Vernon Smith's Diary Part 1

ReadAboutContentsHelp

Pages

36
Complete

36

Thursday 6th [underlined] (Continued) like all niggers they cannot continue their zeal at any one thing, & it was only by the promise of a little tobacco, that we got them to continue 'till we made up the dozen. They then went & sat in a group above, & watched us. I got 4 more & a crab, after this, but had to give it up then, as the slippery rocks & sharp sheels played up with my feet It was 5p.m. before the skipper returned, followed by 3 more niggers & a couple of pickaninnies. One had a pet opossum (young one) which he carried on his hair. Photos were taken - with Fossil Head for a background - red cloth distributed, & we returned by the dinghy, the Skipper taking with him 1 of the niggers, which he intends to train for his own use at Point Charles Lighthouse. Remained at anchor. Friday 7th. [underlined] Had our mullet for breakfast, & found them very good eating. Set sail 7a.m. Light winds at first, & with the end of the tide against us made very slow progress. It was midday before we lost sight of Fossil Head (100ft) & most of the time we could hear the cooeying of the niggers - who were following us along the beach - probably farewelling our new ship-mate, who, however, did not attempt to reply. Passed Treachery Bay (where Commander Stokes was speared) & Point Pearce was abeam at 1p.m. Continued to make good progress

Last edit about 4 years ago by jckhahn
37
Complete

37

Friday 7th [underlined] (Continued) all the afternoon, but the wind fell away after tea & at 10 p.m. sails were taken in, & the anchor let go in 8 fms. water. Had a miserable night on the hatch, between the rolling of the boat & endeavoring to keep our blankets from the heavy dew which was falling. Sometimes Mr Basedow & I appeared to be standing on our heads, & the next moment on our feet. Saturday 8th [underlined] We were both glad when daylight came. We were sailing with a light breeze. Had a narrow escape about 11a.m. The lugger was bowling along at a fair pace & the skipper & 3 of us were yarning at the companion when a disturbance was noticed by Mr Brown, on the port bow, which proved to be a semicircular reef running for some 2 or 3 miles. The tiller was put hard over & we sailed around the end of it. After lunch the skipper & 3 black-boys had a swim over the side, which was rather amusing. Jambutch, the new hand didn't care for it, but it was thought necessary that he should be cleansed in some way, (as we had seen evidence of it in the hold) so he was told to get into the dinghy - Bubs accompanying him & pouring water over him from the sea bucket. They all looked the cleaner & better for their contact with the salt water. Sailing all night

Last edit about 4 years ago by jckhahn
38
Complete

38

Sunday 9th [underlined] Again thankful to see the sun rise. Variable wind from N. Saw large green-back turtle swimming close to the boat (5 yards at most). Also big snake lying coiled up on the surface & asleep. Also smaller snake, with alternate yellow & black rings around it, swimming with us. Porpoises were seen, evidently after a shoal of smaller fish, which were rippling the surface of the water. Once while the wind had fallen away, I got a line out & soon had a shark, between 3 & 4 feet in length, which was skinned & cooked for dinner & proved very tasty with the addition of curry & onions & a little green ginger. Found firewood was short, so Skipper & blackboys went ashore, near Point Blaze, & collected some dry wood. They landed on the same beach Mr Basedow & I walked along when we saw the red & green bird. Two natives, (semi-civilized) met them. They had some snakes cooked on a fire near by, & gave them to our boys who brought them aboard & had a great feast, judging by the relish with which they pulled the flesh off the bones with their teeth. Another small shark was caught, while they were ashore, making up

Last edit about 4 years ago by jckhahn
39
Complete

39

Sunday 9th [underlined] (Continued) the proverbial "2 sharks". I also caught 3 small "Zebra fish" (for want of a better name) with the specimen line. The dinghy was back in under an hour, & we had sails loosened on her arrival alongside & were soon under weigh. Saw shoal of sardines or other small fish close by, soon after starting. Wind proved very light, at 7p.m. sail was taken down. At 9.30, a light breeze came & we proceeded on our course 'till 1a.m. next morning. Monday 10th [underlined] Got away at 5.45a.m. Sun rose at 6a.m. Up to this time a heavy fog had prevailed, but it started to clear off as the sun rose. The appearance of the sun was very peculiar. We are now off Fog Bay, so conclude that it is well named. Made very little headway all day, although the wind was fresh. Beating about Bare Sand Id. & Quail Id. all the afternoon & eventually had to anchor 7.30. "Wai hoi" & barge "Florence" came up & passed us. Were hoping they would have towed us around Fish Reef, but they weren't on. The Malays caught some cod fish & schnapper. About 10 p.m. a light breeze came along & sail was again set. Large shoals of King Fish & Bonitos were seen close by, but we were unable to catch any. Saw another snake

Last edit about 4 years ago by jckhahn
40
Complete

40

Tuesday 11th [underlined] When I woke at 5.45 it was just getting light. Found we were in sight of Point Charles Lighthouse, & had been sailing all night. Anchored @ 9a.m. & Mr. Basedow & the Skipper went ashore with all the blackboys. Tried fishing - nil. Boat returned in about an hour's time, bringing turtle-steak & eggs & some fruit. This change in the larder proved most welcome, in addition to the fact that most of us had not tasted turtle-steak before. Set sail for Port Darwin at midday & anchored off the old jetty @ 3.30p.m. Transferred luggage & stores to bungalow, went to P. Office for letters, - got a bag full, of which a dozen were for me. It was a great pleasure to read these letters, first from home & then from other parts, & made one feel full of gratitude, & realize the value of relationships & friendship. We had been six weeks out, & it seemed like coming home. There were, however, many things to be done & much to do tomorrow. Monday 12th [underlined] After few preliminaries were over went to Palmerston - Luxtons, Wing Cheong Sing's, Bakers & Telegraph Office. Not used to walking in boots, as have been barefoot for last 6 weeks, and consequently feet have become beautiful olive brown colour. After

Last edit about 4 years ago by jckhahn
Displaying pages 36 - 40 of 43 in total