25th September.
Started at 8.27 a.m.; passed over poor stony hills of granite formation
and producing a little grass in tufts--the wattles growing so close
together as to render travelling difficult and tedious. At 10.45 came on
a large stream-bed, which had scarcely ceased to run; the channel was
fifty yards wide, the bed steep and rocky, and, where crossed, ran over a
dyke of trap-rock, the water slightly brackish and in long shallow pools,
with samphire on the banks. This stream must be the Murchison River, as
no other was passed for 30 miles to the northward; the effects of violent
floods were visible, but it did not bear the character of a stream rising
at any great distance inland, nor did the nature of the gravel and sand
brought down by it indicate a rich soil on its upper portion, as I did
not see anything besides fragments of siliceous rock and garnet sand. The
valley through which it ran appeared to be five or six miles wide,
extending twenty miles to the eastward, backed by sandy plains on both
sides; a few patches of grass appeared in the lower parts of the valley;
westward it seemed to contract and turn to the south-west, flanked by
steep flat-topped hills of sandstone, resting on granite rock. Continuing
north-north-east up a small valley, we passed through wattle thickets
till 1.40 p.m., when we again ascended the level sandy tableland or
plains, and changed the course to the north; the scrub increased in
density as we proceeded. At 4.25 halted for the night in a patch of good
grass, where the thicket had been burnt off by the native fires; the
sandy nature of the soil rendered the search for water unsuccessful; we
therefore contended ourselves with the allowance of one pint each.
26th September.
Left the bivouac at 7.15 a.m.; course north; the country more open; 9.25
came on a large native well of good water in a slight hollow trending
westward; having watered the horses and filled the kegs, continued our
journey over sandy plains, covered with short coarse scrub; many hummocks
of loose sand, covered partially with scrub, lay on each side of our
track. At noon passed the last sandy ridge; before us lay an immense
plain, covered with thickets, and not a hill or valley could be
observed--the country seemed to settle into one vast level of dense and
almost impenetrable scrub or thicket. At 1 p.m. entered it, and continued
our route through it; although the bush-fires, which had burnt some large
patches, greatly assisted us; 4.15 not finding any grass, we steered
west, but at 5.15 were compelled to halt for the night in a dense
thicket, without a single blade of grass or even scrub of any kind which
could afford food for the horses; water it was hopeless to look for; and
after a supper of raw bacon, damper, and a pint of water each, we retired
to rest.