THE

NEW QUARTERLY REVIEW;

OR,

Home, Foreign, and Colonial

JOURNAL.

ART. I.-Discoveries in Australia; with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers explored and surveyed during the voyage of H. M.S. Beagle, in the years 1837, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43, by command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea. By J. Lort Stokes, Commander R.N. London: Boone, 1846.

THE particular object of the expedition before us was to explore and survey such portions of the Australian coasts as were wholly or partially unknown to Captains Hindley and King. For this purpose the Beagle was placed in commission, a 10-gun brig, which certainly has effected most marvellous achievements for so small a craft. She was consigned in this voyage at first to the command of Captain Wickham, with ample instructions, which our readers will find at vol. i., p. 6. The directions given by our distinguished hydrographer, Captain Beaufort, will be read by scientific readers with much satisfaction. Her voyage lasted six years, and she left England on June 9th, 1837. Simultaneous with the operations of the Beagle, an inland expedition, under the command of Lieutenant Grey, since governor of South Australia, proceeded to discover a great river or water inlet, which, on the authority of Captain King and Dampier, was supposed to exist in Australia. Pursuant to the letter of their instructions, they proved first, in common with many others, that the rocks, the "Eight Stones," in the vicinity of Teneriffe, have at least no existence in their assigned position. We have ourselves seen the wonderful peak of this island, and shall never forget the sensation we felt when, after many hours' sail, at a

VOL. VIII.—NO. I.

B

time that we thought all sight of the island was gone for ever, the Great Peak, like the spirit that stopped Vasco de Gama, appeared to menace us even then, from its vertical position, with the fall of some of its masses through hills of clouds upon our heads. It is not improbable, from the immense extent of volcanic action in these places, as seen in the subsidence of the Sabrina and Graham Islands, that the "Eight Stones" may have existed and sunk again, like many a Delos, down to Ocean, and denied the Latonas of the earth the power of their virgin soils. From Bahia they passed to the Cape, where they met an old acquaintance of the readers of this review, Captain Harris, who had been sporting through Southern Africa, and had made an advance from the frontier of the Cape Colony to the tropic of Capricorn. His adventures, as a wild sportsman, afforded them much amusement, and from hence they sailed to Swan River. Here Lieutenant Grey, as he has already related in his work, quitted them, conceiving that Swan River might possibly not supply him with a craft fit for his purposes. The account of Western Australia is by no means favourable, though they admit that it improved on acquaintance. The Swan River is subject to sudden and tremendous floods, which inundate the corn lands and sweep all barriers before their fatal progress. The soil, however, is rich at Guilford, a township on it, and after thirteen years of cropping produces, without manure even, a more extensive harvest than the first. The natives are also improved in character by the admixture with Europeans. The following observation of our author's we have repeatedly verified: "Like all savages, they are treacherous; for uncivilized man has no abstract respect for truth; and consequently deceit, whether spoken or acted, seems no baseness in his eyes." Our author confirms this by a fearful anecdote.

"A native of the name of Tonquin asked a settler, who lived some distance in the interior, permission to spend the night in his kitchen, of which that evening another native was also an inmate. It seems that some hate, either personal, or the consequences of a quarrel between their different tribes, existed in the mind of Tonquin towards his hapless fellow-lodger; and in the night he speared him through the heart, and then very quietly laid down to sleep! Of course in the morning no little stir took place. Tonquin was accused, but stoutly denied the charge. So satisfied, however, was the owner of the house of the guilt of the real culprit, that had he not made his escape, he would have been executed "red hand," as the border wardens used to say, by the man, the sanctity of whose roof-tree he had thus profaned. Tonquin afterwards declared that he never slept for nearly a fortnight, being dogged from place to place by the footsteps

of the avengers of blood. He escaped, however, with his life, though worn almost to a shadow by constant anxiety. When I saw him some years afterwards, I thought him the finest-looking native I had ever seen; but he was apparently, as those who knew him best reported him to be, insane." (vol. i., p. 60.)

The current superstition connected with the Attua, which we pointed out in vol. vi., p. 499, among the New Zealanders, appears to prevail in West Australia, since no more effectual taboo can exist, or more productive of safety, than to bury their slain foes in front of their dwellings. This forms a complete protection to the inhabitants within them.

Our adventurers quitted Swan River on January 4th, and determined the question that no bank exists fifteen miles to the north of Rottennest Island, though they shoaled their water from twenty-eight to twenty-four fathoms. pass the adventures of our party in Roebuck Bay, named after Dampier's ship, and our readers will do us the favour to circumvallate Australia, going northward and eastward from Swan River. Previous to quitting this bay, they, however, satisfied their minds on the question that no inland communication existed in that direction. They were now on the traces of the celebrated Tasman and Commodore Baudin. To the details of the former they gave that decided preference that most mariners have united in awarding to him; nor does the discrepancy in his description of the natives, compared with Captain Stokes's, surprise us, since probably these natives are incessantly changing their locality. The following description of our Australian brother is truly terrible.

