Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia Volume II Part 7

(**Footnote. This proved to be the rare A. quadrilateralis of De Candolle.)

LEAVE THE LACHLAN TO TRAVEL WESTWARD.

April 20.

After proceeding some miles on this day's journey our Cudjallagong guide pointed in a west-north-west direction as the way to Oolawambiloa.

Leaving therefore the Kalare or Lachlan, near a great bend in its general course which below this (according to Mr. Oxley's map) was south-west, we followed the route proposed by my native friend as it was precisely in the direction by which I wished to approach the Darling. The universal scarcity of water had however deprived me of every hope that any could be found in that country, at a season when we often sought it in vain, even in the bed of one of the large rivers of the country. Our guide however knew the nature of our wants, and also that of the country, and I eagerly followed him towards a hill, the most distant and most westerly on the northern horizon.

NO WATER.

At sunset we halted full twenty miles short of that hill, beside the bed of a small river, resembling in capacity and the nature of its banks that of the Bogan; but to the manifest consternation of our guide we could find no water in it, although some ponds had been only recently dried up.

This watercourse, he informed me, was the same which I had seen pa.s.sing by Murrangong, but he said it did not return its waters to the Lachlan, a circ.u.mstance which I could not understand. Booraran was the name he gave it. He went with some of our people in the dark and found a few quarts of water two miles beyond it, but our cattle were obliged to pa.s.s the night without any. The barometer had been falling for several days and the wind arising suddenly at 9 P.M. brought a misty ma.s.s of cloud which began most providentially to drop upon us, to the great relief of our thirsty cattle. This day we found on the plains a new species of Sida with small yellow flowers, very fragrant, and on a long stalk.* In the woods I observed a eucalyptus of a graceful drooping character, apparently related to E. pilularis and amygdalina.

(*Footnote. S. fibulifera, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts; incano-tomentosa, pusilla, diffusa, foliis ovato-oblongis obtusis dentatis basi cordatis, stipulis longissimis setaceis, pedunculis axillaribus aggregatis filiformibus petiolis longioribus, calycibus lanatis corolla parum brevioribus, fructu disciformi convexo tomentoso, coccis monospermis.)

NATIVES FROM WARRANARY.

April 21.

A rainy morning. Some strange natives approached from the woods while I was looking at the country beyond the dry channel, in the direction in which our guide still wished us to proceed (about west-north-west). They were grave and important-looking old men, and each carried a light. They called out to me in a serious tone "Weeri kally," words which I too well understood, meaning simply no water. I took my guide to them, but he still seemed in doubt about the scarcity.

COURSE DOWN THE LACHLAN RESUMED.

It was necessary not to depend on uncertainties on such a point, and I therefore lost no time in shaping our course again towards the nearest bend of the Lachlan, which we reached after travelling nine miles in the rain, and we encamped beside a pond or quawy named Buree. I considered this day's journey to be the first deviation from the most direct line of route towards that part of the Darling where my last journey terminated.

It was evident that in common seasons the country I wished to traverse was not without water, our guide having suggested it as the way to Oolawambiloa (a name always referring to a great abundance of water). I considered it necessary now to ascertain, if possible, and before the heavy part of our equipment moved further, whether the Lachlan actually joined the Murrumbidgee near the point where Mr. Oxley saw its waters covering the country; or whether it pursued a course so much more to the westward as to have been taken for the Darling by Captain Sturt. Near the Lachlan at this place the Antheric.u.m bulbosum occurred in abundance, and the cattle seemed to eat it with avidity.

On the bank of the river a new species of rosella appeared amongst the birds, and several were shot and preserved as specimens.

EXTENSIVE RIDE TO THE WESTWARD.

April 22.

