After Crossing A Small Sandy Creek, Along Which Grew A Few Sarcocephalus, We Came To A Large Creek Lined With Drooping Tea-Trees And Sarcocephalus, And Encamped On A Fine Pool Of Water, Within Its Deep Bed.

I named this creek after W.C. Wentworth, Esq. M.C. who had kindly contributed to the outfit of my expedition.

At early dawn, a flight of wild geese filed in long line over our camp, the flapping of their wings was heavy, but short, and the note they emitted resembled that of the common goose, but was some-what shriller. In the box-flat we started a flock of emus, and Spring caught a fine male bird. It would have been highly amusing for a looker on to observe how remarkably eager we were to pluck the feathers from its rump, and cut the skin, to see how thick the fat was, and whether it was a rich yellow, or only flesh-coloured. We had, indeed, a most extraordinary desire for anything fat; and we soon found where to look for it. In the emu it accumulates all over the skin, but particularly on the rump, and between the shoulders, and round the sternal plate. To obtain the oil, we skinned those parts, and suspended them before a slow fire, and caught the oil in our frying pan; this was of a light yellowish colour, tasteless, and almost free from scent. Several times, when suffering from excessive fatigue, I rubbed it into the skin all over the body, and its slightly exciting properties proved very beneficial. It has always been considered by the white inhabitants of the bush, a good anti-rheumatic.

The sea breeze from the northward still continued during the day; the nights were clear and dewy, but ceased to be so cold.

I found a piece of granite and a fragment of fortification agate in the sandy bed of the creek.

Sept. 5. - We travelled about ten miles west by north, to lat. 16 degrees 48 minutes 22 seconds. Having passed a rather open forest of bloodwood, apple-gum, and leguminous Ironbark, with isolated patches of scrub, and some dry teat-ree swamps with heaps of calcined mussel-shells, we came to a thick stringy-bark forest, on a sandy soil, with a hard sandstone cropping out frequently. This opened into the flats of a sandy Pandanus creek, which we crossed; and, three miles farther, we came to another broad creek with salt water. Its bed was rocky, and we forded it easily. I followed one of its branches for several miles, and found, after passing its salt-water pools, a small pool of fresh water in its rocky sandy bed, near which I observed an old camping place of the natives. I was considerably in advance of my train, and the dog was with me. As I was examining the pool of water and the numerous tracks round it, an emu came walking along the shady bed of the creek; I immediately mounted my horse and pursued it with the dog, and caught it after a very short run; to prevent its wounding the dog, I dismounted to kill it, when my horse became frightened, broke loose, and ran away. I returned with the emu to the water, and when the train arrived, I sent Charley after the horse, whilst I walked about two miles further up the creek to find a better supply of water. Not succeeding, however, I returned and encamped at the small pool, which we enlarged with the spade, and obtained a sufficient supply of very good water. Charley returned with the horse, but my saddlebags, my journals and a calabash were lost. I was in great anxiety, and blamed myself severely for having committed such an act of imprudence. Charley went, however, a second time on foot, and succeeded in finding everything but the calabash, which was a great loss to our dog.

In the camping place of the natives, I found a large round stone of porphyry, upon which the natives were accustomed to break the seed-vessels of Pandanus. I could discover no indications of this rock in the creek, not even the smallest pebble; and I am consequently inclined to think that this stone was brought by the natives from a considerable distance to the south-west. But, from the broken pieces of granite of our last camp, it became evident that a rocky primitive country, like that of the upper Lynd, could not be very distant. Even the vegetation agreed well with that of the same locality; as the dwarf Grevillea, G. chrysodendrum, and the falcate Grevillea of the upper Lynd, were here again observed. The tea-trees along the banks of the creek, as far as the salt-water extended, were leafless and dead. This may be accounted for by a succession of dry years in which usual freshes have not taken place; and by the supposition that the drooping tea-tree cannot live on water entirely salt.

Sept. 6. - We travelled twelve miles north-west, through Pandanus and bloodwood forest, alternating with scrub, stringy-bark forest, and tea-tree thickets; and, in the latter part of the stage, through broad-leaved tea-tree forest. We encamped at a fine river, with a bed three hundred yards broad from bank to bank, but with a narrow channel of running water. This channel was fringed with the water Pandanus, which we first observed at Beames's Brook; the sandy bed was covered with drooping tea-trees and Grevillea chrysodendrum. Charley shot a bustard, the stomach of which was filled with seeds of Grewia, with small yellow seeds, and some beetles. On this stage, we again passed some of those remarkable dry tea-tree swamps - surrounded with heaps of very large mussel shells - evidently showing that they had been a long time under water, though they were now overgrown with small tea-trees, perhaps five or six years old; and which proved, like the drooping tea-trees on the banks of the creek, that the last few years had been exceedingly dry.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 100 of 139
Words from 100858 to 101878 of 141354