrees of latitude through a rugged and mostly barren country, sometimes with. out water, always without comfortable conveyances or any accommo- dation at all, and half the way within the Tropics, when he could pass by sea without increasing the distance, or (if health or pleasure only were the object) reach Swan River almost as quickly as the proposed point of debarkation at the head of the Golf of Carpentaria. The cost and risk of conveying horses by so long a land journey would, it seems to us, absorb all the profit.

However, this idea met with the approval of ,the colonists in their late troubles; and, in 1843, Sir Thomas Mitchell submitted the plan of an overland expedition to the Governor, Sir George Gipps. The Legislative Council not only approved of it, but voted 1,00Q/.. towards the expenses. The Governor, however, held back, referring the subject to the Colonial Office; when Lord Stanley's consent was obtained, he still delayed, un- til the Legislative Council again petitioned, and increased their grant to 2,0001. In the interim, Dr. Leichardt, who had been engaged as natural- ist to the contemplated expedition, got tired of waiting, and departed from Moreton Bay for Port Essington as a private individual, with the assistance of a public subscription. When Sir Thomas Mitchell started on his expedition, it was supposed that Dr. Leichardt and his compaeions had all perished. A despatch announcing Leicherdee Safe return over- took Sir Thomas, at about two degreea of latitieltheyond the explored country, and to tome extent, we ilunk, modified like future proceedings. He avoided folldwing the line of Leichardt's journey, and sought a water communication to the Gulf of Carpentaria by a river flowing in a North-west direction, from the Western or inper side of the mountain range that runs along New South Wales parallel to the aea from about the 25th to the 39th degree of Smith latitude. The early journey was through a district Sir Thomas formerly ex- plored, and which is now occupied by occasional squatters, who appear to live in a state of hostility with .the natives; their stock being carried off and their stations sometimes burnt, while the remliation upon tie natives is of course fearful albeit unknown. The sufferingsof the expedi- tion were considerable in this district, from scarcity of wate.r in a season of drought, and from ophthalmia brought on by the glare:" but discovery did not begin till the Darling was crossed in about 30 degrees of South latitude, or probably sonic fifty miles further. From this point the ex- pedition proceeded in an it-regular ar line beween the 147th and 149th de- grees of East longitude, until it entered the Tropic of Capricorn, and passed beyond the 22d degree of South latitude. Throughput the journey, Sir Thomas Mitchell fell in with a variety of the usual rivers of. New South Wales,—that is occaeional reaches full of water, frequent ponds, and as frequent dry beds, but exhibiting throughout their course signs of inundation during floods. About many spots that he discovered the traveller is enthusiastic; but, fur a Surveyor-General, he seemsa san- guine man. The country does not appear to us to differ much from the settled part of New South Wales, or from the region Dr. Leichardt passed through before he reached the Gulf of Carpentaria. There was a " diffi- cult country " from rocks, mountains, and ravines ; desert or scrub, use- less altogether, or merely yielding enough herbage for a passing traveller, and not always that ; with intermixtures of more fertile spots adapted for cattle or sheep stations, or admitting of cultivation. The heat was fre- quently terrible, and the cold on the uplands sometimes severe ; but, from the absence of moisture, both were more supportable and far less in- jurious than the same degrees of the thermometer in other regions. The rivers, as low as the 25th degree of latitude, flowed in a Southerly direc- tion, and seem to have been directly or indirectly tributary to the Darling, and thus really feed the Murray and flow to Adelaide—when they have water to flow. From the 25° of South latitude the streams take a North or North-east direction, and are conceived by Sir Thomas Mitchell to fall into the sea on the Eastern coast of New Holland, near some part of thegreat Barrier reefs. Our explorer followed one of these North-flowing rivers, and had arrived within less than half a-degree of Dr. Leicbardes route, when he turned back.

