Character of the Morumbidgee where it issues from the hilly
country--Appearance of approach to swamps--Hamilton Plains--Intercourse
with the natives--Their appearance, customs, &c.--Change in the
character of the river--Mirage--Dreariness of the country--Ride towards
the Lachlan river--Two boats built and launched on the Morumbidgee; and
the drays, with part of the men sent back to Goulburn Plains.
NATIVES--WILD GAME,&c.; CHARACTER OF THE RIVER AND THE ADJOINING
COUNTRY.
From our camp, the Morumbidgee held a direct westerly course for about
three miles. The hills under which we had encamped, rose so close upon
our right as to leave little space between them and the river. At the
distance of three miles, however, they suddenly terminated, and the
river changed its direction to the S.W., while a chain of ponds
extended to the westward, and separated the alluvial flats from a
somewhat more elevated plain before us. We kept these ponds upon our
left for some time, but, as they ultimately followed the bend of the
river, we left them. The blacks led us on a W. by S. course to the base
of a small range two or three miles distant, near which there was a
deep lagoon. It was evident they here expected to have found some other
natives. Being disappointed, however, they turned in towards the river
again, but we stopped short of it on the side of a serpentine sheet of
water, an apparent continuation of the chain of ponds we had left
behind us, forming a kind of ditch round the S.W. extremity of the
range, parallel to which we had continued to travel. This range, which
had been gradually decreasing in height from the lagoon, above which it
rose perpendicularly, might almost be said to terminate here. We fell
in with two or three natives before we halted, but the evident want of
population in so fine a country, and on so noble a river, surprised me
extremely. We saw several red kangaroos in the course of the day, and
succeeded in killing one. It certainly is a beautiful animal, ranging
the wilds in native freedom. The female and the kid are of a light
mouse-colour. Wild turkeys abound on this part of the Morumbidgee, but
with the exception of a few terns, which are found hovering over the
lagoons, no new birds had as yet been procured; and the only plant that
enriched our collection, was an unknown metrosideros. In crossing the
extremity of the range, the wheels of the dray sunk deep into a
yielding and coarse sandy soil, of decomposed granite, on which
forest-grass prevailed in tufts, which, being far apart, made the
ground uneven, and caused the animals to trip. We rose at one time
sufficiently high to obtain an extensive view, and had our opinions
confirmed as to the level nature of the country we were so rapidly
approaching. From the N. to the W.S.W. the eye wandered over a wooded
and unbroken interior, if I except a solitary double hill that rose in
the midst of it, bearing S. 82 degrees W. distant 12 miles, and another
singular elevation that bore S. 32 degrees W. called by the natives,
Kengal. The appearance to the E.S.E. was still that of a mountainous
country, while from the N.E., the hills gradually decrease in height,
until lost in the darkness of surrounding objects to the northward. We
did not travel this day more than 13 miles on a W. by N. course. The
Morumbidgee, where we struck it, by its increased size, kept alive our
anticipations of its ultimately leading us to some important point. The
partial rains that had fallen while we were on its upper branch, had
swollen it considerably, and it now rolled along a vast body of water
at the rate of three miles an hour, preserving a medium width of 150
feet; its banks retaining a height far above the usual level of the
stream. A traveller who had never before descended into the interior of
New Holland, would have spurned the idea of such a river terminating in
marshes; but with the experience of the former journey, strong as hope
was within my breast, I still feared it might lose itself in the vast
flat upon which we could scarcely be said to have yet entered. The
country was indeed taking up more and more every day the features of
the N.W. interior. Cypresses were observed upon the minor ridges, and
the soil near the river, although still rich, and certainly more
extensive than above, was occasionally mixed with sand, and scattered
over with the claws of crayfish and shells, indicating its greater
liability to be flooded; nor indeed could I entertain a doubt that the
river had laid a great part of the levels around us under water long
after it found that channel in which nature intended ultimately to
confine it. We killed another fine red kangaroo in the early part of
the day, in galloping after which I got a heavy fall.
The two blacks who had been with us so long, and who had not only
exerted themselves to assist us, but had contributed in no small degree
to our amusement, though they had from M'Leay's liberality, tasted all
the dainties with which we had provided ourselves, from sugar to
concentrated cayenne, intimated that they could no longer accompany the
party. They had probably got to the extremity of their beat, and dared
not venture any further. They left us with evident regret, receiving,
on their departure, several valuable presents, in the shape of
tomahawks &c. The last thing they did was to point out the way to us,
and to promise to join us on our return, although they evidently little
anticipated ever seeing us again.
In pursuing our journey, we entered a forest, consisting of box-trees,
casuarinae, and cypresses, on a light sandy soil, in which both horses
and bullocks sunk so deep that their labour was greatly increased, more
especially as the weather had become much warmer. At noon I altered my
course from N.W. by W. to W.N.W., and reached the Morumbidgee at 3 in
the afternoon. The flats bordering it were extensive and rich, and,
being partially mixed with sand, were more fitted for agricultural
purposes than the stiffer and purer soil amidst the mountains; but the
interior beyond them was far from being of corresponding quality. We
crossed several plains on which vegetation was scanty, probably owing
to the hardness of the soil, which was a stiff loamy clay, and which
must check the growth of plants, by preventing the roots from striking
freely into it. The river where we stopped for the night appeared to
have risen considerably, and the fish were rolling about on the surface
of the water with a noise like porpoises. No elevations were visible,
so that I had not an opportunity of continuing the chain of survey with
the points I had previously taken.
