4th May to 6th May.
The abundance of water was not without its inconveniences, and had the
rain continued the party would have been annihilated, as our camp was
between the deep channels which intersected the plain; and in attempting
to extricate ourselves from the plains subject to inundation, found
ourselves so completely entangled among the numerous deep channels and
boggy gullies, in some of which the horses narrowly escaped suffocation
in the soft mud, that after having forded one branch of the river,
carrying the whole equipment across on our own backs, constructing a
bridge over a second for the transport of the stores, and dragging the
horses through as we best could with ropes, after three days of severe
toil we had scarcely accomplished a direct distance of five miles. The
dry weather which followed rapidly hardened the surface of the clay
plains, and I attempted to steer due west to the Thompson, but found the
country so destitute of feed, and covered with dense acacia scrub, that
we were compelled to return to the plains on the bank of the river.
8th May.
The valley of the river trending west was somewhat contracted, and did
not exceed five or six miles in breadth; the plains were firmer,
salt-bush and grass more abundant, and the horses recovered slightly from
the effects of the barren country. Keeping back from the right bank of
the main channel, we passed some ridges of drift sand, and came on a fine
lagoon nearly a mile in length. Here we surprised a party of natives, who
decamped on our approach, leaving a net, fish, etc., which we of course
left untouched, and camped at a spot lower down the lagoon.
9th May.
The next day being Sunday, we remained at our camp, and the party of
natives, consisting of seven or eight men, three or four women, and some
children, approached us, and remained the greater part of the day near
the tents. They were very anxious to enter the camp, but this was not
permitted. By signs they expressed that they had observed we had not
taken away any of their property the evening before, when they ran away
and left their nets, and were therefore satisfied our intentions were
friendly; but we could not procure any information relative to the
objects of our journey or the character of the country before us. At 4
p.m. they informed us they were going to sleep at the most distant part
of the lagoon, and would return next morning at sunrise, and then
departed. After dark, however, the natives were detected attempting to
crawl into the camp through the bushes, and though we called to them in
an unmistakable tone to retire, they would not withdraw. As the position
they had taken up was such as to command our camp, and render it unsafe
in the event of an attack, it was necessary to dislodge them. I therefore
fired a pistol over them, but was answered by a shout of derision, which
no doubt would have been soon followed by a shower of spears had we not
compelled them to retreat by a discharge of small shot directed into the
scrub, after which we were not further molested.
10th May.
We were now approaching the junction of the Thompson River, but the
country became worse as we advanced, and the last five miles of the plain
were absolutely devoid of vegetation. Our hopes were, however, raised on
finding that the late rain had caused the Thompson to flow, though the
current was not strong; we had, however, to travel upwards of twelve
miles up its course before any grass could be found for the horses.
11th May.
Continuing our route up the Thompson, nothing could be more desolate than
the aspect of the country; except the few trees which grew on the
immediate bank of the river there was scarcely a tree left alive, while
the plains were quite bare of vegetation, except a few salsolaceous
bushes. At the distance of five miles low ridges of red drift sand showed
the desert character of all around; even the lower surfaces of the clouds
assumed a lurid tinge from the reflection of the bare surface of red
sand.
12th to 15th May.
In latitude 24 degrees 40 minutes low sandstone hills, or rather
tableland, approached both banks of the river, and the gullies which
intersected them had supplied the water lower down, as the channel was
dry above. We, however, succeeded in reaching latitude 23 degrees 47
minutes, when the absence of water and grass--the rain not having
extended so far north, and the channels of the river separating into
small gullies and spreading on the wide plains--precluded our progressing
further to the north or west; and the only prospect of saving our horses
was to return south as quickly as possible. This was a most severe
disappointment, as we had just reached the part of the country through
which Leichhardt most probably travelled, if the season was sufficiently
wet to render it practicable. Thus compelled to abandon the principal
object of the expedition, only two courses remained open--either to
return to the head of the Victoria River and attempt a northern course by
the valley of the Belyando, or to follow down the river and ascertain
whether it flowed into Cooper's Creek or the Darling. The latter course
appeared most desirable, as it was just possible that Leichhardt, under
similar circumstances, had been driven to the south-west. In order to
ascertain whether any large watercourses came from the west, the return
route was along the right bank of the Thompson, but only one small creek
and some inconsiderable gullies joined on that side; nor was the country
of a better character than on the left bank--consisting of barren plains,
subject to inundation, low rocky ridges covered with dense scrub, and
sandy ridges producing triodia.
22nd to 23rd May.
We had nearly reached the Victoria River, when, in crossing a gully,
Worrell's horse fell and hurt him so severely that we had to halt for
some time before he could be placed on his horse again, and it was
therefore fortunate that a small patch of dry grass was found on the bank
of the river, which enabled us to halt the next day, which was Sunday.
Travelling down the right bank of the river, the principal channels were
full of water, but the clay plains between were quite dry, the rain which
had caused the river to flow not having extended so far south; nothing
could well be more desolate than the unbounded level of these vast
plains, which, destitute of vegetation, extended to the horizon. Our
horses were reduced to feeding on the decayed weeds, and even these were
so scarce that they eagerly devoured the thatch of some old native huts.
27th May.
We had nearly reached the furthest point attained by Mr. Kennedy when the
horses showed signs of failing strength, and the channels on the east
side of the plain being dry, I conceived it prudent to cross to the
western side again. The dry mud was so deeply cracked that the horses
were continually falling, and one horse was so completely exhausted that
we had to abandon him.