In Passing The Large Flats Of The Last
Creek, Which Was Here Full Of Fine Reedy Water-Holes, We Observed A
Native; And Brown Cooeed To Him, And By A Sign Requested Him To Wait For
Us:
But he was so frightened, by the sudden appearance of two men
cantering towards him, that he took to his heels, and soon disappeared in
the neighbouring scrub.
We rode the whole day through a Bricklow thicket,
which, in only three or four places, was interrupted by narrow strips of
open country, along creeks on which fine flooded-gums were growing. The
density of the scrub, which covered an almost entirely level country,
prevented our seeing farther than a few yards before us, so that we
passed our landmark, and, when night approached, and the country became
more open, we found ourselves in a part of the country totally unknown to
us. At the outside of the scrub, however, we were cheered by the sight of
some large lagoons, on whose muddy banks there were numerous tracts of
emus and kangaroos. In a recently deserted camp of the Aborigines, we
found an eatable root, like the large tubers of Dahlia, which we greedily
devoured, our appetite being wonderfully quickened by long abstinence and
exercise. Brown fortunately shot two pigeons; and, whilst we were
discussing our welcome repast, an emu, probably on its way to drink,
approached the lagoon, but halted when it got sight of us, then walked
slowly about, scrutinizing us with suspicious looks, and, when Brown
attempted to get near it, trotted off to a short distance, and stopped
again, and continued to play this tantalizing trick until we were tired;
when, mounting our horses, we proceeded on our way.
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