In The Bed Of The Creek As Well As On Its Banks, The
Back Bones Of Cuttle-Fish Were Numerous.
Charley and John went down to
the beach, and brought back several living salt-water shells.
I proceeded
up the creek in a south-west direction, and came, at about three miles,
to some pools of good water, with a tolerable supply of young feed. The
range we had seen yesterday, was still about eight or ten miles distant,
tending from S.S.E. to N.N.W.; it was steep and naked, and was composed
of a white rock which proved to be a baked sandstone, nearly resembling
quartzite in its homogeneous texture.
Oct. 6. - One of our bullocks had become so weak that he was unable to
carry his load; it was, therefore, put on one of our spare horses, which
were still in excellent condition. I steered for one of the detached
mountains at the northern end of the range, and travelled about twelve
miles north-west, before we came to its foot. We had, however, to leave
our bullock on the way, as the difficult nature of the country and
diarrhoea together had completely exhausted him. Scrub and dense
underwood continued over a rather undulating country to the foot of the
range, which was itself covered with open forest. We passed through a gap
between the last two hills of the range, and Charley and Brown, whom I
had sent forward in different directions, and who had both been on the
highest hill, stated that they had distinctly seen an island in the sea;
which could be no other than that marked Cape Maria in Arrowsmith's map.
They had also seen a large river to the northward, coming from the west;
and clearly distinguished large sandy plains extending along it as far as
the eye could reach. At the west side of the range, we soon came to a
small salt-water creek with small sandy and sometimes boggy Salicornia
plains, surrounded with the scrubby salt-water tea-tree, which possessed
an odour very much resembling that of a Blackfellow. We proceeded about
six miles to the southward, when the country became more open, with an
abundance of fine young feed for our horses and cattle. The water was
slightly brackish, and, strange enough, it became more so the higher we
went up the creek.
Whilst we were at our last camp, Charley met a long file of native women
returning, with their dillies and baskets full of shell fish, to the
range; near which, very probably, fresh water existed. We saw their
numerous tracks, and a footpath leading to the river; and heard their
cooees round our present camp, which may have interfered with one of
their camping places. Our lat. was 15 degrees 14 minutes.
Oct. 7. - John and Charley went back to fetch the bullock, and, in the
mean time, I occupied myself in examining our packs, in order to dispense
with such things as were least necessary; for, with an additional weight
of 130 pounds of dried meat and hide, our pack bullocks were overloaded,
and it was now imperative upon me to travel as lightly as possible.
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