The Drooping Tea-Tree Was, As Usual, Very
Beautiful.
We skirted a tea-tree scrub, without a watercourse, about two
miles and a half south of the "Caron," and passed some undulations, with
Grevillea forest.
To the south-west of these undulations, we came to a
chain of lagoons; from which several white cranes and a flight of the
black Ibis rose. Brown shot one of the latter, which, when picked and
cleaned for cooking, weighed three pounds and a half; it was very fat,
and proved to be excellent eating. Cytherea shells were again found,
which showed that the salt water was not very far off.
Charley gave a characteristic description of this country, when he
returned from a ride in search of game: "It is a miserable country!
nothing to shoot at, nothing to look at, but box trees and anthills." The
box-forest was, however, very open and the grass was good; and the
squatter would probably form a very different opinion of its merits. When
we were preparing to start in the morning some natives came to look at
us; but they kept within the scrub, and at a respectable distance.
July 18. - We travelled south-west by west, over a succession of plains,
and of undulating Grevillea forest, which changed into tea-tree thickets,
and stunted tea-tree scrubs, on a sandy soil with Salicornia, Binoe's
Trichinium, and several other salt plants. At about five miles from the
camp, we came to salt-water inlets, densely surrounded by mangroves, and
with sandy flats extending along their banks, encrusted with salt.
Charley rode through the dry mangrove scrub, and came on a sandy beach
with the broad Ocean before him.
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