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.
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