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Charles C Dutton
Part 2
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In September 1842, several newspapers reported that 'Great anxiety is felt for the safety of Mr C C Dutton, who left Port Lincoln about twelve weeks ago with some cattle, and a party of four men, intending to bring the cattle to Adelaide. (a trip of some 600 km through unknown country) Nothing has been heard of him or his party since and as he only had with him six weeks' provision, it is feared that the party have perished for want'. A few weeks later, the Register of 15 October reported that 'Mr Dutton's horse had returned to Port Lincoln without saddle and bridle, and a cow and calf were discovered by a volunteer party about eighty miles from Port Lincoln, belonging to Mr Dutton's herd, and supposed to have died from thirst. The tracks of Mr Dutton's party had been crossed at the fore-mentioned distance from Port Lincoln, and he there appeared to have struck off in a north-west direction, although his course was north-east, in consequence of a thick scrub, which extended, it is said, at least thirty miles'. Among the many volunteers who went out looking for the missing men, were Mr Baker, Mr Peters, Mr. Hawker, Alexander Tolmer, four troopers and Edward John Eyre. Eyre had visited Port Lincoln and its surrounds in 1839 and 1840. After having invested in 4000 acres at Moorundie, Eyre also bought 23 blocks of land at Port Lincoln, including three of 20 acres. The Southern Australian of 11 November 1842, published Eyre's report of 1 November to the Colonial Secretary in which he wrote; Sir, I have the honor to acquaint you, for the information of his Excellency the Governor, with my return from Port Lincoln, and, I regret to add, with the unsatisfactory result of the expedition his Excellency did me the honor to place under my command, to search for Mr C C Dutton, supposed to have been lost in coming overland from that settlement with stock. On the 2nd October, I left Adelaide to join the party of police who had proceeded in advance, and on the 3rd October, I overtook them near Mr Gleeson's station on the Hutt and assumed the direction of the party. Proceeding as rapidly as possible, we arrived at the depot creek near Mount Arden, on the morning of the 9th October, and I at once prepared for dividing the party, as I did not deem it advisable to take so large a number of men and horses into a country where I anticipated much difficulty in procuring water. On the 10th October, I left the depot creek, accompanied by three policemen and a native, and having with us three pack horses to carry provisions and water. The remainder of the party who did not accompany me I placed, in accordance with my instructions, under Mr Tolmer, the Inspector of police. Steering south-westerly towards Baxter's range, I arrived there after two days' travelling, during most intensely oppressive heat. Here I found traces of the gentlemen volunteers in search of Mr C C Dutton. From records left on a tree, it appeared they had been here on the 30th September, and had procured water in a rocky gully now quite dry. But I succeeded in obtaining a sufficiency in another gorge, a little further south in the same range. From the dried-up state of all the creeks and water-holes near the head of Spencer's Gulf, I became aware that little rain had fallen, and that we could not anticipate finding much water in the dreary waste before us. I was therefore most anxious to keep our horses as fresh as possible, to enable them the better to sustain the hardships I feared they might be compelled to undergo. For this purpose, I avoided tethering any of them at Baxter's range, as we had there plenty of water, and the feed, though too scattered to admit of their getting enough to eat, if tethered, was sufficient for that purpose, if they had liberty to range over it. During the night of the 11th October, our horses unfortunately rambled from the range into the desert country to the south-east, and finding there neither grass nor water, advanced as rapidly towards Point Lowly, that they could not be overtaken until they reached the sea, fifty-five miles from Baxter's range. Here I came up with them with much difficulty, but as they had now been a long time without food or water, I found it almost impossible for me, alone and unassisted, to drive them away from the sea. The weather had been dreadfully hot, and the poor animals were suffering greatly, all striving to get to the edge of the sea to cool themselves, or drink salt water. By continued perseverance, I succeeded in driving all the horses away from the beach but one, and this poor animal, I regret to say, I was compelled to abandon. He had gone down a rocky steep into deep water, and to attempt to rescue him, would have probably caused the loss of many of the others, for the night was rapidly closing in upon me, and I had to drive, unaided, six unruly horses a distance of nearly sixty miles, before I could procure water either for them or for myself. Driving the horses steadily back during the night, I arrived with them again at Baxter's range on the third day after they had strayed from it, and during the whole of this time they had been without water, and almost without food also. Whilst searching for the horses, I had examined several of the ranges between Baxter's range and Point Lowly, but could find no water whatever. On the coast, near the latter place, I found a spot where the natives usually get water, deposited by the rains, but this was now quite dry, and it became evident to me that in the present state of the country, and at so unfavorable a season of the year, I could not hope to keep the coast line without endangering the safety of my whole party. Not far from Point Lowly, I had seen the tracks of cattle, which I conjecture to have been those of Mr Dutton, but I saw there no traces of either dray or man. From this I inferred that Point Lowly was the most northerly point reached by any of the cattle; that neither Mr Dutton nor his dray had been able to advance quite so far, and that, in all probability, his unfortunate party had been overtaken by calamity within a very few miles of the point I had reached. With the distressed state of my horses, and the very embarrassing circumstances under which I had arrived there, they did not permit me to examine them. After rejoining my small party at Baxter's range, with seven out of the eight horses recovered, I halted for a day to give rest to them, and then steered SSW for Refuge Rocks, as I expected to find water there, and then be able from thence to strike in again for Mr Dutton's tracks nearer the coast. Two days after leaving Baxter's Range I arrived at Refuge Rocks, (named by Eyre on 22 September 1840) and found that the volunteers, who had preceded me a few days, had used the whole of the water left by the rains, and I was consequently again obliged to push on through the desert for the coast ranges near Mount Olinthus, (North-West of present-day Cowell) as I hoped here to be able to procure water. In my route, I crossed the tracks of Mr Dutton's dray, his cattle and whole party steering to the north-east, but I was unable to follow it up, my horses having had no water for three days, since they had left Baxter's range, and though I found a little water on the third day, it was too small a quantity to admit of my remaining at it, or pushing from it again up to the north-east. Near the Mount Olinthus hills I met with several parties of natives, all very friendly, coming freely among us, and of considerable service in showing us the waters; but still these waters were too small in quantity, and of too precarious character, to admit of our delaying to recruit our horse at them, or to permit our looking upon them as places upon which we could fall back, if we attempted to trace Mr Dutton's tracks up to the north-east. Upon questioning the natives, relative to the tracks in our vicinity, they described the whole line of route taken by Mr Dutton's party from Port Lincoln, and intimated that the bullocks had gone back nearer the coast. From the distinct way in which they pointed out the whole line of Mr Dutton's route, I was induced to hope that the whole party had turned back.
