We Ascended
This Hill, Which I Named Mount Amyot, And From The Summit Had One Of The
Most Extensive Views That Can Be Imagined.
On the opposite side of the
river was another hill precisely similar to Mount Amyot, leaving a
passage between them for the river, and the immense tract of level
country to the eastward; this hill was named Mount Stuart.
Vast plains
clear of timber lay on the south side of the river, and which, from our
having travelled on a level with them, it was impossible for us to
distinguish before. These plains I named Hamilton's Plains, and they
were bounded by hills of considerable elevation to the southward; whilst
the whole level country thus bounded was honoured with the designation
of Princess Charlotte's Crescent.
To the west of Mount Amyot the view was equally extensive, being bounded
only by the horizon; some high detached hills, rising like islands from
the ocean, broke, in some measure, the sameness of the prospect. I
estimated that in the west north-west I could see at least forty miles,
and in the south south-west as far; the view in other points being
slightly interrupted by low ranges of hills, rising occasionally to
points of considerable elevation: none of those elevated spots was
nearer than twenty-five or thirty miles, and considerable spaces of
clear ground could, by the assistance of the telescope, be distinguished,
interspersed amidst the ocean of trees whence those hills arise: a long
broken mountain, bearing W. 32 1/2. N., was named Mount Melville;
one W. 24. N. Mount Cunningham; and another, bearing S. 70. W. Mount
Maude. Smoke, arising from the fires of the wandering inhabitants of
these
desolate regions was seen in several quarters. At four o'clock we stopped
for the evening, about three miles west of Mount Amyot.
I have reason to believe that the whole of the tract named Princess
Charlotte's Crescent is at times drowned by the overflowing of the
river; the marks of flood were observed in every direction, and the
waters in the marshes and lagoons were all traced as being derived from
the
river. During a course of upwards of seventy miles not a single running
stream emptied itself into the river on either side; and I am forced to
conclude that in common seasons this whole tract is extremely badly
watered, and that it derives its principal if not only supply from the
river within the bounding ranges Of Princess Charlotte's Crescent. There
are doubtless many small eminences which might afford a retreat from the
inundations, but those which were observed by us were too trifling and
distant from each other to stand out distinct from the vast level
surface which the crescent presents to the view. The soil of the country
we passed over was a poor and cold clay; but there are many rich levels
which, could they be drained and defended from the inundations of the
river, would amply repay the cultivation.
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