332 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



river, the travelling improved at once to good sound stringybark 

 ridges intersected by only a few broad teatree gullies. The party 

 accomplished 10 miles and CAMPED. In the evening, Frank and 

 Eulah climbed trees and SAW NEWCASTLE BAY, " on the south-east 

 of the bight on which they were now camped." This is puzzling, 

 but it appears as if the Brothers had steered about 5 degrees north 

 of east from Cowal Creek, crossing my (then non-existent) track 

 midway between my Camps 69 and 70, and that their camp on 

 28th February was on JACKEY- JACKET'S TRACK near the head of 

 KENNEDY INLET. 



The 1st March was a wet day. The party started early in the 

 morning, and, probably heading a little to the west of north, in 

 JACKEY-JACKEY'S FOOTSTEPS, " over a great deal of low scrub and 

 brushwood," at 3 o'clock met a party of NATIVES. It may be 

 assumed that they were now in the vicinity of my yist Camp. 

 The NATIVES proved to be FRIENDLY and, moreover, were posted up 

 in the names of some of the party, excitedly shouting " Alico, 

 Franco, Dzocko [Jock], Johnny, Toby, tobacco and other English 

 words " and pointing in the direction of SOMERSET, which they 

 named " Kaieeby." It may be imagined how lovely seemed the 

 " kindly dark faces " and how sweetly mellifluous sounded " English 

 words " spoken by black lips ! 



Guided by their new friends, the party travelled about 7 miles 

 (presumably ENE.), skilfully piloted through the scrubs and between 

 the swamps, and reached " a shallow SALT-WATER CREEK that empties 

 itself into a northern inlet of Newcastle Bay," where a large body 

 of NATIVES was met. These blacks were without arms, but later 

 in the day they presented the white men in token of friendship, 

 as was supposed with a number of spears and wimmeras which 

 had been concealed among the mangroves. The party thus 

 reinforced went on for 2 miles further to their main camp, where 

 three large " dug-out " CANOES lay at their moorings. Here the 

 whites CAMPED and watched, still not sufficiently off their guard 

 to feel secure against treachery, while the natives kept up a noisy 

 corroborree till the " small hours " of the morning. 



On 2nd March, the Brothers were up and away at daylight, in 

 spite of a downpour of rain, the blacks guiding them to and along 

 the coast, and they REACHED SOMERSET at noon. Father and sons 

 met at last after five months of anxiety on one side and heroic 

 effort on the other. 



JOHN JARDINE had realised, before he had been long resident in 

 Somerset that the intricate nature of the country must render the 

 approach from the south a matter of difficulty, especially in a wet 

 season. With the object of guiding his sons to the settlement, he 

 had, therefore, MARKED A LINE OF TREES, about 30 miles in length, 

 south-westward to the head of the Kennedy (Jackey-Jackey Creek). 

 [That would be about 2 miles south of my Camp 68. R. L. J.] 



