At Half-Past Eight O'clock I
Proceeded With The Horses Up The River To Join The Two Men, Expecting
Also That Mr. Evans Would Certainly Return Downwards When He Found That
We Did Not Join Him.
It was twelve o'clock before we found him, and we
then proceeded up the river, whilst one man and myself went to a clear
hill in the range of Mount Byng, and from which we expected a good
prospect.
We passed over a large plain, washed by the river; the soil, a
stiff red clayey loam, long parched by drought; the sides of the hill
light red sandy loam. Small blue gum-trees, box, cypress, and a
multitude of acacia shrubs of various species, were the usual
productions of the drier and more elevated grounds.
Our expectations of an extensive prospect from the top of the hill were
not disappointed: we had a distinct view round the compass. The river
wound close under the foot of the hill, and trending to the south-east
through low marshy grounds covered with atriplex bushes and the acacia
pendula, evidently and distinctly showed that it originated in the
separated branches of the Lachlan, which it is probable united fifteen
or twenty miles below Mount Cunningham, forming the present stream. The
north-east side of the river was equally low and marshy. All the points
which had been set at Mount Cunningham were distinctly recognised, and
bearings being now taken to them, served to correct and prove the
survey. The bearings taken from this hill, named Piper's Hill, were as
follows by the theodolite:
Mount Cunningham E. 9 deg. 20 min. S.
Mount Meyrick S. 67 10 E.
Mount Maude S. 62 0 E.
Table Hill S. 4 30 E.
Line of Mount Byng,
called Watson Taylor's range E. 7 0 W.
Mount Granard N. 79 0 W.
Mount Barrer N. 68 0 W.
about the same distance as Mount Granard.
Extreme of a high range from N. 59 1/2 W., to N. 24 1/2 W.;
nearest extreme distance about thirty miles, westward 45.
Extremes of another range from N. 10. W., to N. 2. W.,
about twelve miles long; another range, N. 3. E. to N. 50 1/2 E
Hurd's Peak, N. 72. E.; a mount north of it (Mount Hawkins),
N. 71. 15. E.; a distant one, N. 86 1/2 E (Mount Riley).
Low ranges in N. 44. E., N. 35. E. and N. 26 1/2 E.,
all the intermediate spaces being low level land.
On descending, we waited on the stream till the arrival of Mr. Evans,
about half-past three o'clock, when we halted.
It was determined that as we had now ascertained the course of the
Lachlan, from the depot to its termination, any farther trace of it,
running as it did from the south-east, would take us materially out of
our
purposed course to Bathurst, without answering any good purpose, at the
same time that we should entangle ourselves in the mushy grounds which
had been seen both from Mount Cunningham, Farewell Hill, and our present
station; and that therefore we should immediately proceed to construct a
raft on which we might transport our provisions and baggage across the
river, afterwards taking such a course as we deemed most likely to bring
us to the Macquarie river, and so keep along its banks to Bathurst.
This work, and the task of getting the baggage over, will take two days
to
accomplish.
The stream where we stopped was about four feet from the banks, running
with much rapidity; and I think the flood in it has rather increased
than abated.
Almost directly under the hill near our halting-place, we saw a tumulus,
which was apparently of recent construction (within a year at most). It
would seem that some person of consideration among the natives had been
buried in it, from the exterior marks of a form which had certainly been
observed in the construction of the tomb and surrounding seats. The form
of the whole was semicircular. Three rows of seats occupied one half,
the grave and an outer row of seats the other; the seats formed segments
of circles of fifty, forty-five, and forty feet each, and were formed by
the soil being trenched up from between them. The centre part of the
grave was about five feet high, and about nine long, forming an oblong
pointed cone [Note: See the drawing].
I hope I shall not be considered as either wantonly disturbing the
remains of the dead, or needlessly violating the religious rites of an
harmless people, in having caused the tomb to be opened, that we might
examine its interior construction. The whole outward form and appearance
of the place was so totally different from that of any custom or
ceremony in use by the natives on the eastern coast, where the body is
merely covered with a piece of bark and buried in a grave about four
feet deep, that we were induced to think that the manner of interring
the body might also be different. On removing the soil from one end of
the tumulus, and about two feet beneath the solid surface of the ground,
we came to three or four layers of wood, lying across the grave, serving
as an arch to bear the weight of the earthy cone or tomb above. On
removing one end of those layers, sheet after sheet of dry bark was taken
out, then dry grass and leaves in a perfect state of preservation, the
wet or damp having apparently never penetrated even to the first
covering of wood. We were obliged to suspend our operation for the
night, as the corpse became extremely offensive to the smell, resolving
to remove on the morrow all the earth from the top of the grave, and
expose it for some time to the external air before we searched farther.
July 30. - Employed in preparing dead cypress-trees for the timber of the
raft.
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