The Next
Morning We Continued Our Examination, Passing Over A Country Of Scrub,
Plain, And Forest Land; And Made Our Breakfast, And Watered Our Horses,
At A Small Pool Of Water That Was Collected In A Hole Of A Little Creek,
After The Last Night's Thunder-Storm.
About four miles from this spot, we
again found permanent water, near the scrub; and, at three miles farther
On, crossed a fine creek, with a reedy bed, along which lightly timbered
flats extended; and, about six miles to the W. N. W., we found another
creek, separated from the former by openly timbered ridges, and
occasional patches of scrub. The flats along this creek and its
tributaries were covered with the most luxuriant grass; but are without
permanent water, although at present supplied by the late thunder-storms.
Brown gave chase to an emu with several young ones, but did not succeed
in capturing any of them.
We now commenced our return to the camp, and, being impatient to get on,
put our horses into a canter; the consequence of which was that we lost
our way, and were ignorant as to which side we had left the tracks.
Thinking, however, that Mount Stewart would guide us, when we should come
in sight of it, I kept a south-easterly course, which soon brought us
into a thick Bricklow scrub. In passing the large flats of the last
creek, which was here full of fine reedy water-holes, we observed a
native; and Brown cooeed to him, and by a sign requested him to wait for
us: but he was so frightened, by the sudden appearance of two men
cantering towards him, that he took to his heels, and soon disappeared in
the neighbouring scrub. We rode the whole day through a Bricklow thicket,
which, in only three or four places, was interrupted by narrow strips of
open country, along creeks on which fine flooded-gums were growing. The
density of the scrub, which covered an almost entirely level country,
prevented our seeing farther than a few yards before us, so that we
passed our landmark, and, when night approached, and the country became
more open, we found ourselves in a part of the country totally unknown to
us. At the outside of the scrub, however, we were cheered by the sight of
some large lagoons, on whose muddy banks there were numerous tracts of
emus and kangaroos. In a recently deserted camp of the Aborigines, we
found an eatable root, like the large tubers of Dahlia, which we greedily
devoured, our appetite being wonderfully quickened by long abstinence and
exercise. Brown fortunately shot two pigeons; and, whilst we were
discussing our welcome repast, an emu, probably on its way to drink,
approached the lagoon, but halted when it got sight of us, then walked
slowly about, scrutinizing us with suspicious looks, and, when Brown
attempted to get near it, trotted off to a short distance, and stopped
again, and continued to play this tantalizing trick until we were tired;
when, mounting our horses, we proceeded on our way.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 62 of 272
Words from 31718 to 32234
of 141354
