Every Bullock, Every
Horse, Had Its Peculiar Character, Its Well Defined Individuality, Which
Formed The Frequent Topic Of Our Conversation, In Which We All Most
Willingly Joined, Because Every One Was Equally Interested.
My readers
will, therefore, easily understand my deep distress when I saw myself, on
recent occasions, compelled to kill two of our favourite bullocks long
before their time; and when our poor dog died, which we all had fondly
hoped to bring to the end of our journey.
Brown had, either by accident,
or influenced by an unconscious feeling of melancholy, fallen into the
habit of almost constantly whistling and humming the soldier's death
march, which had such a singularly depressing effect on my feelings, that
I was frequently constrained to request him to change his tune.
Oct. 17. - We travelled about eighteen miles N. N. W. over an undulating
country, in which Cypress-pine thickets alternated with scrubby
stringy-bark forest, and some tea-tree flats. After seven miles, we
crossed a large dry creek, which went to the eastward; and, eight miles
further, we entered upon a fine box-flat, with hills to the north and
north-west. We followed a very promising Pandanus creek, in which the
presence of Typha (flag, or bulrush) and a new species of Sesbania
indicated the recent presence of water. Mr. Roper having ascended one of
the hills, and seen a green valley with a rich vegetation about three
miles to the northward, we in consequence left the creek, which turned to
the eastward; and, after passing several miles of most wretched scrub,
came into an open country, with scattered groves of trees. As the sun was
setting, I resolved upon encamping in an open plain, although without
water, except what we carried in our large stew-pot. Charley, who had
been sent forward, had not yet joined us; I, therefore, ordered two guns
to be fired, to let him know where we were; he immediately answered us
from a short distance, where he lighted up a cheerful fire. After some
time, during which misfortune and carelessness had played us the trick of
upsetting our waterpot, Charley arrived with the welcome news that he had
found some water-holes in a small creek; we therefore, at moonrise, again
saddled our tired animals, and repaired thither.
The day had been exceedingly hot; but the passing shadows of cumuli which
formed in the afternoon, occasionally afforded us a delightful relief.
The sea breeze was strong, particularly towards evening; but the dense
scrub and forest kept it from us during the day.
Oct. 18. - I stopped at the water-holes, to allow our cattle to recover.
It was a lovely place. The country around us was very open, and agreeably
diversified by small clusters of the raspberry-jam tree. Salicornia and
Binoe's Trichinium indicated the neighbourhood of salt water; but the
grass was good and mostly young. The creek was shaded by drooping
tea-trees and the broad-leaved Terminalia, which also grew scattered over
the flats. The water-hole on which we were encamped was about four feet
deep, and contained a great number of guard-fish, which, in the morning,
kept incessantly springing from the water. A small broad fish with sharp
belly, and a long ray behind the dorsal fin, was also caught. It was
highly amusing to watch the swarms of little finches, of doves, and
Ptilotis, which came during the heat of the day to drink from our water
hole. Grallina australis, Crows, Kites, Bronze-winged and Harlequin
pigeons, (Peristera histrionica, GOULD), the Rose cockatoo (Cocatua Eos),
the Betshiregah (Melopsittacus undulatus), and Trichoglossus versicolor,
GOULD, were also visitors to the water-hole, or were seen on the plains.
The day was oppressively hot; and neither the drooping tea-trees, nor our
blankets, of which we had made a shade, afforded us much relief Clouds
gathered, however, in the afternoon, and we had a few drops of rain in
the course of the night and following morning. Charley and John had gone
out on horseback to obtain some emus, with which the country seemed to
abound; they returned, however, at night, without any emus, but brought
in about twenty-two whistling and black ducks, one goose and several
waders, which they had obtained at a lagoon which was several miles in
length, and varied from 50 to 300 yards in breadth, covered with
Nymphaeas, and fringed with a dense vegetation; it was surrounded by fine
pasture. Never, as they described, had they seen so many ducks and geese
together; when they rose, their numbers darkened the air, and their noise
was deafening. They had observed a wooden post, cut with an iron
tomahawk, rammed in the ground and propped with several large stones;
which seemed to be the work either of white men or Malays.
Oct. 19. - We travelled about four miles north 30 degrees west, over
plains and an open undulating box and raspberry jam tree country, to the
lagoon which my companions had discovered. They had not exaggerated their
account, neither of the beauty of the country, nor of the size of the
lagoon, nor of the exuberance of animal life on it. It was indeed quite a
novel spectacle to us to see such myriads of ducks and geese rise and fly
up and down the lagoon, as we travelled along. Casuarinas, drooping
tea-trees, the mangrove myrtle (Stravadium) and raspberry-jam trees, grew
either on the flats, or formed open groves along the banks; and
Polygonums covered the water's edge. When we came to the end of the
lagoon, which was bounded on the left by a stony rise of flaggy Psammite,
I observed a green belt of trees scarcely 300 yards to the northward; and
on riding towards it, I found myself on the banks of a large fresh water
river from 500 to 800 yards broad, with not very high banks, densely
covered with salt water Hibiscus (Paritium), with a small rubiaceous tree
(Pavetta?), which filled the air with the jasmine-like fragrance of its
blossoms; with Flagellaria, water Pandanus, and a leguminous climber with
bunches of large green blossoms (Mucuna?
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 113 of 139
Words from 114091 to 115119
of 141354
