HEADS OF THE ISAACS--THE SUTTOR--FLINT-ROCK--INDICATIONS OF WATER--DINNER
OF THE NATIVES APPROPRIATED BY US--EASTER SUNDAY--ALARM OF AN OLD
WOMAN--NATIVES SPEAKING A LANGUAGE ENTIRELY UNKNOWN TO CHARLEY AND
BROWN--A BARTER WITH THEM--MOUNT M'CONNEL.
I was detained at this place from the 1st to the 4th March, from a severe
attack of lumbago, which I had brought on by incautiously and, perhaps,
unnecessarily exposing myself to the weather, in my botanical and other
pursuits. On the 4th March. I had sufficiently recovered to mount my
horse and accompany my party to Roper's water-holes. Basalt cropped out
on the plains; the slight ridges of "devil-devil" land are covered with
quartz pebbles, and the hills and bed of the river, are of sandstone
formation.
A yellow, and a pink Hibiscus, were frequent along the river.
My calculations gave the longitude of 148 degrees 56 minutes for Skull
Creek; my bearings however make it more to the westward; its latitude was
supposed to be 21 degrees 42 minutes: the cloudy nights prevented my
taking any observation.
March 5.--I sent Mr. Gilbert and Charley up the river, which, according
to Mr. Roper's account, came through a narrow mountain gully, the passage
of which was very much obstructed by tea-trees. They passed the mountain
gorge, and, in about eight miles north, came to the heads of the Isaacs,
and to those of another system of waters, which collected in a creek that
flowed considerably to the westward. The range through which the Isaacs
passes is composed of sandstone, and strikes from north-west to
south-east. In its rocky caves, wallabies, with long smooth tails, had
been seen by Brown; they were quite new to him, and, as he expressed
himself, "looked more like monkeys than like wallabies." Mr. Gilbert and
Charley came on two flocks of emus, and killed two young ones; and
Charley and John Murphy hunted down another; Charley fell, however, with
his horse, and broke a double-barrelled gun, which was a very serious
loss to us, and the more so, as he had had the misfortune to break a
single-barrelled one before this.
The weather continued showery; loose scud passed over from the east and
south-east, with occasional breaks of hot sunshine. The Corypha palm is
frequent under the range; the Ebenaceous tree, with compound pinnate
leaves and unequilateral leaflets, is of a middle size, about thirty feet
high, with a shady and rather spreading crown.
We have travelled about seventy miles along the Isaacs. If we consider
the extent of its Bastard-box and narrow-leaved Ironbark flats, and the
silver-leaved Ironbark ridges on its left bank, and the fine open country
between the two ranges through which it breaks, we shall not probably
find a country better adapted for pastoral pursuits. There was a great
want of surface water at the season we passed through it; and which we
afterwards found was a remarkably dry one all over the colony: the wells
of the natives, however, and the luxuriant growth of reeds in many parts
of the river, showed that even shallow wells would give a large supply to
the squatter in cases of necessity; and those chains of large water-holes
which we frequently met along and within the scrubs, when once filled,
will retain their water for a long time. The extent of the neighbouring
scrubs will, however, always form a serious drawback to the squatter, as
it will be the lurking place and a refuge of the hostile natives, and a
hiding place for the cattle, which would always retire to it in the heat
of the day, or in the morning and evening, at which time the flies are
most troublesome.
March 7.--I moved my camp through the mountain gorge, the passage of
which was rather difficult, in consequence of large boulders of
sandstone, and of thickets of narrow-leaved tea-trees growing in the bed
of the river. To the northward, it opens into fine gentle Ironbark slopes
and ridges, which form the heads of the Isaacs. They seem to be the
favourite haunts of emus; for three broods of them were seen, of ten,
thirteen, and even sixteen birds. About four miles from the gorge, we
came to the heads of another creek, which I called "Suttor Creek" after
--Suttor, Esq., who had made me a present of four bullocks when I
started on this expedition; four or five miles farther down we found it
well supplied with fine water-holes. Here, however, patches of scrub
again appeared. The ridges were covered with iron-coloured quartz
pebbles, which rendered our bullocks footsore. The marjoram was abundant,
particularly near the scrubs, and filled the air with a most exquisite
odour. A mountain range was seen to the right; and, where the ranges of
the head of the Isaacs abruptly terminated, detached hills and ridges
formed the south-western and southern barrier of the waters of Suttor
Creek.
