Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II.
Soon after we came to anchor in Sulivans Cove, on which the town stands, several persons came on board to enquire for intelligence from England, and among them a merchant, on whom we had letters of credit. With him we went on shore, and he introduced us to the Lieutenant Governor, Col. George Arthur; to whom we delivered a letter of introduction from Lord Goderich, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, commending us to the protection of the Lieut. Governor, and requesting him to forward, what Lord Goderich was pleased to call, our benevolent object, so far as he could consistently with the public good. Our first interview with Col. Arthur, gave us a favourable impression of his character, as a Governor and as a Christian, which further acquaintance with him strongly confirmed: he took great interest in the temporal and spiritual prosperity of the Colonists, and in the reformation of the prisoner population, as well as in the welfare of the surviving remnant of the native Black Inhabitants; and he assured us that every facility should be granted us, in attempts to further any of these objects
In the evening we returned on board the Science, and the chief mate requested us to wake him at 10 o'clock, that he might see the lights of the steerage passengers put out; some of them having been on shore and having returned intoxicated: he had been kept up during the past two nights, in consequence of the position of the vessel in regard to the land; and now, when 10 o'clock arrived and he had been a short time asleep, we found it impracticable to awake him. After vainly trying a variety of expedients, some of which made him speak, but without consciousness, we extinguished the lights ourselves, the captain being on shore. The mate slept soundly till five in the morning, when he awoke in terror, under a vague idea of neglect of duty.
2nd mo. 9th. We went on shore with John Leach, a young man from Bradford, Yorkshire, professing with the Wesleyans, who came to V. D. Land under an apprehension of religious duty: at this time he worked as a journeyman cabinet maker three days in the week for his support, and devoted the remainder of his time to religious purposes.—We made calls on several persons to whom we had letters of introduction, and engaged a lodging in Liverpool Street, near the entrance into the Government Domain.—When walking in the town, my companion met one of his nephews, whose residence was in a distant part of the island, and who was greatly surprised to see his relative, having had no notice of his intention to visit this part of the world. This unexpected interview was mutually agreeable; for thus far from home, (and every one in this country calls his native land Home) the mind clings with increased attachment to every tie and every recollection.
12th. We sat down together to wait upon the Lord, in our own sitting room, and were joined by the captain of a vessel who had lately taken some of the Aborigines to Flinders Island, where they are provided for by the Government.—We continued the practice of holding our meetings for worship, on first days and once in the course of the week, for a considerable period by ourselves, unless, as on this occasion, any one casually stepped in. In the evening we accepted an invitation from the Lieut. Governor, to take tea with him and his family—a numerous and interesting group. After tea, at the request of the Lieut. Governor, I read to them the 6th chapter of John, the servants being likewise assembled at the evening devotion of the family; and after a subsequent pause, I also expressed a few words, on the importance of an individual participation in the bread which came down from heaven, which Christ declared to be his flesh, that he would give for the life of the world. We were favoured on this occasion, to feel comfort from the Lord, especially in a short interval of silence, which terminated in vocal prayer.
15th. The little vessel which we saw on the 4th instant, proved to be the Liberty, she arrived at Hobart Town yesterday: we went on board of her to day, and learned from the captain that she was built out of the wreck of the Betsy and Sophia, which sailed from London on the 4th of the 6th month, 1831, on a whaling expedition, and which had gone to the Island of Desolation or Kerguelens Land, to take a kind of seal called the Sea Elephant: she had nearly completed her cargo from the blubber of this animal and that of the Black Whale, and was coming out of one of the bays, when she unshipped her rudder, and in spite of all exertions, went to leeward upon the rocks, and became a wreck: the papers and stores were saved, and the latter were sufficient to serve four months; but calculating upon the uncertainty of escaping for a long time from these inhospitable shores, the men immediately took to the scanty allowance of 2lbs of biscuit each, with about 4lbs. of pork per week, for the whole nineteen men; two of whom had been brought from Prince Edward's Island, where they had been left by the captain of another ship. They used the flesh of Sea Elephants and of birds, to supply the deficiency in other food. They were wrecked on the 16th of 3rd mo. 1831. After being on the island about a month, they began to build their little vessel, which they named "The Liberty;" and in which fourteen of them sailed on the 12th of the 12th mo. Their sufferings made many of them thoughtful, and they kept up religious service on board. They made this voyage in the latitude of 44° S. and had plenty of wind. Three times they had heavy gales, but their little bark, which had one mast and was about twenty tons burden, rode so well over the billows, that they shipped no seas; but they had almost constantly to work the pumps. They reached Macquarie Harbour, on the west coast of this Island, when they had only 6lbs, of biscuit left. It was late when they arrived at the Penal Settlement, and the Commandant was in bed; the captain therefore remained till morning before seeing him, but was furnished with comfortable accommodation. When he awoke, and found himself in a house, he said it was long before he could realize his situation, or be sure that he was not dreaming. The Commandant treated this crew with great kindness, and a pious minister addressed them so movingly in the chapel, that the hardy sailor said, "There was hardly any body there that did not cry." They were furnished with a plentiful supply of provisions, and sailed from Macquarie Harbour on the 4th inst. and were favoured to arrive here in good health, after a voyage of about 3,500 miles. Five men whom they left on the island, were afraid to come in the Liberty; the provision and ammunition were therefore divided with them. A vessel was afterwards sent from V. D. Land, to bring these men away, but they had been previously taken off by an American Whaler.
