Their Koolimans Were Very Large, Almost Like
Small Boats, And Were Made Of The Inner Layer Of The Bark Of The
Stringy-Bark Tree.
There was no animal food in the camp.
The whole extent of the mountainous country passed in our two last
stages, was of porphyry, with crystals of quartz and felspar in a grey
paste; on both sides of it, the rock was granite and pegmatite; and, at
the north-west side of the gorge, I observed talc-schist in the bed of
the river.
The vegetation of the forest, and along the river, did not vary; but, on
the mountains, the silver-leaved Ironbark prevailed.
The general course of the Lynd, from my last latitude to that of the 4th
June, was north-west.
Sleeping in the open air at night, with a bright sky studded with its
stars above us, we were naturally led to observe more closely the hourly
changes of the heavens; and my companions became curious to know the
names of those brilliant constellations, with which nightly observation
had now, perhaps for the first time, made them familiar. We had reached a
latitude which allowed us not only to see the brightest stars of the
southern, but, also of the northern hemisphere, and I shall never forget
the intense pleasure I experienced, and that evinced by my companions,
when I first called them, about 4 o'clock in the morning, to see Ursa
Major. The starry heaven is one of those great features of nature, which
enter unconsciously into the composition of our souls. The absence of the
stars gives us painful longings, the nature of which we frequently do not
understand, but which we call home sickness: - and their sudden
re-appearance touches us like magic, and fills us with delight. Every new
moon also was hailed with an almost superstitious devotion, and my
Blackfellows vied with each other to discover its thin crescent, and
would be almost angry with me when I strained my duller eyes in vain to
catch a glimpse of its faint light in the brilliant sky which succeeds
the setting of the sun. The questions: where were we at the last new
moon? how far have we travelled since? and where shall we be at the
next? - were invariably discussed amongst us; calculations were made as to
the time that would be required to bring us to the end of our journey,
and there was no lack of advice offered as to what should, and ought to
be done.
At several of our last camps the cry of the goat suckers, and the hooting
of owls, were heard the whole night; and immediately after sunset, the
chirping of several kinds of crickets was generally heard, the sound of
which was frequently so metallic, as to be mistaken for the tinkling of
our bell. At Separation Creek, we first met with the ring-tailed opossum;
and, on the table land, often heard its somewhat wailing cry.
June 5. - We travelled, in a direct line, about nine miles west by north,
down the river, although the distance along its banks was much greater;
for it made a large bend at first to the northward, and afterwards, being
turned by a fine conspicuous short range, to the westward. I named the
Range after W. Kirchner, Esq., another of the supporters of my
expedition. The river was here, in some places, fully half a mile broad,
and formed channels covered with low shrubs, among which a myrtle was
frequent. Between the ranges, the river became narrower: and, before it
reached Kirchner's Range, a large creek joined it from the eastward; and
another from the southward, after it had passed the range. The flats
increased on both side of the river, and were openly timbered with box
and narrow-leaved Ironbark. The rock near our yesterday's camp was
talc-schist. Farther down sienite was observed, which contained so much
hornblende as to change occasionally into hornblende rock, with scattered
crystals of quartz. Granite and pegmatite were round some lagoons near
the creek from the southward. The clustered fig tree of the Burdekin,
became again more frequent; but Sarcocephalus was the characteristic tree
of the river. The Acacia of Expedition Range and of the upper Lynd, grew
to a comparatively large size in the open forest. We observed a cotton
tree (Cochlospermum), covered with large yellow blossoms, though entirely
leafless; and we could not help thinking how great an ornament this plant
would be to the gardens of the colony.
As the water-holes became larger, water-fowl became more plentiful; and
Brown succeeded in shooting several wood-ducks and a Malacorhyncus
membranaceus. The bean of the Mackenzie was very abundant in the sandy
bed of the river; we roasted and ate some of its fruit; it was, however,
too heavy, and produced indigestion: Mr. Phillips pounded them, and they
made an excellent substitute for coffee, which I preferred to our tea,
which, at that time, was not very remarkable for its strength.
June 6. - We travelled about nine miles west by north to latitude 17
degrees 30 minutes 47 seconds. The first part of the stage was over an
undulating country timbered with box and Ironbark; but the latter part
was hilly and mountainous: the mountains were so rocky, where they
entered the bed of the river, that we were obliged to leave its banks,
and travel over a very difficult country.
On the small flats, the apple-gum grew with a few scattered Moreton Bay
ash trees; on the bergues of the river we found the white cedar (Melia
azedarach), Clerodendron; an asclepiadaceous shrub with large triangular
seed-vessels; and, on the hills, the blood-wood and stringy-bark. The
rock, as far as I examined it, was of porphyry of great hardness, and
composing hills of an almost conical form.
June 7. - The same difficult country not only continued, but rather
increased. Charley told me last night, on his return from a walk, that he
had found sandstone.
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