Hot Springs--A Lifeless Swamp--More Marks of the Natives.
The first six miles being over the country traversed by Morton was
naturally uninteresting. Then the plain grew narrower and narrower.
The chain of lagoons where they had camped developed into a large
water-course, and the flat limestone rock began to alter its
character and soon merged into a basaltic ridge coming from the
westward. At mid-day the plain was a thing of the past, and they
were now travelling along a broad water-course, with open forest on
one side and a rude line of basalt boulders, piled like a wall, on
the other.
At a fair-sized lagoon, thick with water-lilies, they turned out for
their meal.
"Funny," remarked Brown, "how these inland rivers disappear. This
water-course looks big enough now, but I bet it runs out to nothing
before night."
"Yes; the wet seasons, I suppose, are very rare, and when one comes
the flood-water is absorbed by soakage and evaporation before it can
cut a continuous channel. You know that no rivers enter the sea to
the south of us."
"I know; it's all a wall of cliffs around the head of the Great
Bight. Was there not some yarn once about fresh water being obtained
there some distance at sea?"
"I've heard something about it; it was put down to the discharge of a
subterranean river, but I don't think the fact was ever proved."
"Well, if we find a river of that sort we'll make a canoe and send
Charlie and Billy down it to explore. What do you say, Charlie?"
"There might be some Jinkarras living down there," replied Charlie.
"Ever see any Jinkarras, Billy?" asked Morton.
"No. Plenty bin hear 'em," replied Billy.
"I wonder how this yarn of an underground race, the Jinkarras,
originated."
"I can't make out. The noise they hear at night that they say is
made by the Jinkarras is made by a bird--a kind of quail."
"Well, we must be off; pack up boys," said Brown.
About four o'clock a dense mass of foliage was visible ahead, which,
as they drew nearer, proved to be huge paper-bark-trees, with long
trailing branches, like gigantic weeping willows. The ground around
these ancient giants was soft and spongy, and the bed of the creek
was soon lost. The ground being too soft to allow of the horses
progressing any further, a camp was made and they were hobbled out.
Leaving Billy to light a fire and mind camp, the three whites went on
foot through this great white forest. The ground grew swampier as
they proceeded, until at last, when within sight of a belt of tall
reeds, they could proceed no farther. Moreover, the water was
getting uncomfortably warm.
"Hot soda springs," said Brown; "this accounts for the growth of
these trees. There's an easy one to climb," pointing to a bending
one. "Let's go aloft and look ahead."
The tree was easy of ascent, and the three were soon high up amongst
the branches. Beyond the reeds lay a lakelet of clear water, but,
save for the deep fringe of rushes, not a plant of any sort was
visible. No ducks or other aquatic birds could be seen.
"I guess that water's too warm for anything to live in it," said
Morton.
It was a strange scene; the sun was sinking low, and anywhere else
the place at that time would have been busy with feathered life, but
here all was lifeless. The lakelet, surrounded by its border of tall
reeds, in which there was apparently no break, lay there calm and
unruffled.
"Let's get back to camp," said Brown. "Looks as though we'd got into
a dead corner of the world."
Next morning it was determined to follow the swamp round to the
westward to ascertain its extent. In a mile or two they came to
where the basalt wall apparently ran out in the swamp, disappearing
in a few scattered boulders. Just beyond this they came to a
well-beaten track, which came round the swamp from the direction in
which they were going and turned off amongst the basalt. Following
this track along, in about a mile they came on two skeletons lying
beside it. Some dry bits of skin still adhered here and there on the
fleshless bones.
"A nice part of Australia this," remarked Brown, as they halted and
gazed at the poor remains. "If we're not falling foul of a cemetery
or a funeral, we run against skeletons lying promiscuously about.
Wonder what brought them here."
"Not want of water at any rate," replied Morton. "Been a fight,
perhaps. They don't seem to belong to those triangle gentry, at any
rate."
"They must have been lying here months," answered Brown; "they're
past our help anyway. May as well get on."
Gradually the swamps rounded off to the southward, and it was evident
that there was no continuation that way. The creek they had followed
from the lagoons had disappeared, as Brown had predicted. To the
south was nothing but a stony, desert forest of stunted trees, the
ground covered with spinifex. Strange to say, however, the track
that had partly circled the hot swamp had branched off and headed due
south. There had been some discussion as to whether they should
follow it or not, but, as it was evident that this track and the one
marked by the devil's footsteps were trending to the same centre, it
was decided to postpone it until they had solved that mystery first.
The swamp was of such a circumference that it was nearly sundown when
they got back to the site of their last night's camp, having crossed
no outflow from the swamp anywhere.
In the morning it was thought better to go back to the old camp at
the lagoons and follow the devil's footsteps, than try to follow the
track amongst the boulders coming from the south.
They arrived there early, and immediately made preparations for
burying their spare rations, ammunition, &c. The next few hours were
busy ones. Saddles, rations, spare ammunition, &c., were all
carefully buried, and the whereabouts masked by a fire being lit on
the top to hide the disturbance of the earth. They started as soon
as this work was finished, each man carrying rifle, revolver,
ammunition, three days' rations, quart-pot, and water-bag--a fair
load for men always accustomed to riding only. Most devoutly they
all prayed that they would be off the rock soon after daylight the
next morning.