The Loss Of Time Is Of Little
Consideration, When Compared With The Soft And Boggy Ground Which Such
Heavy Falls Leave.
A species of banksia was seen to-day under the same
meridian as on the Macquarie.
It would seem that particular productions
of the vegetable as well as of the mineral kingdom run in veins nearly
north and south through the country. This peculiarity has been remarked
of other plants, besides the species of banksia.
August 17. - Our course this day led us over a barren, rocky country,
consisting of low stony ranges, divided by valleys of pure sand, and
usually wet and marshy: latterly we appear to be descending from a
considerable height, to a lower country to the north-east. The whole was
a mere scrub covered with dwarf iron barks, apple trees, and small gums;
the soil scarcely any thing but sand, on which grass grew in single
detached roots. The horses fell repeatedly in the course of the day,
and they were now so weak that they sank at every soft place. Between
four and five o'clock, after travelling about ten hours, we stopped at a
small drain of water for the night, having accomplished nearly eleven
miles. In our track we saw no signs of natives, and the country seemed
abandoned of every living thing. Silence and desolation reigned around.
August 18. - It is impossible to describe in adequate language the
different trying obstructions we encountered during this day's journey:
after meeting and overcoming many minor difficulties of bog and
quicksand, we had accomplished nearly eleven miles, and were looking out
for a place to rest, when we entered a very thick forest of small iron
barks which had been lately burnt; and their black stems and branches,
with the dull bluish colour of their foliage, gave the whole a
singularly dismal and gloomy appearance.
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