546 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



a loud howling, and on returning to the place found that the 

 body had been carried away. We heard them afterwards in the 

 scrub holding a sort of wake. By turns they chanted a harangue 

 in a tone of lamentation, to which the others answered in chorus. 

 They, no doubt, knew themselves to be secure in the scrub, where, 

 indeed, it would have been quite useless for us to have followed them. 



We went down into the valley to the east (NISBET CREEK). 

 When we had gone about a mile, we heard a great hallooing rise 

 from the camp we had left. The natives had probably found the 

 carcase of the mare. We should have burned the carcase had time 

 permitted, but as we could not wait till it was consumed, and as 

 we knew that if we heaped a fire on it the meat would only be roasted 

 by the time the natives appeared, we had to leave it to them. We 

 also threw away the worst of our pack-saddles. 



We travelled across the valley of Nisbet Creek for about 2 miles 

 in a general easterly direction. A path had to be cut through 

 the scrub on the bank of the creek. We made for the northmost 

 of two camp smokes which we had seen from our last camp. A party 

 of NATIVES were just clearing out from a camp a quarter of a mile 

 off when we arrived at our destination. Crosbie and Hamil rode 

 after, but could scarcely get a sight of them. They left a number of 

 SPEARS behind, which were put in the fire. One of the spears was 

 the ugliest weapon I ever saw. Its head was a little flattened, and 

 edged with a row of chips of bottle-glass let into grooves. It was 

 enough to sicken one of savage warfare. I never saw flattened 

 spear-heads among the Australian natives before, and I am inclined 

 to think that the spear, or at least the idea, must have been derived 

 from some of the South Sea Islands. A few hours later we found 

 that the natives had returned to their camp and carried off the dilly- 

 bags, nuts, etc. I was glad to think that their spears especially 

 the glass-headed one had been put out of their way. We camped 

 on the site of another native camp, abandoned in the morning. 

 (CAMP 24.) 



Rain began as soon as we had pitched tents. The remainder of 

 the day was spent in horse-shoeing, drying cartridges, and other 

 odd jobs. [It is conjectured that on 22nd October, 1848, Kennedy 

 was travelling" between the hills," viz., the Mcllwraith and Mac- 

 rossan Ranges. Rations were short and illness and despondency 

 prevailed among the men, while the horses were daily becoming 

 weaker. R. L. J.] 



January u. The day kept fine till one o'clock, but it rained 

 heavily for the rest of the afternoon. 



In the morning Crosbie, Hume and Hamil went back to 

 Camp 23, and prospected in the gully below it. They got " shotty 

 colours " [of GOLD] in an alluvial flat. On their arrival they took 

 out the pack-saddle from the gully where we had left it, thinking 

 to take it away to replace one of theirs. They were no distance, and 