March 8.--As we followed the creek about nine miles farther down, it
became broader, and the Casuarinas were more frequent. Its bed was sandy,
occasionally filled with reeds, and contained numerous water-holes,
particularly where the sandstone rock formed more retentive basins.
During the last two days we had drizzling rain, which cleared up a little
about noon and at night. The weather was delightfully cool; the wind was
very strong from the eastward. I sent Mr. Roper forward to look for
water, of which he found a sufficient supply. He stated that the country
to the westward opened into fine plains, of a rich black soil; but it was
very dry. The bluff terminations of the left range bore E. by S., and
that on the right E.N.E.
March 9.--We moved to the water-holes found yesterday by Mr. Roper. On
our way we crossed a large scrub creek, coming from the northward and
joining Suttor Creek, which turned to the westward, and even W. by S. and
W.S.W.
Mr. Gilbert and Charley made an excursion to the westward, in which
direction Mr. Roper had seen a distant range, at the foot of which I
expected to find a large watercourse. Wind continued from the east and
south-east; about the middle of last night we had some rain.
A slender snake, about five feet long, of a greyish brown on the back,
and of a bright yellow on the belly, was seen nimbly climbing a tree. The
head was so much crushed in killing it that I could not examine its
teeth.
Mr. Roper and John Murphy succeeded in shooting eight cockatoos, which
gave us an excellent soup. I found in their stomachs a fruit resembling
grains of rice, which was slightly sweet, and would doubtless afford an
excellent dish, if obtained in sufficient quantity and boiled.
March 10.--We had slight drizzling showers towards sunset; the night very
cloudy till about ten a.m., when it cleared up. The variety of grasses is
very great; the most remarkable and succulent were two species of
Anthistiria, the grass of the Isaacs, and a new one with articulate ears
and rounded glumes. A pink Convolvulus, with showy blossoms, is very
common. Portulaca, with terete leaves, grows sparingly on the mild rich
soil.
Were a superficial observer suddenly transported from one of the reedy
ponds of Europe to this water-hole in Suttor Creek, he would not be able
to detect the change of his locality, except by the presence of
Casuarinas and the white trunks of the majestic flooded-gum. Reeds,
similar to those of Europe, and Polygonums almost identical as to
species, surround the water, the surface of which is covered with the
broad leaves of Villarsia, exactly resembling those of Nymphaea alba, and
with several species of Potomogeton. Small grey birds, like the warblers
of the reeds, flit from stem to stem; hosts of brilliant gyrinus play on
the water; notonectes and beetles, resembling the hydrophili, live within
it--now rising to respire, now swiftly diving. Limnaea, similar to those
of Europe, creep along the surface of the water; small Planorbis live on
the water-plants, to which also adhere Ancylus; and Paludina, Cyclas, and
Unio, furrow its muddy bottom. The spell, however, must not be broken by
the noisy call of a laughing jackass (Dacelo gigantea); the screams of
the white cockatoo; or by the hollow sound of the thirsty emu. The
latitude of this spot was 21 degrees 23 minutes S.
I examined the country northward for about five miles, crossing some
small undulating or hilly downs of a rich black soil, where the Phonolith
frequently cropped out. There were occasional tracts of "devil-devil"
land, and patches of scrub, which, at no great distance, united into one
mass of Bricklow. Tracing a little creek to its head, I crossed ridges
with open forest. Mr. Gilbert and Charley returned, after having found,
as I anticipated, a considerable watercourse at the foot of the westerly
range. Suttor Creek was afterwards found to join this watercourse, and,
as it was its principal tributary, the name was continued to the main
stream.
March 12.--In travelling to Mr. Gilbert's discovery, we crossed large
plains, and, at the end of six miles, entered into thick scrub, which
continued with little interruption until we reached the dry channel of
the Suttor. This scrub, like those already mentioned, varies in density
and in its composition; the Bricklow acacia predominates; but, in more
open parts, tufts of Bauhinia covered with white blossoms, and patches of
the bright green Fusanus and silvery Bricklow, formed a very pleasing
picture. The bed of the Suttor was rather shallow, sandy, and irregular,
with occasional patches of reeds; its left bank was covered with scrub;
but well grassed flats, with Bastard-box and Ironbark, were on its right.
We encamped near a fine reedy water-hole, nearly half a mile long, in
lat. 21 degrees 21 minutes 36 seconds. We had travelled about fifteen
miles west by north from our last camp. Throughout the day the weather
was cloudy and rainy, which rendered the tedious passage through the
scrub more bearable.
March 13.--We proceeded six or seven miles down the river, in a S.S.W.
course. The flats continued on its right side, but rose at a short
distance into low ridges, covered either with scrub or with a very
stunted silver-leaved Ironbark. On one of the flats we met with a brood
of young emus, and killed three of them. The morning was bright; cumuli
gathered about noon, and the afternoon was cloudy. The wind was from the
eastward. The Suttor is joined, in lat. 21 degrees 25 minutes, by a large
creek from the N.W. From the ridges on the left bank of the creek I
obtained an extensive view. The bluff termination of the ranges on the
head of the Isaacs bore N. 55 degrees E. Many high ranges were seen
towards the north and north-east. Towards the south the horizon was
broken only by some very distant isolated mountains. Peak Range was not
visible. A group of three mountains appeared towards the north-west; one
of them had a flat top. The whole country to the westward was formed of
low ridges, among which the Suttor seemed to shape its winding course.
The hills on which we stood, as well as the banks of the creek, were
composed of flint-rock. Pebbles and blocks of Pegmatite covered the bed
of the creek. This rock also cropped out along the river. This was the
first time since leaving Moreton Bay that we met with primitive rocks,
and I invite the attention of geologists to the close connection of the
flint rock with granitic rocks; which I had many opportunities of
observing in almost every part of the northern and western falls of the
table land of New England.
A Melaleuca with very small decussate leaves, a tree about twenty-five
feet high, was growing on the scrubby ridges. Flooded-gums of most
majestic size, and Casuarinas, grew along the river; in which there were
many large reedy water-holes. The season must be more than usually dry,
some of the largest holes containing only shallow pools, which were
crowded with small fishes, seemingly gasping for rain. A Ruellia, with
large white and blue flowers, adorned the grassy flats along the Suttor.
The latitude of this spot was 21 degrees 26 minutes 36 seconds.
March 14.--We removed down the river about eight miles S. S. W. to good
water-holes, which had been seen by my companions the day before. Here
the scrub approached the river, leaving only a narrow belt of open
forest, which was occasionally interrupted by low ridges of stunted
silver-leaved Ironbark. Pegmatite and Porphyry (with a very few small
crystals of felspar) and Gneiss? were observed in situ. On our way we
passed a fine lagoon. A dry but not hot wind blew from the S. S. W.; the
night and morning were bright; cumuli with sharp margins hung about after
eleven o'clock.
A pelican was seen flying down the river, and two native companions and
an ibis were at the water-holes. Crows, cockatoos, and ducks were
frequent. From the remains of mussels about these water-holes, the
natives have enjoyed many recent meals.
I sent Mr. Roper and Charley down the river, who informed me, on their
return late at night, that they had found water at different distances;
the farthest they reached was distant about seventeen miles, in a
water-hole near the scrub; but the bed of the river was dry. As they
rode, one on the right and the other on the left side of the river, a
Blackfellow hailed Charley and approached him, but when he saw Mr.
Roper--who crossed over upon being called--he immediately climbed a tree,
and his gin, who was far advanced in pregnancy, ascended another. As Mr.
Roper moved round the base of the tree, in order to look the Blackfellow
in the face, and to speak with him, the latter studiously avoided looking
at Mr. Roper, by shifting round and round the trunk like an iguana. At
last, however, he answered to the inquiry for water, by pointing to the
W. N. W. The woman also kept her face averted from the white man.
Proceeding farther down the river they saw natives encamped at a
water-hole, who, as soon as they became aware of the approach of the two
horsemen, withdrew with the greatest haste into the scrub; the men
driving the shrieking women and children before them. Upon Mr. Roper
galloping after them, one athletic fellow turned round and threatened to
throw his bommerang, at this sign of hostility Mr. Roper prudently
retired. Kangaroo and other nets made of some plant and not of bark,
koolimans, bommerangs, waddies, and a fine opossum cloak were found at
the camp, but were left untouched by our companions.
March 15.--Our party moved to the water-holes, where Mr. Roper had seen
the natives; the latter had removed their property, and were not
afterwards heard or seen by any of us. The general course of the river
was about south-west, and is joined by several scrub creeks; its bed is
broad and shallow, with numerous channels, separated by bergues; and the
river itself is split into several anabranches. The scrub is generally an
open Vitex; a fine drooping tea-tree lines the banks of the river;
Casuarina disappears; the flooded-gum is frequent, but of smaller size.
The Mackenzie-bean and several other papilionaceous plants, with some new
grasses, grow in it. The most interesting plant, however, is a species of
Datura, from one to two feet high, which genus has not previously been
observed in Australia. I also found species of Heliotropium of a most
fragrant odour.
Sandstone cropped out in several places, and red quartz pebbles were very
abundant in some parts of the river; the sands of its bed are so
triturated that no one would ever surmise the existence of granitic
rocks, at sixteen or twenty miles higher up. The whole country was flat;
no hill was visible, but, towards the end of our day's journey, we
crossed a few slight undulations.
During the night of the 14th, southerly winds were followed by a gale
from the eastward, with scud and drizzling rain. The morning of the 15th
was cloudy with a little rain; wind southerly. Early in the night, a
strong east-wind with drizzling long rain set in, but cleared up at
midnight. The morning of the 16th was cloudy, with a southerly wind. Our
lat. was 21 degrees 39 minutes 58 seconds.
March 17.--Mr. Gilbert and Brown went forward in search of water,
supposing that they would find it at a convenient distance, but were
unsuccessful, and, as they had taken neither guns nor provisions, they
were obliged to return. Keeping, however, a little more to the left, on
their return, they came to two fine water-holes at the foot of some
ironstone ridges, where they passed the night, and reached the camp the
following day, having had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours. The camp
was then moved to these water-holes, about nine miles off, in a due west
course. Fine water-holes were passed at a short half-mile from our camp;
and, after crossing the northern anabranch of the river, we again found
water.
The detection of isolated water-holes in a wooded country, where there is
nothing visible to indicate its presence, is quite a matter of chance. We
have often unconsciously passed well-filled water-holes, at less than a
hundred yards distant, whilst we were suffering severely from thirst. Our
horses and bullocks never showed that instinctive faculty of detecting
water, so often mentioned by other travellers; and I remember instances,
in which the bullocks have remained the whole night, not fifty yards from
water-holes, without finding them; and, indeed, whenever we came to small
water-holes, we had to drive the cattle down to them, or they would have
strayed off to find water elsewhere. On several occasions I followed
their tracks, and observed they were influenced entirely by their sight
when in search of it; at times attracted by a distant patch of deeper
verdure, at others following down a hollow or a watercourse, but I do not
recollect a single instance where they found water for themselves. The
horses, however, were naturally more restless and impatient, and, when we
approached a creek or a watercourse after a long journey, would descend
into the bed and follow it for long distances to find water; giving great
trouble to those who had to bring them back to the line of march.
Whenever they saw me halt at the place where I intended to encamp, they
not only quickened their pace, but often galloped towards me, well
knowing that I had found water, and that they were to be relieved of
their loads. In looking for water, my search was first made in the
neighbourhood of hills, ridges, and ranges, which from their extent and
elevation were most likely to lead me to it, either in beds of creeks, or
rivers, or in water-holes, parallel to them. In an open country, there
are many indications which a practised eye will readily seize: a cluster
of trees of a greener foliage, hollows with luxuriant grass, eagles
circling in the air, crows, cockatoos, pigeons (especially before
sunset), and the call of Grallina Australis and flocks of little finches,
would always attract our attention. The margins of scrubs were generally
provided with chains of holes. But a flat country, openly timbered,
without any break of the surface or of the forest, was by no means
encouraging; and I have frequently travelled more than twenty-five miles
in a straight line without obtaining my object, In coming on creeks, it
required some experience in the country, to know whether to travel up or
down the bed: some being well provided with water immediately at the foot
of the range, and others being entirely dry at their upper part, but
forming large puddled holes, lower down, in a flat country. From daily
experience, we acquired a sort of instinctive feeling as to the course we
should adopt, and were seldom wrong in our decisions.
The ridges, near the water-holes on which we were encamped, are composed
of an igneous rock containing much iron, with which the water was
impregnated to such a degree, that our tea turned quite black and inky.
The natives were very numerous in these parts, and their tracks were
everywhere visible. They had even followed the tracks of Mr. Gilbert's
and Brown's horses of the preceding day.
The night was bright; the day cloudy, and the wind easterly. I went with
Charley, in the afternoon of the 17th, to examine the extent of the
scrubby country, of which Mr. Gilbert had given us so poor an account.
The channel of the river became narrow and deep, with steep banks, as it
enters the scrub, and there the flooded gums entirely disappeared. The
scrub is about eight miles long, and from two to three miles broad, and
is tolerably open. The Bricklow is here a real tree, but of stunted
growth, with regularly fissured bark, like that of the Ironbark
(Eucalyptus resinifera). It has long broad falcate phyllodia, whilst
another species of the same size has an irregular scaly bark, with small
phyllodia, but of a greyer colour than those of the common Bricklow. Both
species grow promiscuously together. Where the river left the scrub, it
entered into a wild water-worn box flat, and cut up into several
irregular channels, lined by a dense thicket of narrow-leaved Melaleucas
of stunted growth and irregular shapes. The Box-tree itself is here a
different species, the bark has deeper fissures, and the young wood is
very yellow. I shall distinguish it by the name of "Water-box," as it
grows exclusively near creeks, or on the neighbouring flats. I first
observed it at the Mackenzie; its bark strips freely, but the stem is too
short and irregular to be of any use.
In passing a low hill, at the foot of which the box-flat commenced, we
came on a very distinct path of the natives, which led us to a deep
water-hole, covered with luxuriant grass; containing but a small quantity
of water. Farther on we came to a second hole better supplied, and to a
third; and at last Charley cried out, "Look there, Sir! what big water!"
and a long broad sheet of water stretched in sweeps through a dense
Bauhinia and Bricklow scrub, which covered its steep banks. It is a
singular character of this remarkable country, that extremes so often
meet; the most miserable scrub, with the open plain and fine forest land;
and the most paralysing dryness, with the finest supply of water.
Swarms of ducks covered the margin of the lake; pelicans, beyond the
reach of shot, floated on its bosom; land-turties plunged into its
waters; and shags started from dead trees lying half immersed, as we trod
the well-beaten path of the natives along its banks. The inhabitants of
this part of the country, doubtless, visit this spot frequently, judging
from the numerous heaps of muscle-shells. This fine piece of water,
probably in the main channel of the Suttor, is three miles long, and is
surrounded with one mass of scrub, which opens a little at its
north-western extremity.
March 10.--I continued my ride, ten or twelve miles down the river; the
scrub continued, but the immediate neighbourhood became a little more
open; several trees were observed, that had been recently cut by the
natives in search of honey or opossums. Emus were very numerous;
sometimes a solitary bird, and at others two, three, four, and up to
thirteen together, were seen trotting off in long file, and now and then
stopping to stare at us. We caught a bandicoot with two young ones, which
gave us an excellent luncheon. When we left the lake, Charley thought he
could distinguish a plain to the northward; and, riding in that
direction, I was agreeably surprised to find that the scrub did not
extend more than a mile and a-half from the river; and that, beyond it,
plains and open forest extended far to the northward; and fine ridges
with most excellent feed, to the southward. The traveller who is merely
following the course of a river, is unable to form a correct idea of the
country farther off, unless hills are near, from which he may obtain
extensive views. At the water-worn banks of the Mackenzie, I little
expected that we were in the vicinity of a country like that of Peak
Range; and I am consequently inclined to believe that much more available
land exists along the banks of the Suttor, where its valley is covered
with scrub, than we know anything about.
March 19.--The camp was removed to the lake of the Suttor, about twelve
miles and a-half N. 80 degrees W. We chased a flock of emus, but without
success; four of my companions went duck-shooting, but got very few; the
others angled, but nothing would bite.
The day was cloudy; some drizzling rain fell in the morning; the night
was clear. Lat. 21 degrees 37 minutes 31 minutes.
During my absence, my companions found a quantity of implements and
ornaments of the natives, in the neighbourhood of our last camp.
On the plains I found two new species of Sida; and, on the tea-trees, a
new form of Loranthus, with flowers in threes on a broad leafy bract,
scarcely distinguishable from the real leaves.
March 20.--We travelled down to the water-holes, at which I had turned
back. Sandstone rock cropped out on several spots, and pieces of broken
quartz were strewed over the ground. All the water-holes along the low
ridges and within the bed of the river, were full of water; and the
district seemed to be one of those which, from their peculiar
conformation of surface, are more frequently favoured by thunder-storms.
