THE FATE OF KENNEDY'S EXPEDITION. (From the Sydney Herald, March 6.)

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 295, 28 March 1849, Page 2

THE FATE OF KENNEDY'S EXPEDITION. (From the Sydney Herald, March 6.)

We are glad to find that the first reports of the fate of poor Kennedy'! expedition were 10 far incorrect, that the black natires are only answerable for one death, that of Mr. Kennedy himself, and that the other unfortunate men died from other causei. 'lhe expedition left Sydney about ten months since, and were landed at Rockinghflm Bay at the end of May, and took their departure from the const on tha 2nd Juue. The party coaflisted of Mr. E, B. Keunedy

Mr. T. Wall, Mr. W. Carron, Mr. C. Niblett, James Luff, Edward Taylor, William Costigan, William Goddart, Dunn, and Jackey, an aboriginal native. Mr. Kennedy*! instructions were to proceed fiom Rockingham Bay to Port Albany, at Cape York, where he was to meet a schooner that was to be despatched from Sydney with supplies > on receiving which lie was to proceed down the western siJe of the peninsula and return to Sydney. At first stnrtiug the ground was 80 scrubby that it was impossible to in ike way through it, and Mr. Kennedy had to proceed on a south-west course for nearly five weeki before he was able to stand to the northward: the coiintiy was so very impracticable that they had to leave their carts mid must of their heavy storei, so that by the time they had proceeded a few hundred miles it was evident that the provisions would not supply all the party to tlie end of the journey, and it was determined that eight of them should remain at Weymouth Bay, while Mr. Kennedy and four men (Luff, Costigan, Dunn, and Jackey) should proceed on to Port Albany, and bring the schooner round to the baj to relieve the men left there. How the unfortunate party succeeded will be learned from the nanative jjiven below, which ii principally in the language of Jackey, the only survivor. The courxge and attachment to his master which Jackey exhibited are worthy of all praise; anything more affecting than the simple description of poor Kennedy dying in the wi'derneKS, and Jackey civing over him until he got better, we never read. We hope some means of giving Jackey a small unnual pension will be deviied. The people in the schooner caw a black in a canoe with a pair of Mr. Kennedy's tiousers on, and at he resitted being arrested he wa» shot; one black belonging to the party who attacked Kennedy was taken, and kept in the schooner for a fortnight, when he jumped overboard and was drowned. The schooner immediately proceeded to Shelborne Bay, and there in a black'i canoe they found a cloak belonging to one of the men left there ; search was made but the men were not discovered, and there is no doubt they were dead ; hut whether they died from exhaustion or were killed by the blacks will probably never be known. The schooner was then taken to Weymouth IJ <y, but of the eight persona left there but two (Mr. Cirron and Goddar(i) were alive ; the other six had died from starvation, and Goddaid was so much reduced that it wai at first doubtful whether he would recover. Upon recoiving these parties on board, the schooner came to Sydney to bring the melancholy intelligence The Government hate diiected Megan. Lines and Browne to institute, undtr the instructions of the At-torney-General, a judicial investigation into the circumstances attending the death of Mr. Kennedy, which, with the other information that can be obtained, Will be officially published. We hope to be able to lay before our readers tomorrow tome particular! of the progress of the expedition prior to its arrival at Weymouth Bay, and until then, we shall reserve any observations respecting this melancholy affair. But we cannot conclude without expressing the deep sympathy which is felt by all classes with the sorrowing relations of the unfortunate men whose untimely end we have had to record. The following is the statement of Jackey, above ref r ed to : — " Mr. Kennedy started from Weymouth Bay for Cape YoiU on xha 13th November, 1848, accompanied by Jackey, the aboriginal native, Costigan, Dunn, and LulF, leaving eight men behind, and Carron in charge of the camp. Mr. Kennedy and party took with them 18 lbs. of flour and 75 lbs. of dried horse meat, and seven of the best horses, and Jackey states they went on from Weymouth Bay, tv\ they got to a rivir which emptied itself in Weymouth Bay ; a