3rd October.
This morning Mr. Burges and myself started at 7.30 a.m. in a
north-easterly course, to ascertain the practicability of proceeding in
that direction, taking two of the strongest horses. After riding four
hours over an open, scrubby sand-plain, with circular valleys, we again
fell in with thickets of wattles so dense that, although burnt by the
native fires about four years previous, they would have been impassable
for the pack-horses; but, favoured by this circumstance, we penetrated
the thicket in a north-north-west direction for about twelve miles. From
one small sandy ridge we had an extensive view, but of a most
discouraging nature; the whole country was one vast plain, covered with
dense thickets and scrub as far as the eye could reach, except to the
west-north-west, where rose a high and barren ridge, which would not have
been visible but for excessive refraction, as it must have been more than
twenty-five miles distant. The plain was still dotted over with the
remarkable circular hollows or valleys which, by their extreme dryness,
indicated a great depth of sandy soil, incapable of retaining water on
the surface even for a short time, or any probability of our obtaining it
by digging. We turned in disappointment towards the encampment, scarcely
extricating ourselves from the thickets before it became dark. Having
gained the sand-plain, we continued our return for several hours,
steering by the stars, hoping by a night march to avoid the scorching
effects of the sun, which at this season renders travelling over an
extensive sandy plain very fatiguing. Having been more than eleven hours
in the saddle, we halted for the night.
4th October.
Started with the dawn, and pushing our tired and hungry horses over the
plain as fast as circumstances would admit, arrived at the encampment
before the heat of the day became excessive. During our absence two more
waterholes had been excavated, and sufficient water obtained for the
horses; but, from the great evaporation, it did not seem likely to last
longer than three or four days: the hardness of the sandstone precluded
our sinking the wells more than one and a half feet. The extreme aridity
of the country--the absence of water in consequence of the sandy nature
of the soil, which renders it impossible that watercourses should
exist--the dense and almost impassable nature of the thickets of acacia
and melaleuca of small growth, and the heat of the climate--all tend to
prove the fallacy of attempting to explore this part of the colony,
excepting during the wettest of the winter months. Under the existing
circumstances, I considered it my duty not to lead the party into a
position from which it would most probably be impracticable to extricate
ourselves without at least losing some of our horses; and even
difficulties of a more serious nature might arise, which would prevent
the more complete examination of the imperfectly known country to the
southward of our present position, more especially as a successful
advance to the northward seemed impossible.
5th October.
Left the encampment at 8.10 a.m.; steered north 135 degrees east magnetic
over sandy country, covered with coarse scrub; at noon passed a narrow
strip of wooded grassy land, the soil being limestone and red loam. The
country again became scrubby, and, descending an open valley, came on a
small watercourse at 1.5 p.m., trending south; followed it
south-south-west. At 2.15 passed our bivouac of the 29th September, and
turning south-west along the stream-bed, at 4.0 came on the right bank of
the Murchison River, running through wide grassy flats, the stream
forming large pools, some of them more than a mile in length; but, with
the exception of the flats on each side of the bank, the country is poor
and scrubby, destitute of trees, and the hills high and rocky, consisting
of red sandstone, those to the west capped with limestone.
6th October.
The horses being much fatigued and nearly starved, having subsisted
chiefly on scrub for the last two days, we determined to rest them for a
few days, while we examined the river towards its mouth. I started with
Mr. Bedart, and tracing the stream downwards to the south-west, reached
the sea after a ride of six hours. Excepting the flats and a narrow strip
of land on each side, the country was very indifferent, the hills being
composed of sandstone and sand, covered with coarse scrub and a gigantic
species of grass, the leaves of which, instead of affording food for
stock, were a source of great annoyance to our horses, being armed with
sharp thorny points, and was somewhat appropriately called bayonet grass
by the party. The tide flows about five miles up the river, when it is
obstructed by some slight rapids; although it seems shallow, and full of
rocks and islands, I think it is navigable for small boats. Above the
rapids the river is a succession of long reaches of water about 100 yards
wide, and wide flats covered with reeds, the roots of which seem to form
an important article of food with the natives. Many springs were seen on
the left bank, but few on the right, the water of which was of excellent
quality. After making observations of the bar, which appeared to be
practicable for whaleboats in moderate weather if the wind be south of
west, we returned along the south shore of the estuary, which is about
one and a half mile long and half a mile wide; it does not appear to be
of any great depth. My horse being quite knocked up, it was dark before
we could reach a spot where we could obtain water and grass; having come
to a convenient place, we bivouacked under a large overhanging rock, as
it promised to be a wet night.
7th October.
At 6.0 a.m. we were in our saddles, but owing to the rocky nature of the
country did not arrive at the encampment till 12.30 p.m. During our
absence the party had been successful in fishing and shooting; a savoury
mess of cockatoos, swans, and ducks, with fried fish, proved a welcome
change to us, after living so many weeks on salt meat and damper.
8th October (Sunday).
9th October.
The valley of the river being rocky and impassable above the camp, we
crossed to the left bank and ascended the sandy tableland; steered about
south-east from 7.45 a.m. to 11.0, when we came on the stream in a deep
valley formed by almost perpendicular red sandstone cliffs from 50 to 200
feet in height, broken at short intervals by enormous fissures (their
general direction west-north-west and nearly at right angles with the
river), which time, with the action of water, had worn into impassable
ravines, frequently extending more than half a mile back from the river,
and rendered travelling very tedious and unsafe, as it was requisite to
avoid the thick scrubs covering the higher land. The course of the river
now changed to nearly south, and preserved the same rocky and
unapproachable character till 5.0 p.m., when a break in the cliffs
enabled us to descend into the valley, although with some difficulty and
danger to the horses, which had to slide down the steep rocks at the risk
of breaking their necks, which would have been the almost certain result
of a single false step; but the descent being accomplished, they were
rewarded by an abundant supply of grass and water, the latter from a
large spring at the foot of the cliffs.
10th October.
While breakfast was preparing, Mr. Burges and myself examined the right
bank of the river, and after a short search, found a practicable ascent
to the top of the cliffs, and having cleared a way through the thicket of
melaleuca on the bank of the river, returned to breakfast. At 7.50 a.m.
commenced ascending, and at 8.30 reached the summit of the rocky hills,
and steering about south-east through a succession of thickets, rocks,
yawning chasms, sand-hills, and scrub, we attained to a fine grassy flat
at 12.30 p.m. The bed of the river here quite changed its character, the
sandstones giving place to granite gneiss, with dark trap dykes
intersecting it in a northerly and southerly direction, the dip of the
strata being to the west at a very high angle, at times almost
perpendicular.