Page:History of West Australia.djvu/455

Rh embarked on the old barque Freebridge, and reached Cossack on 17th March, 1869. At Cossack Mr. Mackay met Mr. Horace Sholl, who lent him a horse to complete the journey to his destination. On this journey he was so struck with the appearance of the country that he made the remark that he was certain valuable minerals would be found in the locality. Between Roebourne and the Maitland liver he came across huge outcrops of white quartz, near the very place where rich finds of gold have since been made. At that time, however, the country was not ripe for such discoveries, and nature's storehouses were allowed to keep their treasures for many following years. Thenceforth Mr. Mackay became intimately associated with the history of Western Australia, and saw the development of the pearl fisheries. On joining his brother, who had taken up a leasehold on the Maitland River, it was agreed to divide the work, and the elder brother took care of the stock while the younger augmented the tottering finances by taking contracts for road-making, &c. Then came the boom in the pearl fisheries, and with the money made at his contract work Donald bought a share in a small pearling craft. At this time the pearl shells were collected mostly on the rocks when the tide was out, the natives picking the shell up with their toes. By degrees they worked on into deeper water, and then the practice of diving commenced. Mr. D. Mackay took an active part in the operations, but the hard work and harder living told on his health to such an extent that, acting on the advice of Mr. McKenzie Grant, he, in company with a friend, a Mr. Loftus, returned to the mainland to recuperate. The two joined a schooner bound for the De Grey River, but on reaching the entrance missed the tide, and sooner than wait for twenty-four hours the two friends agreed to land and make their way overland to the settlement. They got ashore, but found themselves on the wrong side of the river, which was running a banker. How to cross was a problem which proved difficult to solve. Both men were far from well, but Mr. Loftus, who was the stronger and a splendid swimmer, decided to test the stream before allowing his less powerful comrade to venture. He first took the clothes over and then returned for Mr. Mackay, but he would not accept assistance. The current was running so strong that the swimmers were carried half a mile down the stream before they could land. On his return to health Mr. Mackay sold his interest in the pearling craft and went on the station with his brother, with whom he had previously entered into partnership.

Shortly afterwards he returned to Fremantle, and with Mr. Walter Ledger purchased a vessel for the pearl fisheries. The cutter, the Victoria, was given a thorough overhaul, and in the month of July, 1871, the partners started away for the pearling grounds. They were only out a few hours when a terrible nor'wester overtook them, which necessitated the vessel being hove to. The jaws of the gaff were torn away, and the cutter had to run back to Fremantle, where she arrived at daybreak, but on dropping anchor carried away the chains. She rapidly drifted towards the shore, but fortunately Mr. John Bateman noticed their predicament, and calling for volunteers manned a whaleboat and carried off a line to the distressed vessel. After a lot of trouble they managed to make this fast to a buoy, and saved the cutter from destruction. Mr. Mackay landed, and was unable to board the vessel again for three weeks, so rough was the weather. In the meantime a cutter, Governor Weld, arrived from Roebourne with the news that a terrible "willy-willy" had swept over the Roebourne district and done an immense amount of damage to life and property. Mr. Mackay was naturally anxious to ascertain how his brother had fared during the trouble, but owing to the prevalence of the heavy gales was detained in Fremantle. Every morning he fully expected to find the cutter ashore, but by a wonderful dispensation of Providence she hung on to the mooring and weathered the gales. At last the storm abated, and a course was steered for Roebourne. On his arrival at the station Mr. Mackay found that the reports that had reached him in Fremantle had not been exaggerated. All the hard work on the station had resulted in disaster. Out of the 2,500 sheep with which the property was stocked 1,700 were drowned. When he reached home he found his brother had gathered the wool from the dead sheep, whose carcases were scattered over the plains, and thus saved a little from the ruin. When the "willy-willy" came Mr. Roderick Mackay sat in his house and saw the stock being swept away in all directions. As the waters spread over the plains and rose higher he gave up all hope of saving the stock and had to look to his own safety. A favourite mare was in the stable, which he saddled, and, gathering together a few valuables, started for the high hills. As he was leaving he saw a little collie puppy, which even in his danger he could not desert, so, picking it up, the disappointed man, with his two four-fooled friends, left his doomed home.

The brothers were so discouraged by their misfortunes that they determined to put the property on the market, and eventually a purchaser was found. The negotiations for the sale were almost completed when the intending purchaser got an idea that there was scab among the sheep and refused to complete the purchase. With the remnant of their stock the Mackays bade farewell to the river which had treated them so ill and settled on the Yule, sixty miles to the eastward of Roebourne, and with this change their fortunes improved. The elder brother Roderick remained to look after the stock, and Donald went with his partner on the long-delayed pearling voyage. The natives they engaged were not capable of doing the work in the deep water, and Mr. Mackay's partner went up to Exmouth Gulf for additional men. The blacks were known to be very treacherous in that locality, but Mr. Ledger had always got on well with them, and used to boast that they would never hurt him. So confident was he, that, on arriving at the recruiting grounds in the cutter Hamden, belonging to the Tuckeys, he remained on board by himself while the men were ashore. The unfortunate man was sitting in the companion way talking to one of the natives who had swam off from the shore when a second man came behind and struck him on the head with a tomahawk, splitting the skull. The poor fellow fell into the cabin, and, picking up a rifle, fired up the companion-way, blowing off the assassin's hand. The report of the rifle brought the Tuckeys back to the ship, but the natives escaped for a time by jumping overboard and swimming to an island near which the ship was anchored. The master of the vessel, on ascertaining what had happened, and having attended to the injured man, went ashore with his brother and captured the culprit, who was conveyed to Cossack. Mr. Ledger only survived his injuries a few weeks, but the murderer, for some extraordinary reasons, was only sentenced to a short term of imprisonment.

Fortune favoured the Mackay family both in the pearling and squatting ventures. Large areas of land were added to the original station, which is now one of the largest in the colony. Mr. Donald Mackay continued pearling, and in 1882 the hard life which he had lived brought on a serious illness. His