Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia Volume I Part 38

RIDE TO GREENOUGH'S GROUP. VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT.

The range, like all those which I had examined near the Darling, was of exactly the same kind of rock as D'Urban's group, Dunlop's range, etc.

etc., namely quartz rock breaking naturally into irregular polyhedrons, but at the base I noticed ferruginous sandstone. The summit afforded a very extensive view of the country to the eastward, which rose towards a range extending south-east and north-west, its two extremities bearing 103 and 122 degrees from north. At the foot of which a blue mist might be supposed to promise a river or chain of ponds in an ordinary season; and a rather high and isolated range of yellow rock, in the direction of Oxley's Mount Granard, seemed to overlook some extensive piece of water or s.p.a.cious plain to the south of it. An intervening valley appeared also to form a basin falling southwards, but immediately beyond the group I was upon a vast extent of country, not low, but without any prominent features, although chequered with plain and bush, stretched far to the eastward. There were no large trees visible on any side, but a thick scrub of bushes covered much of the country. Upon the whole I considered that in a wet season we might have travelled straight home, as there were many dry waterholes in the surface where it consisted of clay, but that, unless rain fell, it would be wiser, considering the exhausted state of our cattle, to keep to the beaten track, for the animals travelled much better upon it, and going back or homewards along that track, was more convenient in various respects than to travel where there was no road at all. As it now became necessary to distinguish the different ranges on my map I attached to this remarkable cl.u.s.ter of hills the name of Mr.

Greenough, a gentleman who has done so much in uniting geology with geography, to the great advantage of both.

BARTER WITH NATIVES BEYOND THE DARLING.

On returning to the camp I found that two natives had been in communication with our party on the river during my absence; and that overseer Burnett had made a good brargain, having obtained from one of them a very well made net in exchange for a clasp knife, with which the native seemed much pleased. These visitors were young men, carrying each a net, and seemed to belong to the other side of the river.

THE RED TRIBE AGAIN. THEIR IMPORTUNITY.

Soon after I returned our old friends of the Red tribe came up in a body of about twelve, carrying boughs. It was near sunset, and still they showed no disposition to go back to the river, but on the contrary they seemed about to make up their fires and remain with us for the night. As their calls for tomahawks were incessant it was easy to foresee that it would soon be necessary to frighten them away with our guns if they were allowed to continue near us. I therefore directed Burnett to point to the river, and request them to go thither to sleep, which they at length did.

We also took care not to allow them to come close to the carts, to prevent which several men met them at a little distance, where they took their stand.

NEW SPECIES OF CAPER EATEN BY THE NATIVES.

On the bank of the river at this place we found beside the native fires the remains of a fruit,* different from any I had seen before. It seemed to be of a round shape, with a rind like an orange, and the inside, which appeared to have been eaten, resembled a pomegranate. We here lost a bullock, which fell into a deep part of the river and was drowned, having been too weak to swim to the other side.

(*Footnote. Since ascertained to have been Capparis mitch.e.l.lii, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts. See below.)

IMPORTUNITY OF THE RED TRIBE.

July 27.

Early this morning the Red tribe come up and again begged for tomahawks.

It was evident now how injudicious we had been in giving these savages presents; had we not done so we should not have been so much importuned by them. To avoid their solicitations, which were a.s.suming an insolent tone, evinced by loud laughing to each other at our expense, we loaded and moved off as quickly as possible, and they remained behind to examine the ground which we had quitted. Upon the whole however the conduct of this tribe was much better than that of any we had seen lower down the river. They brought no arms, and had never attempted any warlike demonstrations, or to come forward when told to keep back; neither did they follow us. We got over our journey by two o'clock and encamped near the old ground of June 23. Here the bed of the Darling consisted of ferruginous clay with grains of sand.

July 28.

We proceeded by the beaten route and pitched our tents within about a mile of our former camp. The cattle being very weak I was desirous to avoid some soft ground near that position by taking a shorter cut next morning. The part of the river adjacent to this spot was fordable, the bed consisting of a variety of sandstone composed of small siliceous grains cemented by decomposed felspar.

July 29.

The day being clear and the party within thirteen or fourteen miles of Mount Macpherson, a fine hill beyond the river (bearing 301 1/2 degrees from North) I determined to give the cattle a day's rest, and to ascend that hill in order to take another look at the western interior beyond the Darling. I thought I might thus be enabled to fix many of the points observed from Mount Murchison, or at all events to ascertain the nature of the country to the north-west.

CROSS THE DARLING.

I accordingly crossed the Darling with four men, and proceeded straight for the hill over a very open country and plains which were tolerably firm. On my way however I saw nothing new as to ground. The clay plains were bounded by a ridge of red sand (extending south-west and north-east) at a distance of four miles. On this ridge were divers casuarinae and beyond it was a low polygonum hollow, and a watercourse in which water evidently sometimes ran north-east (!) and a duck-net stake, fixed opposite to a tree, still remained there. It appeared that in all these side channels or tributaries of the Darling the water flowed upwards, or FROM the river, a circ.u.mstance not unlikely to happen where the main channel rolls the acc.u.mulated waters of distant regions through absorbent plains on which partial rains can have but little effect.

At about eight miles we reached firm gravel consisting of small and very hard stones, precisely similar in character and position to that near Mount Murchison. The pebbles were mixed with red earth which also formed part of the lower features connected with the height before us. We crossed a deep gully, the bed of a creek in rainy seasons, but which had now been long dried up. The very hard sandstone still appeared, weathered to a purple colour; the lower part was most ferruginous, and not so hard as above; in the creek below I observed a red crust of clay and nodules of ironstone.

NEW SPECIES OF Ca.s.sIA.

There were several rocky and deep ravines in the side of the princ.i.p.al height, and in these the oat-gra.s.s, or anthisteria, appeared (for the first time since we had left the upper Bogan) also several plants which were new to me, and among them a bush of striking beauty, with a rich yellow flower, being a species of ca.s.sia.*

(*Footnote. This plant was found by Mr. Cunningham in 1817 on Mount Flinders, when he called it C. teretifolia. Dr. Lindley had described it as follows:

C. teretifolia, Cunningham ma.n.u.scripts; incano-tomentosa, foliis pinnatis 5-6-jugis eglandulosis: foliolis teretibus filiformibus obtusis, paniculis terminalibus, ramulis corymbosis sub-5-floris, bracteolis ovatis obtusis concavis calycibusque tomentosis.)

VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT MACPHERSON.

The summit of Mount Macpherson was clear but did not afford the view I expected. The height consisted of some ridges which did not appear much higher further to the westward: those in that direction being connected with the summit, and also with each other, and extending to the north and south, prevented me from seeing almost any of the features observed from Mount Murchison, which hill was barely visible. The only striking feature I could perceive east of the Darling was Greenough's group, which rose upon the horizon, level on that side, save where one or two summits of the higher ground to the eastward just appeared to break the sharpness of the bounding line. But the flatness of the north-western line of vision was still more remarkable, and it was difficult to understand how the basin of the Darling, which appeared so narrow below, could find limits there. The country to the northward, if not a dead level, was varied by only some slight undulations, and it was partially covered with stunted bushes, alternating with a few naked plains. As far as I could see with my gla.s.s no smoke appeared to rise from the vast extent visible in that direction. After taking the bearings of the different points we returned and recrossed the Darling about sunset. At the base of the hill we met with several kangaroos, and had some shots (with bullets) at a very tame bustard. There was a rocky channel where water can be but seldom scarce.

We saw none but, from the presence of kangaroos, we thought that there must have been some very near the hill. This hill I named Mount Macpherson after the collector of internal revenue at Sydney.

July 30.

Proceeded on our journey by our former route and arrived by four P.M. at our old camp of the 18th and 19th June, which we again occupied. We were still at a loss to know for what purpose the heaps of one particular kind of gra.s.s* had been pulled and so laid up hereabouts. Whether it was acc.u.mulated by the natives to allure birds, or by rats, as their holes were seen beneath, we were puzzled to determine. The soft ground retained no longer the footsteps imprinted on it by the haymakers, whoever they had been. The gra.s.s was beautifully green beneath the heaps and full of seeds, and our cattle were very fond of this hay. I found there also two other kinds of gra.s.s which were equally new to me, the one being an Andropogon allied to A. bombycinus; the other apparently a species of Myurus.

(*Footnote. Panic.u.m laevinode, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts; for description see above.)

July 31.

Continued along our route to our former camp of 17th June.

RAIN AGAIN THREATENS.

August 1.

Two smart showers of about two minutes duration each fell during the night, but the wind which had been blowing from the north-west was so parching that the canvas of our tents was quite dry by daybreak. The sky was overcast with heavy clouds in the morning but by noon it became clear. We travelled so as to make a short cut on our two days' journey of the 16th and 17th June, and thus, at about eight miles, we made that part of the river which we had seen formerly when nearly three miles from it, and here we encamped. As we crossed the plain on which the last kangaroo had been killed we saw many fresh tracks of these animals; and the dogs took after one which they killed, as appeared by their mouths when they returned.

ABSENCE OF KANGAROOS AND EMUS ON THE DARLING.

It may be observed that lower down on the Darling we saw neither kangaroos nor emus, a sufficient proof of the barrenness of the adjacent country. This day the ground somewhat resembled forest land, and we saw one or two trees of substantial timber of the description which the colonists term mahogany.

August 2.

We proceeded in a direction by which we reached our former route after four miles travelling; and at a distance of five miles more we came to a spot near the river where we encamped with the intention of avoiding next morning the detour we made on approaching the camp, when we formerly occupied the spot in the bend of the river.

THE OCCA TRIBE AGAIN.

As soon as our people approached the bank we met with a gin and two young girls, upon which they called to an old man, who soon came up. He appeared no way alarmed, and seemed to have seen us before. The fatal tea-kettle again attracted the attention of a gin, and she pointed it out to her grey lord and master who, p.r.o.nouncing the well-known word "Occa"

(give) reminded us of the greedy tribe in whose precincts we had now arrived, and which was in fact distinguished by the name of the Occa boys, from their constant use of the word, and coveting everything they saw. The old man however continued his journey down the river without obtaining the kettle, or yet a knife which he also demanded from one of our men whom he saw cutting tobacco.

August 3.

We continued in a northern direction till we cut upon the route to our last camp, and we thus avoided two bad miles without lengthening the journey to the next of our former encampments, which we reached in good time to allow the cattle to feed.

August 4.

We set off about eight this morning and reached by five P.M. our encampment of the 12th and 13th of June. On the way the ranges on our right, as they rose in view, afforded some relief to our eyes, so long accustomed to a horizon as flat as the ocean; and a gentle cooling breeze from the east felt very different from the parching west winds to which we had been exposed. This day and the one before were warm, and breathed most gratefully of spring. We recrossed a gravel bed of irregular fragments of quartz and flint at the base of some slight hills which reach from the range to the river. Between these undulations were soft plains the surface of which was cracked and full of holes; and it seemed that the torrents which fall from the hills are imbibed by this thirsty earth. As we approached our camp the dogs were sent after two emus, and at dusk one of them returned having killed his bird, though we did not find it until early next morning. The emu came to hand however in good time even then, for the men had been long living on salt provisions. Our former lagoon had become a quagmire of mud and we were forced to send for water from the river. The pigeons and parrots which swarmed about this hole at dusk, the quant.i.ty of feathers, and the tracks of emus and kangaroos around it, showed how scarce this essential element had become in the back country. At such small pools water becomes an object of desire and contest and, so long as it lasts, these spots in times of scarcity are invariably haunted by that omnivorous biped man, to whom both birds and quadrupeds fall an easy prey. We however during a sojourn of more than two months in the Australian wilderness had been abundantly supplied with the finest water from that extraordinary river which we had been tracing, and without which those regions would be deserts, inaccessible to and uninhabitable by either man or beast.

RESOLVE TO AVOID THE NATIVES.

August 5.

As the last journey had been a long one and we had some rough ground before us, we rested a day here while the blacksmith repaired one of the cartwheels. The calls of the natives were heard very early in the morning, and two fellows came to our men on the river, impudently demanding tomahawks; but little attention was paid to them, and they did not visit the camp. We had no longer any desire to communicate with the aborigines, for we had too long in vain held out to them the olive branch and made them presents; and as we could not hope to gain their friendship we were resolved to brook no longer the sight of their burning brands and other gestures of hostility; still less were we inclined to give tomahawks on demand, since our presents had not been received with that sense of obligation which might have been shown by any cla.s.s of human beings, however savage. I therefore now determined to avoid the natives wherever I could and, if they came near the party, to encourage their approach as little as possible.

THEIR HABITS.