Many drays might easily be loaded, one after the other, from these oyster
beds. The natives of the district do not appear to eat them, for I never
could find a single shell at any of their encampments. It is difficult to
account for the taste or prejudice of the native, which guides him in his
selection or rejection of particular kinds of food. What is eaten readily
by the natives in one part of Australia is left untouched by them in
another, thus the oyster is eaten at Sydney, and I believe King George's
Sound, but not at Streaky Bay. The unio or freshwater muscle is eaten in
great numbers by all the natives of New South Wales and South Australia;
but Captain Grey found that a Perth native, who accompanied him on one of
his expeditions, would not touch this kind of food even when almost
starving. Snakes are eaten by some tribes, but not by others; and so with
many other kinds of food which they make use of.
About three o'clock, Mr. Scott arrived with the dray, after a long and
harassing stage of twenty miles over a low, stony, and scrubby tract of
country, between Mount Hall and Streaky Bay, and which extended beyond
our track to the coast hummocks to the west. These latter appeared
somewhat high, and under them we had seen many salt-water lakes from the
summit of Mount Hall.
My party were now once more all assembled together, after having been
separated for nearly seven weeks; during which, neither division knew
what had befallen the other, and both were necessarily anxious to be
reunited again, since, in the event of any mischance occurring to either,
the other would have been placed in circumstances of much difficulty, if
not of danger; and the whole object of the undertaking would have been
frustrated.
The great delay caused by my having been obliged to send over from Port
Lincoln to Adelaide for supplies, had thrown us very late in the season;
the summer was rapidly advancing, the weather even now, being frequently
intensely hot, whilst the grass was gradually drying up and losing its
nourishment. Our sending to Adelaide had, however, obtained for us the
valuable services of the WATERWITCH to assist us in tracing round the
desert line of coast to the north-west, and had enabled us to procure a
larger and more varied supply of stores, than we could possibly have
brought up from Port Lincoln in a single dray. We were now amply
furnished with conveniences of every kind; and both men and horses were
in good plight and ready to enter upon the task before them.
Chapter X.
COUNTRY BETWEEN STREAKY BAY AND BAXTER'S RANGE - ITS SCRUBBY
CHARACTER - GAWLER RANGE - MOUNT STURT - ASCEND A PEAK - SALT
LAKES - BEAUTIFUL FLOWER - ASCEND ANOTHER HILL - MOUNT BROWN SEEN - EXTENSIVE
VIEW TO THE NORTH - LAKE GILLES - BAXTER'S RANGE.
