Starting In A Northerly Direction, We
Passed Over Some Rocky Ground, But Soon Entered Into A Sandy Level,
Covered With Scrubby, Stringy-Bark Forest, Intermixed With Melaleuca Gum.
At The Distance Of Four Miles I Came To A Rocky Creek Going To The
Westward, Which I Followed.
From one of the hills which bounded its
narrow valley, I had a most disheartening, sickening view over a
tremendously rocky country.
A high land, composed of horizontal strata of
sandstone, seemed to be literally hashed, leaving the remaining blocks in
fantastic figures of every shape; and a green vegetation, crowding
deceitfully within their fissures and gullies, and covering half of the
difficulties which awaited us on our attempt to travel over it. The
creek, in and along the bed of which we wound slowly down, was frequently
covered with large loose boulders, between which our horses and cattle
often slipped. A precipice, and perpendicular rocks on both sides,
compelled us to leave it; and following one of its tributary creeks to
its head, to the northward, we came to another, which led us down to a
river running to the west by south. With the greatest difficulty we went
down its steep slopes, and established our camp at a large water-hole in
its bed. The longitude of the river was, according to my reckoning, 133
degrees 6 minutes.
A new species of rock pigeon (Petrophassa, GOULD.) with a dark brown
body, primaries light brown without any white, and with the tail feathers
rather worn, lived in pairs and small flocks like Geophaps, and flew out
of the shade of overhanging rocks, or from the moist wells which the
natives had dug in the bed of the creek, around which they clustered like
flies round a drop of syrup.
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