" I Ith Augest.—Crossing this river at a favourable got near oar camp,. we travelled on eleven miles, and encamped early, on a fine reach of the main neer. Here 1 ban leisure to lay down my late ride on paper, and to connect it with the tulip; whereupon I concluded, with much regret, that this river must be either a tributary to, or identical with, that which M. Leichardt saw joining the Snttor in latitude 21° 6' S., iii .d which he supposed to come [ruin the West. It had sup- ut,a me with water across three degrees of latitude, and had gradually altered lc course from N. W. to about 30° E. of N. In nay ride I had traced it to 21° so, of latitude South, and no high land had appeared, as I expected. to the North- ward, at all likely to turn its coarse towards the West.. I found the height of its bed, moreover, to be so little above the sea, (not much mom than 600 feet,)that I could no longer'dotibt that the division between eastern and IVestern waters Was still to the Westward; and I arrived at the following conclusions- " 1st—That. theriver of .Carpeatarie 'Mould have been bought tor to the West- ward of all the sources of the river &bettor." Sir Thomas therefore returned to a-dep8t-eamp he had formed about la- litude-2t3°,' hear his discotierfiolLike Saintor, with the view of ei= oaring in a Westerly fiRettield foti it 'th'er that might- lead to the Gulf of caepentluim 'Why he did not ,Piteh on for the half degree of . latitude pWitiVely to determine :the feet he iconjecture,drand to connect his surrey with the route of , Dr:, Deiehardt,, in not explained: ,, •, • .. However, in the,camp-where'he'hadieft the bulk of his party he rm.+ turned, refreshed ;'and: then started' la light marchingorder, with three fol: lowers, on hiw Western journey ; and discovered a river which was traced flowing iii a North-westerly direction to the 144th degree of East lon- gitude. '.. Want of provisions, and the threatening appearance of the na- tivee,:then conmetledi his' return,: i ., - , : . "Bat the river we were about to leave required a name; for no natives could be made to understand.eur questions. arn had they been more willing than they were tro,communicste at all. It seeroeiktsi me to deserve a great name, being of much iniperfance, as leading fro:1i Ternpertile into Tropical regions, where water was iht-6.4it;a1Mittiisite—a river le.V., tolndit; the ' nacimiento de la espe- ceria,,•or region *here spicea-grenq- thi:eriend goal, in short, of explorers by sea and landjenrci Celan-lbw de4sninardsitirlitris! river seemed to me typical of God's providenee.4 eseaygying,liting,wakraiipto a dry parched land, and thus affording acme topAneAte9KRAtst01.,motm, likely to be soon peopled by civilized inhagan . it wee With gehtimeitti of devotion, zeal, and loyalty; that I there- fore OW/Wilda' ii-vh? thhli brilyikracinds Sovereign, 'Queen Victoria." Thai tiliswilVer . teilesffiii and important discovery, that its iraterst'i ' gitt. 'int that it iiia.ii ftow to the Gulf of Carpentaria, P ifl:not so easy to join in the enthusiastic hopes ° - mkiii . Seven degrees of latitude must be crossed

be oreilie .........fiiireti attained; and, with the knowledge that

Australian f streams some nd in a lake or a sandy desert, we are not lit very sanguine that Me' lifiyiil lead to India—Ter rather, to a gulf where steam eopinintii. n vi 'be ,more convenient than from Sydney. Lloweveri'dM,Ovil,rilliO 0, or iotably, has shown; Mr. Kennedy, the ASsisiants ,iirveySii•,' 'itleond to Sr Thomas Mitchell during the expedi- tion, havm started' iiirelt last year to follow up the discovery.