In this impression I was confirmed by crossing on the 18th October, not far from Elbow Hill, (16 km south of Cowell, named by Flinders in 1802) the tracks of Mr Dutton's dray, cattle, and whole party, returning south-westerly towards Port Lincoln. I at once pushed on for that settlement, trusting to find them all safely returned, but upon arriving there, I regret to say such, unhappily, was not the case. Nothing had been heard of them, and the return tracks 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, and even whilst still in a part of the country with which he might be supposed to be well acquainted. I found, upon arrival, that the gentlemen volunteers had safely reached Port Lincoln a few days before me. As they had kept more inland than I had done, in the latter part of the route, they had not seen Mr Dutton's tracks so far up to the north as where I met with them. Upon crossing the tracks SW of Mount Hill, (named by Governor Gawler in May 1840) the volunteers attempted to follow them up to the NE, but after travelling two days were obliged to return from the want of water. These gentlemen deserve every credit for the persevering way in which they followed up the undertaking they had engaged in, although in a country with which they were previously quite unacquainted, and of which the character was of so arid and impracticable a nature. 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 of the party or stock had been ascertained; their outward tracks had been crossed in several directions; 24 head of the cattle taken by Mr Dutton had been found by the police, and returned to their old station. Two head of cattle had been seen dead by Mr Driver, on their route 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. The actual circumstances of their melancholy fate alone remained to be ascertained, and this the inhospitable nature of the country, and the unfavourable season of the year, did not permit a party to effect by land, unless aided by a vessel co-operating and supplying water for the horses by sea. About sixty miles of Mr Dutton's track alone remained unexamined, and this I would most cheerfully have gone back to effect, could I have been supplied with water for my horses at two parts of the coast south of Point Lowly. This, however, could not be arranged, for, now that there was no longer any hope of being able to preserve life, I did not feel myself justified in hiring a vessel on behalf of the Government. The cutter sent down by Mr Baker to assist the overland parties had returned, unseen by them, to Port Lincoln, and the captain of her did not consider his instructions as authorizing him to go up the Gulf again. This being the case, I was compelled to give up all further efforts for the present. Our journey down the west side of Spencer's Gulf had been harassing to the men, and was necessarily very hurried in its nature. Its results, I regret, did not prove so effectual as I could have wished, but I feel satisfied that, had we attempted more under the circumstances, the safety of the whole party would have been more than endangered. I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the steadiness and good conduct of the men who accompanied me, and who will remain at Port Lincoln until his Excellency's instructions be received. For the state of the country, and the advanced stage of the season, I do not consider they could with safety attempt to return to Adelaide by land, unless their horses were supplied by water from a vessel accompanying them along the western shores of Spencer's Gulf. Whilst at Port Lincoln, I had the honor of receiving your letter, dated 20th Oct. 1842, requesting me to render to the Government Resident at Port Lincoln such temporary assistance of men and horses as it might be in my power to afford, in the apprehension of the natives concerned in the late murders at that settlement. In reply, I have to acquaint you that, in the absence of Mr Schurmann, or of any person acquainted with the language of the natives, by means of which the actual murderers might be identified, and their usual places of resort ascertained, it did not appear to me probable that the guilty parties could soon be captured, and I therefore conceived I should best fulfill the intentions of the Government, and most conduce to the apprehension of the murderers, by placing the police force and the horses belonging to my party under the orders of the Government Resident at Port Lincoln, until further instructions can be sent down from headquarters. This I accordingly did, after consulting with the above-mentioned gentleman upon the subject, prior to my leaving Port Lincoln. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your very obedient Servant, EDWARD JOHN EYRE. Many weeks later, on 13 January 1843, the remains of Mr Dutton and his four companions were found by the natives. Some natives had come into town with the intelligence, and were anxious to prevail on a party to go out with them and assure themselves that the party had not been killed by any of the native tribes. They ascribed their death to the want of water, of which they appeared to be in search. Dutton's widow was left with the task of bringing up her children by herself. However, the South Australian Register of 24 September 1845, carried the happy news that 'on the 3 September, in the presence of numerous assemblages of friends, Thomas Bond, third son of Mr Henry Hawson, of Towalah, was married to Ellen, relict of the late CC Dutton, Esq., late sheriff of this province'. *** For more information about Edward John Eyre If you would like to find out more,
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