As Soon, However, As The River Had Fairly Left The
Basaltic Formation, Fine Large Flats Of A Light Sandy Soil Succeeded On
Both Sides; On Which Pandanus Spiralis Grew In Great Abundance, And To A
Larger Size Than We Had Seen Before.
The bed of the river became very
broad, and was covered with sands, shingle, and pebbles of the rocks of
its upper course.
I passed through a broad rocky gap of a range tending
from east to west, and, at about two miles beyond and to the north-west
of it, we encamped, in lat. 17 degrees 54 minutes 40 seconds.
In passing this gap, on a previous reconnoitring ride with Brown, I met
with several natives with their wives and children, encamped at the north
entrance of it. When they saw us, the men poised their spears, and shook
their waddis to frighten us, but when, notwithstanding their menaces, we
approached them, they left all their goods, and with their weapons only
hurried up the rocks with wonderful agility. Three koolimans (vessels of
stringy bark) were full of honey water, from one of which I took a hearty
draught, and left a brass button for payment. Dillis, fish spears, a
roasted bandicoot, a species of potatoe, wax, a bundle of tea-tree bark
with dry shavings; several flints fastened with human hair to the ends of
sticks, and which are used as knives to cut their skin and food; a
spindle to make strings of opossum wool; and several other small
utensils, were in their camp. One of my Blackfellows found a fine
rock-crystal [Note at end of para.] in one of their bags, when we passed
the place next day with our bullocks. The poor people had evidently not
yet ventured to return. The natives we had formerly met, had generally
watched our movements from a distance, and had returned to their camp as
soon as we had fairly left it; but these seemed too much frightened; and
I should not be surprised to find that the mountainous nature of their
country had given them a greater share of superstition.
[Note: This shows how far the custom extends throughout the continent, of
considering the rock-crystal as sacred; whether it be that it has been
transmitted from tribe to tribe, or that the native was everywhere
inclined to pick up a shining stone, and to consider it endowed with
peculiar virtues. From the absence of brilliant ores, or precious stones,
in the bags and dillis of the natives, I concluded, that neither precious
stones nor brilliant metallic substances existed in the country where
they lived. Those with whom we came in contact, generally admired our
gold and silver chains and watches very much, but had nothing to show in
return except broken shells from the sea-coast]
Among the new and interesting scrubs and trees which we met with at
almost every step, I shall only mention a small Grevillea, from one to
two feet in height, with pubescent pinnatifid leaves, and a simple or
compound thyrsus of scarlet flowers; Cochlospermum gossypium, the native
cotton tree of Port Essington, whose bright showy yellow blossoms and
large capsules full of silky cotton, attracted our attention; its leaves
are deciduous, and the trees were entirely leafless; a fine species of
Calytrix on the rocks, and two of Loranthus on the drooping tea tree, the
drooping foliage of which one of them imitated, whilst the other belonged
to the group I mentioned as found at the Suttor, with its flowers
inserted on a leafy bract.
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