The Brushes Were Of Small Extent, And Communicated With The
Finest Tracts, Chiefly Of Forest Land Thinly Wooded:
No marks were seen
of any floods either from the river or land side, and these flats were
watered by chains of ponds or watercourses, which doubtless when
overflowed communicate with the river.
Abundance of kangaroos and emus.
June 21. - The result of the observation this day gave for our situation
lat. 31. 49. 60. S., long. 147. 52. 15. E., and the variation 8. 22. E.
June 22. - Completed the necessary papers for the governor's information,
and made all ready to proceed on our journey tomorrow. The river in
these last two days has risen between two and three feet.
June 23. - Having despatched Thomas Thatcher and John Hall to Bathurst,
with an account of our progress, the expedition set forward down the
river. For four or five miles there was no material change in the
general appearance of the country from what it had been on the preceding
days, but for the last six miles the land was very considerably lower,
interspersed with plains clear of timber, and dry. On the banks it was
still lower, and in many parts it was evident that the river floods
swept over them, though this did not appear to be universally the case.
The far greater part of the last six miles was covered with shrubs, and
the acacia pendula. These unfavourable appearances threw a damp upon our
hopes, and we feared that our anticipations had been too sanguine. 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.
June 24. - The country was still extremely flat, and perfectly overrun
with acacias, dwarf box (eucalyptus), some species of suffruticore
atriplex [See Note at end of this paragraph.], and other shrubs; and
intersected by nunumerous extensive lagoons now quite dry, but which when
the river is about one-third full, convey the water back over vast plains
and levels for the most part clear of every kind of brush, and on the
fall
of the waters these lagoons act as drains to the lands. The brushes were
most numerous and perplexing in the neighbourhood of the river, a course
we were obliged to keep, in order not to part company with the boats. The
country two or three miles along the banks of the river was only
partially flooded, the land being much lower at a greater distance from
it; the most part of the soil was a rich, alluvial deposition from
floods. Except on those clear plains which occasionally occurred on the
sides of the river, we could seldom see beyond a quarter of a mile.
Byrne, who was at the head of the hunting party, surprised an old native
man and woman, the former digging for rats, or roots, the other lighting
a fire: they did not perceive him till he was within a few yards of
them, when the man threw his wooden spade at Byrne, which struck his
horse; then taking his old woman by the hand, they set off with the
utmost celerity, particularly when they saw the dogs, of which they seem
to entertain great fears. In the evening, natives were heard on the
opposite side of the river, but none came within view. There was no
alteration in the appearance or size of the river during this day's
course; the banks were in no respect lower: it ran with great rapidity
over a sandy bottom, and was from six to thirty feet deep; the water
still clear, and remarkably hard.
[Note: Other genera of chenopodeae likewise exist on these plains,
of which some salsolae, and that curious lanigerous shrub sclerolaena
paradoxa of Mr. Brown, with spinous fruit, are most remarkable.]
June 25. - The weather cold, but fine: the thermometer is about 28
degrees, and I think from this extraordinary degree of cold so far to
the north, that notwithstanding the lowness of the surrounding country
(as compared to its relative situation with the river), that we are
still at a considerable elevation above the sea. In our last journey,
three degrees farther south, we experienced at the same season no such
cold, the weather being equally fine and clear as at present. The
appearance of the country was much the same as yesterday; the whole
ground we passed over being liable to flood, and covered with eucalyptus
or gum tree, acacia pendula, and various other species of that extensive
genus, one of which appeared quite new but not in flower. Four or five
miles back from the river (east), the country rises and is not flooded,
the soil being there much inferior, but covered with fine cypresses:
notwithstanding this tract was much higher than that more immediately on
the river, there was no eminence from which we could look around.
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