I Had A Splendid Chance Of Replenishing Our Larder, And, Fool That I Was,
I Missed It.
I was riding The Warden to the spring, when a kangaroo
popped up on his hind legs, and sat looking at me.
The Warden would not
keep still; the surprised kangaroo actually waited for me to dismount and
aim my rifle, but just as I fired The Warden jerked my arm and I missed,
and away bounded many a good meal - and with it the pony! So I continued
my way on foot, and was rewarded by finding some interesting things. A
big camp of natives had been here in our absence; near the spring in the
scrub was a cleared corroboree ground, twenty feet by fifty yards,
cleaned of all stones and enclosed by a fallen brush-fence (this older
than the other work, showing this is a favourite meeting-place). At one
end was a sort of altar of bushes, and hidden beneath them a long, carved
board. This I took, and afterwards gave to Sir John Forrest. In every
tree surrounding the clearing a stone was lodged in the forked branches.
The pile of stones on Mount Allott had not been touched, nor had my board
been removed. On it I found an addition to my directions to the
lagoon - an addition made by two prospectors, Swincer and Haden, who had
been in this locality two months after our first visit. I did not meet
either Mr. Swincer or Mr. Haden, but I heard that my board had been of
great service to them, for without it they would not have known of the
lagoon, where they camped some time. G.H.S. carved on a tree near the
Blythe Creek was also due to them; I believe that was about their
furthest point reached, from which they returned to Lake Darlot. On their
return they depended on a water which failed them, and they had in
consequence a narrow squeak for their lives. On nearing camp I met
Breaden and Warri, who had started to track me up, for Warden's return
with an empty saddle had caused a little anxiety.
I observed for latitude that night, and was pleased to find that my two
positions for the lagoon agreed almost exactly, both in latitude and
longitude - a very satisfactory result considering the distance we had
travelled.
On the 20th we started again, steering a course a little South of West,
my intention being to round the North end of Lake Wells, and cut the
Bonython Creek, with the object of seeing if another oasis, on our
suggested stock route from South Australia, could be found. It need
hardly be said that any idea of a stock route from Hall's Creek is
absolutely impracticable. Between Woodhouse Lagoon and Lake Wells the
country consists of low sand-ridges, on which grows an abundance of
acacia bushes and others suitable for camels, alternating with open
spinifex plains, mulga scrubs in which good grass grows, and nearer the
lagoon one or two small grass plains.
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