ADELAIDE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XV, Issue 1406, 17 February 1860, Page 5

ADELAIDE.

[by electric telegraph. Friday Jan. 27, afternoon. The Government have issued a proclamation in the Government Gazette, calling out the militia. • Flour selling readily at last quotations. Weather warm but hazy. £17 has been freely offered for flour, but there are no sellers at that figure for prompt delivery. Wheat cannot be bought in quantities at leSs than 7s. 3d., at the Port. The Omeo (s.) got off and sailed last night The northern telegraph line was opened today as far as Clarke. The Havilah (s)., from Melbourne, has arrived. Engejbrecht, of Gawler Town, has stopped, but purposes to pay in full if time is given. v. The Observer of the 31st Dec. contains a lengthy account of the progress and incidents of the Governor's exploring expedition to the north, compiled from memoranda furnished by one of the party, The party cousisted of his Excellency, . Inspector Hamilton, Captain Brinkley, Mr. E. J. Spence, and three of the mounted police, viz., Corporal Wahaup, Ke\tson, and Irwin — the latter replaced at Ange-. pina by Lance Corporal Coward, who last year accompanied Maj Warburton in his expedition to the Davenport Range, and his pursuit of Mr. Babbage. Including his Excellency's horses and two kindly lent by Mr James Chambers, the party had with them generally from eighteen to twenty horses, and seem to have been well furnished with all needful equipments and provisions carried on ten pack' hovses. One great object of his Excellency wa* an inspection of the various mines in the north, with a view to' ascertain the probable prospects of the colony in relation to its mineral wealth ; and accordingly many lengthy detours were made, greatly increasing the distance travelled. The party met their share of fatigue and difficulty, in consequence of the arid character of much of the country traversed, but with one exception escaped the extremes of inci«nvenience. After starting in the latter half of October, and penetrating nearly as far as Mr. Stuart's qew country, the expedition returned before the close of December, without a man or horse missing. Indeed, up to the 23rd, when his Excellency left the party at Kanyaka, to ride on more quickly, not one horse had had a sore hack. The number of miles ridden by Sir R. Maedonnell since the 11th October had been neatly 1800. The account given bj the Observer contains several passages of interest. Though it had; been the intention to proceed further, his Excellency set out on his return on the 22nd November, endeavouring to make the Lodden Springs, the nearest permanent water, designated on Mr. Stuart's map, to the point at which the party had arrived. " After se^en hours' travelling, and a halt of an hour, they got a sight from a high sandhill of Major Warburton's Davenport Range, Mount Mar' garet bearing N.W. by W. Soon after 4 p.m. Jhey arrived'at the Douglas, a large dry creek, with many mulga,* gum, and swamp- oak trees in and near its channel. Here they came on several horse tracks, supposed to be Mr. Stuart's and camped in good feed, but rvithout waterier their horses ; whilst, by an unfortunate accident they found a great portion of their own limited supply lost. Under these circumstances they made an early start, at 5 am. the followiig morning (the 23rd November) ; and still keeping a N.N.W. course, found themselves traversing a succession of desolate stoney rises, diversified only by decayed gypsum mounds; whilst as they gained the brow of each rise they still saw before them the same disheartening and dreary prospect repeated. Soon after 9 a.m. they halted on a more than usually elevated table plain, and having now gone the idistance at which they expected to find the Loddon Springs, it became necessary to consider the propriety of advancing further, as each step forward increased ibe difficulty and hazard of retreat. The party had only one small can teen of water left, and the hoises were showing | .signs of suffering ; whilst continued illness, excessive fatigue, and thirst had greatly ' im paired their own physical powers. His Excelleicy, therefore, sent Captain Brinkley to a rising ground about four miles ahead to report as to the appearance of the country, and afterwards dispatched Corporal Coward to a small bluff on the right; to ascertain what could be from there — Corporal Coward soon stating that he could discern a green-looking mound about two miles from the halting place, was therefore directed to take his horse and examine it; Captain Brinkly meantime returned and reported that he could sco no change whatever in the couutry, which bore the t game cheerless and sterile aspect as that through which they had been recently travelling. Preparations were therefore commenced for an immediate "retreat as soon as the time allowed for Corporal Coward's return should have elapsed—a few minutes previous to which he was seen gallop > ing back' waving a. can teen of water which he had filled at the green spot seen in the distance aud. which was no doubt the Loddon Spring — two miles i ahea<l ) aud almost in the direct course steered by his Excellency. As it afterwards appeared that almost the only point for miles round from which the green mound near the spring, or the usual saline fiats near it could be seen, was that to which Corporal Coward had been sent, and as a traveller might have gone within a hundred yards of it without a chance of noticing it, it certainly was a very providential circumstance that it was found by the party at all. Had it not been discovered, it is difficult to suppose that all the men, or even that their horses, could have travelled back to the Strangways, a distince of 47 miles, in their then reduced state without water." The following paragraph contains a useful hint: — "The party arrived about two p.m. at the Mount Attraction Springs, called also tbs Hergolt Springs, after Mr. Babbage's companion of that name. Here they found some cattle of Mr. Davenport, which had strayed, and having assisted a couple of his stockmen to pull out one which was hogged, they found some difficulty in getting water for themselves and horses at springs which a few days previously would have afforded a delicious and plentiful supply* Further experience confirmed; ( his [Excellency inline opinion of the impolicy 6i allying cattle to* rush' springs of that kind before due precaution has been taken to fence in the 'different fountain heads, one of which is generally at the top of each mound, rising from a soft peaty earth, which cattle speedily trample into a dangerous and .useless bog, choking tbe source off the supply. Great numbers of Mr.