The eit ion ik important in two points of view. Although Sir Thonstalilfchell danot pass over the thirty or forty miles that might

intervene between the where . he turned ...back, ,axt ..where Leichardt noted the river„yeithe-has virtuallyshown teeols,. tEypf passing. by land from Sydney ttfctite,t.ulf of Carpentaria and Port , mgton, as Lerch- mit demonstrated its practicability from Moreton Bay. , We now know that; as far as land ilk in question, a connected chain of squatting stations may extend. from Wilson's Psomoutiry, near Port Phillip, the extreme Southerly phiut 'of Anstratia,, to Port Essington ; the worst oases as favourably characterized as many in New South Wales, and some with greater apparent advantages' from .soit and water.. In a geographical point of view, the 'discovery of the separating range between the Eastern psi Western waters; aud of the 'river Victoria, is the most important fea- ture Of the expedition. Whether the river supports Sir Thomas Mitchell's sanguine view, or whether, it loses it's& in the thirsty sands of the in- terior, it is possible that the Victoria is only part of' a rietwoik of water- ways, which, however useless for purposes of navigation, and devoid even of a contintions stream may yet furnish means for penetrating that terra incognita the interior Of Australia. . . Besides discovery and exploration, the expedition-•was employed in an elaborate survey of the districts through which it passed,—a point which should not be lost sight of in esijaiating the merits of its author and commander. As a journey of adventure and privation, it has not so much interest as some other travel's in Australia. Thirst was occasionally suffered when water was not fallem in with ; and during the return from his exploration of the Victoria; Sir Thomas and hi a three followers were on short commons. But a neck of two hundred and fifty eheep, With cattle, horses, drays, and followers, forming .a ddpilt-camp, whence an ad- vance party could proceed with the certainty Of a point d'appui, prevented anything like starvation; and the traveller was too old a hand often to lose himself even in the wilderness.

Besides its positive geographical information, this volume of course possesses that kind of interest which arises from the excitement of explo- ration in unknown regions, with its frustration of hope and gratification of discovery. Descriptions of wild or beautiful landscape also vary the narrative, as well as sketches of camp life, incidents of small adventure, and Various interviews with the natives: As a whole, however, the geogra pher, surveyor, and scientific Observer, predominate somewhat too much for the general reader, notwithstanding the author's Wide sympathies. and rhetorical style.

This contradiction between the natural and the professional man shows

itself curiously throtighotil the journey. Wherever cattle graze, the kan- garoo forsakes the district, and With it departia Main subsistence of the aborigines. Nor is this all the evil: the cattle also muddy: the ponds of water, if they do not exhaust them; which, in a district scantily supplied with that essential element, inflicts upon the natives the severest priva- tions. On th'ese. abd other injuries, which explain,' and abstractedly Justify their - robberies, Sir' Thomas expatiates with eloquent sentiment; but when he comes to an 'oasis or discovers a fertile district, he is ,Miutifiy impressive in his announcement of its capabilities for squatting or settling. His accounts of the natives, mostly meeting White men for:t4 first ime, are among the Most '04k-t9g parts of the volume. We tal4en,14.

description of an encounter with the tribe he fell in with at the extreme point of his exploration on the river Victoria.

