Myths and Mysteries of the - Australian History Mysteries

Activity page10BExtractsEmpATHy wordsMay 20 They proceeded with the horses nearly five miles, and encamped at noon at the head of aswamp about three acres in extent, covered with the same coarse rushy grass as the last station,with a stream of water running through it. The horses were obliged to feed on the swamp grass, asnothing better could be found for them. The ridge along which their course lay now became wider andmore rocky, but was still covered with brush and small crooked timber, except at the heads of thedifferent streams of water which ran down the side of the mountain, where the land was swampy andclear of trees. The track of scarcely any animal was to be seen, and very few birds. One man was heretaken dangerously ill with a cold.May 21 In the beginning of the night the dogs ran off and barked violently. At the same timesomething was distinctly heard to run through the brushwood, which they supposed to be one of thehorses got loose; but they had reason to believe afterwards that they had been in great danger — thatthe natives had followed their track, and advanced on them in the night, intending to have spearedthem by the light of their fire, but that the dogs drove them off.May 28 In the evening they contrived to get their horses down the mountain by cutting a small trenchwith a hoe, which kept them from slipping, where they again tasted fresh grass for the first time sincethey left the forest land on the other side of the mountain. They were getting into miserable condition.May 29 Part of the descent was so steep that the horses could but just keep their footing without aload, so that, for some way, the party were obliged to carry the packages themselves. The dogs killeda kangaroo, which was very acceptable, as the party had lived on salt meat since they caught the last.Blaxland’s journalnhttp://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/blaxland/gregory/b64j/part1.html#part1May 31 In the afternoon they ascended its summit, from whence they descried all around, forest orgrass land, sufficient in extent in their opinion, to support the stock of the colony for the next thirtyyears. This was the extreme point of their journey. Mr. Blaxland and one of the men nearly lost theparty to-day by going too far in the pursuit of a kangaroo.They now conceived that they had sufficiently accomplished the design of their undertaking, havingsurmounted all the difficulties which had hitherto prevented the interior of the country from beingexplored, and the colony from being extended. They had partly cleared, or, at least, marked out, aroad by which the passage of the mountain might easily be effected. Their provisions were nearlyexpended, their clothes and shoes were in very bad condition, and the whole party were ill with bowelcomplaints. These considerations determined them therefore, to return home by the track they came.June 4 They arrived at the end of their marked track, and encamped in the forest land where they hadcut the grass for their horses. One of the horses fell this day with his load, quite exhausted, and waswith difficulty got on, after having his load put on the other horses.June 5 This was the most unpleasant and fatiguing they had experienced. The track not beingmarked, they had great difficulty in finding their way back to the river, which they did not reach tillfour o’clock p.m. They then once more encamped for the night to refresh themselves and the horses.They had no provisions now left except a little flour, but procured some from the settlement on theother side of the river.June 6 They crossed the river after breakfast, and reached their homes, all in good health.4 Why do you think theexplorers succeeded?Consider each of thefollowing as possible factors:> luck> skill> logic> planning and preparation> personal qualities of theexplorers> prior knowledge> other factors?5 Look back at the list of qualities or characteristics that you created inresponse to question 1 on the previous page. Which of these can you identifyin these three explorers? Are there others you would now add to your list?6 Add any information to your summary table onactivity page 3A.7 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch foryour own history textbook (in box 6 of activity page 3C)to explain to readers what the journey was like for the explorers.The crossing of the Blue Mountainswas a difficult task: True or False?34Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains