Sterculia Was Frequent, And We Collected A Great
Quantity Of Its Ripe Seeds.
We passed several dry swamps, surrounded with
tea-tree thickets, and heaps of fresh water mussel shells.
A rich
iron-stone rock cropped out frequently; its surface had the appearance of
having been netted.
In a tract of broad-leaved tea-tree forest, we came to a watercourse,
which led us to a fine creek surrounded with Pandanus and drooping
tea-trees, and containing a chain of deep water-holes in its bed. Its
course was from west to east.
Sept. 20. - We removed our camp to the creek I had found last night, about
nine miles north-west from the Robinson. On our way, we saw two flocks of
emus, and Spring caught one of the birds. According to Charley, who is a
native of Bathurst, the emus of this part of the country are much smaller
than those of his country, which frequently yield from two to three
gallons of oil; but very few of the gulf emus contained fat enough to fry
their own liver; and their skin was as dry as that of the native dog. A
similar difference has been observed in the bustard, which, at the gulf,
rarely weighed more than three pounds and a half; whereas individuals of
twenty and twenty-eight pounds weight have been shot to the southward.
I succeeded here in cooking the seeds of Sterculia, which had recently
been gathered; first by separating them from their prickly husks, and
roasting them slightly, and then pounding and boiling them for a short
time. They produced not only a good beverage with an agreeable flavour,
but ate well and appeared to be very nourishing. They contained a great
quantity of oil.
Brown caught an Agama, of a light yellowish colour, about a foot long.
The nights had been generally cloudy, with the exception of the last,
which was clear with heavy dew. The days were very hot before the setting
in of the sea breeze, which now generally took place at half past eleven.
But the refreshing breeze was little felt in the close stringy-bark
forest, which, with the dust rising under our bullocks' feet, rendered
the heat almost suffocating.
Sept. 21. - Our journey to-day was in a N. 50 degrees W. direction for
about eleven miles, through stringy-bark forest, in which the Melaleuca
and the Cypress pine were either scattered, or formed small patches of
forest. We then crossed a shallow sandy creek surrounded with thickets of
Cypress pine; passed some broad-leaved tea-tree forest, and came to a
fine open country timbered with tea-tree, and, farther on, with box and
white gum. After fifteen miles, our course was intercepted by the largest
salt-water river we had yet seen, and we turned at once to the W.S.W. in
order to head it. Deep hollows surrounded by tea-trees, but quite dry,
extended parallel to the river. We observed several islands in the river;
and it was joined by some deep creeks filled with salt water at their
lower parts, but dry higher up. The whole country was equally open and
well grassed. The leguminous Ironbark, the white-barked tree of the Abel
Tasman, the fig tree, and Sterculia in fruit, grew in the forest; and the
white water-gum in the hollows, the drooping tea-tree at the level of the
freshes, and a species of salt-water Casuarina below it.
I called this river the "Macarthur," in acknowledgment of the liberal
support my expedition received from Messrs. James and William Macarthur
of Cambden.
When we were passing through the stringy-bark forest, about four or five
miles from the camp of the 20th, we heard the calls of some natives
behind us, and I stopped our train to ascertain what they wanted: they
were soon perceived running after us, and, when they were sufficiently
near, I dismounted and advanced slowly to have a parley, and was met by
an old man with three or four young fellows behind him. As soon as he saw
that I intended to make him a present, he prepared one in return; and
when I gave him some rings and buckles, he presented me with some of the
ornaments he wore on his person. As our confidence in each other was thus
established, some of my companions and several others of the natives came
up, and we exchanged presents in a very amicable manner. They were all
well made, good looking men; and one young man, whose body was coloured
red, was even handsome, although his expression was somewhat wild and
excited. All of them seemed to have been circumcised. Charley told me
afterwards, that, at my first approach, some of them held their
bommerangs ready to throw, but I do not think that it was more than a
simple attitude of defence, in case I should have proved the aggressor.
On my inquiring about water, they pointed in the direction which we were
going, and seemed to say, "It is far, but it is large; Baco! Baco!
Umara!" they frequently repeated with emphasis. John also told me that an
old man had made signs of a large water, but not fit to drink, and was
very anxious for us to change our course, Mr. Roper had understood the
same. But, as long as we were ignorant what was before us, the pantomime
and words of the natives enabled us to form but very vague and hopeless
guesses. It was easy to understand them, when we knew the reality. These
natives must have had some intercourse with white men, or Malays, for
they knew the use of a knife, and valued it so highly, that one of them
offered a gin for one. They appeared equally acquainted with the use of
our fire-arms. No doubt they had seen the Malays, and probably some had
accompanied them to the islands; as it is a common custom of the Malays
to take natives home with them, that they may become friendly to them
when fishing for trepang at this part of the gulf.
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