little further north they crossed the river. Nxt morning a lot of natives camped oh the other side of the rivor ; they [ Kennedy and party) went on h vry high hill anil came to a nY on tin; other side and camped there, and went on a good way next diy; a horse had fallen down into a creek; the flour they took with them lasted three days; they had much trouble in getting the noise out of the cieek. Proceeding onward they came out and camped on the ridges— no water; next morni-ig they went onward, and Luff was taken ill wiih a very bad knee. We left him behind, and Dunn went back again and brought him on ; Luff was tiding a horsa named Fiddler ; then we went on and camped at a little creek. The flour being out on this day we commeuced eating bo se fle-h, which Carrou gave us when we left Weymouth Bay; as we went on we came on a small river, and saw no blacks there ; as we proceeded we gathered noud-is, and lived upon them and the meat ; we stooped at a Mile creek, and it came on raining, and Cc-s'igan shot himself; in puitin? his saddle under the tarpaulin, a string caught the trigger and the ball went in under tl>e right arm and came out at his back under the shoulder. We weut on this morning all of us, and stopped at another creek in the evening, and the next morning we killed a horse named Browney, smoked him that nij^ht, and went on next day, talcing a« much oi the horse as we could with its, and went on about a mdc and then turned back again to where we k lied the horse, because Costigan was very bad and in much pain ; we went back again because there was j water there ; then Mr. Kennedy and Jackey had dinner there, and went on in the afternoon leaving Dunn, Costigan, and Lull' at the creek. This was at Pudding* pin Hill, near Shelhourne Bay. Mr. Kennedy called it Pudding-pan Hill. We left some hone ny at with t e thiee men at Pudding-pan H.ll, and carried some Trith us on a pack horse. Mr. Kennedy wanttd to make great haste when he left tins place, to get the doctor to go down to the men that were ill. This was al out three weeks after leaving Weymouth Bay. One horse was left with the three men at Pudding.pan Hill, and they (Kennedy and Jackey) took with them thn c horses. The three men were to remain there unt 1 Mr. Kennedy and Jackey had gone to and returned from Cape York for them. Mr. Kennedy told Lvffand Dunn when he left them, that if Cooligan died to come along the beach till they saw the ship, and then to fire a gun ; he told them he would not be long away, to it wag not likely they would move from there for some time. They stopped to take care of the man that was shot, and we (me and Mr. Kennedy) killed a horse for them before we came away. Having left these three men, we camped that night wheie there was no wa'er. Next morning Mr. Ken. ne ly and me went on with the four horses, two pack honei and two saddle horses ; one horse got bogged in a swamp. We tried to get him out all day but could not ; we leit him there, and camped at another cretk. The next day Mr. Kennedy and I went en again, and patted up a ridge very scrubby, and had to tuin back again, and went along gullies to get clear of the creek and sirub. Now it lamed, and we camped; there were plenty of blatk» here, but we did not set them, but plenty of fresh tracks audcamps.and smoke. Next morning we went on and camped at another creek, and on the following morning we continued gointj on, and camped io the evening close to a scrub ; it rained in the night. Next d«y we went on in the scrub, but could not get tnrough. I cut and cleared away, and it was near sun down before we got through

the scrub— there we camped. It was heavy rain next morning, anil we went on in the rain ; then I changed horges and rode a black colt, to spell the other, and rode him all day, and in the afternoon we got on clear ground, and the horse fell down, me and all ; the horse lay upon my right hip, here Mr. Kennedy got off hi* horse and removed my horse from my thigh ; we stopped there that night, and could not get the horse up ; we looked to him in the morning, and he was dead ; we left him there ; we had some horse meat left to eat, and went on that day and crossed a little river nnd camped. The next dBy we went a good way; Mr. Kennedy told me to go up a tree to see a sandy hill somewhere ; I went up a tree and saw a sandy hill a little way down from Port Albany. That day we encamped near a swamp ; it was a very rainy day. The next morning we went on, and