"The average height of the males may be taken to be from five feet five inches to five feet nine inches, though, upon one occasion, I saw one who exceeded this height by an inch. They are almost black; in fact, for ordinary description, that word, unqualified by the adverb, serves the purpose best. Their limbs are spare and light, but the muscle is finely developed in the superior joint of the arm, which is probably owing to their constant use of it in throwing the spear. Some tribes are entirely naked, while others wear girdles of skin and leaves, hardly sufficient, however, to serve any purpose of decency, much less of comfort. Their hair is always dark, sometimes straight, and sometimes curled, and not unfrequently tied up behind; but we saw no instance of a negro or woolly head among them. They wear the beard upon the chin, but not upon the upper lip, and allow it to grow to such a length as enables them to champ and chew it when excited by rage, an action which they accompany with spitting it out against the object of their indignation or contempt. They have very overhanging brows and retreating foreheads, large noses, full lips, and wide mouths; in some cases they want the

two fore teeth in the upper jaw, and while, in any one tribe in which the custom prevails, it seems to be unanimous, it does not appear to be, by any means, universally diffused along the whole north-western coast. The unfavourable impression produced by the prevailing character of their physiognomy is confirmed, if their phrenological conformation is taken into consideration; and certainly, if the principles of that science are admitted to be true, these savages are wofully deficient in all the qualities which contribute to man's moral supremacy. Let me in justice add, that while we found them ignorant and incurious to the last degree, they were generally suspicious rather than treacherous, and not insensible to such acts of kindness as they could comprehend." (vol. i. p. 88.)

On this enormous extent of coast not a proa or canoe was visible, and our author considers them wholly unused on the northwest coast, though in this he contradicts Tasman. This portion of the coast between the Roebuck and the Beagle bays, is thickly populated. Our voyagers were now fast approaching Point Swan, from which they had to conduct some of their most important observations, and they began, consequently, a search for water. In the progress of this search they soon found that the natives were likely to give them much trouble, and were rather amused to perceive the terror of the native guide, whom their instructions commanded them to take with them to hold intercourse with the natives, and whom they consequently embarked at Swan River. This man did not prove so valuable as they expected; for, singular to say, the natives did not appear to understand him, nor he them. Australia ill rewards the traveller by its zoology; but still a new species of kangaroo, guanas, lizards, and curious fish enlivened their researches. The ant-hills also rise to the immense extent of thirteen feet in height, and seven at the base. Having carefully surveyed the coast of Point Cunningham, they proceeded on the task of exploring a region that hitherto no European had trod. Point Torment was, however, from the incessant attacks of the musquitoes, the first name the discoverers gave to a spot where these insects immediately discovered them. This mutual recognition was any thing but pleasurable. They were literally driven from the shore, and compelled to take to the boats before these minute but invincible assailants. A new river lighted upon them in this direction, which they named after Captain Fitzroy. Our author nearly lost his life here, being taken out with the water above his shoulders, and justly named this part "Point Escape." From this direction they immediately proceeded to trace the course of the Fitzroy in its larger branch, and after following it for twentytwo miles in a S.S.W. direction, were obliged to resign their

inquiry, this river, like many other Australian streams, conducting but a small way into the interior of that vast country. They further penetrated from the coast line ninety miles, but were still distant from the centre of Australia 600 miles. Palm-trees, eukalypti, banksia, acacias, and a nondescript tree somewhat resembling an elm, constituted the Forest Flora. On their return by Escape Point, the scene of their former immersion, they had the satisfaction of perceiving an enormous alligator in one of the creeks they had crossed, who might, had he been at home, have given them a rough reception. They reached the ship on March 14th, and found their companions had not been idle, but had explored the opening on the N.E. side of Point Torment, and discovered a great bay ten miles in extent, with an inlet about three miles deep, which Captain Wickham named, after his adventurous officer, "Stokes's Bay." In their researches in this direction they lighted on a vine hitherto perfectly unknown; and though Captain Stokes could not succeed in bringing living specimens of it to England, he was successful both at Swan River and Sydney, if we understand him right. All efforts to find a passage to the interior were unsuccessful. While the island was receiving a careful inspection from other portions of the expedition, our author started to survey the eastern portion of King's Sound. His researches were soon rewarded by the discovery of a deep bay, affording sufficient anchorage for a fleet; a stream of fresh water descended into it in bright cascade. They proceeded to follow an inlet which lay open to them, where the tide ran with great rapidity, and on climbing the heights after mooring, found an archipelago, consisting in one portion only of nearly eighty islands. Steering N.N.E., and crossing two deep bays, no opening on the coast of this land-locked region rewarded their enterprise, though they fondly anticipated one before reaching Collier Bay, The conduct of one of the savages whom they met, manifested both the kindness and politeness of civilized existence. The wigwams in this direction bore marks of recent habitation, and a raft they discovered did great credit to native ingenuity. On their return to the ship, from which they had been absent six days, they had at least the gratification of filling up satisfactorily the gap existing over this portion of the charts of the north-west coast. Captain Wickham made across the sound for their old anchorage at Port Cunningham, where they remained three days. They began now to look out with some anxiety for the result of their arrival at Port George the Fourth, since they expected to receive there some intelligence as to their friends Grey and Lushington, who, when they separated from them at