We Accomplished
Fourteen Miles With Much Ease, And Halted For The Evening In A Thick
Stringy Bark Forest, Where There Was Worse Entertainment For Both Man And
Horse Than We Had Experienced For Some Weeks.
September 10.
- A tempestuous morning, with occasional showers of small
rain, prevented us from quitting our camp. In the intervals of fair
weather, I walked to a hill about one mile off, being the highest part of
the range we were upon. Our prospect from it was exceedingly grand and
picturesque. The country from north to south-east was broken into
perpendicular rocky ridges, and divided longitudinally by deep and
apparently impassable glens. The rocks were covered with climbing plants,
and the glens abounded with new and beautiful ones. Our collector
descended one of those nearest to us, and was amply repaid by the
acquisition of nearly sixty most desirable plants, some of which appeared
even to constitute new genera. The rocks were covered with epidendra
[Note: Of the genera cymbidium and dendrobium of Swartz.], bignoniae, or
trumpet-flowers, and clematides, or virgin's bower, of which last genus
three species apparently new were discovered. Far different was the
character of these glens from the rugged and barren blue mountain ranges:
fine open forest land ended abruptly on the precipices. The bottoms were
of the richest soil, the rocks instead of being of a coarse sandstone
were of a hard texture, and of a blue shining appearance when broken. The
country eastward of these glens appeared very lofty, and much broken; but
as in the direction of our course, we should have some miles of good open
country to travel over, we had strong hopes that our difficulties would
prove greater in contemplation than reality.
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