16th. We went on board the Elizabeth, in company with Captain Forster, the chief police magistrate, to whom we had been introduced by the Governor, and witnessed the examination of part of the convicts, just arrived from England in this ship. A variety of questions were put to them relating to the crimes for which they had been sentenced to transportation, the number of times they had previously been apprehended, the causes of their apprehension, the punishments they had received, the state of their families, what their parents were, whether they could read or write, their occupation, &c. of all which a record is kept. The Government was already in possession of information on many of these subjects, but further particulars are often elicited after the arrival of the prisoners. The convicts are assigned as servants to the colonists, and the vacancies occasioned by any others having obtained tickets-of-leave are first supplied; the rest are then assigned to the service of such as apply for them, except in cases of second transportation, when they are mostly sent to a penal settlement.—In the present instance, a man was brought out a second time; but on account of his having behaved well on the voyage, and some other circumstances in his favour, he was ordered by the Governor into a chain-gang; where, if he continue to improve, he will after a certain time be assigned to private service.
Dr. Martin, the Surgeon-superintendent, who came out with the ship, went over it with us: it had been kept so clean and well ventilated, that it was perfectly free from unpleasant smell, notwithstanding the prisoners, 220 in number, had slept in it last night.—The boys were separated from the men, and a system of discipline and instruction was pursued amongst them, that was attended with very pleasing results. Some of the convicts were employed by the Doctor as assistants and monitors. Out of 120 of the prisoners, 76 could not read; and many of them seemed never to have had any care bestowed upon them before. Several of them learned to read and write, and improved in their conduct upon the passage.
Dr. Martin's system of discipline does not exclude corporal punishment in extreme cases; but it unites firmness with kindness, and such an appeal to the convictions, as brings a sense of its justice with the exercise of coercion. The prisoners of good behaviour, particularly the boys, were encouraged by a reward, of a little more time on deck than the others. I was much gratified with the inspection of this ship: it in no degree diminished the interest I have felt for this degraded part of the human family: and I thought it very evident, that persons coming out under religious impressions, might be very useful in assisting the surgeons, in the discharge of the important duties that devolve upon them in convict vessels. On mentioning my views to Dr. Martin, he said he should have been very glad of such help; and I apprehend such would be the general feeling of the surgeons employed in this service. It is impracticable for them personally to superintend the adults and the boys at the same time, when they are confined in separate places.
20th. We went to the Penitentiary to see the convicts from on board the Elizabeth, examined by the Lieut. Governor, who spoke to several of them individually: he alluded to the degraded state into which they had brought themselves by their crimes; this he justly compared to a state of slavery; he gave them counsel regarding their future conduct, warning them particularly against the influence of bad company, and of drunkenness; and told them they might regard the door of a public house, through which many of them had come into their present situation, as the entrance to a jail; that their conduct would be narrowly watched, and if it should be bad, they would be severely punished, put to work in a chain-gang, or sent to a penal settlement, where they would be under very severe discipline; or their career might be terminated on the scaffold. That, on the contrary, if they behaved well, they would in the course of a proper time, be indulged with a ticket-of-leave, which would permit them to reap the profit of their own labour: that if they should still persevere in doing well, they would then become eligible for a conditional pardon, which would give them the liberty of the colony: and that a further continuance in good conduct, would open the way for a free pardon, which would liberate those who received it, to return to their native land. That the masters to whom they were assigned, would in the meantime, provide them a sufficiency of food, clothing, and bedding; and that the Government expected them to labour for their masters without wages, and to do it cheerfully.
