r come to
Port Essington,"--the melancholy cry that too often reached
Leichhardt's ears,--was exchanged for a joyful hurra at sight of salt
water. Fatigues and privations were for the time forgotten as though
the goal, instead of the half-way-house, had been attained. The
caravan had been nine months out; they had still nearly six to pass
before reaching their journey's end; and for various reasons, the
latter portion was the most painful and difficult. They got amongst
the salt creeks and lagoons, and fresh water was often very difficult
to find. Then the little stock of comforts they had brought from
Moreton Bay, became gradually exhausted. The flour was gone before
they reached the gulf; the sugar was finished up, even to the boiling
of the bags, that none of the saccharine particles might be lost--and
at length they came to their last pot of tea. This was a great
deprivation, for tea had been found most refreshing and restorative.
Their diet now was dry beef and water. They tried various substitutes
for the latter, but with no very good result. The M'Kenzie bean served
as coffee, and although disagreeing at first, was finally relished. Mr
Phillips, who discovered and adopted it, subsequently tried a similar
preparation of acacia seeds, whose effects, however, were such as not
to encourage consumers. To vary their edibles, they ate vine-beans in
porridge, and the young leaves of bullrushes--coming, in fact, as near
to grazing as human beings well can. Their animal food was not always
of the choicest, as the following passage testifies: "During the night
a great number of flying foxes came to revel in the honey of the
blossoms of the gum-trees. Charley shot three, and we made a late but
welcome supper of them. They were not so fat as those we had eaten
before, and tasted a little strong; but in messes made, at night, it
was always difficult to find out the cause of any particular taste,
as Master Brown wished to get as quickly as possible over his work,
and was not over particular in cleaning them." A negligence deserving
of the bastinado. The notion of any animal, bearing the name of fox,
being served up with the trail, is too full-flavoured to be agreeable,
and the dish might cause a revolt in the stomach of the least
particular of Australian bush-rangers. By this time, however, Dr
Leichhardt and his party were inured to every sort of abomination in
the way of food, and were not difficult to please. Other troubles th