I Barker's and Chambers's cattle were afterwards ] lost at the Hergoltand Coblong Springs in this 'manner, whilst the water was for a time defiled 'and rendered useless to the traveller, as also in 'great measure to the surviving cattle." That £he travellers had passed far beyond the bounds .of, civilized life was shown by the following circumstance : — " On the 28th November, they came unexpectedly on two native families, near two wurleys, not far from a very excellent spring. Nothing could exceed the terror of I these natives* at beholding t.ieir strange visitors. I They crouched down on the ground and hid [ their faces. The children screamed with terror and notwithstanding every effort to communicate with and reassure they suddenly scampered off whilst the party were watering their horses. They left behind all their property, which consisted of two neat baskets woven of bark, a boomerang, a formidable waddy, some wooden scoops which I served as bowls, and a quantity of a species of acacia seed, which they bad been pounding into flour and mixing with the fruit known as the ■" native plum," which grows on low bushes, and is about the size of a large currant, with an agreeable sub-acid flavour. We believe his Excellency's party had often found that fruit a pleasant addition to their hard bush fare. Some biscuit and sugar weie left for the runaways, kndit is hoped they will look more favorably on their next white visitors, but it is unfortunate that the interview had no fuitber result. There were two men, two women, and three children, who all appeared healthy and robust." The narrative does not partake of the nature of a report, and furnishes no summary of the results •of the observations made. Scattered remarks, however, show that much ef the country passed through had an ' excellent soil, but that the climate was the evil with which the squatter would have to deal. The Finnis's Springs are described as affording a supply of water sufficient for 20f,000 cattle ; and as there are numerous sand hills and good plains to the north of the springs, there is no doubt of the valuable addition thereby made to the pastoral resources of the colony. The Observer contains as usual accounts of the weather and the crops from its country correspondents. At Gawler Hills, on the 30th ultimo, a correspondent writes > The busy time of harvest is fast drawing to a close, and although the hills have been favoured with a moderate crop, the average is lower . than was anticipated. The vineyards are looking well, and promise a luxuriant crop. In the nursury the young vines are again putting forth leaves, now that the caterpillar, by its natural metaifrj'brphosis, has assumed a new form not in ■ jurious to the tender plant. The weather during the last fortnight has been very fine, and although we hare experienced considerable heat in the middle of the day, the cool evening breezes are very pleasant and refreshing. Unfortunately 'the long-continued droughts have caused the springs here to yield a scanty supply of water. A correspondent at Robe mentions the prevalence of bush fires, and adds: — We have again, during the past week, had some very strange weather for the season, being cold one day and hot the next ; the sudden changes from one extreme to the other being perhaps the worst featuie connected with the weather here. At Mount Gambier, " The crops continue to look remarkably well, the only fault being, per* haps, a little too much straw. It has been estimated that the yield of flour this year will ba by 400 tons iv excess of local consumption. The absence of easy means of transit to the . seaboard makes the prospect for the farmer anything but cheerful." '