Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, logbook of a journey from Port Stephens to Peak Range, 1 October 1846-3 November 1847 - Page 113

You are here

Transcription

Monday the 2 3th Mai.  I cannot record all the miseries, all the anxieties of the past week. By God's mercy we are over them in part and are out of a camp, where we had to stop from the 20th Apr. to the 9th May. I myself got very very ill, a severe attack of fever took hold of me in consequence of eating too much of the broth of the young tainted meat and shook me most mercilessly for several days.  My feet were swoln [swollen?] in the ankles and a dark and transparent spot formed within my left eye. Mr Bunce Mr Turnbull Perry Hely [?] Narin [?] Brown all got worse and Wommai crawled only slowly along. In such a state how could we attend for our rambling horses and cattle, how find our 3 horses!  However one day we went out myself and Wommai but after 7 hours riding and knocking ourselves up we had we had only lost our time our tracks {?], one which Brown had ridden, another day we were more successful and found two,  but the one, a useless brute, which we occasionally tethered at night and
[indecipherable] had broken from the tether, & gave up as our meal got dry and as I considered
our salvation  A rest in moving on - I have to mention one of the most shocking, one of the most disgraceful proposals of my whole party, which must have been festered and nourished in one head, who bye and bye Trew {?] [drew?] the others to by their various feelings and interests.  I
                     [ we decided?]
believe friday the 30th of April about noon, as I was sitting in my tent, Mr. Mann came rather solemnly and told me that he wished to hear my opinion on a message which he brought from  the whole party.  He continued that they were all ill and that I myself had expressed myself (and so I had very foolishly) that [    ?  ] I felt my strength going down dayly [daily ?]  and that in consequence of that they had resolved upon returning. I was thunderstruck and did scarcely know what to say, I almost commenced crying. As far as the fine fat mutton had lasted these gentlemen

This page has its status set to Ready for review and is no longer transcribable.