The Calm Water Rolled Itself Up In Smooth Walls, Which
Sailed Majestically Along Until The Upper Portion Broke Into A Line Of
White, And Soon The Entire Mass Rushed Onward In A Sheet Of Foam.
The great danger in crossing a bar is, that the helmsman either loses his
head and permits the boat to present her broadside to the surf, or that the
steering power is not sufficient to keep her head straight.
Neither of
these misfortunes befell us in entering the Macalister, for, from the hour
we had selected, the sea was at its quietest, and we got over without
shipping a thimbleful of water. We found a broad expanse studded with
dense mangrove flats, and it was with difficulty we ascertained which was
the main channel. We pulled on until about noon, by which time the mud
swamps had disappeared, and we were fairly in the river, which much
resembled the Herbert, of which I have already given a description, except
that it was smaller, and that the vegetation was more luxurious. On
landing, we lit a fire, and cooked our dinner, consisting of ducks and
moor-fowl that we had shot on our way up. I never remember seeing
water-fowl in such profusion as here. The ducks and geese were literally
in tens of thousands, and the beautifully-plumaged moor-fowl quite
blackened the mangrove bushes as we passed.
The scenery was perfectly lovely. Tall palms shot up in every direction;
wild bananas spread forth their broad leaves, amidst which were seen the
bunches of fruit; and the larger trees - fig, Leichhardt plum, etc. -
threw their branches across the river, and there interlacing, formed a
leafy canopy such as we imagined was unknown in Australia. Some of the
young palms we cut down for the sake of the head, which is very pleasant
eating. Stripping off the leaves, you come to a shoot twenty inches or two
feet in length, the interior of which consists of a white substance
resembling an office ruler in thickness, and which tastes something like a
chestnut, but is much more milky and sweet. The fruit of the wild banana
has a most delicious flavour, but is so full of small seeds that it is
impossible to swallow it. The huge fig trees, with which the banks of most
of the northern rivers abound, have the peculiarity that the fruit is found
growing on the trunk, and not at the extremity of the smaller boughs. On
an enormous stem, and at a distance of only a few feet from its base, are
seen bunches of figs, and these, though of smaller size than the European
fruit, are very palatable, if they can be selected free from insects.
Usually, the ants have been first afield, and have taken up their abode in
the very heart of the fig, forming a most undesirable mouthful for the
unwary stranger. The wild plums are very good, but to attain perfection,
should be buried for some days previous to eating. I trust these details
will not prove tedious to my readers, but I know from experience the
benefit arising from even a slight knowledge of wild fruits and herbs,
which have often quenched thirst and assuaged hunger when other food was
wanting, and rendered endurable what would otherwise have been a painful
journey.
We camped that night where darkness overtook us, close to a thick scrub
which lined the bank of the river, and we paid for our stupidity in not
selecting a more open spot, for myriads of mosquitoes put sleep out of the
question. The truth was that this belt of scrub had lined the river for
several miles past, and we hoped at every turn to come to a break, but night
set in whilst we were still between the leafy walls.
Daylight came at last, and we pushed onward. An hour took us into a
beautiful black-soil plain of great extent, without a stick of timber, and
well watered, not only by the Macalister, which meandered through its
centre, but by several large lagoons, overgrown with the lovely white
lotus, and crowded with waterfowl. The existence of such a planter's
paradise was totally unsuspected, and we all gazed spell-bound on this
splendid tract of country, possessing every requisite for successful
cultivation, and a water road for the produce. Dunmore was a true prophet
when he exclaimed -
"Before a year is past this will be settled upon."
A fine sugar plantation now stands on "Bellenden Plains," with superb cane
growing in unwonted luxuriance, and horses and cattle have taken the place
of the kangaroos, that we on this first visit found grazing there in
troops. In the distance could be seen the coast range behind Cardwell,
which seemed to recede inland as it trended towards our position, and
sweeping round, approached the sea again farther north, forming a natural
boundary to a vast space of available country. A silver line shone out on
the mountains, and with our glasses we could make out that it must be a
waterfall of very large dimensions. We at once agreed that it must be the
source of the very river we were on, the Macalister, but, as the sequel
will show, we found so many streams, that most probably we were mistaken in
our judgment. We resolved to make this charming spot our head-quarters for
the present, as we had everything to be desired - water, game, etc. -
close at hand, and, from the absence of timber, no blacks would be able to
steal upon us unperceived.
Leaving the pilot and one man in charge of the boat, we trudged along
through the high grass, which reached to our middles, and was dripping with
moisture from a shower that had fallen during the night; and, after a
tedious walk, reached the edge of the scrub. It was thicker than anything
we had encountered before, the density of the foliage totally excluding the
sun, and giving rise to a dank humid odour that struck a chill to the heart
directly you entered.
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