Some Of The Hills Were Open At Their Summits,
Timbered With Apple-Gum, And Covered With White Ant-Hills; Their Bases
Were Surrounded With Thickets Of The Severn Tree.
We encamped at a fine
Nymphaea lagoon, in the rich shade of a white drooping gum tree.
A large
but dry creek was near us to the westward. The grass was excellent.
August 2. - We travelled twelve miles west-north-west, over a fine
box-flat, crossed a good sized creek, about five miles from the camp,
and, to the westward of it, passed over seven miles of Ironbark ridges.
We descended from them into the valley of a creek fringed with the
white-gum tree, and followed it down for about three miles before we
found water. We encamped at a good water-hole, at the foot of the ridges,
in latitude 18 degrees 0 minutes 42 seconds. Brown and Charley, who had
gone two miles lower down, told me that they had found salt-water, and
deposits of very fine salt. Many lagoons were on the flats, surrounded by
Polygonums, and frequented by ducks, spoonbills, and various aquatic
birds. They had shot, however, only one teal and a spoonbill. In
travelling down the creek, we frequently started wallabies. Geophaps
plumifera was very frequent on the Ironbark ridges. A cormorant with
white breast and belly, and the rose cockatoo were shot; the former
tasted as well as a duck. Brown collected a good quantity of the gum of
Terminalia, and the seeds of the river bean, which made an excellent
coffee. The native bee was very abundant.
The natives seemed to have burned the grass systematically along every
watercourse, and round every water-hole, in order to have them surrounded
with young grass as soon as the rain sets in. These burnings were not
connected with camping places, where the fire is liable to spread from
the fire-places, and would clear the neighbouring ground. Long strips of
lately burnt grass were frequently observed extending for many miles
along the creeks. The banks of small isolated water-holes in the forest,
were equally attended to, although water had not been in either for a
considerable time. It is no doubt connected with a systematic management
of their runs, to attract game to particular spots, in the same way that
stockholders burn parts of theirs in proper seasons; at least those who
are not influenced by the erroneous notion, that burning the grass
injures the richness and density of the natural turf. The natives,
however, frequently burn the high and stiff grass, particularly along
shady creeks, with the intention of driving the concealed game out of it;
and we have frequently seen them watching anxiously, even for lizards,
when other game was wanting.
August 3. - We travelled, for the first two miles, N. 60 degrees W. over
scrubby ironstone ridges, and then entered upon a fine plain, from which
smoke was seen to the west and north-west. I chose the latter direction,
and passed over ironstone ridges covered with stunted silver-leaved
Ironbark; and a species of Terminalia, a small tree, with long spathulate
glaucous leaves, slightly winged seed-vessels, and with an abundance of
fine transparent eatable gum; of which John and Brown gathered a great
quantity.
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