After the Lieut. Governor had concluded, I begged leave to say a few words, and my request was readily granted. I endeavoured to enforce what the Governor had said, pointing out its bearing upon their immortal interests; also directing their attention to their own experience, in regard to the cause of the sins for which they stood convicted before a human tribunal, and of many others, of which they were guilty in the sight of God, at whose judgment-seat they must all stand. This cause, I suggested to them, was their neglecting to confer with their own consciences, and I recommended them to the daily exercise of this duty, in order that they might understand their need of the help of the Holy Spirit, to resist sin, and of the atonement of a Saviour for pardon, and thus be prepared to pray for help and pardon in the name of Jesus, who came to save men from their sins, and not in them; and in order that they might keep these things in remembrance, I recommended them daily to read their Bibles.
Several of the convicts who arrived by the Elizabeth, had belonged to a society of thieves in London, who limited their number to forty members, admitted by their captain, at any age, but preferring the young. They were distinguished by marks, which had occasionally been changed because others had imitated them. They met at certain times to be trained to expertness in pocket-picking, and to divide their booty, which was expended in dissipation and profligacy, unless any of their number were in prison; in which case a portion was devoted to paying counsel for them on their trial. Several other such societies are said to exist in the metropolis of England. Some of the juvenile prisoners had been confined on board a hulk before being sent to V. D. Land. In this situation they appeared to have corrupted each other greatly. There is much ground to apprehend that the juvenile hulks are nurseries of vice and crime.
22nd. I had some conversation with a person who was brought to the Colony in 1804, at the time that Lieut. Governor Collins first formed a settlement in V. D. Land. At that period she was but a child; and on landing was lodged with some others under a blanket supported by sticks, near the place where the Commissariat-office now stands in Hobart Town, which at that time was covered with wood. After spending a night there, they were removed to the spot where the village of New Town now stands, and lodged in a hollow tree. Here they were first visited by the Aborigines, with whom the children were often left, and who treated them kindly. Provisions becoming scarce, the people often cooked maritime plants collected on the sea shore, which bear to this day, the name of Botany Bay Greens. Sometimes they collected for food the crap or refuse of the blubber of whales, out of which the oil had been taken by whaling vessels, and which was washed up on the shores. At length the pressure of hunger was so great, as to oblige the Governor to give leave to some of the convicts, to go into the country and shift for themselves. Many of these committed outrages upon the natives, whose animosity toward the white people thus became excited at an early period, notwithstanding many years elapsed before they were in open hostilty.
23rd. We visited the House of Correction for females, termed the Factory, a considerable building of several wards, with apartments for the Superintendent, and a chapel. It contains about 230 prisoners, who are employed in picking and spinning wool, and in washing for the Hospital, Orphan-school, &c. Most of the inmates sleep in hammocks, and every thing about the place is very clean. On being sent hither for misconduct, the women are dressed in a prison garb and have their hair cut off, which they esteem a great punishment; and in some cases they are subjected to solitary confinement.
25th. We occupied a little leisure by a walk to one of the woody hills near the town, which was clothed with the Gum trees—species of Eucalyptus—of large size, having foliage somewhat like willows, and growing among grass and small shrubs. Many trees were lying on the ground, and in various stages of decay. Smaller trees, called here Honey Suckle, She Oak, Cherry Tree, and Wattle, were interspersed among the others, and the ground was decorated with Leptospermam scoparium, Corroea virens, Indigofera australis, and Epacris impressa; the last of which resembles heath with white, pink, or crimson flowers. The trees in this country often bear the name of others belonging to the Northern Hemisphere. Thus the Honey-suckle of the Australian regions is generally some species of Banksia, often resembling a fir in growth, but having foliage more like a holly; and the Cherry-tree is an Exocarpos—a leafless, green, cypress-like bush, with small red or white fruit, bearing the stone outside!—The vallies here are termed gullies. In one of these we set up from among some dead wood, two Opossums and some animals called Bandicoots, both about the size of rabbits. Some pretty birds were sporting among the branches, gay butterflies fluttering among the flowers, and a Mole-cricket, enlivened by a recent shower, was merrily chirping in the ground. Grasshoppers with wings of black and yellow were very numerous, so as to be injurious to vegetation; and among the rocks, and on the trunks of trees, little dark lizards were plentiful, basking in the clear sunshine.