Mr. Kennedy told me we should get round to Port Albany in a day , we travelled on all day till 12 o'clock (noon), and then we saw Port Albany; then he said there is Port Albany Jackey — "i ship is there— you see that island there, pointing to Albany Island ; thii was when we were at the moufh of Escape Kiver; we stopped there a little while; all the meat was gone ; I tried to get some fish, hut could not ; we went on in the afternoon half a mile along the river tide, and met a good lot of blacks, and we camped; the blacKi all cried out P.iwad, powad, and rubbed their bellies ; and we thought they were friendly, and Mr. Kennedy cave them fish hooks all round ; every one asked me if I had any thing to give away, and I said no ; and Mr. Kennedy said, Give them your knife, Jac key ; (his fellow on board was the man I gave the knife to ; I ana sure of it ; I know him well ; the black that was shot ia the canoe was the most active in urging all the others on to spear Mr. Kennedy; I cave the man on boird my knife ; we went on, thii day, and I looked behind, and they wtre getting up their spears, and run all round the camp which we left ; I told Mr. Kennedy that very likely those blackfellows would follow us, and he said, " No, Jackey, those blacki are very friendly ;" I said to him " I know those black-fellows well, they too much fpeak;" we went on some two or three milei and camped ; 1 and Mr. Kennedy watched them that night, taking in turns every hour all night; by-and-bye I saw the black-fellows ; it was a moonlight night ; and I waked up Mr. Kennedy, and said to him, '* There is plenty of blaokftllows now ;" this was in the middle of the night; Mr. Kennedy told me to get my gun ready; the blacks did not know where we slept, ns we did not make a fire ; we both sat up all night ; after this daylight came, and I fetched 1115 horses and saddled them ; then we went a good way up the river, and then we sat down a little while, and saw three black fellows coming along our track, and they saw us, and one fellow ran back as hard as he could run, and fetched up plenty more, like a flock of sheep almost ; I told Mr. Kennedy to put the saddles on the two horses, and go on, and the blacks came up, and they followed us all the day ; all nlong it was raining, and I now told him to leave the hor-es, and come on without them, that the hotses make too much track. Mr. Kennedy was too weak, and would not leave the horses. We went on this day till towards evening, raining hard, and the blacks followed us all day, some behind, some planted before ; in fact, black* all around following us. Now we went into a htlle bit of a scrub, and I told Mr. Kennedy to look behind always ; sometimes he would do so, and sometimes he would not look behind to look out fjr the blacks. Then a good many blackfellows came behind 111 the scrub, and threw plenty of spears, and hit Mr. Kennedy in the back first. Mr. Kennedy said to me "Oh ! Jackey, Jackey ! shoot 'em, shoot 'em.'' Then I pulled out my gun and fired, and hit one fellow all over the face with buck shot ; he tumbled down, and got up again and again, and wheeled right round, and two black fellows picked him up and carried him away. They went away then a little way, and then catne^ back again, throwing spears all around more than they d d before ; very large spears. I pulled out the spear at once from Mr Kennedy's back, and cit out the jag with Mr, Kennedy's knife; then Mr; K-nnedy got his gun and snapped, but the gun would not go off. The blacks sneaked all along by the trees, and speared Mr, Kennedy again in the right leg, above the knee a little, and I got speared over the eye, and the blacks were now throwing their spears all ways, never giving over, and shortly again speared Mr. Kennedy in the right 6ide ; there were large jags to the spean, and I cut them out, and put them into my pocket. At the same time ne got speared, the horses got speared too, and jumped and bucked all about, and got into the bwatnp. I now told Mr. Kennedy to sit down, while I looked after the saddle bags, which I did ; and when I came back again, I saw blacks along with Mr, Kennedy ; I then asked him if he saw the blacks with him, he was stupid with the spear wounds, and said, " No ;" then I asked him where was his watch ? I saw the blacks taking away watch and hat as I was returning to Mr. Kennedy ; then I carried Mr, Kennedy into the scrub, he said "Don't carry me a good way ; then Mr. Kennedy looked this