EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS RECENTLY RECEIVED 



SWAN RIVER. 



When our luggage was first brought on shore I, not being well, 



was left behind with Pearce to look after it, while J , C 



and A- went up the river to see the Governor about a grant 



of land. While I was alone Capt. B used to pay me frequent 



visits in the evening. Picture to yourself the tent in which we used 

 to sit; the pole was surrounded with guns, three double barrelled, 

 two single and three rifles, over them were hung four brace of pistols 

 and two cutlasses, the table, a slab of wood, supported by three desks, 

 and our seats consisting of a saucepan and a bucket turned upside 

 down ; the door crowded with dogs which were not allowed to come 

 in as they knew too well the way to the sugar and biscuit bags. 



I had not been in this situation two days before an unlucky oc- 

 currence happened which was the loosing a great part of our deals, 

 the only materials we had for building a temporary house to shelter 

 our goods from the rainy season ; the way in which it happened 

 was this, having had some heavy rains during the night the river 

 was more than usually high and they were floated away. Pearce 

 and I went early the next morning to look after them, but found 

 only very few. On returning, conceive our despair ; the tent, our 

 only hope of shelter at a moment when from the rain we were miser- 

 ably wet, was blown down, and every thing that had been stowed 

 inside exposed ; the next thing to be done was to change our situ- 

 ation as fast as possible for the river continued to rise and the tent 

 was nearly surrounded with water, for we had fortunately chosen a 

 little hillock to place it on and we had just time to get it and the 



luggage removed by dark. The next morning J , C and 



A came down the river, after a hard night's pull, determined 



upon going to the Blackwood river, the Governor having strongly 

 recommended it to them. 



After about six weeks' delay at the Swan river we started for our 



destined spot, accompanied by Capt. and Mrs. M , Mr. and 



Mrs. T and family, a boat's crew, and Mr. D— , a Mid- 

 shipman, these comprising our little colony ; none of us wished to 

 divide our force, so we took small grants on the place fixed for the 

 town Augusta, just inside the mouth of the river; it is a very pretty 

 place with good soil close down to the beach. The rainy season 

 just commencing we set to work about a garden for the purpose of 



