When Brown, Who Had Stopped Behind, Came Up To
Me, I Took The Calabash And Put It To My Mouth, And Asked For "Yarrai,
Yarrai." They Answered, But Their Intended Information Was Lost To Me;
And They Were Unwilling To Approach Us.
Their camp was in the bed of the
river amongst some small Casuarinas.
Their numerous tracks, however, soon
led me to two wells, surrounded by high reeds, where we quenched our
thirst. My horse was very much frightened by the great number of hornets
buzzing about the water. After filling our calabash, we returned to the
camp of the natives, and examined the things which they had left behind;
we found a shield, four calabashes, of which I took two, leaving in their
place a bright penny, for payment; there were also, a small water-tight
basket containing acacia-gum; some unravelled fibrous bark, used for
straining honey; a fire-stick, neatly tied up in tea-tree bark; a
kangaroo net; and two tomahawks, one of stone, and a smaller one of iron,
made apparently of the head of a hammer: a proof that they had had some
communication with the sea-coast. The natives had disappeared. The
thunder was pealing above us, and a rush of wind surprised us before we
were half-a-mile from the camp, and we had barely time to throw our
blanket over some sticks and creep under it, when the rain came down in
torrents. The storm came from the west; another was visible in the east;
and lightning seemed to be everywhere. When the rain ceased, we contrived
to make a fire and boil a pot of tea, and warmed up a mess of
gelatine-soup. At eight o'clock the moon rose, and, as the weather had
cleared, I decided upon returning to the camp, in order to hasten over
this dreary country while the rain-water lasted. The frogs were most
lustily croaking in the water-holes which I had passed, a few hours
before, perfectly dry and never were their hoarse voices more pleasing to
me. But the thunder-storm had been so very partial, that scarcely a drop
had fallen at a distance of three miles. This is another instance of the
singularly partial distribution of water, which I had before noticed at
Comet Creek. We arrived at the camp about one o'clock a.m.; and, in the
morning of the 25th February, I led my party to the water-holes, which a
kind Providence seemed to have filled for the purpose of helping us over
that thirsty and dreary land. Our bullocks suffered severely from the
heat; our fat-meat melted; our fat-bags poured out their contents; and
every thing seemed to dissolve under the influence of a powerful sun.
The weather in this region may be thus described: at sunrise some clouds
collect in the east, but clear off during the first hours of the morning,
with northerly, north-easterly, and easterly breezes; between ten and
three o'clock the most scorching heat prevails, interrupted only by
occasional puffs of cool air; about two o'clock P.M. heavy clouds form in
all directions, increase in volume, unite in dark masses in the east and
west, and, about five o'clock in the afternoon, the thunder-storm bursts;
the gust of wind is very violent, and the rain sometimes slight, and at
other times tremendous, but of short duration; and at nine o'clock the
whole sky is clear again.
In the hollows along the Isaacs, we found a new species of grass from six
to eight feet high, forming large tufts, in appearance like the oat-grass
(Anthistiria) of the Liverpool Plains and Darling Downs; it has very long
brown twisted beards, but is easily distinguished from Anthistiria by its
simple ear; its young stem is very sweet, and much relished both by
horses and cattle.
Feb. 26. - I set out reconnoitring with Mr. Gilbert and Charley. We found
that the effects of the thunder-storm of the 24th extended very little to
the north and north-west, having passed over from west to east. From time
to time we crossed low ridges covered with scrub, and cut through by deep
gullies, stretching towards the river, which became narrower and very
tortuous in its course; its line of flooded-gum trees, however, became
more dense. Within the reedy bed of the river, not quite five miles from
the camp, we found wells of the natives, not a foot deep, but amply
supplied with water, and, at four miles farther, we came to a water-hole,
in a small creek, which had been supplied by the late rains; we also
passed several fine scrub creeks, but they were dry. About ten miles from
the wells another deep scrub creek was found, on the right hand of the
river, full of water. Its bed was overgrown with reeds, and full of
pebbles of concretions of limestone, and curious trunks of fossil trees,
and on its banks a loose sandstone cropped out. Here we found the skull
of a native, the first time that we had seen the remains of a human body
during our journey. Near the scrub, and probably in old camping places of
the natives, we frequently saw the bones of kangaroos and emus. I mention
this fact in reference to the observations of American travellers, who
very rarely met with bones in the wilderness; and to remark, that the
climate of Australia is so very dry as to prevent decomposition, and that
rapacious animals are few in number - the native dog probably finding a
sufficiency of living food.
On the 25th there were thunder-storms, but they did not reach us. The
night was cloudy, and we had some few drops of rain in the morning of the
26th, but the weather cleared up about ten o'clock; cumuli formed in the
afternoon, and towards night thunder-storms were observed both in the
east and west. I found a shrubby prickly Goodenia, about four or five
feet high, growing on the borders of the scrub.
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