After Going About Six Miles
And A Half The Country Became More Open And Less Rocky; As The Grass Was
Here better than at our last night's halting-place, and the water
convenient and tolerable, we resolved upon stopping, particularly
As I
intended resting the horses to-morrow; and I was fearful if I proceeded
farther I might meet with neither, and thus be obliged to continue
travelling to-morrow; an exertion which the horses were not in a
condition to make. Nothing can be more irksome than the tedious days'
journeys we are obliged to make through a country in which there is not
the smallest variety, each day's occurrences and scenes being but a
recapitulation of the former: our patience would frequently be
exhausted, were we not daily reanimating ourselves with the hopes that
the morrow will bring us to a better country, and render a journey, the
labour of which has hitherto been ill repaid, of some service to the
colony, and of some satisfaction to the expectations which had been
formed of its result.
June 15. - Observed in lat. 33. 49. 09. S., and long. 145. 54. E.
Mr. Cunningham went upon Peel's range in search of plants, and found a
few
new ones; the country to the north appeared hilly and broken, but no
scrubs, such as obstructed our progress westward, were seen. Goulburn's
range had a remarkable appearance, being broken into peaks and
singularly shaped hills. A solitary native was seen by one of our party,
but he ran off with great precipitation on friendly signs being made to
him to approach.
June 16. - It blew extremely hard during the night, and rained
incessantly, as it still continues to do, with scarcely any
intermission. This morning we had the misfortune to find one horse dead,
the same that fell under his load on the 3d instant, and, as he had
carried little or nothing since, he appeared to be recovering his
strength. Independently of the continuance of heavy rain, which would
certainly have prevented me from attempting to set forward, the ground
has become so hollow and soft from the rain which fell during the night,
that it was the universal opinion that the horses could not travel under
their loads. It cleared up towards night, with the exception of
occasional heavy showers.
June 17. - Towards morning the weather became fine, with fresh winds from
the north-east; at eight o'clock set forward on our journey, the ground
extremely wet and soft.
We could not proceed above ten miles when we stopped, one of the horses
being completely disabled from going any farther. The line of country we
passed over was rocky, barren, and miserable, the level grounds being a
perfect bog; to the westward, low irregular rocky ranges, with blasted
and decayed cypresses on their summits, were the only objects which
presented themselves to our view. There was neither grass nor water
where we stopped; of course, nothing but the absolute necessity that
existed to spare the horses could induce us to halt.
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