The Fig Tree Afforded
A Splendid Shade From The Burning Sun, And In A Recess In The Rock Close
By We Could Sit In Comparative Coolness.
Here the native artist had been
at work, his favourite subject being snakes and concentric rings.
A steep gorge, not very easy for camels to pass along, led up to the
rock-hole, which lies under a sheltering projection of rock. From the
rock above a good view is obtained; sand-ridges to the West, to the North
and East tablelands. Most noticeable are Mounts Elgin, Romilly, and
Stewart, bearing from here 346 degrees, 4 degrees, 16 degrees
respectively. These hills are named after three of my brothers-in-law.
They are of the usual form - that is to say, flat-topped with steep
sides - Mount Elgin especially appearing like an enormous squared block
above the horizon. To the South-East of Mount Stewart are two smaller
table-tops close together.
As I walked over the rocks I noticed numerous wallabies, of which Godfrey
shot several later; they were excellent eating, not unlike rabbit.
Leaving the rock-hole, we steered for Mount Romilly, first following down
the little creek from the gorge until it ran out into the sand in a clump
of bloodwoods. Then crossing a plain where some grass grew as well as
spinifex, we came again into sand-ridges, then another plain, then a
large, dry clay-pan West of Mount Stewart, then more ridges up to the
foot of Mount Romilly. It was here that we must have crossed the route of
Colonel Warburton in 1873, though at the time I could not quite make out
the relative positions of our two routes on the map.
Colonel Warburton, travelling from East to West, would be more or less
always between two ridges of sand, and his view would therefore be very
limited, and this would account for his not having marked hills on his
chart, which are as large as any in the far interior of the Colony. In
his journal, under date of September 2nd, we read: ". . . There are
hills in sight; those towards the North look high and hopeful, but they
are quite out of our course. Other detached, broken hills lie to the
West, so our intention is to go towards them." Then, on September 3rd:
"N.W. by W. to a sandstone hill" (probably Mount Romilly). "North of us
there is a rather good-looking range running East and West with a hopeful
bluff at its Western end" (probably Twin Head). From the top of Mount
Romilly a very prominent headland can be seen bearing 7 degrees, and
beyond it two others so exactly similar in shape and size that we called
them the Twins. For these we steered over the usual sand-ridges and small
plains, on which a tree (VENTILAGO VIMINALIS) new to us was noticed;
here, too, was growing the HIBISCUS STURTII, whose pretty flowers
reminded us that there were some things in the country nice to look upon.
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