TRAVELLING DOWN THE RIVER.
As we proceeded down the river on the 8th, the flats became still more
extensive than they had ever been, and might almost be denominated
plains. Vegetation was scanty upon them, although the soil was of the
first quality. About nine miles from our camp, we struck on a small
isolated hill, that could scarcely have been of 200 feet elevation;
yet, depressed as it was, the view from its summit was very extensive,
and I was surprised to find that we were still in some measure
surrounded by high lands, of which I took the following bearings,
connected with the present ones.
A High Peak.....N. 66 E. distance 40 miles.
Kengal ........ N. 110 E. distant.
Double Hill ... S. 10 W. distant.
To the north, there were several fires burning, which appeared rather
the fires of natives, than conflagrations, and as the river had made a
bend to the N.N.W., I doubted not that they were upon its banks. From
this hill, which was of compact granite, we struck away to the W.N.W.,
and shortly afterwards crossed some remarkable sand-hills. Figuratively
speaking, they appeared like islands amidst the alluvial deposits, and
were as pure in their composition as the sand on the sea-shore. They
were generally covered with forest grass, in tufts, and a coarse kind
of rushes, under banksias and cypresses. We found a small fire on the
banks of the river, and close to it the couch and hut of a solitary
native, who had probably seen us approach, and had fled. There cannot
be many inhabitants hereabouts, since there are no paths to indicate
that they frequent this part of the Morumbidgee more at one season than
another.
On the 9th, the river fell off again to the westward, and we lost a
good deal of the northing we had made the day before. We journeyed
pretty nearly equidistant from the stream, and kept altogether on the
alluvial flats. As we were wandering along the banks of the river, a
black started up before us, and swam across to the opposite side, where
he immediately hid himself. We could by no means induce him to show
himself; he was probably the lonely being whom we had scared away from
the fire the day before. In the afternoon, however we surprised a
family of six natives, and persuaded them to follow us to our halting
place. My boy understood them well; but the young savage had the
cunning to hide the information they gave him, or, for aught I know, to
ask questions that best suited his own purposes, and therefore we
gained little intelligence from them.
Every day now produced some change in the face of the country, by which
it became more and more assimilated to that I had traversed during the
first expedition. Acacia pendula now made its appearance on several
plains beyond the river deposits, as well as that salsolaceous class of
plants, among which the schlerolina and rhagodia are so remarkable. The
natives left us at sunset, but returned early in the morning with an
extremely facetious and good-humoured old man, who volunteered to act
as our guide without the least hesitation. There was a cheerfulness in
his manner, that gained our confidence at once, and rendered him a
general favourite. He went in front with the dogs, and led us a little
away from the river to kill kangaroos, as he said. At about two miles
we struck on an inconsiderable elevation, which the party crossed at
the S.W. extremity. I ascended it at the opposite end, but although the
view was extensive, I could not make out the little hill of granite
from which I had taken my former bearings, and the only elevation I
could recognise as connected with them, was one about ten miles
distant, bearing S. 168 W. I could observe very distant ranges to the
E.N.E. and immediately below me in that direction, there was a large
clear plain, skirted by acacia pendula, stretching from S.S.E. to
N.N.W. The crown and ridges of the hill on which I stood, were barren,
stony, and covered with beef-wood, the rock-formation being a coarse
granite. The drays had got so far ahead of me that I did not overtake
them before they had halted on the river at a distance of ten miles.
INFORMATION FROM A NATIVE.
The Morumbidgee appeared, on examination, to have increased in breadth,
and continued to rise gradually. It is certainly a noble stream, very
different from those I had already traced to their termination. The old
black informed me that there was another large river flowing to the
southward of west, to which the Morumbidgee was as a creek, and that we
could gain it in four days. He stated that its waters were good, but
that its banks were not peopled. That such a feature existed where he
laid it down, I thought extremely probable, because it was only natural
to expect that other streams descended from the mountains in the S.E.
of the island, as well as that on which we were travelling. The
question was, whether either of them held on an uninterrupted course to
some reservoir, or whether they fell short of the coast and exhausted
themselves in marshes. Considering the concave direction of the
mountains to the S.E., I even at this time hoped that the rivers
falling into the interior would unite sooner or later, and contribute
to the formation of an important and navigable stream. Of the fate of
the Morumbidgee, the old black could give no account. It seemed
probable, therefore, that we were far from its termination.
I had hitherto been rather severe upon the animals, for although our
journey had not exceeded from twelve to fifteen miles a day, it had
been without intermission. I determined, therefore, to give both men
and animals a day of rest, as soon as I should find a convenient place.
We started on the 11th with this intention, but we managed to creep
over eight or ten miles of ground before we halted. The country was
slightly undulated, and much intersected by creeks, few of which had
water in them. The whole tract was, however, well adapted either for
agriculture, or for grazing, and, in spite of the drought that had
evidently long hung over it, was well covered with vegetation. We had
passed all high lands, and the interior to the westward presented an
unbroken level to the eye. The Morumbidgee appeared to hold a more
northerly course than I had anticipated. Still low ranges continued
upon our right, and the cypress ridges became more frequent and denser;
but the timber on the more open grounds generally consisted of box and
flooded-gum. Of minor trees, the acacia pendula was the most prevalent,
with a shrub bearing a round nut, enclosed in a scarlet capsule, and an
interesting species of stenochylus. I had observed as yet, few of the
plants of the more northern interior.
NATIVES--THEIR UGLINESS.
In this neighbourhood, the dogs killed an emu and a kangaroo, which
came in very conveniently for some natives whom we fell in with on one
of the river flats. They were, without exception, the worst featured of
any I had ever seen. It is scarcely possible to conceive that human
beings could be so hideous and loathsome. The old black, who was rather
good-looking, told me they were the last we should see for some time,
and I felt that if these were samples of the natives on the lowlands, I
cared very little how few of I them we should meet.
EXTENSIVE PLAINS.
The country on the opposite side of the river had all the features of
that to the north of it, but a plain of such extent suddenly opened
upon us to the southward, that I halted at once in order to examine it,
and by availing myself of a day of rest, to fix our position more truly
than we could otherwise have done. We accordingly pitched our tents
under some lofty gum-trees, opposite to the plain, and close upon the
edge of the sandy beach of the river. Before they were turned out, the
animals were carefully examined, and the pack-saddles overhauled, that
they might undergo any necessary repairs. The river fell considerably
during the night, but it poured along a vast body of water, possessing
a strong current. The only change I remarked in it was that it now had
a bed of sand, and was generally deeper on one side than on the other.
It kept a very uniform breadth of from 150 to 170 feet--and a depth of
from 4 to 20. Its channel, though occasionally much encumbered with
fallen timber, was large enough to contain twice the volume of water
then in it, but it had outer and more distant banks, the boundaries of
the alluvial flats, to confine it within certain limits, during the
most violent floods, and to prevent its inundating the country.
HAMILTON'S PLAINS.
With a view to examine the plain opposite to us, I directed our horses
to be taken across the river early in the morning, and after breakfast,
M'Leay and I swam across after them. We found the current strong, and
could not keep a direct line over the channel, but were carried below
the place at which we plunged in. We proceeded afterwards in a
direction W.S.W. across the plain for five or six miles, before we saw
trees on the opposite extremity, at a still greater distance. We thus
found ourselves in the centre of an area of from 26 to 30 miles. It
appeared to be perfectly level, though not really so. The soil upon it
was good, excepting in isolated spots, where it was sandy. Vegetation
was scanty upon it, but, on the whole, I should conclude that it was
fitter for agriculture than for grazing. For I think it very probable,
that those lands which lie hardening and bare in a state of nature,
would produce abundantly if broken up by the plough. I called this
Hamilton's plains, in remembrance of the surgeon of my regiment. The
Morumbidgee forms its N.E. boundary, and a creek rising on it, cuts off
a third part on the western side, and runs away from the river in a
southerly direction. This creek, even before it gets to the outskirts
of the plains, assumes a considerable size. Such a fact would argue
that heavy rains fall in this part of the interior, to cut out such a
watercourse, or that the soil is extremely loose; but I should think
the former the most probable, since the soil of this plain had a
substratum of clay. I place our encampment on the river in latitude 34
degrees 41 minutes 45 seconds S., and in East longitude 146 degrees 50
minutes, the variation of the compass being 6 degrees 10 minutes E.
INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES; SCANTINESS OF THE POPULATION.
On our return to the camp we found several natives with our people, and
among them one of the tallest I had ever seen. Their women were with
them, and they appeared to have lost all apprehension of any danger
occurring from us. The animals were benefited greatly by this day of
rest. We left the plain, therefore, on the 13th with renewed spirits,
and passed over a country very similar to that by which we had
approached it, one well adapted for grazing, but intersected by
numerous creeks, at two of which we found natives, some of whom joined
our party. Our old friend left us in quest of some blacks, who, as he
informed Hopkinson, had seen the tracks of our horses on the Darling. I
was truly puzzled at such a statement, which was, however, further
corroborated by the circumstance of one of the natives having a
tire-nail affixed to a spear, which he said was picked up, by the man
who gave it to him, on one of our encampments. I could not think it
likely that this story was true, and rather imagined they must have
picked up the nail near the located districts, and I was anxious to
have the point cleared up. When we halted we had a large assemblage of
natives with us, amounting in all to twenty-seven, but I awaited in
vain the return of the old man. The night passed away without our
seeing him, nor did he again join us.
We started in the morning with our new acquaintances, and kept on a
south-westerly course during the day, over an excellent grazing, and,
in many places, an agricultural country, still intersected by creeks,
that were too deep for the water to have dried in them. The country
more remote from the river, however, began to assume more and more the
character and appearance of the northern interior. I rode into several
plains, the soil of which was either a red sandy loam, bare of
vegetation, or a rotten and blistered earth, producing nothing but
rhagodiae, salsolae, and misembrianthemum.
We fell in with another tribe of blacks during the journey, to whom we
were literally consigned by those who had been previously with us, and
who now turned back, while our new friends took the lead of the drays.
They were two fine young men, but had very ugly wives, and were for a
long time extremely diffident. I found that I could obtain but little
information through my black boy,--whether from his not understanding
me, or because he was too cunning, is uncertain. One of these young
men, however, clearly stated that he had seen the tracks of bullocks
and horses, a long time ago, to the N.N.W. in the direction of some
detached hills, that were visible from 20 to 25 miles distant. He
remembered them, he said, as a boy, and added that the white men were
without water. It was, therefore, clear that he alluded to Mr. Oxley's
excursion, northerly from the Lachlan, and I had no doubt on my mind,
that he had been on one of that officer's encampments, and that the
hills to the north of us were those to the opposite base of which he
had penetrated. I was determined, therefore, if practicable, to reach
these hills, deeming it a matter of great importance to connect the
surveys, but I deferred my journey for a day or two, in hopes, from the
continued northerly course of the river, that we should have approached
them nearer.
