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.
After having celebrated Whit-Sunday with a double allowance of fat cake
and sweetened tea, I started with Charley to reconnoitre the country to
the westward. Our friendly stream not only turned to the north, but
afterwards to north-east and east-north-east; and though I had not
succeeded in leaving it from Reedy Brook - not having been able to cross
the lava streams of the basaltic table land - I now concluded, from the
nature of the pebbles, and sands of the creek which we had crossed last,
that the basalts and lavas had ceased, and that a passage to the westward
would be practicable.
I followed the Casuarina Creek up to its head, and called it "Big
Ant-hill Creek," in consequence of numerous gigantic strangely buttressed
structures of the white ant, which I had never seen of such a form, and
of so large a size.
The general course of the creek was north-north-west: for the first ten
miles it was without water, but its middle and upper course was well
provided with fine reedy holes, the constant supply of water in which was
indicated by Nymphaeas, and other aquatic plants. At its left side near
the junction I observed, as before mentioned, a coarse grained sandstone,
and, at less than a mile higher up, I found flint rock; and, wherever I
examined afterwards, the rocks proved to be coarse grained granite and
pegmatite, the decomposition of which formed a sandy soil on the slopes,
and clayey flats along the creek. The latter, however, were very limited.
The ant-hills were intimately connected with the rock, as the ants
derived their materials for building from the minute particles of clay
among the sand. The primitive rock was cut with deep gullies and ravines,
and several tributary creeks joined Big Ant-hill Creek from the primitive
side. The basaltic table land, which extended all along the right side of
the creek, formed steep slopes into its valley, and were generally topped
with loose basaltic boulders. The table land was highest near the creek,
and its drainage was not towards the creek, but to the south-west, into
the valley of lagoons. White quartz rock was observed in a few places on
the right side of the creek, where the primitive rock seemed to encroach
into the territory of the basalt; and felspathic porphyry formed probably
a dyke in the pegmatite, but was most evidently broken by the basalt.
Where the upper part of the creek formed a shallow watercourse, and
turned altogether into the primitive formation, a plain came down from
the west-north-west with a shallow watercourse, which continued the
separation of the two formations; the right side of the plain being
basaltic, the soil of the Box and Ironbark forest loamy, with sharp
pieces of the rock; the left side being sandy, and covered with a very
pleasing poplar gum forest, in which the grotesque ant-hills were
exceedingly numerous. About two miles higher up the plain, separated into
several distinct plains, the largest of which was from twelve to fifteen
miles long, and from two to three miles broad, and came from Mount Lang;
another plain came from an isolated razorback hill, and a third continued
on the line of contact of the basaltic and primitive rocks. The upper
parts of the small creeks, which come down in these plains, were full of
water, and had their source generally between heaps of bare basaltic
rocks, surrounded by rich grass, and a scanty scrub of Pittosporum, of
the native mulberry, of the fig-tree, and of several vines, with
Polypodiums, Osmundas, and Caladiums growing between them.
Several other hills and mountains rose on the table land, generally with
open plains at their base. The greater part, however, was open forest,
principally of narrow-leaved Ironbark and Box, and occasionally
poplar-gum.
One locality was particularly striking: a great number of rocky basins
within the basalt, and surrounded by its black blocks, formed evidently
so many lagoons during the wet season, as sedges and Polygonums - always
inhabitants of constantly moist places - grew abundantly in most of them.
These basins were situated between low basaltic rises, along which narrow
flats frequently extended. The flooded gum-trees were fine and numerous,
and made me frequently believe that I was approaching a creek. I rode,
however, over eighteen miles of country to the westward without observing
the slightest watercourse. Long flats bounded by slight undulations
extended some to the northward, and others to the westward; but their
inclination was imperceptible. I passed some hills and plains; and
ascending one of the hills, I obtained a fine view. To the west by south
I saw other isolated mountains: the country to the westward was not
broken by any elevation; a fine long range was visible to the north-west.
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