Some Of The Ridges Were Openly Timbered With A Rather Stunted
White-Gum Tree, And Were Well Grassed; But The
Grass was wiry and stiff.
At the end of our stage, about sixteen miles distant from our last camp,
we
Crossed some rusty-gum forest; and encamped at a fine water-hole in
the bed of a rocky creek, shaded by the white drooping gum, which seemed
to have taken the place of the flooded gum. Groves of Pandanus spiralis
grew along the creek, which ran to the north by east. All the small
watercourses we passed, inclined to the eastward. Charley found the shell
of a Cytherea on an old camping-place of the natives, which indicated our
approach to the salt water.
A native had carved a representation of the foot of an emu in the bark of
a gum-tree; and he had performed it with all the exactness of a good
observer. It was the first specimen of the fine arts we had witnessed in
our journey.
August 4. - We travelled about ten miles west-north-west, over scrubby
ridges, plains, and box-flats. In a patch of rusty-gum forest we found
Acacia equisetifolia, and the dwarf Grevillea of the upper Lynd in
blossom; the thyrsi of scarlet flowers of the latter were particularly
beautiful. As we entered into the plains, Binoe's Trichinium and
Salicornia re-appeared.
I steered towards the smoke of a Blackfellow's fire, which we saw rising
on the plains; the fire was attended to by a gin. Charley went forward to
examine a belt of trees visible in the distance; and John Murphy followed
a hollow in the plain, and succeeded in finding a fine lagoon, about half
a mile long, partly rocky and partly muddy, surrounded by Polygonums, and
fields of Salicornia. A few gum trees, and raspberry-jam trees grew
straggling around it; but no dry timber was to be found, and we had to
make a fire with a broken down half dried raspberry-jam tree. Our meat
bags were now empty, and it was necessary to kill another bullock,
although the spot was by no means favourable for the purpose. Natives
were around us, and we saw them climbing the neighbouring trees to
observe our proceedings. When Charley joined us, he stated that a fine
broad salt-water river was scarcely a quarter of a mile from the lagoon;
that he had seen a tribe of natives fishing, who had been polite enough
to make a sign that the water was not drinkable, when he stooped down to
taste it, but that freshwater was to be found in the direction of the
lagoon, at which we were encamped. No time was to be lost, and, as the
afternoon had advanced, we commenced operations immediately. Though the
bullock was young, and in excellent working condition, the incessant
travelling round the gulf had taken nearly all the fat out of him, and
there was scarcely enough left to fry his liver.
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