26th. We visited a chain-gang of upwards of 100 prisoners, at Bridgewater, 11 miles from Hobart Town; they were employed under the superintendence of a military officer, in making a raised causeway across a muddy flat in the Derwent, and were generally in good health, notwithstanding the water here is not of the best quality; but like much in the colony, contains a large quantity of alumine. A guard of soldiers under arms stood over the prisoners while we addressed them in the barrack yard. They were quiet and attentive, and we were well satisfied in having gone to see them.
27th. We walked to the Government-garden, which is situated on the beautiful banks of the Derwent, about a mile from the town, and comprises several acres, enclosed with a wall, except on the side next the river. The climate is almost too cold for grapes and cucumbers, but apples, pears, quinces, mulberries, and walnuts, succeed better than in England. Oaks, ashes, and sycamores, raised from English seed, attain to three or four feet the first year. Bees have been lately introduced: the first hive swarmed sixteen times this summer! Many of the little shrubs which ornament English greenhouses are natives of this country, so that the gardens here have the advantage of having them in the open ground; and to these are added several from Africa and New-South-Wales: here also are some fine, young Norfolk Island Pines.
28th. We looked into the King's School, conducted on the National School plan; in which there are upwards of forty boys, who pay from 4d. to 1s. a week, but attend irregularly.—The inefficiency of this school occasioned it to be subsequently remodelled under a more efficient teacher.—In a walk in the evening, on a partially cleared hill, in the environs of the town, we had conversation with several assigned prisoners, who were breaking up plots of ground for their respective masters. On remarking to one of them, that he had perhaps found his way to this country "through the door of a public-house:" he replied with some feeling, "You say right; and if I had known sooner what I know now, perhaps I should not have come here at all." Another said, with an expression of pleasure, that on his way out, he had learned to read the Testament, and that he thought he could read the tracts we had given him. Another, that he had lately become aware of his danger from sin, and was now seeking peace. On the remark being made, that peace was offered to man on the condition of repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ; and that when it was obtained, the help of the Holy Spirit must be sought, for ability to walk in the right way, he added, "Yes, and we must not grieve the Holy Spirit." One of these men became pious, and after some years made a profession with the Society of Friends: he subsequently became free, and continued to conduct himself creditably to his religious profession.29th. We walked to Elizabeth Town, usually called New Norfolk, in consequence of a number of persons, formerly residing on Norfolk Island, being settled in the neighbourhood. The distance from Hobart Town is about 22 miles, by the road, which is a pretty good one for carriages; and, which passing through the little villages of New Town, O'Briens Bridge, and Glenorchy, winds under the mountains by the side of the Derwent, which retains the appearance of a chain of picturesque lakes most of the way. It is navigable for small vessels to New Norfolk, where it is about as wide as the Thames at Battersea. The mountains are clothed with wood; but in many places the timber is not so thick as to exclude the growth of grass. Some narrow flats of good land, partially cultivated, occur near the river. The rocks exposed by cutting the road are basalt and sandstone, or more dense silicious formations, and limestone imbedding marine fossils. A considerable piece of road has been recently cut near New Norfolk, by a chain-gang, stationed in three poor looking huts, into one of which we stepped, to give the men a few tracts. They were without Bibles, which one of them remarked, they might often spend half an hour advantageously in reading. This we represented to one of the Episcopal Chaplains of the Colony, who caused the deficiency to be supplied, and placed some copies of the Scriptures at our disposal, to apply in other cases of need. Evening closed in, very dark, before we reached our destination, and the noise of strange birds, lizards and frogs, became great, and very striking to an English ear. We passed several neat farm houses, and some decent inns on the way, and at the end of our journey found accommodation at the Bush Inn, little inferior to that of decent inns, a step below first-rate, in England.
