country forced them to follow down two streams at right angles with
their course for upwards of 200 miles, causing a delay which betrayed
them into the depths of the rainy season; then the loss of half their
food and equipment by a fire, occasioned by the carelessness of some
of the party; next the scarcity of grass and water, causing a further
delay by losses of half their horses, which were only recovered to be
again lost altogether--killed by eating a deadly poison plant; and
finally, the setting in of the wet season, making the ground next to
impassable, and so swelling the rivers, that when actually in sight,
and within a week's journey of their destination, they were turned
off their course, and were more than six weeks in reaching it. Added
to this, and running through the whole journey, was the incessant and
determined, although unprovoked, hostility of the natives, which, but
for the unceasing vigilence and prompt and daring action of the
Brothers, might have eventually compassed the annihilation of the
whole party. Had Leichhardt used the same vigilance and decision the
life of poor Gilbert would not have been sacrificed, and in all
probability we should not now deplore his own loss. But the black
tribes which dogged the steps of each expedition, and amongst whom,
probably, were the slayers of Kennedy and Gilbert, met at the hands
of the Brothers the treatment they deserved. If the lessons were
severe, they were in every case of the native's own seeking, and were
administered in fair and open combat, in which few of the white party
were without having narrow escapes to record; but a providential good
fortune seemed to attend them, for every member got through the
journey without accident. An account has been furnished to the
newspapers in the form of a journal by Mr. Richardson, the Surveyor
appointed to accompany the expedition, but it is much too brief and
epitomized to do justice to the subject, and omits altogether the
detached and independant trips of the Brothers whilst exploring ahead