Having Travelled, During The Last Two
Stages, In A West-North-West Direction.
June 2.
- When we left our camp this morning, Mr. Gilbert and Charley
returned from their ride; they had come on our tracks last night, but,
surrounded as they were by rocky hills and gullies, had been compelled to
encamp. We travelled about seven miles and a half, and crossed three good
sized creeks, joining the Lynd from the north east. The river divided
several times into anabranches, flowing round, and insulating rocky hills
and ridges. It was much better supplied with water, and contained several
large reedy lagoons. An elegant Acacia, about thirty or thirty-five feet
high, grew on its small flats: it had large drooping glaucous bipinnate
leaves, long broad pods, and oval seeds, half black, and half bright red.
June 3. - We continued our journey down the river, about seven or eight
miles. The first three miles were very tolerable, over limited box-flats
near the river. As we approached the ranges again, the supply of water
increased; and we passed one large poel, in particular, with many ducks
and spoonbills on it. But the ranges approached the banks of the river on
both sides, and formed either precipitous walls, or flats so exceedingly
rocky, that it was out of the question to follow it. We, therefore,
ascended the hills and mountains, and with our foot-sore cattle passed
over beds of sharp shingles of porphyry. We crept like snails over these
rocky hills, and through their gullies filled with boulders and shingles,
until I found it necessary to halt, and allow my poor beasts to recover.
During the afternoon, I examined the country in advance, and found that
the mountains extended five miles farther, and were as rocky as those we
had already passed.
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