Page:Last of the tasmanians.djvu/184

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DISPATCHES OF THE GENERAL.
157

pleasure had they the advantage of fine weather, dry boots, better rations, and less aching limbs; as it was, few of the wearied men would turn aside to see the spectacle. Old Hughes picked up a twelve pound bag of flour there, which had probably been dropped by some marauding fugitive.

The other divisions had probably fewer miles to travel than the north-west one, but some had a more fearful country to pass. One had to go from Quamby's Bluff of the Western mountains, eastward to Campbell Town, then along the lovely valley of the Avoca, still more eastward by St. Paul's river, and southward and eastward to the sea at Swanport. Another pressed from Broad Marsh to Russell's Falls of the Derwent, thence upward to Hamilton, Bothwell, and the Crescent Lake of the basaltic plateau. Captain Wentworth reached Brighton by the 16th inst, and walked along the banks of the Jordan to Jericho. There he was met by Major Douglas, and both made their way to Little Swanport on the coast. On the 20th of October there was a connexion from Richmond to Prosser's Bay; and, four days after, from Sorell through Brushy Plains and White Marsh to the Bay. But further remarks on the respective lines of march would not be so agreeable to the reader as more interesting details of incidents by the way.

Every care was taken by Colonel Arthur to keep his forces in order. Minute regulations were issued nearly every day. Copies of General Orders were sent to the different commanders, who had to put their signature to the official document as an evidence that they had perused the same. Indeed, so active was the pen of the Governor, that some merriment was occasioned from the frequency of the missives and their occasional contradictions.

Mr. Melville, editor and proprietor of the Colonial Times, declared that "during the advance of the Line, the dispatches received and sent equalled in number those forwarded by the allied armies during the last European wars; in fact, everything was carried on as if it were a great war in miniature."

The Colonel's presence was seen or felt everywhere; none travelled more than he, none wrote more than he. He has been known to ride, in such a country too, for fifty miles in one day, to see his orders executed. An old hand described the sunshine of a visit, when the party were very dispirited from the