Unsuccessful Search for Dutton

Digressing from Eyre's account of the journey of the second police party sent to search for C. C. Dutton, let us turn to McLean's. He said they arrived at Baxter's Range at noon on October 11, 1842, and "we found here an old tin bucket, which I recognised as seeing with Dutton's party, but there were no tracks to be found of either horses or cattle." He further said he found a crevice in the rocks "quite ten feet long and fully that depth, full of the finest rain water."

This determined Eyre to rest until the following afternoon, giving the horses a good spell, and then to travel all night to make good progress to the next water at Refuge Rocks. No horses were tied up and at daylight the following morning there was not a horse to be found. After a hasty breakfast, McCulloch and Rose followed the tracks. An hour afterwards Eyre followed them, leaving McLean and the black boy in camp. At night McLean lit a fire as a beacon. He fell asleep and the return of Mr. Eyre woke him. Eyre said he had walked about 20 miles and caught McLean's horse ; with his sword belt as a halter he rode back to camp and the following morning started on the track again.

Two hours afterwards Rose and McCulloch returned dejected after having walked nearly 30 miles the previous day. Eyre sent work back by them for McLean and the black boy to follow in his (Eyre's) tracks and not to deviate therefrom, until they overtook or met him. After passing Rose's furthermost mark, Mc-Lean got disheartened and resolved to return, the native saying, "Big one rain come." This was fortunate disobedience, for Eyre returned by another route, being unable to keep the horses to the outward track. McLean and the native spent a miserable night, with only such shelter as a native wurley could provide. With the warmth of the sun the following morning, McLean lay down and fell asleep. When he awoke, the black had vanished. Of course all sorts of evil thoughts would flit through McLean's mind, but the native had only returned to Baxters Range for assistance. Whereon Eyre sent McCulloch out with a spare horse to bring McLean in.

GAPS IN ACCOUNT

All this seems reasonable and helps to fill in the apparent gaps in Eyre's account. McLean says one of the horses "took to the sea and swam for the opposite shore (Yorke Peninsula), steering a direct course for Adelaide. He (Eyre) watched him till he was out of sight and then faced the others towards the camp."

Mc-Lean, in narrating the events at Baxter's Range, may have mixed up dates and situations, for instance, the finding of the bucket may have occurred elsewhere, and probably he confused the Point Lowly tracks with those at Elbow Hill. McLean said, "Mr. Eyre had come across Dutton's tracks with the dray and cattle, but they were facing in the direction of Port Lincoln again, so we concluded that they were all safe at the place they had left," and then he said that next morning they started on the journey to Refuge Rocks.

To resume Eyre's history : after the almost tragic affair at Baxters Range, the southern journey was resumed and two days afterwards, they arrived at Refuge Rocks. Here they found the volunteer party had used all the water. Eyre had anticipated getting water there, and his intention was to strike towards the coast, to intercept Dutton's tracks. Instead, he was forced to push rapidly through the desert, for the coastal ranges, near Mount Olinthus. This was an almost hopeless proposition, if we call to mind the trying experiences Cock had there three years previously. However, Eyre did the trip and crossed Dutton's dray track, his cattle and whole party steering north east, but he was unable to follow them, for his horses had been without water for three days. Near Mount Olinthus several parties of natives were met. All were friendly, and freely associated with the party, showing Eyre the small supplies of water. There was insufficient water to make a stay possible to enable Eyre to attempt following Dutton's track. The natives described the route taken by Dutton, and intimated that the bullocks had gone back nearer the coast. From their description Eyre was induced to hope that the whole party had re-turned to Port Lincoln, which impression was further confirmed on October 18, when near Elbow Hill, the tracks of the dray, cattle and the whole party returning south-westerly toward Port Lincoln were seen.

HOPES DASHED

Eyre at once pushed on, trusting to find them all safe. Alas! such was not the case, and "the return which I crossed must have been one of those unaccountable mistakes in point of direction, which I learnt Mr. Dutton had before made in other parts of his route." McLean advises us that somewhere near the end of the journey Eyre and the blackfellow went on ahead to Port Lincoln, leaving the balance of the party to follow more leisurely, so that provisions could be sent out to them. According to McLean, on arrival at PilIaworta, there were no cattle or any occupier. Eyre said it was south-west of Mount Hill that the volunteers first crossed Dutton's tracks. He praises the persevering spirit with which they had followed the track, through country totally unknown to them and "so arid and impracticable in nature."

Eyre's final summary of the position, considering all the searches except the one by boat, was: "Every effort which the nature of the country and the season of the year permitted, had now been made to ascertain the fate of Mr. Dutton's party, but hitherto without success. The most northerly point reached by any party or stock had been ascertained their outward track had been crossed in several places ; twenty four head of the cattle taken by Mr. Dutton had been found by the police, and returned to their old station ; two head of cattle (cow and calf) had been seen dead by Mr. Driver (about 80 miles from Port Lincoln) on their road back towards the station, the only horse taken by the party had long ago been returned, and there now remained not the slightest shadow of hope that any of the party could still be alive."