In the evening we fell in with some more blacks, among whom were two
brothers, of those who were acting as our guides. One had a very pretty
girl as a wife, and all the four brothers were very good-looking young
men. There cannot, I should think, be a numerous population on the
banks of the Morumbidgee, from the fact of our having seen not more
than fifty in an extent of more than 180 miles. They are apparently
scattered along it in families. I was rather surprised that my boy
understood their language well, since it certainly differed from that
of the Macquarie tribes, but nevertheless as these people do not wander
far, our information as to what was before us was very gradually
arrived at, and only as we fell in with the successive families.
Moreover, as my boy was very young, it may be that he was more eager in
communicating to those who had no idea of them, the wonders he had
seen, than in making inquiries on points that were indifferent to him.
CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.
We passed a very large plain in the course of the day, which was
bounded by forests of box, cypress, and the acacia pendula, of red
sandy soil and parched appearance. The Morumbidgee evidently overflows
a part of the lands we crossed, to a greater extent than heretofore,
though the alluvial deposits beyond its influence were still both rich
and extensive. The crested pigeon made its appearance on the acacias,
which I took to be a sure sign of our approach to a country more than
ordinarily subject to overflow; since on the Macquarie and the Darling,
those birds were found only to inhabit the regions of marshes, or
spaces covered by the acacia pendula, or the polygonum. We had not,
however, yet seen any of the latter plant, although we were shortly
destined to be almost lost amidst fields of it.
CHANGE IN THE COUNTRY.
We were now approaching that parallel of longitude in which the other
known rivers of New Holland had been found to exhaust themselves; the
least change therefore, for the worse was sufficient to raise my
apprehensions; yet, although the Morumbidgee had received no tributary
from the Dumot downwards, and was leading us into an apparently endless
level, I saw no indication of its decreasing in size, or in the
rapidity of its current. Certainly, however, I had, from the character
of the country around us, an anticipation that a change was about to
take place in it, and this anticipation was verified in the course of
the following day. The alluvial flats gradually decreased in breadth,
and we journeyed mostly over extensive and barren plains, which in many
places approached so near the river as to form a part of its bank. They
were covered with the salsolaceous class of plants, so common in the
interior, in a red sandy soil, and were as even as a bowling green. The
alluvial spaces near the river became covered with reeds, and, though
subject to overflow at every partial rise of it, were so extremely
small as scarcely to afford food for our cattle. Flooded-gum trees of
lofty size grew on these reedy spaces, and marked the line of the
river, but the timber of the interior appeared stunted and useless.
DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES; MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE NATIVES.
We found this part of the Morumbidgee much more populous than its upper
branches. When we halted, we had no fewer than forty-one natives with
us, of whom the young men were the least numerous. They allowed us to
choose a place for ourselves before they formed their own camp, and
studiously avoided encroaching on our ground so as to appear
troublesome. Their manners were those of a quiet and inoffensive
people, and their appearance in some measure prepossessing. The old men
had lofty foreheads, and stood exceedingly erect. The young men were
cleaner is their persons and were better featured than any we had seen,
some of them having smooth hair and an almost Asiatic cast of
countenance. On the other hand, the women and children were disgusting
objects. The latter were much subject to diseases, and were dreadfully
emaciated. It is evident that numbers of them die in their infancy for
want of care and nourishment. We remarked none at the age of incipient
puberty, but the most of them under six. In stating that the men were
more prepossessing than any we had seen, I would not be understood to
mean that they differed in any material point either from the natives
of the coast, or of the most distant interior to which I had been, for
they were decidedly the same race, and had the same leading features
and customs, as far as the latter could be observed. The sunken eye and
overhanging eyebrow, the high cheek-bone and thick lip, distended
nostrils, the nose either short or acquiline, together with a stout
bust and slender extremities, and both curled and smooth hair, marked
the natives of the Morumbidgee as well as those of the Darling. They
were evidently sprung from one common stock, the savage and scattered
inhabitants of a rude and inhospitable land. In customs they differed
in no material point from the coast natives, and still less from the
tribes on the Darling and the Castlereagh. They extract the front
tooth, lacerate their bodies, to raise the flesh, cicatrices being
their chief ornament; procure food by the same means, paint in the same
manner, and use the same weapons, as far as the productions of the
country will allow them. But as the grass-tree is not found westward of
the mountains, they make a light spear of a reed, similar to that of
which the natives of the southern islands form their arrows. These they
use for distant combat, and not only carry in numbers, but throw with
the boomerang to a great distance and with unerring precision, making
them to all intents and purposes as efficient as the bow and arrow.
They have a ponderous spear for close fight, and others of different
sizes for the chase. With regard to their laws, I believe they are
universally the same all over the known parts of New South Wales. The
old men have alone the privilege of eating the emu; and so submissive
are the young men to this regulation, that if, from absolute hunger or
under other pressing circumstances, one of them breaks through it,
either during a hunting excursion, or whilst absent from his tribe, he
returns under a feeling of conscious guilt, and by his manner betrays
his guilt, sitting apart from the men, and confessing his misdemeanour
to the chief at the first interrogation, upon which he is obliged to
undergo a slight punishment. This evidently is a law of policy and
necessity, for if the emus were allowed to be indiscriminately
slaughtered, they would soon become extinct. Civilised nations may
learn a wholesome lesson even from savages, as in this instance of
their forebearance. For somewhat similar reasons, perhaps, married
people alone are here permitted to eat ducks. They hold their
corrobories, (midnight ceremonies), and sing the same melancholy ditty
that breaks the stillness of night on the shores of Jervis' Bay, or on
the banks of the Macquarie; and during the ceremony imitate the several
birds and beasts with which they are acquainted. If these inland tribes
differ in anything from those on the coast, it is in the mode of
burying their dead, and, partially, in their language. Like all
savages, they consider their women as secondary objects, oblige them to
procure their own food, or throw to them over their shoulders the bones
they have already picked, with a nonchalance that is extremely amusing;
and, on the march, make them beasts of burden to carry their very
weapons. The population of the Morumbidgee, as far as we had descended
it at this time, did not exceed from ninety to a hundred souls. I am
persuaded that disease and accidents consign many of them to a
premature grave.
