Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia Volume II Part 29

A fine clear morning gave full effect to the beauty of the country which I now saw to the eastward from a hill near our camp. The summit of the Victoria range crowned the distant landscape; and the whole of the intervening territory appeared to consist of green hills, partially wooded. We crossed a mountain-stream by filling up its bed with logs and, as we ascended the slopes beyond, we found the country gra.s.sy until we reached the high and wooded crest. Lofty stringybark trees and other timber grew there on a white sandy soil; but we found among the bushes abundance of the anthisteria or kangaroo gra.s.s.

After travelling some miles beyond this crest we at length found the ground sloping to the southward; and some swampy hollows with reeds in them obliged us to turn to the right or south-west, as the water in these depressed parts falling eastward, or to the left, showed that we were not so very near the river, on the right, which I was endeavouring to follow.

We were delayed in several of these hollows by the sinking of the carts and boat-carriage.

RIFLE RANGE.

We next traversed an extensive moor or heath on which the rising ground was firm, and a little way beyond it some rising ground bounded our view.

On ascending this highest feature which I named the Rifle range I found it commanded an extensive view over a low and woody country.

MOUNT GAMBIER FIRST SEEN FROM IT.

One peaked hill alone appeared on the otherwise level horizon and this bore 68 degrees West of South. I supposed this to be Mount Gambier near Cape Northumberland which, according to my survey, ought to have appeared in that direction at a distance of forty-five miles.

STERILE MOORS CROSSED BY THE PARTY.

I expected to find the river on reaching the lower country beyond this range; but instead of the Glenelg and the rich country on its banks we entered on extensive moors of the most sterile description. They were however firm enough for travelling upon, the surface being very level and the soil a whitish sand. These open wastes were interrupted in some parts by clumps of stringybark forest which entirely concealed from view the extent of this kind of country. Swamps full of water and containing reeds of a dark yellow colour at length became numerous; and although I succeeded in pursuing a course clear of these obstacles, we were obliged to encamp at twilight without having any immediate prospect of a better country before us. There was however abundance of gra.s.s in these wet swamps and our carts pa.s.sed over one quite covered with water without sinking. Our camp was marked out on a low hill of white sand on which grew mahogany and stringybark trees of large dimensions. The ridge from which we had descended now appeared continuous as far as we could see eastward.

NATIVES NUMEROUS BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE.

Much smoke arose from this lower country when we entered upon it and after sunset the incessant calls of a native were heard near our camp as if he had lost some comrade. I sent up a rocket that he might be convinced we had not arrived by stealth as the tribes do when they insidiously make war on each other, but he only reiterated his calls the more.

August 13.

At daybreak the cries of the native were renewed. I then made Piper cooey to him whereupon he became silent and I heard him no more, the natives of that country being, as Piper expressed it "still very wild." This morning we were on the march as soon as the sun rose, all being very anxious to see the river again and a better country. At two miles we pa.s.sed along a sandy ridge between two extensive swamps; but at a mile and a half farther I found at length a small hollow and water running in it, a feature which convinced me at once that the river could not be very distant. In the bank there was a thin stratum of sh.e.l.ly limestone bearing a resemblance to some of the oolitic limestones of England; and in the bed were irregular concretions of ironstone containing grains of quartz, some of the concretions having externally a glazed appearance arising from a thin coating of compact brown haemat.i.te.

AGAIN ARRIVE ON THE GLENELG.

Casuarinae and banksia growing on gra.s.sy slopes were the next marks of a different country from that of the swamps, and at less than a mile from this point we came upon the river.

INDIFFERENT COUNTRY ON ITS BANKS.

Its banks had a different character from that which they presented above but they were still fine.

BREADTH AND VELOCITY OF THE RIVER.

The river now flowed in a narrow valley, the bed being about 70 feet below the common level of the swampy flats. At sharp bends the banks consisted of cliffs of a soft limestone, composed in part of comminuted fragments of corallines, the interstices being rarely filled up; the rock contained also a few specimens of Foraminifera, most probably of recent species. In the narrow valley all was flourishing and green, attesting the rich luxuriance of the alluvial soil. The mimosa trees predominated, but still the bushes of leptospermum darkened the stream which was deep, rapid, and muddy, its breadth being about 40 yards and the bed consisting of a friable or soft calcareous sandstone. In accompanying it in its course downward we met with less difficulty than I had expected, but I perceived that the barren swampy land, or more frequently the stringybark forests, approached the higher banks on both sides the river. The few ravines falling in our way were only the drains from swamps close at hand and they were easily crossed by the party at the fall of the ground, where we found rocky strata.

ENCAMP ON A TRIBUTARY.

After tracing the river more than four miles we encamped on an elevated point overlooking a flat of good gra.s.s, so necessary for the cattle.

August 14.

Some of the bullocks were missing and we were compelled to wait an hour or two while parties went in search of them; one party being guided by Piper, the other by the two Tommies. I availed myself of the leisure afforded by this delay to measure the breadth, depth, and velocity of the river which were respectively as follows:

Average breadth: 35 yards.

Mean depth: 17 feet.

Velocity of the current: 1,863 yards per hour; the general course, as far as we had traced this portion being nearly South-East.

When most of the cattle had been brought in we proceeded and, in endeavouring to keep along the highest ground between the swamps, I unavoidably left the river at some distance on our right, a circ.u.mstance I considered of less consequence as the ground appeared to be falling on my left towards some tributary; and at four miles we came upon a small river flowing rapidly in a valley nearly as deep and wide as the main stream. The country on its immediate bank looked better than that last found on the main stream. Limestone rock appeared in the bank opposite and at the foot of some cliffs we found fossil oyster-sh.e.l.ls. Mr.

Stapylton traced this stream to its junction with the river about two miles lower down.

August 15.

Two bullocks were still missing and I had recourse to compulsory measures with Piper and the man who lost them in order to find them again: I declared that unless they were found Piper should have no provisions for a week; and I condemned the man who lost them to be kept every second night on watch during the remainder of the journey.

DIFFICULT Pa.s.sAGE OF THE STOKES.

The pa.s.sage of the little river (which named the Stokes in memory of a brother officer who fell at Badajoz) was not to be easily accomplished, owing to the depth and softness of the alluvial soil through which it flowed. One place pa.s.sable on horseback was found after long search by Mr. Stapylton and myself. Out of the bed of the stream at that part we drew some dead trees and after two hours of great exertion the pa.s.sage of the boat-carriage and carts was effected, the latter sinking deeper in the water than they ever had done in any river which we had previously forded.

THE EXPEDITION BROUGHT TO A STAND IN SOFT GROUND.

We found the country beyond very intricate, being so intersected with swamps draining off in all directions, and so divided by stringybark forests, that it was next to impossible to avoid the soft swampy ground or reach the riverbank again. We headed one deep ravine falling towards it, and had indeed travelled in the desired direction about four miles further on dry ground, but only by winding about as the swamps permitted when at length the ground appeared to slope towards the river, being also covered with the fine gra.s.s and the kind of trees which usually grew near it. But this ground notwithstanding its firm appearance proved to be as soft as that of Mount Mud; and it spread at length around us on all sides except that from which we had approached it by so circuitous a route.

EXCURSION BEYOND.

We had no alternative but to cross this bad ground and, after finding out by careful examination the narrowest part, we prepared to puts to the nearest firm ground beyond, an undertaking infinitely more difficult and laborious to us than the pa.s.sage of the broadest river. One of the carts was with much labour taken across and, being anxious to know the actual situation of the river, I rode southward into the wood taking with me the chain or measuring men, and leaving the rest of the people at work in the mud. I found much of the ground equally soft as I proceeded, but all consisted of excellent open forest land covered with good gra.s.s. I found there a woolly Correa, profusely covered with pink bell-shaped blossoms and small round rufous leaves;* and the beautiful Kennedya prostrata was climbing among the bushes and rendering them brilliant with its rich crimson flowers.

(*Footnote. C. rotundifolia, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts; ramulis rufis villosissimis, foliis subrotundis brevi-petiolatis supra scabris subtus villosis saepius emarginatis, corollis campanulatis brevibus subtetrapetalis, calyce truncato rufo villosissimo.)

REACH A FINE POINT ON THE RIVER.

At length I approached a ravine on the left which I at first took for that of the river; but I soon perceived through the trees on my right a still greater opening, and there I at last found the valley of the Glenelg. In the ravine to the left ran another small stream rather larger than that crossed yesterday. We reached the bank of this at 2 3/4 miles from the place where we left the party and at about half a mile above its junction with the main stream. The high ground between the two streams terminated in a round gra.s.sy promontory overlooking one of the finest flats imaginable. I determined to endeavour once more to explore the river's course with the boats; provided we should succeed in transporting them over the mud to this spot; and I returned with this intention to the muddy scene where I had left the men. It was quite dark before I found it again and then they had succeeded in getting through only the three light carts. I did not despair of accomplishing the pa.s.sage, at least in the course of time; but I was indeed impatient for daylight that I might carefully examine with that view all parts of the country between our camp and the place where I intended to launch the boats into the Glenelg again.

THE CARTS EXTRICATED BY PROCEEDING WITH GREAT CAUTION.

August 16.

This morning it rained heavily and there was a balmy and refreshing mildness in the air, probably owing to the vicinity of the sea. It occurred to me that, as the ground appeared to slope towards the south-east, we might reach some hollow on that side leading to the little river we discovered yesterday; and that such a hollow would afford the best chance of escape from the soft flats which now impeded us, since the drainage they afforded to the immediate banks was likely to leave them at least firm enough to be travelled upon. On this principle alone I understood why the ground on the banks of the stream seen yesterday was so firm; and I therefore hoped that the head of any ravine found near our camp would lead by a dry though perhaps circuitous route first to the tributary, and next by its bank to the point already mentioned where it joined the Glenelg. I accordingly instructed Mr. Stapylton to examine the ground in the direction proposed while I superintended the exertions of the party to drag the boat-carriage through the mud. We finally succeeded in this last effort and, just as I stood watching with joy the ascent of the carriage to the firm ground beyond, Mr. Stapylton came to me with the intelligence that he had found the head of a ravine and firm ground on its bank in the direction where he had been. One bad place alone intervened between our present position and the firm ground at the head of the ravine but this Mr. Stapylton said was very bad indeed. By 10 A.M.

everything was got across the first swamp, the loads of all the carts having been carried by the men. To the new difficulty mentioned by Mr.

Stapylton I therefore led them next, and we soon accomplished the pa.s.sage of the light carts; after which I proceeded, leaving to Mr. Stapylton the management of the rest, having first brought the boat-carriage within reach of the firm ground opposite by means of blocks and tackle attached to trees and drawn by five bullocks. On going forward with the carts I was guided altogether by the course of the ravine or gully, keeping along the fall of the ground and so avoiding the softer soil above. Thus we proceeded successfully for, although another ravine came in our way, I managed to travel round its head near which I found a place where we crossed the small watercourse it contained by filling up the chasm with logs. On pa.s.sing this we entered the stringybark forest which I had traversed on the day previous; and I at length recognised through the trees the hill from which I had seen the junction of the streams. A tremendous hailstorm met us in the face just as we descended to encamp in the valley near the bank of the river, but this troubled us but little while we were up to the waist in the thickest crop of gra.s.s growing on the richest black soil I had ever seen. Mr. Stapylton and Burnett came up in the evening with the intelligence that the whole party had effected a safe pa.s.sage across the swampy ground; but that the wheels of the boat-carriage and some of the carts had sunk deep in the earth where I had previously crossed on horseback followed by the light carts without leaving any impression, and that consequently they had made but little progress beyond the camp.

August 17.

I sent Burnett back with some spare bullocks to a.s.sist the people in bringing on the carts and the boat-carriage, a man having been despatched from them early to inform me that the carriage had again stuck fast.

Piper drew my attention to the sound of a distant waterfall which he said he had heard all night and wished now to go down the river to look at. I directed him to do so and to examine the river also still further if he could, that he might bring back information as to how the boats might get down the stream. On his return in the afternoon he stated that the river was joined just below by several large streams from the left, and by one still larger from the right which, falling on rocks, made the noise he had heard during the night; also that on climbing a high tree he had seen the river very large "like the Murray," adding that it was excellent for boats. All this news only made me the more impatient to embark in them while they were still afar on the muddy hills.

THE WHOLE EQUIPMENT REACHES THE RIVER.

The whole day pa.s.sed without any tidings of their approach, and another night had closed over us before I heard the distant calls of the bullock-drivers; but I had the satisfaction soon after of seeing the whole party and equipment again united on the banks of this promising stream. The barometer was rising, the spring advancing, and the approaching warmth might be expected to harden the ground. The cattle would be refreshed by a week's rest in the midst of the rich pasture around us, while our labours to all appearance were on the eve of being crowned by the discovery of some harbour which might serve as a port to one of the finest regions upon earth. At all events if we could no longer travel on land, we had at length arrived with two boats within reach of the sea, and this alone was a pleasing reflection after the delays we had lately experienced.

THE BOATS LAUNCHED ON THE GLENELG.

August 18.

An uncommonly fine morning succeeded a clear frosty night. The boats were hoisted out to be launched once on the bosom of the newly discovered Glenelg; and they were loaded with what the party going with them might require for ten days. I left with Mr. Stapylton instructions that the men under his charge should move up to and occupy the round point of the hill, a position which I named Fort O'Hare in memory of a truly brave soldier, my commanding officer who fell at Badajoz in leading the forlorn hope of the Light Division to the storm.

MR. STAPYLTON LEFT WITH A DEPOT AT FORT O'HARE.