I proceeded westward accompanied by five men and an aboriginal guide, all mounted on horseback. My object was to obtain, if possible, some knowledge of the final course of the Lachlan; and secondly to ascertain how far the hills to the north-west of our camp ranged beyond that very remarkable feature, resembling a cape or promontory and named Warranary, which marked the extent of our sight and knowledge at that time. This point was in a direct line between the camp we then occupied on the Lachlan and the lowest part of the Darling attained during the former journey, and we had just fallen back from want of water; a circ.u.mstance likely to compel me to follow the Lachlan downwards, at least if it could be ascertained thus early that this river could not possibly be the supposed Darling of Sturt. In case it proved otherwise I thought it not improbable that, at the end of two days' journey westward, I might fall in with the Lachlan, and if I could find water in it at such a point under any circ.u.mstances, I considered that a position so much advanced would be equally favourable, either for reaching the junction of the Murray or the upper Darling. Should I succeed in reaching the Lachlan at about sixty miles west of my camp I might be satisfied that it was this river which Captain Sturt took for the Darling, and then I might seek that river by crossing the range on the north. Whereas, should I find sufficient reason to believe that the Darling would join the Murray, I might continue my journey down the Lachlan until I reduced the distance across to the Darling as much as the scarcity of water might render necessary.

We traversed fine plains of greater extent than I had ever seen before, and in general of more tenacious surface. They were in many parts covered with salsolaceous plants, but I found also a kind of gra.s.s which I had not previously noticed; and a curious woolly plant with two-spined fruit, belonging to the genus Sclerolaena of Brown.* I looked in vain however for the continuation of the range to the northward. The cape before-mentioned first rose to a considerable height over the horizon, but as we proceeded it sunk so as to be just visible behind us, bearing at the point where we lay down for the night 31 degrees East of North.

The continuation of the range, as we now saw, receded to the north-west; so that the horizon of these plains continued unbroken save by the cape-like point of Warranary.

(*Footnote. S. bicornis, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts; caule lanato ramoso, foliis linearibus succulentis glabris, calycibus solitariis bispinosis lana alba involutis.)

A flight of the c.o.c.katoo of the interior, with scarlet and yellow top-knot, pa.s.sed over our heads from the north-west.

The intense interest of this day's ride into a region quite unknown urged me forward at a good pace, having a horizon like that of the sea before and around us, and being in constant expectation of seeing either some distant summit or line of lofty river-trees; all the results of the journey depending on whether it should be the one or the other. Neither however, as already stated, appeared, and the sun went down on the unbroken horizon; nor could the native discern from the top of the highest tree any other objects besides the lofty yarra trees of the Lachlan, at a vast distance to the south-west by south. During the ride many a tree and bush rose on the horizon before us and sunk on that we left behind. We saw five emus together which did not run so far from us as usual but stood at a little distance to gaze on our advancing party.

In a strip of scrub consisting of Acacia longifolia and lanceolata and some other graceful shrubs I found a new species of correa, remarkable for its small, green, bell-shaped flowers, and the almost total absence of hairiness from its leaves.*

(*Footnote. C. glabra, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts; ramulis incanis, foliis ovalibus obtusis in petiolum angustatis glabris subtus punctatis, corolla brevi campanulata tomentosa 4-dentata calyce truncato cupulari triplo longiore.)

NIGHT WITHOUT WATER.

Near this scrub we saw also many pigeons and parrots; which strengthened our hopes of finding water, which hopes however were disappointed, and we at length tied our horses' heads to the trees in a bit of scrub, and I lay down on a few boughs for the night under the cover of a gunya or bower which, on such occasions, was set up by Woods in a very short time.

(See Volume 1.)

April 23.

Dew had providentially fallen during the night and it proved in some measure a subst.i.tute for the want of water to our horses. It was also highly favourable to the object of our tour in affording a refraction when the sun rose, so that Coccaparra (Macquarie's range) appeared above the horizon and enabled me to determine our distance from it to be sixty miles. Still even this refractive state of the air brought no hills in view to the north or north-west, a circ.u.mstance which surprised me and afforded additional reason for supposing that the Lachlan might not unite so soon as had been imagined with the Murrumbidgee.

CONTINUE WESTWARD, AND SOUTH-WEST.

This may require explanation. The course of rivers is in general conformable to the direction of ranges or the position of those hills which bound the valley or basin, however extensive, in which they flow.

