The
Wind Was From The Northward, And, As Usual, Very Strong After Sunset.
May 11.
- We travelled four miles to the E.N.E. The anabranches of the
river continued; the ranges of quartz porphyry approached several times
close to the river. Oak trees and drooping Melaleucas grew abundantly in
its bed, and along the banks. Higher up we crossed fine flats with
lagoons and lakes covered as usual with Nymphaeas. We encamped in
latitude 18 degrees 32 minutes 37 seconds, after passing a Casuarina
creek, with high banks and a sandy bed. This creek separated the table
land from a broken low range of hills, composed of a coarse-grained
sandstone. The banks of the river here seemed to have been swept away; a
broad sheet of sand, covered with fine drooping tea trees, was slightly
furrowed by a narrow stream of water, which seemed for the greater part
filtering through the sands; chains of water-holes at its left side,
fringed with Casuarinas, appeared to be anabranches of the river, and to
be connected with the main stream during the rainy season.
I have to mention that a species of Sciadophyllum, nearly allied to Sc.
lucidum, (Don. iii. p. 390,) was found in the lava scrub of the valley of
lagoons: it was a small tree with large digitate leaves, each of them
composed of from eleven to thirteen oblong acuminate, glabrous leaflets,
which were about five inches long; and it attracted the attention of my
companions as much by its ornamental foliage as its numerous terminal
racemes of bright scarlet coloured flowers.
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