The Swamps Narrowed Towards
The River, And Formed Large And Frequently Rocky Water-Holes, In A Well
Defined Channel, Which, However, Became Broad And Deep Where It
Communicated With The River, And Which In Many Places Rivalled It In
Size.
A belt of drooping tea-trees surrounded the swamps, whilst their
outlets were densely fringed with Pandanus.
The Livistona palm and
Cochlospermum gossypium grew on the ridges; the tea-tree, the
stringy-bark, the leguminous Ironbark and Eugenia were useful timber. The
whole country was most magnificently grassed.
A Porphyritic sienite cropped out at the head of the first swamp, about a
mile from our last camp.
We had cut our rifle balls into slugs, with which Charley and Brown shot
three geese (Anseranus melanoleuca, GOULD).
A low range was seen at the south-east end of the large swamp on which we
encamped.
Nov. 26. - We travelled about nine miles and a half N.N.W. to lat. 12
degrees 51 minutes 56 seconds. After having once more seen the river,
where it was joined by the broad outlet of a swamp, I turned to the
northward, and passed over closely-wooded and scrubby ridges of ironstone
and conglomerate, with pebbles and pieces of quartz covering the ground.
Livistona inermis, R. Br. formed small groves; and Pandanus covered the
hollows and banks of two small creeks with rocky water-holes going to the
westward. About six miles from our last camp, an immense plain opened
before us, at the west side of which we recognized the green line of the
river. We crossed the plain to find water, but the approaches of the
river were formed by tea-tree hollows, and by thick vine brush, at the
outside of which noble bouquets of Bamboo and stately Corypha palms
attracted our attention. In skirting the brush, we came to a salt-water
creek (the first seen by us on the north-west coast), when we immediately
returned to the ridges, where we met with a well-beaten foot-path of the
natives, which led us along brush, teeming with wallabies, and through
undulating scrubby forest ground to another large plain. Here the noise
of clouds of water-fowl, probably rising at the approach of some natives,
betrayed to us the presence of water. We encamped at the outskirts of the
forest, at a great distance from the large but shallow pools, which had
been formed by the late thunder-showers. The water had received a
disagreeable sour aluminous taste from the soil, and from the dung of
innumerable geese, ducks, native companions, white cranes, and various
other water-fowl. The boggy nature of the ground prevented our horses and
the bullock from approaching it; and they consequently strayed very far
in search of water. In the forest land, the Torres Straits pigeon
(Carpophaga luctuosa, GOULD,) was numerous. At sunset, Charley returned
to the camp, accompanied by a whole tribe of natives. They were armed
with small goose spears, and with flat wommalas; but, although they were
extremely noisy, they did not show the slightest hostile intention.
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