Eyre considered that their fate only remained to be discovered, but the unfortunate season of the year would not permit of the examination of the 60 miles of country in which it was morally certain that the party had perished. Could Eyre have been supplied with water on the coast at two points, he would cheerfully have attempted the search, but no vessel was available. He did not feel justified in hiring a boat at the expense of the Government, and the captain of the Resource did not consider his instructions as authorising him to go up the Gulf again.

END OF SEARCH

Eyre had been requested to "render such temporary assistance with men and horses as it may be in your power to afford to the Government Resident in the search for the murderers of Brown, Biddle, and others, but not being acquainted with the native language, and Mr. Schurmann having gone up the Gulf in a boat, he could not see any good in remaining. Strangely, Eyre, in mentioning Schurmann's absence, did not remark that a further search was being made. Eyre's report is dated, "Adelaide, November 1," which would be about the time he returned to Adelaide. He was not back on October 29, so his absence was just under the month.

Eyre in his book of explorations (published in 1845) made two references to Dutton, one "that Dutton when attempting to take cattle overland both he and the whole party perished in the desert, as supposed, from want of water." In another part of the book he wrote that Dutton "miserably perished with his whole party from want of water.''

Alexander Tolmer in his reminiscences published in 1882, after narrating his own part in the search, and the division of the party at Eyre's depot, said that Eyre had gone "in search of Mr. Dutton and his party, traces of whom, however, were never found, either by himself or the volunteers. In fact, from what I gathered afterwards, it was a race for life from the start by each party. There is not the least doubt, however, that Mr. Dutton and his men were all murdered by the blacks at their camp, as all the cattle, working bullocks and horses returned to the run."

There does not seem to be anything definite as to what became of the cattle. Tolmer's statement seems very definite, but I am afraid it is not reliable. In 1934 Mr. George Standley, whose father formed Wudinna station in the '60's, stated in the "Eyre's Peninsula Tribune" that "Mr. Dutton was taking cattle from Port Lincoln to Adelaide, and got as far as Salt Creek, where the cattle got away, which accounts for the wild cattle in the Franklin Harbour district years ago." Did they gradually drift back ?

As related in the last series, Thomas Hawson was in the habit of sleeping at PilIaworta. The Protector of Aborigines in 1845 saw Thomas at Higgins's station, with cattle collected at PilIaworta. As mentioned earlier in the present series of articles, Mrs. Dutton married T. B. Hawson. This thought is gives for what it is worth.

WAS DRAY FOUND ?

Thus ends the search and anything definite as far as the present research has revealed. With the settlement of the country some trace must have been found of the dray or its iron-work. If any part of the equipment was ever found, it seems strange that none of the writers — Hailes, J. C. Hawker or Tolmer — made any reference to it. All these were interested in the ancient search. McLean certainly says the dray was found, with bodies underneath it. One would wish to check the statement with other information before accepting it in full.

The two natives referred to by McLean were probably two of the three Adelaide natives that were sent to Port Lincoln at the same time as the military, for tracking purposes, and also if possible to influence the local natives. However, two were useless and were returned to Adelaide, one on May 26, and the other kept some time longer. The natives brought in two different tales of the calamity. Mr. Schurmann placed more reliance on the 1845 version than that of 1843. The earlier report seems to place the scene of the tragedy nearer its logical site. The 1843 version indicates natural death, whereas that of 1845 points to murder. In Hailes' account of the boat trip it is not clear how far north they went, but I think most probably Mount Middleback was the extremity reached. That would be about 130 miles from Port Lincoln. By some means they did not cross any tracks, whereas further north Eyre did. Can this be accounted for?

Driver stated that at the northern end of their journey the blacks had turned north west. If the 90 or 100 miles were measured from Port Lincoln, this would make Drivers northernmost point about Mount Olinthus. Therefore it is feasible that Dutton after keeping north-west for a short distance, changed to the north-east, the route being outside the distance the boating party traversed. A little local knowledge is required. Is there a gap in the Middleback Range that Dutton could have got through, and thus arrive near Point Lowly, or is there a range of hills between Middle-back Range and the Gulf ? If so, the boating party probably only reached the nearer one, and Dutton went up the intervening valley. Eyre reports finding some cattle tracks, but no dray tracks at the back of Point Lowly. The scene of the first native report is somewhere north of Mount Young, whereas the spot mentioned in 1845 is at the head of the Gulf, which it can be definitely said the party did not reach.

(To be concluded next week.)