MIRAGE.
From this camp, one family only accompanied us. We journeyed due west
over plains of great extent. The soil upon them was soft and yielding,
in some places being a kind of light earth covered with rhagodiae, in
others a red tenacious clay, overrun by the misembrianthemum and
salsolae. Nothing could exceed the apparent barrenness of these plains,
or the cheerlessness of the landscape. We had left all high lands
behind us, and were now on an extensive plain, bounded in the distance
by low trees or by dark lines of cypresses. The lofty gum-trees on the
river followed its windings, and, as we opened the points, they
appeared, from the peculiar effect of a mirage, as bold promontories
jutting into the ocean, having literally the blue tint of distance.
This mirage floated in a light tremulous vapour on the ground, and not
only deceived us with regard to the extent of the plains, and the
appearance of objects, but hid the trees, in fact, from our view
altogether; so that, in moving, as we imagined, upon the very point or
angle of the river, we found as we neared it, that the trees stretched
much further into the plain, and were obliged to alter our course to
round them. The heated state of the atmosphere, and the sandy nature of
the country could alone have caused a mirage so striking in its
effects, as this,--exceeding considerably similar appearances noticed
during the first expedition. The travelling was so heavy, that I was
obliged to make a short day's journey, and when we struck the river for
the purpose of halting, it had fallen off very much in appearance, and
was evidently much contracted, with low banks and a sandy bed. It was
difficult to account for this sudden change, but when I gazed on the
extent of level country before me, I began to dread that this hitherto
beautiful stream would ultimately disappoint us.
EXCURSION TOWARDS A RIDGE OF HILLS.
I had deferred my intended excursion to the hills under which I
imagined Mr. Oxley had encamped, until we were out of sight of them,
and I now feared that it was almost too late to undertake it, but I was
still anxious to determine a point in which I felt considerable
interest. I was the more desirous of surveying the country to the
northward, because of the apparent eagerness with which the natives had
caught at the word Colare, which I recollected having heard a black on
the Macquarie make use of in speaking of the Lachlan. They pointed to
the N.N.W., and making a sweep with the arm raised towards the sky,
seemed to intimate that a large sheet of water existed in that
direction; and added that it communicated with the Morumbidgee more to
the westward. This information confirmed still more my impressions with
regard to Mr. Oxley's line of route; and, as I found a ready volunteer
in M'Leay, I gave the party in charge to Harris until I should rejoin
him, and turned back towards the hills, with the intention of reaching
them if possible. No doubt we should have done so had it not been for
the nature of the ground over which we travelled, and the impossibility
of our exceeding a walk. We rode to a distance of 18 miles, but still
found ourselves far short of the hills, and therefore gave up the
point. I considered, however, that we were about the same distance to
the south, as Mr. Oxley had been to the north of them, and in taking
bearings of the highest points, I afterwards found that they exactly
tallied with his bearings, supposing him to have taken them from his
camp.
QUIET DEMEANOUR OF THE NATIVES.
On our way to the river, we Passed through some dense bushes of
casuarinae and cypresses, to the outskirts of the plains through which
the Morumbidgee winds. We reached the camp two or three hours after
sunset, and found it crowded with natives to the number of 60. They
were extremely quiet and inoffensive in their demeanour, and asked us
to point out where they might sleep, before they ventured to kindle
their fires. One old man, we remarked, had a club foot, and another was
blind, but, as far as we could judge from the glare of the fires, the
generality of them were fine young men, and supported themselves in a
very erect posture when standing or walking. There were many children
with the women, among whom colds seemed to prevail. It blew heavily
from the N.W. during the night, and a little rain fell in the early
part of the morning. Our route during the day, was over as melancholy a
tract as ever was travelled. The plains to the N. and N.W. bounded the
horizon; not a tree of any kind was visible upon them. It was equally
open to the S., and it appeared as if the river was decoying us into a
desert, there to leave us in difficulty and in distress. The very
mirage had the effect of boundlessness in it, by blending objects in
one general hue; or, playing on the ground, it cheated us with an
appearance of water, and on arriving at the spot, we found a
continuation of the same scorching plain, over which we were moving,
instead of the stream we had hoped for.