way, very bad (Jackey rolling his eyes ) I suid to him, " Don't look far away," as I thought he would be frightened; I asked him often, "Are you well now?" and he said, " I don't care for the spear wound in my leg, Jackey, but for the other two spear wounds in my side and back," and said, »• I am bad inside, Jackey." I told him blackfellows always die when he get spear m there (the back); he said, "I am out of wind, Jackey ;" I asked him, " Mr. Kennedy, are you going to leave me?' 1 and be said, *' Yes, my boy, I am going to leave you," he said, " I am icry bad, Jackey ; you take the books, Jackey, to the captaiu, but not the big ones, the Governor will give anything for them ;" I then tied up the papers ; he than said, " Jackey, give me paper, and I will write;" I gave him paper and pencil, and he tried to write, and he then fell buck and died ; and I caught him as he fell back and held him, and I then turned round myself and cried ; I was ciying a good while, until I got well ; that was about an hour, and then 1 buried him ; I digged up the ground with a tomahawk, and covered him over with logs, then grass and my shirt and trousers ; that night I left him near dark ; I would go through the scrub, and the blacks threw spears at me, a good many, and I went back again in the scrub ; then I went down the creek, which runs into Escape River, and I walked along the water in the creek very easy, with my bead only above water to avoid the blacks, and get out of their way ; in this way I went half a mile ; then I got out of the ceek and got clear of them, and walked on all night nearly, nnd slept in the bush without a fire; I went on next morning, and felt very bad, and I spelled for two days ; ] lived upon nothing but salt water ; next day 1 went on and camped one mile away from wheie I left, and ate one of the pandonas ; next morning I went on two mi let, und sat do mi there, and I wanted to spell a little there and go on, but when 1 tiied to gee up I could not, but fell down again very tired and cramped, and I speilcd here two days ; then I went on again one mile, and goc nothing to eat but one nonda ; and I went on that day and camped, and on again next morning, about balf a mile, and sat down where there was go >d water, and lemaited all day. On the following day I went a good way, went round a great bwamp, and mangroves, and got a good way by t>uudown. The next morning I went and saw a very large track of bluckfcllows, I wmt clear ol the lr,ck

and of swamp or sindy ground; then I came lo n very larjje river, and a large lagoon, plenty of alligators in the lagoon, about ten miles from Port Albany. I now got into the ridgps by sun-dovrn, and went up a tree and saw Albany Island. The next morning at four o'clock, I went on as hard ns I could go all the way down, over fine clear ground, fine iron bark timber, and plenty of good grass ; I went on round the point (this was towards Cape York, north of Albany Island) and went on and followed a creek down, and went on the top of the hill and I saw Cape York ; I knew it was Cape York because the fand did not go on farther ; I »Ht down then a pood while ; I said to myself this is Port Albany, I believe iniide somewhere. Mr Kennedy always told nia that the ship was inside, close up to the main land ; I went on a little way and saw the ship and boat; I met close up here two black gins, and a good many pi<canimes; one said to ins powad, powad ; then I asked her for eegi, she gave me turtles' egss and I gave her a burning glass; she pointed at the ship which I had seen before ; I was very frightened of seeing the black I men all along here, and when I was on the rock cooeying, and murry murry glad when the boat came for me. Jackey was thirteen dtjs getting to the 6hip from leaving Mr. K-nnedy ; Jackey took three barbed spears out of Mr. Kennedy ; one went through his body and came out of the side of the abdomen; Mr. Kennedy told Jackey, from Shelbourne Bay that he would give him ss. per week to look out opossoms for him, and Jackey did so all the way to Escape River; Mr. Kennedy told Jacky which way to go to reach Port Albany when he was ilvini/, and said, I am done, Jackey, lam done ; he told Jackey to take the pipers and compass and give them to the doctor or to the captain in the ship ho would see at Port Albany ; he pointed out Cape York to Jackcy when he was at EBcaj c River ; Jackey lived all the way upon linrds, guanas, and snakes, and water, but some days