We Now Re-Entered The Plains, And
Followed The Track Of Charley, Who Soon Returned With The Pleasing
Intelligence That He Had Found Some Fine Water-Holes.
These were in the
bed of a creek, surrounded by a band of forest composed of box,
raspberry-jam trees, and the broad-leaved Terminalia, the fruit of which
was eaten by the black cockatoo.
The slopes of the water-holes were steep
and boggy, and one of our bullocks was so exhausted that he slipped on
the steep banks, rolled into the water, and got so severely bogged, that
we were compelled to kill him, after trying everything in our power to
extricate him. On the 12th August we cut him up. The night, however, was
very foggy with heavy dew, which prevented the meat from drying. The
miserably exhausted state of the animal had rendered the meat very flabby
and moist, and it not only dried badly, but was liable to taint and to
get fly-blown.
August 13. - We had a fine sea-breeze from the northward, which dried the
outside of the meat well enough, but not the inside, so that it became in
many parts so putrid that I had to throw them away, although we saved a
good deal by splitting the puffed pieces, and exposing the inside to the
air.
The natives had surrounded the water-hole on which we encamped with a
barricade or hedge of dry sticks, leaving only one opening to allow the
emus to approach the water. Near this the natives probably kept
themselves concealed and waited for the emus; which in these parts were
remarkably numerous. On the 11th, John, Charley, and Brown, rode down
three birds, and, on the 14th, they obtained four more, two of which were
killed by John Murphy, who rode the fleetest horse and was the lightest
weight. The possibility of riding emus down, clearly showed in what
excellent condition our horses were. Even our bullocks although
foot-weary upon arriving at the camp, recovered wonderfully, and played
about like young steers in the grassy shady bed of the creek, lifting
their tails, scratching the ground with their fore feet, and shaking
their horns at us, as if to say, we'll have a run before you catch us.
The latitude of these water-holes was 18 degrees 4 minutes 27 seconds,
and they were about nine miles from the crossing place of the river,
which I calculated to be in longitude 139 degrees 20 minutes (appr.). The
plains were covered with flocks of small white cockatoos, (Cocatua
sanguinea, GOULD.) which Mr. Gilbert had mentioned as having been found
in Port Essington: their cry was rather plaintive, and less unmelodious
than the scream of the large cockatoo; nor were they so shy and wary,
particularly when approaching the water.
August 15. - Our beasts were so heavily laden with the meat of two
bullocks, that I found it rather difficult to carry the additional meat
of the emus. We, however, divided every emu into four parts - the chest,
the rump, and the two thighs - and suspended each of the latter to one of
the four hooks of a packsaddle; the remaining parts were carried on our
horses.
We travelled about eight miles north-north-west, over a succession of
plains, interrupted by some watercourses, and a good sized creek. At the
end of the day's stage, we found a small pool of water in a little creek
which we had followed down. According to Charley's account, salt-water
existed a mile lower down. Though our arrival at the camp was very late,
we set immediately to work, and cut up the four emus, which I put on
ropes and branches to dry. Fortunately, a cold dry south-east wind set
in, which very much assisted us in the operation of drying. The sea
breeze was strong, as usual, during the day; clouds gathered very
suddenly about 11 o'clock, P. M. to the southward and south-east, and
rose very quickly with a strong south-east wind; they passed as quickly
as they came; when the wind ceased. Another mass of clouds formed, and
rose quite as suddenly, and, having passed, the sky became quite clear,
and a cold strong wind set in from the south-east, which lasted for the
next two days, and rendered the nights of the 16th and 17th August cold,
dry, and dewless.
We had forgotten to drive our bullocks to the water, which they had
passed not five yards off, and in sight of which they had been unloaded;
the poor brutes, however, had not the instinct to find it, and they
strayed back. Charley started after them the same night, and went at once
to our old camp, supposing that the bullocks had taken that direction;
but they had not done so; they had wandered about seven miles from the
camp, without having found water.
August 16. - We travelled about twelve miles west-north-west, first over
plains, but afterwards, and for the greater part of the stage, over
openly timbered well-grassed box-flats, which seemed to bound the plains
to the southward; they were drained by no watercourse, but contained many
melon-holes. I changed my westerly course a little more to the northward,
and again crossed a succession of plains, separated by hollows. These
hollows were covered with thickets of small trees, principally
raspberry-jam trees; and contained many dry water-holes, either in
regular chains or scattered. They, no doubt, formed the heads of creeks;
as we invariably came on decided watercourses whenever we followed
hollows of this character down to the northward. After sunset, we came to
a dry creek, and were compelled to encamp without water. We took care,
however, to watch our bullocks, and hobble and tether our horses, which
enabled us to start early in the morning of the 17th, when we followed
the creek about seven miles north-east, and there found some very fine
water-holes within its bed, in latitude 17 degrees 51 minutes, at which
we encamped, to allow our cattle to recover; for they had had very little
water during the two last days.
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