The Next Day Breaden And I Rode Up To Mount Elphinstone, Which We Found
To Be Formed Of Three Great
Rocky shoulders of sandstone capped with
quartzite, almost bare, and stony on the top, with sheer faces one
hundred feet
High on the West side and a gradual slope to the East, where
high sand-ridges run right up to the foot. From the summit a high
tableland [Probably Musgrave Range (Warburton)] and range can be seen to
the North, to the East a bluff-ended tableland, [Probably Philipson Range
(Warburton)] but the horizon from South-East to South-West was a dead
level.
One mile due West of the highest point we found a native well in a sandy
gutter, and about 150 yards from it, to the East, a high wall of bare
rock as regular as if it had been built. This wall, seen edge-on from the
North-West, from which point Breaden sighted it when after the camels,
appears like a chimney-stack.
As the soaks at which we were camped have the appearance of being more
permanent than the usual native well, it may be useful to give directions
for finding them from Mount Elphinstone. Leave hill on bearing 230
degrees, cross one sand-ridge close to hills, then spinifex plain, then
another sand-ridge running East and West, from the crest of which can be
seen three gaps in the next one - steer for most Westerly gap, and seven
miles from the hill the soaks will be found. Having no time for further
investigation, we returned to camp, and to ensure an early start tied the
camels down for the night, since they had been feeding all day. Bluey
again proved to be a vicious brute, and kicked me in the chest, knocking
me down; but the other new camels daily improved in their manners. We had
great trouble in cleaning off from their backs the clay with which they
were smeared, having rolled in some shallow clay-pans near the lakes. It
was most necessary to scrape it off somehow, as otherwise sore backs
would have resulted; and, indeed, Stoddy's sore back started in this way
by the friction of the saddle and the caked mud.
The country ahead looked so bad that I decided to take the two bucks with
us for as long as they knew the waters, so secured the one to the other
by the neck, with plenty of spare chain between. They marched with us
apparently perfectly happy, and even anxious to point out the directions
of various native wells. My object was to make as much Southing as
possible whilst we could; so having two natives and one hundred gallons
of water (of which the horses were given three gallons each nightly), we
steered due South from the soaks, and had a long day of tremendously steep
sand-ridges, up the North side of which the camels climbed with
difficulty. Riding the camels was out of the question, so we took the
horses in turn, Breaden and I steering hour about. Though crossing fresh
tracks and though the bucks were most anxious to follow them, we did not
turn from our course, for we had only left water the day before, and as
our rations were calculated to just, and only just, last out, no time
could be wasted. For the same reason we were travelling longer hours.
Our camp of the 28th was in lat. 21 degrees 4 minutes long. 128 degrees 33
minutes, and ahead of us to the South-West three miles distant was a range
of barren sandstone hills, for which we steered; the old man, though
contradicted by the young one, promising "gilli nappa," or creek water.
However, he fooled us, and after much climbing we reached a small, dry
well in a narrow gorge, quite inaccessible for camels.
It was now the young man's turn, who, seeing that we were not best
pleased with his mate's efforts, by every sort of sign assured us that
water existed in another range to the East. So turning in that direction
over monstrous high ridges, crossing them obliquely, in five miles we cut
a small watercourse, and following it up to its head found ourselves on
the top of a range of barren sandstone hills, over which were dotted
white-stemmed stunted gums - a most desolate place. The travelling was
very trying to the camels, who were continually missing their footing on
loose boulders and stones, in the bed of the creek. Sheer steps in the
rock on either hand precluded us from marching over the hills, excepting
up the watercourse.
From the summit, other similar hills could be seen to the East - hills of
quite a respectable height, all bare and rocky. Numerous small gorges and
glens head from the East watershed; without any hesitation our guides
started down one, and before long we came to a little pool in the rocky
bed. Here we watered our animals and replenished our tanks and bags;
and a nice job we had to make some of the camels approach the pool; on
either side were steep cliffs, and to reach the water numerous cracks
and gaps in the bed-rock had to be crossed, not wide or deep, but
sufficiently so to scare Bluey and some of the others. The open desert
life seems to make camels, and horses too, very nervous when anything
the least unusual has to be faced. The echoes amongst the rocks, and
the rather gloomy gorges, seemed to make them "jumpy"; a stone
rattling down behind them would be sufficient to cause a panic.
Leaving the pool, we followed the gorge until it ran out as a deep,
sandy channel down the valley formed by the horseshoe of the ranges.
The ranges I named the Erica Ranges, after one of my sisters. All
along the banks of the creek splendid green acacia and grass was
growing, and a most inviting-looking plant standing some six feet
high, with greenish-grey stems and leaves, and a flower not unlike
wallflower.
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