Spinifex and Sand

Spinifex and Sand

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Title: Spinifex and Sand Five Years' Pioneering and Exploration in
Western Australia
Author: David W Carnegie
Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4975] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on April 8,
2002]
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AND SAND ***

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Production Notes: --Words in italics have been capitalised. --45
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SPINIFEX AND SAND by DAVID W CARNEGIE (1871-1900)
A NARRATIVE OF FIVE YEARS' PIONEERING AND
EXPLORATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

TO MY MOTHER

INTRODUCTION
"An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told."
The following pages profess to be no more than a faithful narrative of
five years spent on the goldfields and in the far interior of Western
Australia. Any one looking for stirring adventures, hairbreadth escapes
from wild animals and men, will be disappointed. In the Australian
Bush the traveller has only Nature to war against--over him hangs
always the chance of death from thirst, and sometimes from the attacks
of hostile aboriginals; he has no spice of adventure, no record heads of
rare game, no exciting escapades with dangerous beasts, to spur him on;
no beautiful scenery, broad lakes, or winding rivers to make life
pleasant for him. The unbroken monotony of an arid, uninteresting
country has to be faced. Nature everywhere demands his toil. Unless he
has within him impulses that give him courage to go on, he will soon
return; for he will find nothing in his surroundings to act as an

incentive to tempt him further.
I trust my readers will be able to glean a little knowledge of the
hardships and dangers that beset the paths of Australian pioneers, and
will learn something of the trials and difficulties encountered by a
prospector, recognising that he is often inspired by some higher feeling
than the mere "lust of gold."
Wherever possible, I have endeavoured to add interest to my own
experiences by recounting those of other travellers; and, by studying
the few books that touch upon such matters to explain any points in
connection with the aboriginals that from my own knowledge I am
unable to do. I owe several interesting details to the "Report on the
Work of the Horn Scientific Expedition to Central Australia," and to
"Ethnological Studies among the North-West Central Queensland
Aboriginals," by Walter E. Roth. For the identification of the few
geological specimens brought in by me, I am indebted to the
Government Geologist of the Mines Department, Perth, W.A., and to
Mr. W. Botting Hemsley, through the courtesy of the Director of the
Royal Gardens, Kew, for the identification of the plants.
I also owe many thanks to my friend Mr. J. F. Cornish, who has taken
so much trouble in correcting the proofs of my MSS.

CONTENTS

PART I
EARLY DAYS IN COOLGARDIE

CHAPTER I
EARLY DAYS IN THE COLONY
CHAPTER II
"HARD UP"
CHAPTER III
A MINER ON BAYLEY'S

PART II
FIRST PROSPECTING EXPEDITION

CHAPTER I
THE RUSH TO KURNALPI--WE REACH QUEEN VICTORIA
SPRING

CHAPTER II
IN UNKNOWN COUNTRY
CHAPTER III
FROM MOUNT SHENTON TO MOUNT MARGARET

PART III
SECOND PROSPECTING EXPEDITION

CHAPTER I
THE JOYS OF PORTABLE CONDENSERS
CHAPTER II
GRANITE ROCKS, "NAMMA HOLES," AND "SOAKS"
CHAPTER III
A FRESH START
CHAPTER IV
A CAMEL FIGHT
CHAPTER V
GOLD AT LAKE DARLOT CHATTER VI ALONE IN THE BUSH
CHAPTER VII
SALE OF MINE

PART IV
MINING

CHAPTER I
QUARTZ REEFING AND DRY-BLOWING

PART V
THE OUTWARD JOURNEY

CHAPTER I
PREVIOUS EXPLORERS IN THE