The Country Is At Present Well Provided With Water And
Grass, Though The Scattered Tufts Of Anthistiria, And The First
Appearance Of The Small Grass-Tree (Xanthorrhaea), Render Its Constancy
Very Doubtful.
The winding narrow-leaved Kennedyas, Gnaphaliums in
abundance; Aotus in low bushes.
No game, except a kangaroo rat, pigeons, ducks, and mutton-birds. Mr.
Phillips brought a crawfish from the creek: it had just thrown off its
old shell. Fresh-water muscles plentiful, though not of the size of those
of the Condamine. A small rat was caught this morning amongst our flour
bags; it had no white tip at the tail, nor is the tail so bushy as that
of the rabbit-rat: probably it was a young animal.
Oct. 24. - The creek being boggy, we had to follow it down for several
miles to find a crossing place. Even here, one of the horses which
carried the tea, fell back into the water, whilst endeavouring to
scramble up the opposite bank, and drenched its valuable load. We now
travelled through a country full of lagoons, and chains of water-holes,
and passed through several patches of cypress-pine, until we came to
another creek with rocky water-holes, with the fall to the eastward,
probably joining Dogwood Creek, from which we were not four miles
distant. Fine grassy flats accompanied the creek on its left, whilst a
cypress-pine forest grew on its right bank. The latitude of our
yesterday's camp was 26 degrees 26 minutes 30 seconds and, to-day, we are
only four miles more to the westward.
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