3rd mo. 1st. The site of New Norfolk is so laid out, that the streets will cross at right angles. The houses were at this time about thirty in number, exclusive of an Episcopal place of worship and an unfinished hospital. We visited the latter, which contained about forty patients, under the superintendence of one of the Colonial Surgeons. We also visited a respectable boarding-school, of about twenty fine looking boys, kept by a young man with whose family I was acquainted in England.
2nd. We returned to Hobart Town, calling at a few small cottages on the Sorell-rivulet; where we reasoned with the occupants on "temperance, righteousness, and judgment to come." Learning that there was "a marked tree road," or a way through "the bush," as the forest is termed in this country, marked by pieces of bark being chopped off the sides of trees, we ventured to take it; and though the distance was five miles, and it was extremely hilly and rough, the variety was pleasant. Some of the species of Gum-tree have deciduous bark, and consequently white trunks; these are generally blackened at the base by fire, that has been kindled to clear off the underwood and long-grass, at various intervals; long strips of bark hang from the branches, and great numbers of dying and dead trees, the wreck of ages, lie on the ground in these forests. The only quadruped we saw was an Opossum. A flock of Black Cockatoos were screaming and tearing off the bark from dead trees, to obtain the grubs on which they feed. Near the main road, a prisoner was at work splitting the wood of the Peppermint-tree, a species of Eucalyptus, into posts and rails: he was one who, as well as his master and family, had been recently awakened to the importance of eternal things, by the labours of John Leach, and belonged to a little congregation of Wesleyans, at O'Briens Bridge. The warmth of feeling of the master was like that described by the apostle Paul, in some of the early converts to Christianity; who, he says, "If it had been possible, would have plucked out their own eyes, and given them to him."
5th. Apprehending it would be right for us to take the first opportunity of visiting the penal settlement, at Macquarie Harbour, we conferred with the Lieut. Governor, on the subject, and received his sanction.—6th. We accompanied the Lieut. Governor to the Old Orphan School, and to an unfinished building, designed for the better accommodation of this institution. The latter is prettily situated near New-town, and is intended for about six hundred children.
On the 7th., we went to New Norfolk by a coach, which changed horses at the Black Snake Inn, on the road; and on the 8th, accompanied by Robert Officer, the surgeon in charge of the Hospital, made calls on several of the inhabitants, and visited a Government School at the Back River. On the 9th, we accompanied George Dixon, an old school-fellow of mine, and three of his nieces, to his house at Green Valley, on the Lower Clyde, travelling twenty seven miles on foot, by the side of a little cart, drawn by four oxen and driven by a prisoner, and proceeding at the rate of about two miles and a half per hour, along a road, a large part of which was a mere cart track. Much of the country was settled: it consisted of hills, generally covered with open grassy forest, and interspersed with little patches of cultivated ground. In locations of land of two or three thousand acres, it is seldom that as many hundreds have been tilled. Large portions are of woody and rocky hills that cannot be ploughed, but on which sheep feed. In this country, these animals keep in good health in the woods, the climate being exceedingly dry. Where the ground is free from timber, the grass is in tufts, often not covering more than one-third of the surface.
On the way we looked into a school near Macquarie Plains, and called at the huts of a chain-gang, employed at a place called the Deep Gulley, in cutting a point of land, so as to admit the road to pass by the side of the Derwent. At this place coal is visible, in narrow strata alternating with sandstone and shale. On Macquarie Plains we called on John Terry, an emigrant from Yorkshire, who has a corn mill at New Norfolk, and who was here shearing his sheep. He is a scrupulously honest man, who left England at a time when farmers were suffering adversity, and notwithstanding many difficulties that he has had to contend with, he thinks his circumstances have been greatly improved by the change. A few miles beyond his cottage is the Woolpack Inn; the sitting-room of which would not disgrace a market town in England. We called also at the hut of a Scotchman, to get a drink of water, no more being to be had for nine miles. Here we met a person of our acquaintance, who, like many other young men, on first arriving in the colony, was too much excited with the notion of shooting Kangaroos and 
View on the Clyde, V. D. L.
Parrots, to settle down at once to some useful occupation. In the course of this excursion for amusement, he sustained an injury by falling from a horse, that long disabled him from earning a livelihood. Pursuing our route over low hills, some clear of wood and others covered with Black Wattle, Acacia affinis, yielding a gum like Gum Arabic, we at length reached Green Valley, where we received a hearty greeting from Agnes Dixon, a native of Lewis, one of the Western Islands of Scotland, who soon prepared a refreshing cup of tea; after which, we gladly resigned our weary limbs and blistered feet to rest.
