At Eight We Proceeded On An Easterly Course, When A Mile Of
Gently Rising Ground Brought Us To The Edge Of A Fine Valley, In Which
Was A Chain Of Ponds Connected By A Small Stream; Alternate Hills And
Valleys Of The Best Description Of Pasture Land:
The soil, a rich,
light, sandy loam, continued until we halted, at the end of eleven
miles, in a spacious, well-watered valley; where to our great surprise
we found distinct marks of cattle tracks:
They were old, and made when
the ground was soft from rain, as appeared from the deep impression of
their feet. These cattle must have strayed from Bathurst, from which
place we were now distant in a direct line between eighty and ninety
miles. From several of the hills over which our route led us, we had the
most extensive and beautiful prospects; from thirty to forty miles
round, from the north to south, the country was broken in irregular low
hills thinly studded with small timber, and covered with grass: the
whole landscape within the compass of our view was clear and open,
resembling diversified pleasure grounds irregularly laid out and
planted. The animation of the whole scenery was greatly increased by the
smoke of the natives' fires arising in every quarter, distinctly marking
that we were in a country which afforded them ample means of
subsistence; far different from the low deserts and morasses to the
south-west.
The tops of the hills were generally stony (granite of different degrees
and qualities), but the broom-grass grew strongly and abundantly in the
interstices.
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