The Nights Were Usually Dewy, In Consequence Of The Moist Sea Breeze,
Which Blew Almost The Whole Day From East And E. N. E., And Set In
Frequently As Early As 9 Or 10 O'clock.
The morning, from about 7 o'clock
till the sea breeze set in, was exceedingly hot; but, before sunrise, it
Was most delightful; the myriads of flies which crowded round us during
the day, and the mosquitoes which annoyed us after sunset, were then
benumbed; and although the sun rose with the full intensity of its heat,
it was not so inconvenient in the early morn as to induce us to look for
shade. Not a breath was stirring; and the notes of the laughing jackass
and some few small birds, alone showed that there were other beings
enjoying the beauty of this august solitude.
Oct. 12. - We proceeded three or four miles up the creek, and found a
crossing at a fishing place of the natives; in an old camping place near
this fishery, I saw a long funnel-shaped fish trap, made of the flexible
stem of Flagellaria. Hence we travelled about north-west by west, towards
a fine mountain range, which yesterday bore W. N. W. After six miles of
undulating scrubby country, and broad-leaved tea-tree forest, we arrived
at a creek with a fine pool of water, which, notwithstanding its
Nymphaeas, Charas, and Typhas, was slightly brackish and bitter. Limnaea,
and two species of Melania, were found in it; the one species, with a
long sharp spire, had been found in a reedy brook, at the upper Burdekin.
Limmen Bight river was not half a mile from our camp; and I now hoped
that we should soon be out of the system of salt-water creeks joining it
from the southward.
Our lat. was 15 degrees 13 minutes (?) and longitude, according to
reckoning, 135 degrees 30 minutes. We had left the stiff grasses of the
coast, and the pasture was fast improving. John Murphy shot the Torres
Straits pigeon (Carpophaga luctuosa, GOULD) which we had once before
observed; but it was exceedingly shy and rare, and only seen in pairs.
Oct. 13. - We travelled about sixteen miles to the southward, to lat. 15
degrees 29 minutes 10 seconds, following the river, and heading several
salt water creeks, which prolonged our journey very much. Stony hills and
ranges frequently approached the river, and rendered our travelling
difficult and fatiguing. They were composed of baked sandstone, and white
and blue indurated clay, the strata of which dipped at a very small angle
to the southward, and the strike from east to west. The flats between the
ranges, and along the river and creeks, were openly timbered and well
grassed; and, at the head of a salt-water creek, we found deep ponds of
constant water covered with Nymphaeas, and surrounded with Typhas and
drooping tea-trees. Towards the end of the stage, where the high rocky
hills formed deep declivities into the river, we had to ascend them, and
to travel along their summits.
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