These Were Dry, And Covered
With Withered Grass, But, On Resuming Our Westerly Course, We Came In A
Very Short Time To A Creek With A Succession Of Rocky Basins.
It was
unaccountable how these deep holes could have become so soon dry, as
every one of them must
Have been full immediately after the rainy season.
After following the creek for about two hours, Charley remarked that the
cracked mud of one of the large water-holes was moist, and, on digging
about a foot deep, a supply of water collected, abundantly sufficient for
ourselves and for our horses. The channel divided several times, and
Charley examined one branch, and I took the other. Thus separated from my
companion, I caught the cheerful glance of a fire before me, and, as I
approached, a great number of them became visible, belonging to a camp of
the natives. Though I wished to ascertain whether they were encamped near
a water-hole, or near wells, several of which we had observed higher up
the creek, I thought it prudent, unarmed as I was, to wait for Charley. I
cooeed, which disturbed the dogs of the camp; but the cold wind blew so
strong from the east, that I feared Charley would either not hear my
cooee, or I not his. The discharge of his gun, however, showed me where
he was, and we were soon together again. We passed the camp; the fires
sparkled most comfortably in the cold night. We examined the creek, but
saw neither natives nor water. Two miles lower down, however, we came to
fine water-holes with a good supply. We stopt here for an hour, to make a
pot of tea, and to allow our horses to feed. We had followed the creek so
far to the north-east and east, that we were, according to my
calculation, about ten miles N.N.E. from our camp. Trusting in Charley's
almost instinctive powers, I allowed him to take the lead, but he, being
drowsy in consequence of a sleepless night, kept too much to the right,
and missed our tracks. As the appointed time for my return had elapsed,
and I was sure that my companions had gone back, I changed my course to
go at once to the lagoons of the Nicholson; and came on the tracks of the
returning party, which we followed to the lagoons, where my companions
had already safely arrived. We had been on the saddle from 10 o'clock at
night, to 6 o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, and, with the
exception of one hour, had ridden the whole time through the most dreary
and scrubby country, and were, of course, extremely fatigued. Most
annoying, however, was the idea that all our fatigues had been to no
purpose, except to show to my companions that I was right in my
supposition, that a good day's journey parallel to the coast would
invariably bring us to water.
August 22. - We travelled about eighteen miles N.N.W., to those
water-holes we had found on our reconnoitring ride. Their latitude was 17
degrees 39 minutes. The country was so very scrubby and difficult, that
we travelled from morning until long after sunset before we reached the
place. The long journey had both tired and galled our bullocks and
horses, and our packs had been torn into pieces by the scrub. This
induced me to stay a day at this creek (which I called Moonlight Creek,
as it had been found and explored during moonlight), to allow some rest
both to my bullocks and myself, whom the long riding had much exhausted,
and also to re-arrange our packs.
The composition of the scrub depended on the nature of the soil. The
narrow-leaved tea-tree, in shrubs from five to seven feet high, and the
broad-leaved tea-tree from twenty to twenty-five feet high, grew on a
sandy loam, with many ant-hills between them; the little Severn tree and
the glaucous Terminalia preferred the light sandy soil with small
ironstone pebbles, on which the ant-hills were rare, or entirely wanting;
the raspberry-jam tree crowded round water-holes, which were frequently
rocky; and the bloodwood, the leguminous Iron-bark, the box, and
apple-gum, formed patches of open forest.
We collected a great quantity of Terminalia gum, and prepared it in
different ways to render it more palatable. The natives, whose tracks we
saw everywhere in the scrub, with frequent marks where they had collected
gum - seemed to roast it. It dissolved with difficulty in water: added to
gelatine soup, it was a great improvement; a little ginger, which John
had still kept, and a little salt, would improve it very much. But it
acted as a good lenient purgative on all of us.
We found the days, when travelling in the scrub, excessively hot, for the
surrounding vegetation prevented us from feeling the sea-breeze; very
cold easterly and south-easterly winds prevailed during the night.
August 24. - Mr. Calvert and Brown, whom I had sent to reconnoitre the
country, returned with the sad intelligence that they had found no water.
They had crossed a great number of creeks of different sizes, with fine
rocky water-holes, which seemed all to rise in scrubby ironstone hills,
and had a course from S. W. to N. E. and E. N. E.; but towards their
heads they were dry, and lower down they contained salt water. The two
explorers had unfortunately forgotten their bag of provisions, and were
consequently compelled to return before they could accomplish their
object. As I anticipated a very long stage, and perhaps a camp without
water, I had some wallabi skins softened and tied over our quart pots
filled with water, which enabled us to carry about eight quarts with us.
August 25. - We accordingly started early, and travelled for several miles
through a pretty open broad-leaved tea-tree forest, formed by small trees
from twenty to thirty feet high.
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