The
River Continued Nearly As Before, But Much Narrower, And More Winding,
In Some Measure Accounting For The Great Height Of The Floods Which We
Observed Fifty Or Sixty Miles Back, Where The River Was Probably Four
Times As Wide:
We missed with regret the striking characteristics which
had hitherto distinguished it, the sandy and gravelly beaches, and rocky
points; though there was certainly the same volume of water which had
originally given me such strong hopes that it could never be dissipated
over marshes.
The banks are no more than twenty feet high in their most
elevated places, and the probability is, that all our doubts,
speculations, and hopes, will be clearly decided within the week; the
soil is of the richest quality, but the flatness of the land, and want
of any eminence, are great drawbacks upon the bounties of nature: not
but there are numerous spaces above the reach of either land or river
flood, which would offer secure retreats to the inhabitants of these
singular regions. Several new birds were seen to-day of very beautiful
plumage; none however were procured, so as to enable me to describe them.
We also saw the crested pigeon, and grey and red parrot of the Lachlan;
some fine and singular plants also enriched our collection: it would seem
as if nature here delighted in wasting her most beautiful productions
upon the "desert air," rather than placing them in situations where
they would become more easily accessible to the researches of science
and taste.
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