Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia Volume I Part 17

Immediately above us a perfectly conical peak raised its head to the height of at least five hundred feet;* this hill was covered with rich gra.s.s, and there could be no doubt that it was of volcanic origin, for the rock of which it was composed was a vitrified lava resembling that of Ascension. It is from this lava that the natives form their most deadly spears, for which purpose it answers well, as it fractures easily, and the fracture resembles that of the coa.r.s.e green gla.s.s of England; indeed a lump of this rock might readily be taken for a part of a gla.s.s bottle.

(*Footnote. This hill may be easily recognized by a precipitous cavity near the summit on its southern side, which may be seen at some distance.)

The horses and sheep revelled in the luxuriant pasture. The hill we had encamped on formed a sort of plateau; behind us stood dark mountains, and in our front lay fertile plains, from which green hills rose one behind the other until they were lost in the distance, without any perceptible change in the character of the country. To the eastward the prospect was similar, as well as to the westward, except that in this direction the hills were more lofty, and behind these the tropical sun was hurrying down with a rapidity of movement never witnessed by those who live in the gloomy climes of the north. The men all looked healthy and full of hope; the cool sea-breeze refreshed my feverish frame: I painted in fancy the rapid progress that this country would ere long make in commerce and civilization, and my weakness and fatigues were all forgotten.

DISTANT EXPANSE OF WATER.

February 28.

At dawn this morning the sheep could not be found; tempted by the goodness of the feed they had broken out from the little enclosure we had made for them and had wandered off. The stock-keeper and two of the men, having ascended the conical hill behind us to try if they could see them from it, reported on their return that they could descry a large lake or expanse of water, which bore about south by west from us.

VEXATIOUS DELAYS.

Whilst the search for the sheep was continued I sent another party up the hill to observe more particularly this sheet of water, who returned with a report similar to that of the stock-keeper, and I therefore determined, as soon as everything had been prepared for starting, to move off in the direction pointed out; unfortunately the sheep were not found till near noon but, as I was afraid we should consequently lose a whole day, I started directly after they were brought in. We had not proceeded more than half a mile ere I had cause to repent this measure, for two or three of the men suffered severely from exposure to the sun, and one of them became so unwell that I was obliged to halt the party.

The spot I chose was the bank of a stream, shaded over by dense trees and, if anything could have atoned for the mortification of being compelled to halt when so anxious to get on, the cool beauty of this spot would have done so.

When the sun began to fall we again moved on, following the course of the stream, which ran through a fertile valley about two miles wide and bounded on either side by gently sloping hills, extending through a country thinly wooded. We did not halt until after sunset.

March 1.

This morning we resumed our route along the banks of the stream, which continued gradually to increase in size. The marshy ground now extended further from its banks and, in order to free ourselves from this, I ascended some rising ground to the eastward, along which we pursued our route until we fell in with another rapid stream running from the eastward, and were again involved in marshy land, which delayed us for some time ere we found a point where loaded ponies could pa.s.s. At length however, having succeeded in getting clear of these obstructions, we continued our southerly course till we came to a deep stream running from south-south-east; but, not being able to cross it there, we travelled along its banks until a ford was found; and as soon as we had pa.s.sed over I halted for breakfast.

BEAUTIFUL BASALTIC COUNTRY.

We had traversed a most beautiful country this morning, composed of basaltic rocks and fine alluvial soil, whilst, from the size and number of the streams, it must be as well watered as any region in the world.

Before we had completed our breakfast violent tropical rains set in; these were so cold that some of the men got into the stream, the waters of which were comparatively warm, and they thus saved themselves from the painful feeling caused by very cold water falling on the pores, which had been previously opened by profuse perspiration. The heavy rains continued without intermission for the remainder of the day and night, and two of the men were, on this occasion, attacked with dysentery, caused, I believe, by cold and exposure.

DISCOVERY AND CHARACTER OF THE GLENELG RIVER.

March 2.

We started at dawn, crossing a series of low ridges which ran out from a chain of hills to the eastward of us, and increased in elevation as we proceeded to the south. We pa.s.sed numerous streams, and the country generally continued of a very rich and fertile character: at last, from the top of one of these ridges, there burst upon the sight a n.o.ble river, running through a beautiful country, and, where we saw it, at least three or four miles across, and studded with numerous verdant islands. I have since seen many Australian rivers, but none to equal this either in magnitude or beauty.

I at once named it the Glenelg in compliment to the Right Honourable Lord Glenelg, to whom we were all under great obligations.

IMPEDIMENTS FROM MARSHES AND STREAMS. INEFFECTUAL ATTEMPT TO REACH IT.

My anxiety to reach this stream was too great to allow me to pa.s.s much time in looking at it, so, after I had taken a few bearings to the most remarkable points in the neighbourhood, we wound down the steep descent in front, and continued our advance towards the river, but were still at least five miles from it when we became involved in low marshy ground, traversed by deep sluggish streams, the banks of which were enc.u.mbered by a dense vegetation. Such a country, though admirably adapted both for commerce and agriculture, offered almost insurmountable difficulties to first explorers, at least to such as were compelled to move rapidly. We at last became so completely entangled in a marsh that further progress was hopeless, and we halted to prepare breakfast whilst a party searched for a path by which we might be enabled to proceed.

My wound was still open and my sufferings from it were great; whenever we moved on I was lifted on the pony, and when we halted I was lifted off again and laid on the ground, where weakness compelled me to remain during the whole period of our halt; and on occasions like the present, when most anxious myself to search for a route, I was obliged to lie still like a helpless child. My mind was as active and as ready for exertion as ever, yet the weak frame, of which it felt perfectly independent, was incapable of seconding my most moderate wishes; and the annoyance I experienced at finding myself in this state long r.e.t.a.r.ded my recovery and rendered me weaker every day.

At length a route was found, and until sunset we continued our journey over a very difficult but fertile country, and then halted for the night on a small elevation, embosomed amidst conical hills which rose from verdant meadows, watered by several streams. The country was thinly timbered.

The spot we had halted at was so thickly tenanted with mosquitoes that it was impossible to sleep. I therefore laid awake, listening to the cries of the sea-birds and watching the brilliant fire-flies moving about in the dark foliage of the trees.

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE UPPER PART OF THE GLENELG.

March 3.

Before the first dawn I called some of the party and we started off to visit the banks of the river. The first part of our journey lay across rich gra.s.sy flats, thinly wooded with large shady trees, or over gently rising grounds, on which grew an abundance of young gra.s.s which appeared to be a species of oat. These rising grounds were thinly wooded with a small sort of gum tree, called in the Isle of France the Bois noir.

We soon reached low marshy land intersected with large dry mud flats and, as it was impossible, from the nature of the country, to get the pony further, I tethered it, and we tried to make the river on foot. The position which we had selected was however so unfavourable that we did not succeed in reaching the river, and my wound became so painful that I was scarcely able to crawl back to the pony.

We then returned to the tents, which we reached in the afternoon, and I sent another party out to examine the country and to see if they could find a more favourable position for the tent where we might be less exposed to the mosquitoes. The remainder of the men were employed in repairing the packsaddles and in mending our shoes, which were in a very dilapidated condition. The detached party, on their return, reported that they could not find a more favourable position for the tents; and that we appeared to be on a low marshy tongue of land which the river nearly flowed round. We this day saw the tracks of an emu, and of several large dogs, and kangaroos.

ASCEND A HILL.

March 4.

By sunrise I had gained the foot of the highest hill near our encampment.

It is a very remarkable rocky eminence; in height above the immediate base it was only 250 feet, but it rose by a regular steep slope from the river, which was distant about four miles. I do not think therefore that its height above the level of the sea was less than 800 feet. I was unable to ride up this hill, from the rocky nature of the ground, which was composed of a basalt resembling that of the Isle of France; its sides were slightly wooded and clothed with a fine gra.s.s nearly as high as myself. From the heaviness of the dew, walking through a river would have been about as agreeable as walking through this gra.s.s; but when I had reached the summit the view amply repaid me for the trouble of the ascent.

VIEW OF THE GLENELG FROM IT.

The river flowed through a rich and fertile country at the base of the hill, having in some places hereabouts a triple channel formed by large and apparently fertile islands, and its width must have been at least three or four miles; it however ran away so much to the north-eastward that I began to fear it might be a great salt-water inlet, communicating in some manner with Prince Regent's River, and that we might thus find ourselves upon a large island. I had a good view of the valley for 10 or 12 miles in an easterly direction over a country still very fertile, but all that I saw tended to make me believe that the river had some communication with the sea, somewhere towards the north-east.

We reached the camp before breakfast; and, as this was Sunday and our ponies were rapidly improving from the goodness of their feed, I determined to halt here for a day or two whilst a detachment examined the country to ascertain, if possible, whether we were on an island or not, and whether it was possible to cross the river near our present position.

March 5.

This morning accordingly an exploring party started; and, as it was necessary that they should traverse the country on foot so as to be able to cross the low marshy grounds near the river, I was, on account of my wound, unable to accompany them, and therefore occupied myself in making a set of magnetic observations.

March 6.

This afternoon Mr. Lus.h.i.+ngton and the party returned, having found the northern bank of the river to consist of low marshy ground covered with a luxuriant vegetation, and in some places with such forests of mangrove trees that it was impossible to approach the stream. They however succeeded in reaching one of the channels of the river, which was upwards of 400 yards wide; the rise and fall of tide was here about twenty feet, and the current, of course, extremely rapid. They reported the river as being, to all appearance, navigable, and that the tide only set in from the westward.

THE RIVER.

As the southern bank of the river was bordered by high rocky hills they saw nothing of the country in that direction. Their report was on the whole satisfactory, for it appeared that the good country still extended along the northern bank, and that we were upon the mainland.

PORPOISES SEEN.

A good idea may be formed of the size of the river where the party made it from the circ.u.mstance of their seeing a large shoal of porpoises.

IGUANA. DENSENESS OF VEGETATION.

March 7.

This morning we started early in a north-easterly direction and travelled all day through a very fertile and picturesque country. On our left lay hills covered with gra.s.s, and on our right extensive plains, through which ran the Glenelg. The vegetation in these was so luxuriant that it choked the fresh water up; and whole plains were sometimes thus inundated ankle deep. The country was thinly timbered, but in general the trees were of a very great size: one particularly took my fancy, having very large leaves about the colour of those of the horse-chestnut, and which cast more shade around them than any other which I have seen in Australia.

In the afternoon, as we were pa.s.sing through a densely vegetated bottom, we saw a very large iguana run up a tree. This brute was of a beautiful green colour and five or six feet long; it sat on the tree, making a noise somewhat like a snake, and was the largest and ugliest of the lizard tribe which I have ever seen on land. As we could make no use of it I thought it would be wanton to kill it; so, after examining it as well as we could, we moved on, leaving it undisturbed.

The black flies on this day changed their character, and became much smaller than those I had hitherto seen.

March 8.

We made but little progress today on account of the denseness of the vegetation, which was so luxuriant that we found great difficulty in forcing our way through it; in several instances indeed it was wholly impa.s.sable; and, after making an attempt to penetrate through a jungle, we were obliged to turn about and coast round it. The numerous streams we met with were also a serious impediment, for many of these were so muddy and deep that we had great difficulty in finding a place where we could cross.