The Grass Of The
Isaacs Grew From Twelve To Fifteen Feet High, In The Hollows Near The
River, Which Was, As Usual, Fringed With Sarcocephalus; A Species Of
Terminalia; The Drooping Tea-Tree; And With An Acacia Which Perfumed The
Air With The Fragrant Odours Of Its Flowers.
We gathered some blossoms of
the drooping tea-tree, which were full of honey, and, when soaked,
imparted a very agreeable sweetness to the water.
We frequently observed
great quantities of washed blossoms of this tree in the deserted camps of
the natives; showing that they were as fond of the honey in the blossoms
of the tea-tree, as the natives of the east coast are of that of the
several species of Banksia.
June 10. - We travelled about five miles north-north-west to latitude 17
degrees 9 minutes 17 seconds. The flats, the rugged hills, and the river,
maintained the same character. Creeks, probably of no great extent,
joined the Lynd from the south side of all the hills we passed both
yesterday and to-day.
The weather was very fine, although exceedingly hot during the day; but
the nights were mild, and without dew. An easterly and south-easterly
wind blew during the whole day, moderated a little at sunset, and again
freshened up after it; but the latter part of the night, and for an hour
and a half after sunrise, was calm. I was induced to think that this wind
originated from the current of cold air flowing from the table-land of
the Burdekin down to the gulf, as the easterly winds west of New England
do, and as the westerly winds of Sydney during July and August, which are
supposed to be equally connected with the table-land of New England and
of Bathurst. The westerly winds occurring at the upper Lynd, do not
militate against such a supposition, as they might well belong to an
upper current coming from the sea.
Two new fishes were caught; both were very small; the one
malacopterygious, and resembling the pike, would remain at times
motionless at the bottom, or dart at its prey; the other belonged to the
perches, and had an oblong compressed body, and three dark stripes
perpendicular to its length; this would hover through the water, and
nibble at the bait. Silurus and Gristes were also caught.
Brown rendered himself very useful to us in shooting ducks, which were
very numerous on the water-holes; and he succeeded several times in
killing six, eight, or ten, at oneshot; particularly the Leptotarsis,
GOULD, (whistling duck) which habitually crowd close together on the
water. Native companions were also numerous, but these birds and the
black cockatoos were the most wary of any that we met. Whilst travelling
with our bullocks through the high grass, we started daily a great number
of wallabies; two of which were taken by Charley and John Murphy,
assisted by our kangaroo dog. Brown, who had gone to the lower part of
the long pool of water near our encampment, to get a shot at some
sheldrakes (Tadorna Raja), returned in a great hurry, and told me that he
had seen a very large and most curious fish dead, and at the water's
edge.
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