Native companions flew down the river, and flights of ducks held their
course in the same direction. With the hope of finding a good supply of
water lower down, we continued our journey on the 21st March. The creek
frequently divided into channels, forming large islands of a mile and a
mile and a-half in length, covered with scrub, and over which freshes had
swept. All at once, the water disappeared; the deepest holes were dry;
the Melaleucas were not to be found; the flooded-gums became very rare,
and the rich green grass was replaced by a scanty wiry grass. The whole
river seemed to divide into chains of dry water-holes, scarcely connected
by hollows. Two miles farther we came to a fine large water-hole,
surrounded by Polygonums and young water-grass, and, at two miles
farther, to another, and in about the same distance to a third. Recent
camps of the natives were on each of them, and a beaten path led from one
to the other. One of these holes was crossed by a weir made of sticks for
catching fish. Bones of large fish, turtle shells, and heaps of muscles,
were strewed round the fire places.
The whole day was bright and very hot; the wind in the afternoon from
E.S.E. The latitude of our last camp was 21 degrees 31 minutes 16
seconds, being about eighteen miles W.N.W. from the lake.
Mr. Roper and Brown rode about seven miles down the river, and found that
it again formed a large regular bed well supplied with water; and that
the country was of a more open character. They came suddenly upon two
women cooking mussels, who ran off, leaving their dinners to their
unwelcome visitors, who quickly dispatched the agreeable repast; farther
on they saw four men, who were too shy to approach. Charley also, whilst
bringing in the horses on the morning of the 22nd, passed a numerous
camp, who quietly rose and gazed at him, but did not utter a single word.
I travelled with my party to the water-holes found by Mr. Roper; on
approaching them, we crossed an extensive box-flat, near that part of the
river where it is split into collateral chains of holes. Talc-schiste
cropped out at the latter part of the journey; its strata were
perpendicular, and their direction from north-west to south-east; its
character was the same as that of Moreton Bay and New England; numerous
veins of quartz intersected the rock.
The water-holes were surrounded by high Polygonums; blue Nymphaeas were
observed in several of them; and ducks were very numerous.
The forenoon was cloudless and hot; cirrhous clouds formed in the
afternoon; with a breeze from the E.S.E. Our lat. was 21 degrees 25
minutes.
Mr. Gilbert and Charley, when on a reconnoitring ride, met another party
of natives; among them two gins were so horror-struck at the unwonted
sight, that they immediately fled into the scrub; the men commenced
talking to them, but occasionally interrupted their speeches by spitting
and uttering a noise like pooh! pooh! apparently expressive of their
disgust.
March 23.--The party moved on about ten miles to the north-east, and
encamped at the junction of a large creek which comes from the S.S.E. Its
character is similar to that of the Suttor; and I should not be surprised
if it should prove to be the northern anabranch of that creek, and which
we crossed on the 17th of March, the day before we arrived at the lake.
The country opens into lightly-timbered ridges, which are composed of a
hard rock, the sharp pieces of which covered the ground, and made our
animals foot-sore. It seems to me to be a clayey sandstone (Psammite)
penetrated by silica. A coarse-grained sandstone and quartzite cropped
out in that part of the river situated between the two camps. The
melon-holes of the box-flats were frequently over-grown with the
polygonaceous plant, mentioned at a former occasion; and the small scrub
plains were covered with a grey chenopodiaceous plant from three to four
feet high. The stiff-leaved Cymbidium was still very common, and two or
three plants of it were frequently observed on the same tree; its stem is
eatable, but glutinous and insipid.
The morning of Easter Sunday was very clear and hot; the wind from E.N.E.
As soon as we had celebrated the day with a luncheon of fat damper and
sweetened tea, I rode with Charley about seven or eight miles down the
river, and found abundance of water, not only in the bed of the river,
but in lines of lagoons parallel to it. Charley shot several ducks, which
were very numerous upon the water. Whilst riding along the bank of the
river, we saw an old woman before us, walking slowly and thoughtfully
through the forest, supporting her slender and apparently exhausted frame
with one of those long sticks which the women use for digging roots; a
child was running before her. Fearing she would be much alarmed if we
came too suddenly upon her,--as neither our voices in conversation, nor
the footfall of our horses, attracted her attention,--I cooeed gently;
after repeating the call two or three times, she turned her head; in
sudden fright she lifted her arms, and began to beat the air, as if to
take wing,--then seizing the child, and shrieking most pitifully, she
rapidly crossed the creek, and escaped to the opposite ridges. What could
she think; but that we were some of those imaginary beings, with legends
of which the wise men of her people frighten the children into obedience,
and whose strange forms and stranger doings are the favourite topics of
conversation amongst the natives at night when seated round their fires?