As this range fell off to the north-west, opposite to where the course of the Murrumbidgee had continued south-west, it was less probable that the Lachlan would unite with the main stream there than if the range had approached, or had even continued parallel to it.

I was disappointed in not finding sufficient water for our use remaining on the surface after the late rain; and although the country appeared declining to the westward, and we saw more pigeons and recent marks of natives, I was reluctantly obliged at length to bend my steps south-westward and afterwards south. The country we traversed was one level plain whose extent westward we neither knew nor could discover, and for some hours during this day's ride scarcely a bush was visible.

SAND HILLS.

Clumps of trees of the flooded box, or marura of the natives, appeared occasionally in and about the many hollows in the surface; and, on the isolated eminences of red sand, callitris trees grew, always hopeless objects to persons in want of water. These patches of sand however were not numerous, and never rose more than a few feet above the common surface, which in general consisted of clay more or less tenacious. Parts of it were quite naked; but others bore a crop of gra.s.s about three years old which probably sprang up after the last thorough drenching of the surface.

DEEP CRACKS IN THE EARTH.

So parched however was the ground now, especially in those parts which bore no vegetation, that it yawned in cracks too deep to be fathomed by the length of my sabre and arm together.

ATRIPLEX.

The best ground for travelling was of a reddish colour, glossy and firm with tufts of a species of atriplex upon it; a dwarf gra.s.s with large seeds not seen elsewhere by me was springing up, apparently in consequence of the late rains. This new vegetation did not grow near the old gra.s.s, and was too thin and low to tinge the surface.* The dreary look of the old gra.s.s in other parts, decayed and of the colour of lead, could not be exceeded; roots and stalks being all dead and decayed like rotten timber.

(*Footnote. Panic.u.m flavidum of Retz.)

SOUTH-WEST WINDS.

Every blade drooped towards the north-east and showed plainly how prevalent the south-west winds were on these open wastes. In a gloomy day a wanderer lost upon them might have known his course merely by the uniform drooping of those blades of gra.s.s towards the north-east.

SEARCH FOR THE LACHLAN.

After travelling ten miles south-west without perceiving any indication of the river I directed our course southward and, after proceeding seven miles in that direction, we came upon a hollow of Polygonum junceum so full of wide and deep cracks that our horses were got across with difficulty. It extended in a south-west direction towards some flooded box-trees. The country beyond was better wooded, and at eleven miles we at length approached a creek, and the large trees which enveloped it looked like those of the river itself; but we saw none of the yarra or white-trunked trees which always accompanied such waters and, although we certainly found the channel of a considerable current, it was shallow, quite dry, and full of Polygonum junceum.

I could hardly consider this a lateral branch of the river as I thought that I had seen its head in some hollows which I crossed on the plains the day before. After pa.s.sing this channel however we descried a long dark line of river-trees which, as our horses were getting tired, we were now somewhat anxious to see and, the native perceiving smoke arising from the woods there, I, at his request, altered my course to that direction which was 30 degrees East of South.

THIRST OF BARNEY.

None of the party suffered so much apparently from the want of water as Barney, our native friend. He rode foremost of the men with a tin pot in his hand, his eyes fixed on remote distance and his mouth open, with the lower lip projecting, as if to catch rain from the heavens. When we were within two miles of those trees we found enough of rainwater in a shallow hole to refresh our horses, but it was surrounded with such tempting gra.s.s that the animals preferred the verdure to it. Barney drank as much as he wished, and I advised the men to fill their horns, but the horses soon trod the water into mud, and all expected to find plenty near the smoke; a hope in which I was by no means sanguine.

CROSS VARIOUS DRY CHANNELS.

The first line of trees we crossed enclosed only a shallow channel, overgrown with polygonum; and we in vain sought the natives although we saw where portions of fire had been recently dropped.

Three miles further we perceived a more promising line of trees and smoke arising from them also. There we found the yarra trees growing on a flat with a reedy channel meandering amongst them. The fire arose from some burning trees and gra.s.s; and there were huts of natives but no inhabitants.

GRAVES.