George Dixon emigrated to this colony eleven years ago, he was trained to agricultural pursuits, and has brought a portion of his location of land into cultivation, both in the growth of wheat and other grain; he has also formed a good garden, which is well stocked with fruit trees and has a Hawthorn hedge. The common fences of the country are formed of logs, branches, or posts and rails. His house is built of split wattles, plastered and whitewashed, the roof projecting in front and resting on wooden pillars so as to form a verandah, a common style of building in this country. The house consists of two front rooms with boarded floors, and two behind,—a kitchen and store room,—floored with stone. His land consists of basaltic hills with grassy forest, and he has about a mile of frontage on the Clyde, which at this season of the year is little more than a chain of pools—called here lagoons—of various length and depth, and about 30 ft. in width. In winter this becomes a considerable river. Some parts of its banks are open, others bushy, and some rocky. In one place a rock like a steeple stands between a cliff and the margin of the river; this is depicted in the annexed etching, which presents also a fair representation of the woody hills of Tasmania, and their white barked Gum-trees. G. Dixon's shepherd is a prisoner, but a man of religious sensibility: he became a thief from the influence of intoxicating drink, but does not shew any dishonesty when he abstains: he had a ticket-of-leave, but lost it, in consequence of being persuaded to drink a glass of porter, which immediately revived his thieving propensity.We remained in the district of the Clyde, which is a branch of the Derwent, till the 19th, and in the course of this time visited the recently laid-out towns of Bothwell, on the upper, and Hamilton, on the lower part of the river, as well as many of the settlers in the surrounding country, and on another branch of the Derwent, called the Ouse.
Bothwell has already a small Episcopal place of worship, built of stone, an inn of two stories, of brick, about thirty houses, of wood, and a small jail, of the same material. Several of the settlers in the vicinity are persons of respectability from various parts of the United Kingdom; a few of them are remarkable for their piety: two have water-mills a little above the town. Hamilton, at this time consisted of a water-mill and about ten houses, occupied chiefly by artizans of various kinds, who are a great accommodation to the settlers of the surrounding district; and such of them as are sober and industrious make a respectable livelihood.
The country about Bothwell is hilly. Basalt is the prevailing rock, but some of the hills are sandstone; and near the river in a place below the town, the sandstone forms projections; under which, prisoners who had escaped into the woods, and who in this country are termed Bush-rangers, formerly found concealment. These people plundered the settlers and committed other outrages; but most of these outlaws have been captured or shot. Many of the hills about Hamilton are also basaltic, some of them are remarkably red, and bare of wood at the top, which is often of a vivid green, from being covered with Chick-weed of the same species that is troublesome in the gardens of England. She-oak—Casuarina quadrivalvis, is the prevailing tree on these hills: it seldom grows in contact: its trunk is about 10 ft. high, and 5 ft. round; its head spherical, 10 or 15 ft. in diameter, and consisting of pendulous, leafless, green, jointed twigs, resembling horse-tail weed. From the neighbourhood of Hamilton a range of rocky mountains is visible to the west, beyond which the country is high and little known, and toward the centre of the island, a high craggy mountain, called the Peak of Teneriffe, is very conspicuous. Among the hills, and on the tops of some of them are level tracts, which bear the name of marshes or plains, but the latter term is often used in Tasmania to signify lands clear of trees, even where the surface is far from level.
When a place is first occupied by a settler, a hut of the simplest kind is formed, often like a mere roof resting on the ground; and when other needful things have been effected, one of upright logs is built, and covered with shingles. This is usually divided into two rooms; one of which is fitted up with broad rough shelves, for sleeping berths; and the other, which has a square recess for a fireplace, built of stones, at the outer end, and continued into a rude chimney a little higher than the roof, is used for a cooking and sitting room. The crevices between the logs either remain open, or are filled with wool or some other material. A square opening, closing with a shutter, admits light into each room, and short logs of wood or rude benches, serve for seats. Many families that have been brought up in England in respectable circumstances, live for several years in a hut of this description, until they can find time and means to build themselves a better habitation; and a hut of this kind is generally to be seen contiguous to a better house, and is occupied by the male servants, who are mostly prisoners.
