Ferdinand von Mueller

My dear Dr Mueller

Might I venture to bring under your notice a Gentleman here

1

Adelaide?

named F. G. Waterhouse, as a person well qualified for a post in your proposed Exploring Expedition

2

The expedition of which Robert O'Hara Burke was appointed leader on 30 June 1860 and which became known as the Burke & Wills Exploring Expedition, 1860-1.

Mr Waterhouse is a hardy active man well accustomed to Bush life — capable, and willing to do his share of the hard work which falls to Bush parties — he is moreover a diligent and apparently a skilful Entomologist, in which branch of Science, I believe, he is not unknown to your Professor in Melbourne

3

Frederick McCoy.

— he is also so far acquainted with Botany as to be able to detect any thing rare or new — he would not lumber a Botanical collection with useless specimens nor would he overlook varieties which would escape the common eye —

I think he would be a useful man to you, but my recommendation is contingent upon his learning how to shoe horses — (not a very scientific but a very useful accomplishment) he readily undertook to learn this if likely to be employed, and as he is a skilful & handy man I am sure he would do it well.

4

Waterhouse was not appointed to the Expedition party by Burke; see M et al. to the Royal Society of Victoria, December 1860.

I am making for my own satisfaction experiments in horse shoes and I hope by a very simple process — fusing a bit of cast iron over the wrought iron shoe — to reduce the weight of the shoes and to make them almost indestructable, at any rate to make a set last four months — if successful the knowledge will be of immense value to every man in the Bush —

If your party is to be a Camel party, you will require very different men to what you would with a horse party.

I presume your Camels will be accompanied by Asiatic Camel drivers and if so, I think my knowledge of the language and habits of those men will justify me in the opinion that, supposing they knew what they were undertaking nothing would induce them to go out on an Exploring Expedition, and that if they start, not knowing what is before them, they will desert if they dare, and if afraid to return by themselves, they will secretly but effectually cripple the Camels under their charge and thus necessitate the return — the ignominious return — of the Expedition —

It has always been my opinion that after a bad season a Bush party can not be too early in the field — we have had a very bad season in the north, but now copious rain has fallen and without doubt any party ready to take advantage of this fall might cross the Continent & return before the end of Spring —

As I have taken the liberty of mentioning one persons name to you, I might as well add another — viz "Bowman"

5

See R. Bowman to M, 29 January 1860, and R. Bowman to M, 1 February 1860, in which Bowman seeks positions in the expedition for himself and a friend. Bowman — writing, however, from Malmsbury, Vic., not from SA — was not appointed to the Expedition's party. See M et al. to the Royal Society of Victoria, December 1860 (in this edition as 60-12-00). Bowman was with Augustus Gregory on both the North Australian Exploring Expedition and his later expedition in search of Leichhardt; see A. Gregory (1858) and A. Gregory (1858a).

who was with Gregory — he is I think now in this Colony — Phibbs unfortunately has had a fortune left him and is out of the way, otherwise he is a first rate man —

If not bothering you to an unpardonable extent, I would at some future time offer for consideration, a few improvements in pack saddles — and a mode of packing provisions — if you buy Horses, you should try to get a proportion of white & light grey amongst them —

with apologies for trespassing so much on yr time