The Next Four Miles North-East Of This Burn Was
Through A Barren Scrubby Country, Full Of Dry Water-Holes, And Thickly
Covered With The Casuarina Filifolia, Box Trees, And Acacia Bushes.
The
cypress seemed to shun this kind of barren clayey soil, and was more
prevalent and flourishing on the
Open forest land where the soil was
light and loamy, and covered with luxuriant broom-grass; this was the
case for the last few miles, which consisted of a very good tract of
land. The cypresses here grew into very handsome timber, and indeed were
the only useful wood, as the box tree was usually stunted and crooked.
At the end of twelve miles we found a small spring of water that
supplied some ponds, which also run northerly. The grass being pretty
good, although old, we determined to halt for the evening, as the horses
were not all arrived having had a considerable detour to make in
crossing Allan Water. On the banks of that burn many heaps of the pearl
muscle-shells were found, and marks of flood about eight feet. We have
for several days past seen no signs of any natives being recently in
this part of the country; the marks on the trees, which were the only
marks we saw, being several months old, and never seen except in the
vicinity of water. Marks of the natives' tomahawks were to us certain
signs of approaching water.
August 14. - We had now come from the river Lachlan upwards of an hundred
miles in a north-east direction, without being so fortunate as to fall
in with the Macquarie; we were also near seventy miles north of
Bathurst, and much about the same distance west of it:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 140 of 354
Words from 37436 to 37726
of 95539