The cattle about this time began to suffer, and, anxious as I was to
push on, I was obliged to shorten my journeys, according to
circumstances. Amidst the desolation around us, the river kept alive
our hopes. If it traversed deserts, it might reach fertile lands, and
it was to the issue of the journey that we had to look for success. It
here, however, evidently overflowed its banks more extensively than
heretofore, and broad belts of reeds were visible on either side of it,
on which the animals exclusively subsisted. Most of the natives had
followed us, and their patience and abstinence surprised me
exceedingly. Some of them had been more than twenty-four hours without
food, and yet seemed as little disposed to seek it as ever. I really
thought they expected me to supply their wants, but as I could not act
so liberal a scale, George M'Leay undeceived them; after which they
betook themselves to the river, and got a supply of muscles. I rather
think their going so frequently into the water engenders a catarrh, or
renders them more liable to it than they otherwise would be. In the
afternoon the wind shifted to the S.W. It blew a hurricane; and the
temperature of the air was extremely low. The natives felt the cold
beyond belief and kindled large fires. In the morning, when we moved
away, the most of them started with fire-sticks to keep themselves
warm; but they dropped off one by one, and at noon we found ourselves
totally deserted.
DREARINESS OF THE LANDSCAPE.
It is impossible for me to describe the kind of country we were now
traversing, or the dreariness of the view it presented. The plains were
still open to the horizon, but here and there a stunted gum-tree, or a
gloomy cypress, seemed placed by nature as mourners over the
surrounding desolation. Neither beast nor bird inhabited these lonely
and inhospitable regions, over which the silence of the grave seemed to
reign. We had not, for days past, seen a blade of grass, so that the
animals could not have been in very good condition. We pushed on,
however, sixteen miles, in consequence of the coolness of the weather.
We observed little change in the river in that distance, excepting that
it had taken up a muddy bottom, and lost all the sand that used to fill
it. The soil and productions on the plains continued unchanged in every
respect. From this time to the 22nd, the country presented the same
aspect. Occasional groups of cypress showed themselves on narrow sandy
ridges, or partial brushes extended from the river, consisting chiefly
of the acacia pendula, the stenochylus, and the nut I have already
noticed. The soil on which they grew was, if possible, worse than that
of the barren plain which we were traversing; and their colour and
drooping state rendered the desolate landscape still more dreary.
On the 21st, we found the same singular substance (gypsum) embedded in
the bank of the river that had been collected, during the former
expedition, on the banks of the Darling; and hope, which is always
uppermost in the human breast, induced me to think that we were fast
approaching that stream. My observations placed me in 34 degrees 17
minutes 15 seconds S. and 145 degrees of E. longitude.
BLACK BOY DESERTS.
On the 22nd, my black boy deserted me. I was not surprised at his doing
so, neither did I regret his loss, for he had been of little use under
any circumstances. He was far too cunning for our purpose. I know not
that the term ingratitude can be applied to one in his situation, and
in whose bosom nature had implanted a love of freedom. We learnt from
four blacks, with whom he had spoken, and who came to us in the
afternoon, that he had gone up the river,--as I conjectured, to the
last large tribe we had left, with whom he appeared to become very
intimate.
A creek coming from the N.N.W. here fell into the Morumbidgee; a proof
that the general decline of country was really to the south, although a
person looking over it would have supposed the contrary.
COUNTRY SUBJECT TO INUNDATION.
We started on the 23rd, with the same boundlessness of plain on either
side of us; but in the course of the morning a change took place, both
in soil and productions; and from the red sandy loam, and salsolaceous
plants, amidst which we had been toiling, we got upon a light tenacious
and blistered soil, evidently subject to frequent overflow, and fields
of polygonum junceum, amidst which, both the crested pigeon and the
black quail were numerous. The drays and animals sank so deep in this,
that we were obliged to make for the river, and keep upon its immediate
banks. Still, with all the appearance of far-spread inundation, it
continued undiminished in size, and apparently in the strength of its
current. Its channel was deeper than near the mountains, but its
breadth was about the same.
On the 24th, we were again entangled amidst fields of polygonum,
through which we laboured until after eleven, when we gained a firmer
soil. Some cypresses appeared upon our right, in a dark line, and I
indulged hopes that a change was about to take place in the nature of
the country. We soon, however, got on a light rotten earth, and were
again obliged to make for the river, with the teams completely
exhausted. We had not travelled many miles from our last camp, yet it
struck me, that the river had fallen off in appearance. I examined it
with feelings of intense anxiety, certain, as I was, that the flooded
spaces, over which we had been travelling would, sooner or later, be
succeeded by a country overgrown with reeds. The river evidently
overflowed its banks, on both sides, for many miles, nor had I a doubt
that, at some periods, the space northward, between it and the Lachlan,
presented the appearance of one vast sea. The flats of polygonum
stretched away to the N.W. to an amazing distance, as well as in a
southerly direction, and the very nature of the soil bore testimony to
its flooded origin. But the most unaccountable circumstance to me was,
that it should be entirely destitute of vegetation, with the exception
of the gloomy and leafless bramble I have noticed.
M'Leay, who was always indefatigable in his pursuit after subjects of
natural history, shot a cockatoo, of a new species, hereabouts, having
a singularly shaped upper mandible. It was white, with scarlet down
under the neck feathers, smaller than the common cockatoo, and
remarkable for other peculiarities.
INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES; THE COLARE OR LACHLAN.
Two or three natives made their appearance at some distance from the
party, but would not approach it until after we had halted. They then
came to the tents, seven in number, and it was evident from their
manner, that their chief or only object was to pilfer anything they
could. We did not, therefore, treat them with much ceremony. They were
an ill-featured race, and it was only by strict watching during the
night that they were prevented from committing theft. Probably from
seeing that we were aware of their intentions, they left us early, and
pointing somewhat to the eastward of north, said they were going to the
Colare, and on being asked how far it was, they signified that they
should sleep there. I had on a former occasion recollected the term
having been made use of by a black, on the Macquarie, when speaking to
me of the Lachlan, and had questioned one of the young men who was with
us at the time, and who seemed more intelligent than his companions,
respecting it. Immediately catching at the word, he had pointed to the
N.N.W., and, making a sweep with his arms raised towards the sky had
intimated, evidently, that a large sheet of water existed in that
direction, in the same manner that another black had done on a former
occasion: on being further questioned, he stated that this communicated
with the Morumbidgee more to the westward, and on my expressing a
desire to go to it, he said we could not do so under four days. We had,
it appeared, by the account of the seven natives, approached within one
day's journey of it, and, as I thought it would be advisable to gain a
little knowledge of the country to the north, I suggested to M'Leay to
ride in that direction, while the party should be at rest, with some
good feed for the cattle that fortune had pointed out to us.
EXCURSION TOWARDS THE LACHLAN.
Our horses literally sank up to their knees on parts of the great plain
over which we had in the first instance to pass, and we rode from three
to four miles before we caught sight of a distant wood at its northern
extremity; the view from the river having been for the last two or
three days, as boundless as the ocean. As we approached the wood, two
columns of smoke rose from it, considerably apart, evidently the fires
of natives near water. We made for the central space between them,
having a dead acacia scrub upon our right. On entering the wood, we
found that it contained for the most part, flooded-gum, under which
bulrushes and reeds were mixed together. The whole space seemed liable
to overflow, and we crossed numerous little drains, that intersected
each other in every direction. From the resemblance of the ground to
that at the bottom of the marshes of the Macquarie, I prognosticated to
my companion that we should shortly come upon a creek, and we had not
ridden a quarter of a mile further, when we found ourselves on the
banks of one of considerable size. Crossing it, we proceeded northerly,
until we got on the outskirts of a plain of red sandy soil, covered
with rhagodia alone, and without a tree upon the visible horizon. The
country appeared to be rising before us, but was extremely depressed to
the eastward. After continuing along this plain for some time, I became
convinced from appearances, that we were receding from water, and that
the fires of the natives, which were no longer visible, must have been
on the creek we had crossed, that I judged to be leading W.S.W. from
the opposite quarter. We had undoubtedly struck below to the westward
of the Colare or Lachlan, and the creek was the channel of
communication between it and the Morumbidgee, at least such was the
natural conclusion at which I arrived. Having no further object in
continuing a northerly course, we turned to the S.E., and, after again
passing the creek, struck away for the camp on a S. by W. course, and
passed through a dense brush of cypress and casuarina in our way to it.
CONNECTION OF LACHLAN WITH MORUMBIDGEE.
Considering our situation as connected with the marshes of the Lachlan,
I cannot but infer that the creek we struck upon during this excursion
serves as a drain to the latter, to conduct its superfluous waters into
the Morumbidgee in times of flood, as those of the Macquarie are
conducted by the creek at the termination of its marshes into
Morrisset's Chain of Ponds. It will be understood that I only surmise
this. I argue from analogy, not from proof. Whether I am correct or
not, my knowledge of the facts I have stated, tended very much to
satisfy my mind as to the LAY of the interior; and to revive my hopes
that the Morumbidgee would not fail us, although there was no
appearance of the country improving.
COUNTRY COVERED WITH REEDS.
We started on the 26th, on a course somewhat to the N.W., and traversed
plains of the same wearisome description as those I have already
described. The wheels of the drays sank up to their axle-trees, and the
horses above their fetlocks at every step. The fields of polygonum
spread on every side of us like a dark sea, and the only green object
within range of our vision was the river line of trees. In several
instances, the force of both teams was put to one dray, to extricate it
from the bed into which it had sunk, and the labour was considerably
increased from the nature of the weather. The wind was blowing as if
through a furnace, from the N.N.E., and the dust was flying in clouds,
so as to render it almost suffocating to remain exposed to it. This was
the only occasion upon which we felt the hot winds in the interior. We
were, about noon, endeavouring to gain a point of a wood at which I
expected to come upon the river again, but it was impossible for the
teams to reach it without assistance. I therefore sent M'Leay forward,
with orders to unload the pack animals as soon as he should make the
river, and send them back to help the teams. He had scarcely been
separated from me 20 minutes, when one of the men came galloping back
to inform me that no river was to be found--that the country beyond the
wood was covered with reeds as far as the eye could reach, and that Mr.
M'Leay had sent him back for instructions. This intelligence stunned me
for a moment or two, and I am sure its effect upon the men was very
great. They had unexpectedly arrived at a part of the interior similar
to one they had held in dread, and conjured up a thousand difficulties
and privations. I desired the man to recall Mr. M'Leay; and, after
gaining the wood, moved outside of it at right angles to my former
course, and reached the river, after a day of severe toil and exposure,
at half-past five. The country, indeed, bore every resemblance to that
around the marshes of the Macquarie, but I was too weary to make any
further effort: indeed it was too late for me undertake anything until
the morning.
ANXIOUS COGITATIONS; SURVEY OF RIVER AND ENVIRONS.
The circumstances in which we were so unexpectedly placed, occupied my
mind so fully that I could not sleep; and I awaited the return of light
with the utmost anxiety. If we were indeed on the outskirts of marshes
similar to those I had on a former occasion found so much difficulty in
examining, I foresaw that in endeavouring to move round then I should
recede from water, and place the expedition in jeopardy, probably,
without gaining any determinate point, as it would be necessary for me
to advance slowly and with caution. Our provisions, however, being
calculated to last only to a certain period, I was equally reluctant to
delay our operations. My course was, therefore, to be regulated by the
appearance of the country and of the river, which I purposed examining
with the earliest dawn. If the latter should be found to run into a
region of reeds, a boat would be necessary to enable me to ascertain
its direction; but, if ultimately it should be discovered to exhaust
itself, we should have to strike into the interior on a N.W. course, in
search of the Darling. I could not think of putting the whale-boat
together in our then state of uncertainty, and it struck me that a
smaller one could sooner he prepared for the purposes for which I
should require it. These considerations, together with the view I had
taken of the measures I might at last be forced into, determined me, on
rising, to order Clayton to fell a suitable tree, and to prepare a
saw-pit. The labour was of no consideration, and even if eventually the
boat should not be wanted, no injury would arise, and it was better to
take time by the forelock. Having marked a tree preparatory to leaving
the camp, M'Leay and I started at an early hour on an excursion of
deeper interest than any we had as yet undertaken; to examine the
reeds, not only for the purpose of ascertaining their extent, if
possible, but also to guide us in our future measures. We rode for some
miles along the river side, but observed in it no signs, either of
increase or of exhaustion. Its waters, though turbid, were deep, and
its current still rapid. Its banks, too, were lofty, and showed no
evidence of decreasing in height, so as to occasion an overflow of
them, as had been the case with the Macquarie. We got among vast bodies
of reeds, but the plains of the interior were visible beyond them. We
were evidently in a hollow, and the decline of country was plainly to
the southward of west. Every thing tended to strengthen my conviction
that we were still far from the termination of the river. The character
it had borne throughout, and its appearance now so far to the westward,
gave me the most lively hopes that it would make good its way through
the vast level into which it fell, and that its termination would
accord with its promise. Besides, I daily anticipated its junction with
some stream of equal, if not of greater magnitude from the S.E. I was
aware that my resolves must be instant, decisive, and immediately acted
upon, as on firmness and promptitude at this crisis the success of the
expedition depended. About noon I checked my horse, and rather to the
surprise of my companion, intimated to him my intention of returning to
the camp, He naturally asked what I purposed doing. I told him it
appeared to me more than probable that the Morumbidgee would hold good
its course to some fixed point, now that it had reached a meridian
beyond the known rivers of the interior. It was certain, from the
denseness of the reeds, and the breadth of the belts, that the teams
could not be brought any farther, and that, taking every thing into
consideration, I had resolved on a bold and desperate measure, that of
building the whale-boat, and sending home the drays. Our appearance in
camp so suddenly, surprised the men not more than the orders I gave.
They all thought I had struck on some remarkable change of country, and
were anxious to know my ultimate views. It was not my intention
however, immediately to satisfy their curiosity. I had to study their
characters as long as I could, in order to select those best qualified
to accompany me on the desperate adventure for which I was preparing.
BOAT BUILDING.
The attention both of M'Leay, and myself, was turned to the hasty
building of the whale-boat. A shed was erected, and every necessary
preparation made, and although Clayton had the keel of the small boat
already laid down, and some planks prepared, she was abandoned for the
present, and, after four days more of arduous labour, the whale-boat
was painted and in the water. From her dimensions, it appeared to me
impossible that she would hold all our provisions and stores, for her
after-part had been fitted up as an armoury, which took away
considerably from her capacity of stowage. The small boat would still,
therefore, be necessary, and she was accordingly re-laid, for half the
dimensions of the large boat, and in three days was alongside her
consort in the river. Thus, in seven days we had put together a boat,
twenty-seven feet in length, had felled a tree from the forest, with
which we had built a second of half the size, had painted both, and had
them at a temporary wharf ready for loading. Such would not have been
the case had not our hearts been in the work, as the weather was close
and sultry, and we found it a task of extreme labour. In the intervals
between the hours of work, I prepared my despatches for the Governor,
and when they were closed, it only remained for me to select six hands,
the number I intended should accompany me down the river, and to load
the boats, ere we should once more proceed in the further obedience of
our instructions.
COMPLETION OF ARRANGEMENTS FOR EMBARKATION.
It was impossible that I could do without Clayton, whose perseverance
and industry had mainly contributed to the building of the boats; of
the other prisoners, I chose Mulholland and Macnamee; leaving the rest
in charge of Robert Harris, whose steady conduct had merited my
approbation. My servant, Harris, Hopkinson, and Fraser, of course, made
up the crews. The boats were loaded in the evening of Jan. 6th, as it
had been necessary to give the paint a little time to dry. On the 4th,
I had sent Clayton and Mulholland to the nearest cypress range for a
mast and spar, and on the evening of that day some blacks had visited
us; but they sat on the bank of the river, preserving a most determined
silence; and, at length, left us abruptly, and apparently in great ill
humour. In the disposition of the loads, I placed all the flour, the
tea, and tobacco, in the whaleboat. The meat-casks, still, and
carpenters' tools, were put into the small boat.
As soon as the different arrangements were completed, I collected the
men, and told off those who were to accompany me. I then gave the rest
over in charge to Harris, and, in adverting to their regular conduct
hitherto, trusted they would be equally careful while under his orders.
I then directed the last remaining sheep to be equally divided among
us; and it was determined that, for fear of accidents, Harris should
remain stationary for a week, at the expiration of which time, he would
be at liberty to proceed to Goulburn Plains, there to receive his
instructions from Sydney; while the boats were to proceed at an early
hour of the morning down the river,--whether ever to return again being
a point of the greatest uncertainty.