North Of The Lake Are Numerous Large Clay-Pans Which Had Not
Been Flooded, And The Lakes Could Evidently Hold
More water, and had done
so in time past, so that it is pretty clear that the lakes are large
Enough for ordinary flood waters, and, with the outlying clay-pans, can
accommodate the waters of an extraordinary flood.
I feel confident, therefore, that no outlet exists, and that beyond doubt
the Sturt ends at the Salt Sea, and does not "make" again further
South, as some have suggested. Standing on any of the hills which
surround the lake, some distance (ten miles or so) from it, one can look
down upon the water, certainly five hundred feet below the level of the
hills, which rise no more than eighty feet above the surrounding plain.
It seems most improbable, therefore, that a creek should break its way
through country of so much greater altitude without being seen by Colonel
Warburton or myself, or that any connection should exist between the Salt
Sea and Warburton's Salt Lakes to the South-East.
Had, however, the intervening country been of the same level as the lake,
and flat instead of formed into high sand ridges and hills, there might
have been a possibility of crossing a connecting creek of the same
character as the Sturt without noticing it. This question has been much
discussed by gentlemen interested in the geography of interior Australia,
and therefore I have dealt with it at some length.
CHAPTER III
OUR CAMP ON THE "SALT SEA"
April 2nd to 7th we were the guests of Mr. Stretch, and whilst resting
here Godfrey's eyes soon became well enough to allow him to travel. On
the 7th, therefore, we set forth on our journey and bade adieu to the
last outpost of civilisation in the North. Our party was further
increased by a Sturt Creek boy, Tiger by name - a very smart and
intelligent fellow of whom Mr. Stretch was very glad to see the last, for
smart boys are nearly always the most mischievous amongst the cattle.
Warri and Tiger were great friends, and the new boy's presence put Warri
on his mettle, and no amount of work was too hard for him whilst he had
Tiger to show off to. After I had cut his hair and shampooed his head
with kerosene and soap, dressed him in trousers, shirt, and cap, he
looked a most presentable youth.
Mr. Stretch accompanied us down the creek for the first few days, during
which we passed some of his cattle and horses. The flies and mosquitoes
worry the poor beasts terribly, and all day long the horses stand in the
water in pairs, or in a line, with head to tail, each one flicking the
flies from his neighbour's face with his tail. This habit of standing up
to the girth in water has given rise to a horse sickness known as
"swamp-cancer." The skin under the belly becomes so soft that at last a
raw place is formed, and this, aggravated by the flies, spreads until it
becomes a serious disease.
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