I observed a fine sienite on several spots; it is of a whitish colour,
and contains hornblende and mica in almost equal quantities; granite was
also seen, and both rocks probably belong to each other, the presence of
hornblende being local. A very hard pudding-stone crops out about nine
miles down the river. From the ridges, hills were seen to the N.N.E. and
to the westward. Vitex scrub is met with in patches of small extent. A
white crane, and the whistling duck, were seen. Black ducks and teal were
most common, and Charley shot eight of them. On the banks of the more or
less dry water-holes grows an annual leguminous plant, which shoots up
into a simple stem, often to the height of twelve feet; its neck and root
are covered with a spongy tissue; its leaves are pinnate, a foot or more
in length, with small leaflets; it bears mottled yellow flowers, in
axillary racemes; and long rough, articulate pods, containing small,
bright, olive-green seeds. I first saw this plant at Limestone, near
Moreton Bay, and afterwards at the water-holes of Comet River. It was
extremely abundant in the bed of the Burdekin, and was last seen on the
west side of the gulf of Carpentaria; I could, however, easily
distinguish three species of this plant. [They belong probably to the
two genera, Aeschynomene and Sesbania.]
Last evening, clouds gathered in the west, but cleared off after sunset;
the night again cloudy, the forenoon equally so; in the afternoon the
clouds were dissipated by a north-east wind.
March 24.--We travelled about nine miles N. 60 degrees W. along the
river; a small creek joined from the westward. At night we had a heavy
thunder-storm from the S.W.
March 25.--Weather very hot; clouds formed during the afternoon. We
continued our journey along the river to lat. 21 degrees 3 minutes; the
river winds considerably. We passed several hills at the latter part of
the stage. I ascended one of them, on the right bank of the river, and
obtained an extensive view of the country, which has a very uniform
character. There were ridges and low ranges to the westward, one of which
stretched from N. by W. far to the westward. The hill on which I stood
was composed of limestone rock; it was flat-topped, with steep slopes at
each end.
In lat. about 21 degrees 6 minutes, we crossed a large creek, densely
lined with dropping tea trees, coming from the westward. It was here we
first met with Careya arborea (Roxb.), a small tree from fifteen to
twenty feet high, with elliptical leaves of soft texture, four inches
long, and two in breadth; its fruit was about two inches long, contained
many seeds, and resembled that of the Guava. Its leaves, however, had
neither the vernation nor the pellucid dots of Myrtaceous trees. At the
junction of the creek, a great number of small Corypha palms were
growing, and my companions observed the dead stems of some very high
ones, whose tops had been cut off by the natives, probably to obtain the
young shoot. We passed hills of baked sandstone, before reaching the
creek, and afterwards crossed a fine sandy flat, with poplar-gum. The
river has a broad bed, at times dividing into several channels, lined
with stately Melaleucas and flooded-gum, and again uniting into one deep
channel, with long reaches of water surrounded by Polygonums, and
overgrown with blue Nymphaeas, Damasoniums, and Utricularias, and
inhabited by large flights of ducks. Rock occasionally enters into the
bed of the river. The collateral lines of water-holes are rarely
interrupted, and the ridges appear to be open on both sides of the river.
March 26.--We travelled along the river to lat. 20 degrees 53 minutes 42
seconds. Its course is almost due north. Yesterday, being out duck
shooting, we came suddenly upon a camp of natives, who were not a little
frightened by the report of our guns: they followed our tracks, however,
with wailing cries, and afterwards all of them sat down on the rocky
banks of the river, when we returned to our camp. To-day we passed the
place of their encampment with our whole train, and it was remarkable
that they neither heard nor saw us until we were close to them, though we
had seen them from a great distance. All the young ones ran away.
Dismounting from my horse, I walked up to an old man who had remained,
and who was soon after rejoined by another man. We had a long
unintelligible conversation, for neither Brown nor Charley could make out
a single word of their language. They were much surprised by the
different appearance of Charley's black skin and my own. Phillips wished
to exchange his jacket for one of their opossum cloaks, so I desired him
to put it on the ground, and then taking the cloak and placing it near
the jacket, I pointed to Phillips, and, taking both articles up, handed
the cloak to Phillips and the jacket to our old friend, who perfectly
understood my meaning. After some time he expressed a wish to have the
cloak back, and to keep the jacket, with which we had dressed him; but I
gave him to understand that he might have his cloak, provided he returned
the jacket; which arrangement satisfied him. A basket (dilli), which I
examined, was made of a species of grass which, according to Charley, is
found only on the sea coast.
