11th October.
As this appeared to be a good spot for the formation of a depot, while we
examined the upper portion of the Murchison, I proceeded up the river in
company with Mr. Burges, leaving the rest of the party to guard the camp
and attend to the horses. After one hour's ride we came on our track
where we crossed the river on the 25th September, the general course of
the stream-bed being east-north-east, its channel averaging 100 yards in
width, full of rocks, small trees, and sandbanks, with many shallow
brackish pools of water, with the exception of one, which was both wide
and deep, where we halted for two hours to rest the horses; few of the
pools seemed likely to last through the heat of summer. At 1.0 p.m. we
came on a party of natives, five of whom came up to us, following us for
some distance. As they seemed to prefer mimicking our attempts to speak
the York dialect to using their own, we could not obtain much
information; they carried kylies and dowaks, but had left their spears
and shields with the rest of their party, who did not make their
appearance. At 3.0 passed several ridges of red sandstone rocks, the
strata dipping to the east-north-east at an angle of from 20 to 60
degrees. The granite rock entirely disappearing, the country became quite
level, and covered with one universal thicket of acacia and cypress,
except the very slight depression which formed a shallow valley about
three miles wide, through which the river runs in a deep channel from 80
to 100 yards wide in ordinary seasons, but when in flood must exceed 300
yards, and the rise of the water, judging from the rubbish drifted up in
former years, must exceed thirty feet. The valleys did not seem to be
more than 100 feet below the general surface of the country (which was
quite level), filled with a dense thicket of wattles; a narrow strip of
large gum-trees, growing in grassy flats close to the river, marked the
course of the stream. At 5.0 we halted for the night by a small pool of
fresh water in one of the back channels of the river, the pools in the
main bed being all brackish.
12th October.
Started at 6.35 a.m., following the river, the general course being
north-north-east; no change was observed in its character. At 11.20
halted to rest the horses, and again started at 1.40 p.m. At 3.40 came on
a large party of natives at a fresh water pool; five followed us some
miles, and were not to be satisfied until we had made an exchange of part
of a handkerchief for a quantity of noolban, some dowaks, and dabbas,
some of which we accepted as a token of our friendly intentions. The
stream-bed turned east, and we followed it until 6.0, when we were halted
for the night, having the good fortune to find a little fresh water by
digging in the sand in the bed of the river, the pools being all
brackish.