went without anything ; Jackey says he never slept at night, but lay down ; used to go upon high trees to look out for the sea and Albany Island; he carried Mr. Kennedy's saddle bigs and papers until he got so weak that he could not carry them further, leaving some things five miles from where Mr. Kennedy was buried, and planted them; Mr. Kennedy once got into a bog after leaving Puddiug Pan Hill, up to biß shoulder, and was like a pig in the mud, Jackey says ; he lifted him out. He tried to brii|g the barbs of die spears which he cut out with him, but lost them. The blacks he says, were very saucy in far from the coust, but very civil .it Rockingham Bay. When the spears came from all quaiters at Escape River, Jackey would break them in pieces when he came acrofs them. The powder was wet, and the guns unfortunately would not go off. If the guns had been right they would have got off safe, but there was lots of rain every day. In one instance Jackey gat his gun otfby putting the md of it in the fire. They both suffered much Irom cramp in ibe legs from wet. The blacks, he says, fallowed Mr. Kennedy and him at Escape River, for three days. 1 hey would go round about them in all directions, and once set fire nil round them. When Jackey left Mr. Kennedy he killed a rat «nd got a good dinner off it, and breakfasted next morning on one of its lega. Jaekey says the men at Weymouth Bay were very tired, and could not crawl, when him and Mr. Kennedy left them. It was on a Sunday morning Costigan shut himself. Jackey speaks of a large river north of Escape River, and speaks of ths lagoon at being of great extent. Sometimes Jnck«y carried Mr. Kennedy from place to place when he was ill, out of the way of the blacks, and, as he terms it, planted him. After Jackey had taken Mr. Kennedy out of the bßy between Shelbourne Bay and Escape River, they spelled for several days, he was so ill, and Jackey says he carried him often on hi» back, not far, only half a mile at a time. When the blacks set fire all louod them at Escape River, Jackey sneaked on them and tried to fire, but the gun would not go off. It was then the blacks came up close and speared Mr. Kennedy all round. When Jackey returned to Mr. Kennedy after sneaking on the blacks he found they bad token away his cloak, watch, and eveiything. They weie frequently obliged to tie up the horses for two days, wluUt cutting through the scrub. They took in Jarkey's absence from Mr. Kennedy two pistols and two double guns, a quart pot, pint pot, ammunition, pouch, and spy glass ; and bruised Mr. Kennedy's ancles with stones, Jackey planted a sextant and a mackintosh cloak of Mi. Kennedy's, also gloves • all this whilst Jackey was trying to keep off the blacks with his gun, which would not go off : he could not see the blacks well for the spear wound in his eye. Jackey says he planted besides the papers, a looking glass, comb, dress brush, and bone of a bteel pen, a pair of compasses, lots of paper. It appears Jackey would have with him latterly a pencil and paper to describe rudely any mountains he might see when on a tree, &c. In passing Escape River in the vessel Jackey knew the place well. There were no stars visible at night for several nights together, so that Mr. Kennedy could not ascertain his position when near Escape River, otherwise, Jackey says, Mr. Kennedy intended to have made Escape River much higher up, instead of at its mouth. Jackey sent two rockets up in the evening, near the river he came across north of Escape River f att«r Mr. Kennedy died. Mr. Kennedy told me to do so before be died ; we could get up to where Mr. Kennedy was buried in one day from the mouth of Escape River. Mr. Kennedy expected to cross the river soon when at the mouth, and said to Jackey, we will have a large damper to-morrow, meaning that he would reach the vessel the next day. One day Mr. Kennedy and Jackey got a snake, and eat him; it was a treat. Jackey is pretty sure he saw onu of the blacks who speared Mr Kennedy in a canoe at Port Albany. He saw plenty of blacks all along the coait to Albany Island, but avoided them. The blacks, he say a, at Escape River, throw a spear much better than at Jerry's Plains ; they never miss hardly. «« Powad powad" menus peace. Mr. Kennedy promised to take Jackey to England with him on his return ; and appears to have made « companion of him during 1 the latter part of his journey. After Mr. Kennedy had been hogged his feet were much swollen.