The Part Of The Country In Which We Were, Possesses Great Interest In A
Meteorological Point Of View.
In the centre of the York Peninsula,
between the east coast and the gulf, and on the slopes to
The latter, as
might be expected, the northerly and easterly winds which set in so
regularly after sunset, as well along the Burdekin as on the basaltic
table land, failed, and were succeeded here by slight westerly and
easterly breezes, without any great and decided movement in the
atmosphere; and westerly winds, which had formerly been of rare
occurrence, became more frequent and stronger. The days, from the
stillness of the air, were very hot; but at night the dews were heavy,
and it was very cold. Charley asserted that he had seen ice at our last
camp.
The black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus Banksii) has been much more
frequently observed of late.
We used the last of our salt at the last camp; and what we should do
without it, was a question of considerable interest. As I had never taken
salt with me in my reconnoitring expeditions, and had never felt the want
of it with dried beef, either grilled or raw, I recommended my companions
to eat their meat in the same state; and, in fact, good dry beef, without
any farther preparation, was much relished by all of us: for, when
grilled, it became ashy and burnt, particularly when without fat; and, if
stewed, although it yielded a good broth, it became tough and tasteless.
The meat of the last bullock was very hard and juiceless, and something
was to be done to soften it, and make it palatable: as we had no fat, we
frequently steamed it with water, but this rendered it tough, without
facilitating in the least the mastication; and its fibres, entering
between our teeth, rendered them exceedingly tender, and caused us much
pain. After a week's trial, and several experiments, we returned to our
former practice of stewing it, and in a very short time relished it as
much without salt, as we had formerly done with it.
CHAPTER IX
THE STARRY HEAVENS - SUBSTITUTE FOR COFFEE - SAWFISH - TWO-STORIED GUNYAS
OF THE NATIVES - THE MITCHELL - MURPHY'S PONY POISONED - GREEN
TREE-ANT - NEW BEVERAGE - CROCODILE - AUDACITY OF KITES - NATIVES NOT
FRIENDLY - THE CAMP ATTACKED AT NIGHT BY THEM - MESSRS. ROPER AND CALVERT
WOUNDED, AND MR. GILBERT KILLED.
June 1. - Mr. Gilbert and Charley made an excursion down the river last
night, to look for water, but, as they did not return in the morning, and
as water had been found, after they left, about four miles lower down, we
started to meet them. Observing a swarm of white cranes circling in the
air, and taking their flight down the river, I concluded that we should
meet with a good supply of water lower down, and, therefore, passed the
nearest water-hole; but, the country and the bed of the river being
exceedingly rocky, our progress was very slow. After proceeding about
eight miles, we came to the junction of a river from the south-west with
the Lynd; and encamped at some small pools of water in latitude 17
degrees 45 minutes 40 seconds: having travelled, during the last two
stages, in a west-north-west direction.
June 2. - When we left our camp this morning, Mr. Gilbert and Charley
returned from their ride; they had come on our tracks last night, but,
surrounded as they were by rocky hills and gullies, had been compelled to
encamp. We travelled about seven miles and a half, and crossed three good
sized creeks, joining the Lynd from the north east. The river divided
several times into anabranches, flowing round, and insulating rocky hills
and ridges. It was much better supplied with water, and contained several
large reedy lagoons. An elegant Acacia, about thirty or thirty-five feet
high, grew on its small flats: it had large drooping glaucous bipinnate
leaves, long broad pods, and oval seeds, half black, and half bright red.
June 3. - We continued our journey down the river, about seven or eight
miles. The first three miles were very tolerable, over limited box-flats
near the river. As we approached the ranges again, the supply of water
increased; and we passed one large poel, in particular, with many ducks
and spoonbills on it. But the ranges approached the banks of the river on
both sides, and formed either precipitous walls, or flats so exceedingly
rocky, that it was out of the question to follow it. We, therefore,
ascended the hills and mountains, and with our foot-sore cattle passed
over beds of sharp shingles of porphyry. We crept like snails over these
rocky hills, and through their gullies filled with boulders and shingles,
until I found it necessary to halt, and allow my poor beasts to recover.
During the afternoon, I examined the country in advance, and found that
the mountains extended five miles farther, and were as rocky as those we
had already passed. But, after that, they receded from the river, and the
country became comparatively level. To this place I brought forward my
party on the 4th June, and again descended into the valley of the river,
and encamped near a fine pool of water in its sandy bed, in latitude 17
degrees 34 minutes 17 seconds. Here, last night, I met a family of
natives who had just commenced their supper; but, seeing us, they ran
away and left their things, without even making an attempt to frighten
us. Upon examining their camp, I found their koolimans, (vessels to keep
water) full of bee bread, of which I partook, leaving for payment some
spare nose rings of our bullocks. In their dillies I found the fleshy
roots of a bean, which grows in a sandy soil, and has solitary yellow
blossoms; the tuber of a vine, which has palmate leaves; a bitter potato,
probably belonging to a water-plant; a fine specimen of rock-crystal; and
a large cymbium (a sea shell), besides other trifles common to almost all
the natives we had seen.
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