" We ought to have been retrogressive yesterday, according to the time calcu- lated on for our stock of provisions; but we could not leave the river without tracing it to the furthest accessible point. We still medalled, therefore, to follow the watercourse which had brought us thus far; expecting at every turn to find itsjunction with the river, whose course had obvionsly tamed more than usual to the Southward, We fell in with a larger tributnry froiri the North-west; after which junction, the tributarytook a more Westerly direktion then the minor chan- nel brought us to it. We thus came upon'a large lagoon, beside which were the butt; of a very munerons tribe of natives, who appeared to bare been there very recently, as some of the fires were still _kneeing. Well-beaten paths, and large permanent huts, were seen beyond that encamptnent; and it was plain that we had entered the home of a numerous tribe. I should have gladly avoided them at that time, had not a sight of the river been indinpeasiible, and the course of the creek we were upon the only certain guide to it. Level plains extended along its banks; and I bad been disappointed by the appearance of lofty yarns trees, which grew on the banks of large lagoons. On approaching one of these loud shrieks of Many women and children, and the angry voices of men, apprised me that we had at-length overtaken the tribe, and, unfortunately, had come upon them by surmise. ' Aye minyi I ' was vociferated repeatedly, and was understood to mean What de you watt?' (What seek ye in the land of Macgregor ?) I steadily adhered to my new plan of tactics towards the aborigines, and teak not the slight- est notice of them, but steadily rode forward, according to my compass bearing. On looking back for my men, I saw one beckoning me to return. He had ob. serv.ed two natives, with spears and clubs, hide themselves behind a bush in the direction in which I was advancing. On my haltingthey stole away, and, when a little further on, I perceived an old white-heired woman before me, on seeing whom I turned slightly to one side, that we might not frighten her or provoke the tribe. The whole party seemed to have been amusing themselvea in the water during the noonday heat, which was excessive; and the cool aliadesaround the lagoon looked most luxuriant. Our position, on the contrary, wee anything but envieble, with jaded horses scarcely able to lift a leg, amongst. so many natives, whose language was incomprehensible even to Terimigh. I asked hint whether we might not come to a parley with them, and see if they could under- stand him. His answer was brief, and, without turning even hie. head ..onm to look at them, .4 You go out,- which advice quite according with my oatil notions, founded on experience, I willingly went on. Even there, in the. heart of the in- terior, on a river utterly unheard of by White men an iron tomaliawk.glittered on bight in the hand of a chief, hieg,a very -long 11;indle to it. The anxious care of the females to tarry off their children seemed the most agreeable featurelu the scene; and they had a mode of carrying themon.the haunch which was different from anything I had'seeu. Some had been digging in the mud for worms, others searching for-fresh-water mussels; and it the Able could have been witnessed un- perceived, such a scene of domestic life amongst•the aborigines lied been worth a little more risk. The strong men 'assumed !a strange attitude; which seemed very expressive of surprise ji.lawringthesight Wee bent *holds leg:forward; the right arm dropping but grasping clubs, the left arm raised, and thefingers spread out. Aya, aya, mina ' they coutineally.siseeted; .and well might they ask what we wanted. Hoping they, writffil believe-ho robe Centaurs, and Include the two old pack-horses in counting onr'nuiribers Iliad- not the ilightest desire to let them know us more particularly; audio troklied-co,glaa arteutth ito.hear their Aye min ds ' grew fainter, and that we were 'POW titem-betuodi. ,About tiro miles further South, the perfume from the,liliaceenab eked; ,reer was the fu-st indication of vicinuy. We .foutirLit,full 0,29. 6 sentieg its usuil teriatieseperal separite thermal; atm, . There, ac- cording thehatieneter, the height above the serwali reef;'llietstape- rature at three p. in. in the shade, 99P of Fahrenheit- re -watered our horses, crossed, and plunged into the brigalow beyond, where I meant to steal .a march

upon the noisy tribe • • . •

We have all heard of the sudden floods of Australia; but the following description of a flood in action is the &at we -remember to have seen. "Mr. Stephenson returned, earlye lowing Met ,twe of the mounted pelice. To my most important. questein—W4i.Water Tait° be.feumd Moir down in the ri- ver—the ripply was very sest,facto7; namely, plenty, and a flood coming down from the Turiln inotintains. ' The tiro' poil.eirehrtiIiidtheyliad travelled twenty miles with it on th&-day stiff bike-some thew to ar•I rive near our camp. About noon the drays arrived in good order, having been'en- camped where there was no .wcter.stbooLcal mita( ohort of uur camp; the whole dle- tauce travelled from Cannonbi to „the ..fleequariehaviag been about nineteen iniles. In the afternoon, two of the men taldpg e wali. up ihe river, reported on their we- turn that the flood poured ieupen them when in the river 'bed so suddenly that they narrowly escaped it. Still, the bed of the Macquerie Witte our carte,' eon- tinned so dry and silent that I could scarcely believe the floodloomingto here** and so near to us, who had been put to so many ahifts ter wantof water. Towards evening, I stationed a man witilta, islittlErey pp the river, with orslere Mika on the flood's appearance, that I pug i have F., to run to the part of the 'channel nearest to our camp, and witness what tn'uch wished to see,' as we from curiosity as urgent need. The shades Oreesitliig came, however, but no flood; arid the man on the look-out returnedstb obtkip.4,' Some hours later, and after the moon had risen, a murmuring sound like thave$,a distant waterfall, mingled with occasional cracks as of breaking MuAer, drew our attention, and I hastened to the river-hank. By. very slow degrees' the sound grew louder, and at length so audible as to draw various persons halides froth the camp to the river-side. Still no -flood appeared, although its approach was indicated by the occasional rending of trees with a loud noise. Such a pluenomenon in a most serene moon- light night was quite new to us all. Ate length, the rushing sound of waters and loud cracking of timber announced. thet.the flood was in the nest bend. It rush- ed into our sight, glittering, in the moopheams,.e moving cataract, tossing before it ancient trees, and snapping them against its banks. II preceded by a point of meandering water, picking its way, like's thing Of life through the deepest parts of the dark, dry, and shady bed of what thus again became a flow- ing river. By my party, situated as we were at that time, beating about the country, and impeded in our journey, solely by the almost totatabsence of water, suffering evee,asively from thirst and extreme heat, I am convinced the scene never can be forgotten. Here came at onee abundance, the product of storms in the far-off mountains that overlooked our homes. My first impulse was to have welcomed this flood on our knees; for the scene was sublime in itself, while the stibJ- ject—an abundance of water sent to us in a desert—greatly heightened the ef. fect to our eyes. Suffice it to nay, I had witnessed nothing of such Limpet in all