Perhaps a chief reason why some persons make a better livelihood here than in England, is, because they submit to live at a much smaller expense. The original settlers having had free grants of land, subject only to a quit-rent, had also no rent to pay; but no free grants of land are now made. The lowest sum for which land is sold by the Government is £5 per acre. Although convict servants are sentenced to work without wages, they cost a settler in one way or another, from £20 to £25 a year, including maintenance, clothing, &c.
Agricultural operations are carried on in this country by means of oxen, horses being scarce. Cattle are bred in the bush, where they become very wild. Many of the settlers are expert in hunting them into enclosures, and subduing them to the yoke. Brush Kangaroos are numerous here on the more woody hills; and the Vulpine Opossum—the Common Opossum of this land—abounds. Both are injurious to the corn. The Opossums live in holes in the Gum-trees, and feed chiefly on their leaves: they are shot in considerable numbers on moonlight nights to diminish them, and for the sake of their fur, which is very thick and warm. When shot they sometimes hang by their prehensile tails, by which they can lay firm hold of a branch. While warm, their fur readily comes off, but it becomes fast when they are cold. The skins sell for about four pence each, and are black, brown, or grey. Birds of various kinds also abound in this country; among them may be enumerated Green Parrots, that are great pests in gardens, Nonpareil Parrots, that are very troublesome in corn fields, and pick about on the roads, Green Paroquets, that frequent farm yards, Lemon-crested Cockatoos, which are likewise a great annoyance to the farmer, several species of Crow and Magpie, also the Wattle-bird, the Miner, the Wedge-tailed Eagle, &c. The Emu is now extinct in this part of the island.
In the course of one of our walks, we passed the remains of a hut that was burnt about two years ago, by the Aborigines of the Ouse or Big River district. An old man named Clark lost his life in it, but a young woman escaped; she rushed from the fire and fell on her knees before the natives, one of whom extinguished the flames which had caught her clothes, and beckoned to her to go away. They killed a woman on the hill behind the hut. A few weeks after, they surrounded the house of G. Dixon, who received a spear through his thigh, in running from a barn to his house. Previously to this period, the natives had visited this neighbourhood peaceably and excited no alarm. They have now been removed to Flinders Island; but a detachment of soldiers, such as was placed in various situations to defend the settlers against the Aborigines, still remains at Elengowen, near the house of a fine old Scotch woman, named Jacobina Burns; who emigrated from her own country many years ago, and has induced several of her relatives to follow her. She has improved her circumstances, and is noted for hospitality, which is indeed a very general virtue among the settlers in this land.
While at Green Valley, walking alone, and meditating on the clear evidence I had had of its being my religious duty to visit this part of the world, for many years before the right time seemed to be come for me to set out, and querying within myself as to how we should proceed, so as to be found acting in accordance with the divine will, the words "Go through the breadth of the land," were impressed on my mind with such authority as left no doubt but this was the counsel of the Lord, mercifully granted for our direction. For the Lord still condescends to lead about and instruct those who put their trust in him; notwithstanding it may seldom be by impressions exactly of this kind; but more frequently by a constraining sense of his will independent of any distinct form of words, or by the overruling of his providence.
3rd mo. 19th, we visited a little agricultural settlement called the Hollow Tree, and a place named Cockatoo Valley, celebrated for the fineness of its timber, which is chiefly of the kinds called Stringy-bark and Peppermint. Some sawyers were at work here. Their hut was entirely built of large slabs of bark, which are obtained from several species of Eucalyptus, and serve many useful purposes. At the Woolpack Inn, in returning toward Hobart Town, we obtained beds made up on wooden sofas, for the use of each of which two shillings a night was charged, this also was the price of each of our meals.
20th. The mornings are cold at this autumnal season, but mid-day is as warm as an English summer. Numbers of Piping Crows called also White Magpies, were hopping about near the inn, and raising their whistling notes to each other at an early hour, and the chattering of Miners, Wattle birds, Black Magpies, and Paroquets was very enlivening to us on our journey. On the way to New Norfolk, which we reached in time for the coach to Hobart Town, we had interviews with he Deep-gulley-road-gang, in three detachments; whose attention we called to the end of their being, the incapacity of persons whose affections are estranged from God, and set on carnal things, to enjoy heaven, and the consequent necessity of being born again of the Spirit, by yielding to its convictions, which produce repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ.