Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia Part 4

July 8.--Our horses having strayed this morning I sent the native boy to look for them, but as he did not return in a reasonable time, I got anxious and went after him myself, leaving the saddles and provisions at our sleeping place. In about four miles I met the boy returning with the runaways, which had rambled for several miles, though they had abundance of good feed around the camp; fortunately we found every thing safe when we got back, but if any natives had accidentally pa.s.sed that way we should probably have lost everything, and been left in very awkward predicament.

This is a risk I have frequently been obliged to incur, and is one of the inconveniences resulting from so small a number as two travelling alone; it it is not always practicable from want of gra.s.s to tether the horses, and frequently when they are tethered the ropes break, and occasion the necessity of both individuals leaving the encampment to search for them at the same time.

Moving on to the N. W. by N. we pa.s.sed over heavy sandy ridges, with barren red plains between, and in one of the latter we found a puddle of rain water, this upon tasting. I found to be rather saline from the nature of the soil upon which it lay, the horses, however, drank it readily, and we put some in a small keg for ourselves. The only vegetation to be seen consisted of a few small stunted trees and shrubs, and even these as we approached the vicinity of the lake disappeared altogether, and gave place to Salsolaceous plants, the country being open and barren in the extreme.

I found Lake Torrens completely girded by a steep sandy ridge, exactly like the sandy ridges bounding the sea sh.o.r.e, no rocks or stones were visible any where, but many saline coasts peeped out in the outer ridge, and upon descending westerly to its basin, I found the dry bed of the lake coated completely over with a crust of salt, forming one unbroken sheet of pure white, and glittering brilliantly in the sun. On stepping upon this I found that it yielded to the foot, and that below the surface the bed of the lake consisted of a soft mud, and the further we advanced to the westward the more boggy it got, so that at last it became quite impossible to proceed, and I was obliged to return to the outer margin of the lake without ascertaining whether there was water on the surface of its bed further west or not.

The extraordinary deception caused by mirage and refraction, arising from the state of the atmosphere in these regions, makes it almost impossible to believe the evidence of one's own eyesight; but as far as I could judge under these circ.u.mstances, it appeared to me that there was water in the bed of the lake at a distance of four or five miles from where I was, and at this point Lake Torrens was about fifteen or twenty miles across, having high land bounding it to the west, seemingly a continuation of the table land at the head of Spencer's gulf on its western side.

Foiled in the hope of reaching the water, I stood gazing on the dismal prospect before me with feelings of chagrin and gloom. I can hardly say I felt disappointed, for my expectations in this quarter had never been sanguine; but I could not view unmoved, a scene which from its character and extent, I well knew must exercise a great influence over my future plans and hopes: the vast area of the lake was before me interminable as far as the eye could see to the northward, and the country upon its sh.o.r.e, was desolate and forbidding.

It was evident, that I could never hope to take my party across the lake, and it was equally evident, that I should not be able to travel around its sh.o.r.es, from the total absence of all fresh water, gra.s.s, or wood, whilst the very saline nature of the soil in the surrounding country, made even the rain water salt, after lying for an hour or two upon the ground. My only chance of success now lay in the non-termination of Flinders range, and in the prospect it held out to me, that by continuing our course along it we might be able to procure gra.s.s and water in its recesses, until we were either taken beyond Lake Torrens, or led to some practicable opening to the north.

With a heavy heart I turned towards the mountains, and steering N. E. for ten miles, halted at dark, where there was nothing for our horses to eat or drink, and we were consequently obliged to tie them up for the night.

We had still a few oats left and gave each horse three pints. A short time before encamping, I had observed that Lake Torrens was trending more to the eastward, and that when we halted, it was not at any very great distance from us.

July 9.--One of our horses having got loose last night, pulled the cork out of the keg in which was our small stock of the dirty brackish water we had found yesterday, and rolling the keg over, destroyed its contents; we were thus deprived of our breakfasts, and consequently had but little delay in starting. I intended to push on steadily for the hills, but after travelling six miles came to a puddle in the plains, with tolerable gra.s.s around, and at this I halted for the day, to rest the horses. Our lat.i.tude was 31 degrees 25 minutes S. by an alt.i.tude of Arcturus, Mount Eyre then bearing S. 7 degrees E.

July 10.--Our horses being much recruited I altered our course to-day to N. 5 degrees E. being the bearing of the most distant range to the northward, (subsequently named Mount Deception). We pa.s.sed for the first ten miles through an open barren country, but found a puddle at which we watered our horses, and refilled the keg; we then entered heavy ridges of dense red sand lying nearly north and south, and having small barren plains between.

There were a few stunted bushes upon the ridges and occasionally some small straggling pines. Lake Torrens still trended easterly, being occasionally seen from, and sometimes approaching near to our track.

Emerging from the sandy ridges we again entered upon vast level plains covered with rhaG.o.dia. In the midst of these we came to the bed of a large dry watercourse, having good gra.s.s about it, but containing no water. I halted here for the day as our horses were not very thirsty.

Upon examining the bed of the watercourse, I found traces of a rather recent and high flood; much drift being still left upon the bushes where it had been swept by the torrent; I could, however, find no water anywhere.

A great many emus were seen during our ride, and I wounded one with my rifle, but did not get it. We found to-day a description of flower, which I had not seen before, white, and sweetly scented like the hawthorn, growing upon a low p.r.i.c.kly bush near the watercourse.

July 11.--To-day I left our course and rambled up the watercourse to examine its character and search for water, which however I could not find in its channel anywhere. Traces of natives were numerous and recent all the way as we went, till at last we came to where they had encamped the previous night, and where they had left a fire still fresh and burning.

Proceeding onwards we came upon a single native, a female, young, but miserably thin and squalid, fit emblem of the sterility of the country.

We could gain no information from her, she was so much alarmed, but not long after parting with her we came to a puddle of water in the plains, and encamped for the night. Our stage had been a tortuous, but not a long one, and we halted early in the day, the lat.i.tude was 30 degrees 58 minutes S. by an alt.i.tude of the sun at noon.

After taking some refreshment, I walked to a rise about three miles off at N. 40 degrees E. from which I took several bearings, and among them I set Mount Deception at N. 25 degrees W., I then examined several of the gorges between the front hills, where the banks were broken away, and to my great dismay found in all of them salt mixed with the sand, the clay, and even the rocks; whilst in the bed of the watercourse, the salt water tea-tree was making its appearance, a shrub I had never before seen under Flinders range, and one which never grows where the soil is not of a very saline nature, and generally only where the water is too brackish for use.

The beds of the watercourses were in some places quite white and glazed with encrustations of salt, where the rains had lodged, and the water had evaporated. Some of the cliffs which I examined presented sections of 40 and 50 feet perpendicular height, in which layers of salt were embedded from the very top to the bottom.

In such a country, what accommodation could I expect, or what hopes could I entertain for the future, when the very water shed from the clouds would not be drinkable after remaining a few hours on the ground?

Whichever way I turned myself, to the West, to the East, or the North, nothing but difficulties met my view.

In one direction was an impracticable lake, skirted by heavy and scrubby sand ridges; in another, a desert of bare and barren plains; and in a third, a range of inhospitable rocks. The very stones lying upon the hills looked like the scorched and withered scoria of a volcanic region; and even the natives, judging from the specimen I had seen to-day, partook of the general misery and wretchedness of the place.

My heart sank within me when I reflected upon the gradual but too obvious change that had taken place in the character of the country for the worse, and when I considered that for some days past we had been entirely dependent for our supply of water upon the little puddles that had been left on the plains by the rain, and which two or three more days would completely dry up. Under circ.u.mstances so unpropitious, I had many misgivings, and the contemplation of our future prospect became a subject of painful anxiety.

July 12.--We moved away early, steering for Mount Deception. Near its base, and emanating from it, we crossed the dry bed of a very large watercourse, more resembling that of a river in character, its channel being wide, deep, and well-defined, and lined with the salt-water tea-tree; whilst its course was marked by very large, green looking gum-trees, the bed consisted of an earthy, micaceous slate of a reddish colour, and in very minute particles, almost in some places as fine as sand, but we could find no water in it anywhere.

The range in which this watercourse has its source, is of the same slaty rock, and very rugged; it could not be less than 3,000 feet in elevation, and its summit was only attainable by winding along the steep and stony ridges that led round the deep gorges and ravines by which it was surrounded.

From the top the view was extensive and unsatisfactory. Lake Torrens appearing as large and mysterious as ever, and bearing in its most northerly extreme visible W. 22 degrees N. To the north was a low level cheerless waste, and to the east Flinders range trending more easterly, and then sweeping back to N. 28 degrees W. but its appearance seemed to be changing and its character altering; the ranges struck me as being more separated by ridges, with barren flats and valleys between, among which winding to the N. W. were many large and deep watercourses, but which when traced up, often for many miles, I found to emanate from gorges of the hills, and to have neither water nor springs in them.

I had fully calculated upon finding permanent water at this very high range, and was proportionally disappointed at not succeeding, especially after having toiled to the summit, and tired both myself and horses in tracing up its watercourses. There was now no other alternative left me, than to make back for the hills to the eastward, in the hope of being more fortunate there. I had only found permanent water once, (at Salt watercourse) since I left my party, having depended entirely upon puddles of rain water for subsistence; but it now became imperative on me to turn my attention exclusively to this subject, not only to enable me to bring up my men, but to secure the possibility of my own return, as every day that pa.s.sed dried up more and more the small puddles I had found in the plains.

Descending Mount Deception, we travelled five miles upon a S. E. course, and encamped upon a small dry watercourse for the night, with good gra.s.s for our horses, but without water.

July 13.--Bending our steps backwards, to search for water in the eastern hills, we were lucky enough to fall in with a puddle in the plains, at which we watered our horses, and again proceeded.

Selecting one of the larger watercourses running out from the hills, we traced it up a considerable distance, examining all its minor branches carefully, and sparing no pains in seeking a permanent spring of water; the channel, however, gradually diminished in size, as we occasionally pa.s.sed the junctions of small branches from the various gorges; the gum-trees on its course were either dead or dying; the hills, which at a distance had appeared very rugged and lofty, upon a nearer approach turned out to be mere detached eminences of moderate elevation, covered with loose stones, but without the least sign of water.

About two o'clock, P.M. we pa.s.sed a little gra.s.s, and as the day appeared likely to become rainy, I halted for the night. Leaving the native boy to hobble the horses, I took my gun and ascended one of the hills near me for a view. Lake Torrens was visible to the west, and Mount Deception to the N.W. but higher hills near me, shut out the view in every other direction. In descending, I followed a little rocky gully leading to the main watercourse, and to my surprise and joy, discovered a small but deep pool of water in a hole of the rock: upon sounding the depth, I found it would last us some time, and that I might safely bring on my party thus far, until I could look for some other point for a depot still farther north; the little channel where the water was, I named Depot Pool.

Regaining the camp, I immediately set to work with the native boy to construct a bough hut, as the weather looked very threatening. We had hardly completed it before the rain came down in torrents, and water was soon laying every where in the ledges of rock in the bed of the watercourse. So little do we know what is before us, and so short a time is necessary to change the aspect of affairs, and frequently too, when we least expect it!

July 14.--Our hut not having been quite water-tight before the rain came, we got very wet during the night, and turned out early this morning to go and hunt for firewood to warm ourselves.

As the weather still continued rainy, I determined to give our horses a day's rest, whilst I walked up the watercourse to examine it farther. I found the hills open a good deal more as I proceeded, with nice gra.s.sy valleys between; and the hills themselves, though high and steep, were rounded at the summits, and richly clothed with vegetation: among them numerous watercourses took their rise in the gorges, and generally these were well marked by gum-trees. Altogether it was a pretty and fertile spot, and though very hilly, would do well for stock, if permanent water could be found near. I was quite unsuccessful, however, in my search for this, and the native boy, whom I sent in the opposite direction, after my return, was equally unfortunate. Towards evening, one of the horses having broken his hobbles, and got alarmed, galloped off, taking the other with him. Tired and wet as I was, I was obliged to go after them, and it was some miles from the camp, before I could overtake and turn them back. Our lat.i.tude was 30 degrees 55 minutes S.

July 15.--This morning was misty and clondy, and dreadfully cold. We set off early and commenced tracing up and examining as many of the watercourses as we could; we did not, however, find permanent water.

Under one low ridge we met with what I took to be a small spring emanating from a limestone rock; but it was so small as to be quite useless to a party like mine, though the natives appeared frequently to have resorted to it. Finding the courses of the main channel become lost in its many branches, I ascended the dividing ridge, and crossed into the bed of another large watercourse, in which, after travelling but a short distance, I found a fine spring of running water among some very broken and precipitous ranges, which rose almost perpendicularly from the channel; in the latter, high ledges of a slaty rock stretched occasionally quite across its bed, making it both difficult and dangerous to get our horses along. In the vicinity of the water the gra.s.s was tolerably good, but the declivities upon which it princ.i.p.ally grew, were steep and very stony.

Having hobbled the horses, I took my gun, and walked down the watercourse, to a place where it forms a junction with a larger one, but in neither could I find any more water. Upon my return, I found that the native boy had caught an opossum in one of the trees near, which proved a valuable addition to our scanty and unvaried fare. The lat.i.tude to-day was 30 degrees 51 minutes S.

July 16.--Tracing down the watercourse we were encamped on, to the junction before mentioned, I steered a little more to the north, to ascend a high stony range, from which I hoped to obtain a view to the eastward; but after considerable toil in climbing, and dragging our horses over loose rolling stones, which put them constantly in danger of falling back, I was not rewarded for the trouble I had taken: the view to the east was quite shut out by high rugged ranges of ironstone and quartz, whilst to the north, the hills appeared lower and more open.

It now became a matter of serious consideration, whether I should pursue my researches any farther at present. I was already about 120 miles away from my party, with barely provisions enough to last me back; and the country, in advance, appeared to be getting daily more difficult; added to this, the "WATERWITCH" was waiting at the head of Spencer's Gulf for my return.

After reflecting on my position, I decided to rejoin my party without delay; and descending the range to the S. E., I steered for a large watercourse we had crossed in the morning; intending to trace it up, for the purpose of examining its branches. The bed of this watercourse, at first, was very wide, and lined with gum-trees; but as I advanced, I found its channel became contracted, and very rocky, the gum-trees disappearing, and giving place to the salt-water tea-tree. By nightfall, I was unable to proceed any further, owing to the large stones and rocks that interposed themselves. Retracing my steps, therefore, for a mile or two, to a little gra.s.s I had observed as I pa.s.sed by, I bivouacked for the night, being, as well as the horses, quite knocked up. The native boy, who accompanied me, was equally fatigued; and we were both lame from walking across so rugged a country, over a great portion of which we found it quite impracticable to ride. Our stage could not have been less than twenty-five or twenty-six miles during the day, yet we had not met with a drop of water, even though we had high ranges, large watercourses, and huge gum-trees on every side of us. As usual, the traces of high floods were numerous; and the channels of these watercourses, confined as they are by precipitous ranges, must, at times, be filled by rapid and overwhelming torrents, which would collect there after heavy rains.

Some great progressive change appears to be taking place in the climate and seasons of this part of the country, as, in many of the watercourses, we found all the gum-trees either dying or dead, without any young trees growing up to replace them. The moisture which had promoted their growth, and brought them to maturity, existed no longer; and in many places, only the wreck of n.o.ble trees remained to indicate to the traveller what once had been the character of this now arid region. In other watercourses the gum-trees were still green and flouris.h.i.+ng, and of giant growth; but we were equally unable to discover water in these,[Note 5: We had no means with us of digging--possibly moisture existed below the surface where the trees were so large and green.] as in those where the trees were decaying or withered.

July 17.--To-day we returned to our temporary camp, tracing up various branches of the water-courses as we went along, but without finding water. Many of the ranges in our route consisted of ma.s.ses of ironstone, apparently containing a very large proportion of metal. In one place, I found a mineral which I took to be tin ore; the loss, however, of all the geological specimens I collected, after their arrival in Adelaide, has unfortunately put it now beyond my power to test any of the rocks or minerals, about which I was doubtful. As we encamped early, and I was desirous of recruiting the horses, I employed myself in taking an observation for lat.i.tude, whilst the black boy went out to look for an opossum. He succeeded in bringing in a fine large one, which formed a welcome addition to our meagre fare. The nights were still very frosty.

July 18.--In travelling to "Depot Pool," the native boy caught another opossum, and we again halted early in the day for the sake of resting the horses.

July 19.--Concealing among some rocks every thing we did not absolutely require, we descended towards the plains, searching as we went, for the most favourable line of road to them, for the drays, but at best the country was very rough and stony.

After clearing the hills, we made a stage of twenty-eight miles along the plains running under Flinders range, and at night encamped upon a channel coming out of it, where we obtained water, but very little gra.s.s for our horses.

July 20.--To-day I kept behind some of the low front hills, pa.s.sing through some extensive valleys between them and the main range; and as I found abundance of water lying in pools upon the plains, I did not make for the hills at all.

Before sunset, I got a shot at a kangaroo with my rifle, which, though severely wounded, gave me a long chase before I could capture it; this furnished us with a welcome and luxurious repast. We had been so long living upon nothing but the bush baked bread, called damper (so named, I imagine, from its heavy, sodden character), with the exception of the one or two occasions upon which the native boy had added an opossum to our fare, that we were delighted to obtain a supply of animal food for a change; and the boy, to shew how he appreciated our good luck, ate several pounds of it for his supper. Our horses were equally fortunate with ourselves, for we obtained both good gra.s.s and water for them.

July 21.--Taking with us the best part of what was left of the kangaroo, we crossed a stony ridge to the S. W., and at four miles struck a watercourse with a large pool of water in its bed, and well adapted for a halting place for the party on their route to the north: we had not seen this in our outward course, having kept further to the westward in the plains. From the water-hole, Mount Eyre bore W. 30 degrees S. distant five miles.

Upon leaving this pool I pushed on as rapidly as I could, being anxious to rejoin my party; and after a hard and fatiguing ride of forty miles, arrived at the depot under Mount Arden, late in the day, having been absent sixteen days. I had been anxiously expected, and was cordially welcomed by the whole party, who were getting sadly tired of inactivity, and especially by my young friend Mr. Scott, whose eager and ardent disposition rendered him quite uneasy under the confinement and restraint of a depot encampment; he would gladly have shared with me the difficulties and hazards of exploring the country in advance, but from the very embarra.s.sing nature of the undertaking, I did not think it right to take more than a single native with me, as every addition to the number of a party, on such occasions, only tends to increase the difficulty and anxiety of the task.

Having rested a little, and made innumerable inquiries, I was very much gratified to find that the whole party were in good health, and that every thing had been conducted in a satisfactory manner during my absence. No one had been idle, and every thing that I could have wished, had been properly arranged. The stores had been safely brought up from the WATERWITCH, including a barometer kindly sent by the Governor, and a large packet of English letters, at any time a highly valued prize, and not the less so now that they were received 200 miles in the interior, amidst the labours and anxieties of an exploring expedition.

During my absence all the harness, hobbles, tents, tarpaulins, etc. had been fully repaired; and according to my instructions, a large deep hole had been dug in the slope of the hill, to bury a portion of the stores in, that if compelled by circ.u.mstances to return from the north, we might still have supplies to fall back upon. Mr. Scott had employed his time in collecting botanical and geological specimens, and had already made a very fair commencement for our collections in both these departments of science. He had also regularly kept the meteorological journal, registering the observations three times in each day.