my Australian travels. • •

The river gradually filled up the channel nearly bank high; while the living cataract travelled onward, much slower than r had expected to see it ; so slowly, indeed, that more than an-hour after its first arrival, the sweet mei& of the head of the flood was distinctly audible from my tent ma the murmur of 'waters, and the diapason crash of loge, travelled slowly through the torthous windings of the river-bed. I was finally lulled to sleep by. that melody of living, waters, so grate- ful to my ear, and evidently so unwonted in the dry bed of the thirsty lilacquarie." During his journey, Sir Thomas Mitchell frequently dwells upon the advantage of damming the rivers at proper points, by which means he considers a sufficient supply of water could always be,retain.ed • and he calls attention to the fact that irrigation has never been attempted. The

waste of convict labour (when it was plentiful) in not carrying on useful public works and amongst others embankments, is several times dwelt upon by our author. In one of the Northerly-flowing rivers he found that Nature herself had attempted something of this, but with more re- ference to the retention of water than for purposes of navigation.

"Continuing along the old track, we this day quitted the basin of the Hely- ando, and ascended those grassy slopes and that range which I had formerly taken to be the water-shed of the coast rivers. We thus crossed to the basin of another Eastern river, the Nogoa; and in quitting that of the Belyando, I have to observe, that, like most other Australian rivers, it maintained a peculiar character throughout its course, with great uniformity, even after it received tributaries ap- parently larger than itself All these lapsed into the same concatenated line of ponds; ; at one place spreading amidst bngalow scrub, at another forming one well- deep channel. For the formation of ponds and the retention of water in 80 dry a climate, we see here something between the ordinary character of rivers and artificial works which man must construct when population may spread- into these regions. The fallen timber of the brigalow decays rely slowly, and is not liable to be burnt like most other dead wood in open forests, because no grass grows amongst the brigalow as in open forests. The accumulations of dead logs ..onie dogged with river rack and the deposit of floods; to which floods these heaps present obstructions, forcing the waters into new channels, and in their pro- gress scooping out new nds, and completing the embankment of dead logs, which thus form natural s and reservers, to hold, under the shade of the bri- galow trees, more water for a longer time than any single river channel could re- tain, however sluggish its course. Thus it was that during a season of unusual drought we had found abundance in this river's course across nearly si° of lati- tude."

The geographical portion of the book is well presented. A full map of the journey accompanies each route, with a delineation of the natural features and of every encampment. The book also contains a smaller map of the Eastern part of Australia, with the discoveries of the volume, and a diagram map of Australasia, the Eastern Archipelago, and parts of China and Hindostan, to explain the author's ideas of steam navigation from the Gulf of Carpentaria to India and England.