satisfaction for his safe arrival at Perth. Kaiber found some zamia nuts, and presented them to the travellers, who greedily eat them. He searched in the trees and in the earth for food, and one day, when the provisions were all done and Grey and his men had been half delirious for want of food, he came upon a native storehouse. Some tribe of natives while passing by had planted By-yu nuts in holes in the ground, which might be useful to them at any future time. There were two or three holes, and Kaiber doubted whether it would be right to rob them. The question was put to Grey to decide, and after consideration and debate Kaiber was instructed to rob part of the stores, leaving the rest for any hungry black who might be in dangerous need of food. Grey by some remarkable means shot a hawk, even though his hand was so unsteady that he could hardly hold the gun to his shoulder. The bird proved a source of great relief to them.
The feeble and distressed men came to the dry bed of a river which Grey named the Smith. The country now traversed was very barren, and huge waterless tracts were penetrated under a broiling sun. Each man became almost a shadow of his former self. Haggard, trembling, and footsore—for two days they marched over the desert way without water, suffering the excruciating pangs of thirst. Their lips and tongues were so swollen that they could hardly speak, and their minds occasionally wandered. On 17th April they found a moist mud-hole, where they were able to obtain a thick and slimy drink. The country on every side was arid and melancholy. Then Grey with strange strength shot a cockatoo, which sustained their drooping frames and spirits.
Just when at their worst a party of friendly natives was met on 18th April. From them they learned that the nearest settler was but seven miles away. Leaving his suffering companions Grey went forward with the native Imbat to obtain assistance. Imbat cheered him with news of the settlement. The settler was not at home, but when the whole party assembled at the hut they prepared a meal of frogs, and then slept soundly.
On 21st April, an hour and a half before daylight, Grey and Imbat started for Perth, and five miles away came to a hut, wherein the owner (Mr. Williams) and his wife were taking their morning meal. These good people were so alarmed at the sight of the gaunt and tattered man at their door that they mistook him for a mad Malay. Grey protested that he was not mad, but was "a starving man," who had experienced all the horrors of a long and foodless journey in the bush. Imbat confirmed his story, and then with feelings that cannot be described, Grey sat down to a nutritious breakfast. His famished companions arrived at the door while he was yet at table, and all partook of a frugal but delightful repast.
The home of Williams was on the bounds of Perth, and after breakfast Grey entered the streets and proceeded to the Governor's residence to procure assistance for Dr. Walker's party. He had left the town but a few months before in the vernal bloom of youth, but he returned a lank haggard wreck of humanity. The Governor did not at first recognise him, nor did his other friends in Perth. The news of the disastrous return and the poignant sufferings of the explorers was taken from lip to lip, and Grey and his companions received eager hospitable treatment from Perth residents.
No time was lost in proceeding to relieve the second party under Dr. Walker. Private people went out in bands, and before Grey was sufficiently recovered he again entered the bush. After a few days a strange man of mere skin and bone leaning on the shoulders of a resident was observed hobbling along Perth streets. A bit of blanket hung over his shoulders, and he was horribly marked with sores and bruises. It was Dr. Walker, who had pushed on alone, and fearing that Grey might be lost, intended to obtain assistance for his companions. He suffered intensely in body and mind, and his friends for some time despaired of his life.
Most of the private parties searched fruitlessly for the missing men. But the experienced and energetic Surveyor-General, Lieutenant Roe, hurriedly struck northwards, on horseback, accompanied by native trackers. With his knowledge of bushcraft he was better fitted for this task than anyone else, and his big heart—the heart of one who had suffered himself—would not allow him to rest until he learnt the fate of the unfortunate men. He knew that no time must be wasted, that the only chance of rescuing the wanderers was to relieve them early.
Dr. Walker's party had slowly plodded on. Mr. Smith was one of the chief sufferers, but each man was reduced to the last resource of thirst and weakness. Day after day they drew but little nearer to settlement, experiencing such suffering as makes it surprising that any one of them survived. By-and-bye they began to straggle, and one went in one direction, another in an opposite. Some of them, in order to slake their thirst, resorted to the most offensive substitute for pure wholesome water. It would be impossible and gruesome to relate the condition to which they were reduced.
Lieutenant Roe secured the country in the direction he considered they would take, and at last he found one or two under a headland that they had not sufficient strength to ascend, nor were they able to round it by the sea-shore. They had kept as near to the main as possible. Just before the arrival of Roe one of them knelt on the hot sand and prayed to the Almighty for assistance. Another had bitterly remarked on the uselessness of such a supplication. A few minutes later, as if in reply to the supplication, Mr. Roe and his party appeared on horseback on the ridge above them.
Mr. Frederic Smith had been left behind, and so bewildered were the rescued men in their confused feelings and awakening from despair, that they could give no clear account of him. But Roe was determined to rescue him if possible, and made all speed to the northward. He found the poor fellow not many miles to the rear quite dead in a bush, with his blanket wrapped around him. A sand-hill rose above him, and it appeared that the exhausted man tried to scramble to the top, but in the effort fell back in the bush and died. He was reduced to a skeleton; he had been starved to death.
Carrying the body to the hill-top, Lieutenant Roe and his companions dug a grave there, and amid their tears consigned the remains of Smith to the earth. A piece of board was placed on the grave to mark the spot. It was a lonely place, and, says Roe, the red full orb of the setting sun seemed to linger on the horizon as if to look for the last time on the remains of the dead explorer, and shed a stream of fire over the sea, which rolled with a mournful dirge-like sound on the strand close by. As they performed their melancholy task the solemn stillness was alone broken by the occasional painful howl of a wild dog.
Mr. Roe returned with the remainder of the party to Perth, and merited greater thanks than he received for his task. By his energy several lives were saved, for had he arrived a few hours later, the whole party would assuredly have succumbed.
Lieutenant Grey, who was raised to the rank of captain, did