We saw a Tabiroo (Mycteria) and a rifle bird. The morning was cloudy, but
very hot. Numerous heavy cumuli formed during the afternoon.
March 27.--We travelled to lat. 20 degrees 47 minutes 34 seconds. The
country along the river is undulating and hilly, and openly timbered. The
rock is of sandstone, and the ground is covered with quartz pebbles. In
lat. about 20 degrees 49 minutes, the Suttor is joined by a river as
large as itself, coming from the S.W. by W., and which changes the course
of the Suttor to the N.E. Just before the junction, the large bed of the
Suttor contracts into one deep channel, filled in its whole extent by a
fine sheet of water, on which Charley shot a pelican. I mention this
singular contraction, because a similar peculiarity was observed to occur
at almost every junction of considerable channels, as that of the Suttor
and Burdekin, and of the Lynd and the Mitchell. I named the river, which
here joins the Suttor, after Mr. Cape, the obliging commander of the
Shamrock steamer. The bed of the united rivers is very broad, with
several channels separated by high sandy bergues. The country back from
the river is formed by flats alternating with undulations, and is lightly
timbered with silver-leaved Ironbark, rusty gum, Moreton Bay ash, and
water box. The trees are generally stunted, and unfit for building; but
the drooping tea trees and the flooded-gum will supply sufficient timber
for such a purpose.
At our camp, at the bed of the river, granite crops out, and the sands
sparkle with leaflets of gold-coloured mica. The morning was clear and
hot; the afternoon cloudy; a thunder-storm to the north-east. We have
observed nothing of the sea-breeze of the Mackenzie and of Peak Range,
along the Suttor; but a light breeze generally sets in about nine o'clock
P.M.
Charley met with a flock of twenty emus, and hunted down one of them.
March 28.--We travelled down the river to latitude 20 degrees 41 minutes
35 seconds. The country was improving, beautifully grassed, openly
timbered, flat, or ridgy, or hilly; the ridges were covered with pebbles,
the hills rocky. The rocks were baked sandstone, decomposed granite, and
a dark, very hard conglomerate: the latter cropped out in the bed of the
river where we encamped. Pebbles of felspathic porphyry were found in the
river's bed. At some old camping places of the natives, we found the
seed-vessels of Pandanus, a plant which I had never seen far from the sea
coast; and also the empty shells of the seeds of a Cycas. Mr. Calvert,
John Murphy, and Brown, whom I had sent to collect marjoram, told me, at
their return, that they had seen whole groves of Pandanus trees; and
brought home the seed-vessel of a new Proteaceous tree. I went to examine
the locality, and found, on a sandy and rather rotten soil, the Pandanus
abundant, growing from sixteen to twenty feet high, either with a simple
stem and crown, or with a few branches at the top. The Proteaceous tree
was small, from twelve to fifteen feet high, of stunted and irregular
habit, with dark, fissured bark, and large medullary rays in its red
wood: its leaves were of a silvery colour, about two inches and a half
long, and three-quarters broad; its seed-vessels woody and orbicular,
like the single seed-vessels of the Banksia conchifera; the seeds were
surrounded by a broad transparent membrane. This tree, which I afterwards
found every where in the neighbourhood of the gulf of Carpentaria, was in
blossom from the middle of May to that of June. The poplar-gum, the
bloodwood, the melaleuca of Mt. Stewart, the Moreton Bay ash, the little
Severn tree, and a second species of the same genus with smooth leaves,
were growing on the same soil. The grasses were very various,
particularly in the hollows: and the fine bearded grass of the Isaacs
grew from nine to twelve feet in height. Charley brought me a branch of a
Cassia with a thyrse of showy yellow blossoms, which he said he had
plucked from a shrub about fifteen feet high.
We encamped about two miles from the foot of a mountain bearing about
N.E. from us; I called it Mount McConnel, after Fred. McConnel, Esq., who
had most kindly contributed to my expedition. The Suttor winds round its
western base, and, at four or five miles beyond it, in a northerly
direction, and in latitude 20 degrees 37 minutes 13 seconds joins a
river, the bed of which, at the junction, is fully a mile broad. Narrow
and uninterrupted belts of small trees were growing within the bed of the
latter, and separated broad masses of sand, through which a stream ten
yards broad and from two to three feet deep, was meandering; but which at
times swells into large sheets of water, occasionally occupying the whole
width of the river. Charley reported that he had seen some black swans,
and large flights of ducks and pelicans. This was the most northern point
at which the black swan was observed on our expedition.