Part 27

12th June.

One of the horses having slipped his halter during the night, Messrs. Brown and Brockman returned down the gully to track it up, while we made an attempt to follow up the deep defile in which we were hemmed, but a quarter of a mile brought us to an impassable barrier of cliffs. Retracing our steps about a mile, we again made an attempt more to the eastward, and this time succeeded in reaching a considerable stream-bed, which ultimately proved to be the main channel of the Fortescue, and led us through the range. Resting till noon, Messrs. Brown and Brockman overtook us with the missing horse, when we resumed our route up the bed of the river to the southward, until again brought to a dead stand by the whole bed of the stream being occupied by deep pools of water, fed by numerous strong springs. As it was getting late in the day, I left the party to form a camp, while I climbed the hills to get a view of the country in advance. A laborious ascent of nearly an hour brought me to one of the highest summits of the range, at an elevation of about 2700 feet above the sea, and 700 above the bed of the river. From this hill I had a fine view to the southward, and observed that by following up a small dry ravine to the south-east there would be a fair prospect of reaching a large extent of open level plain that came within two or three miles of the camp in that direction. To the east and south-east the range was lofty and mountainous, while to the south and south-west stretched open grassy plains, occasionally interrupted by bold detached hills, apparently of the same formation as the Hamersley Range. On descending to the camp, I started a fragment of rock of a few tons weight, which rushed with fearful velocity towards the deep gorge in which the horses were feeding. After carrying all before it for a quarter of a mile, it made a clear spring over a cliff 200 feet in depth, and plunged into the waters below with a sound like thunder, inducing a belief at the camp that a large portion of cliff had fallen. Fortunately it did not produce an estampede, which I had known to have been caused on another occasion by a similar occurrence. Camp 19.

Latitude 22 degrees 15 minutes; longitude 118 degrees 4 minutes 30 seconds.

13th June.

Availing ourselves of the observations made yesterday, we succeeded, after a hard scramble of two hours, in getting through the remaining portion of the range, our horses having learned to climb like goats, or they never would have accomplished the passage. The plain appears to have a considerable elevation above those to the northward, and is drained by several deep breaks through the Hamersley Range. Resuming a south-south-west course to latitude 22 degrees 26 minutes 32 seconds, we passed at first over some very stony land, yielding little else besides triodia and stunted acacia; but for the last six or seven miles was a rich alluvial clay, covered with very fair pasture, and water was found in abundance in pools in the bed of a watercourse coming from the south-east. Camp 20.

Latitude 22 degrees 26 minutes 58 seconds.

14th June.

On our first landing at Nickol Bay the nights had been very mild, but we now began to feel them cold and bracing. This was partly owing to the increased elevation of the country we were now travelling over; the south-east wind coming off the mountainous country was very keen, and almost frosty early in the morning. Our course this day was at first over tolerably good country, which gradually became more and more rocky, the ridges increasing in elevation until the aneroid barometer fell to 27.33, giving an altitude of 2400 feet above the sea. Night overtook us in a deep rocky ravine, where we had much difficulty in keeping the pack-horses together, and were at last compelled to unload them amongst rocks in the bed of a dry watercourse trending to the westward; a little grass being procurable in the vicinity. Fortunately water had been met with at noon, so that we were not pressed for want of it. Camp 21.

Latitude 22 degrees 41 minutes 43 seconds.

15th June.

Following the gully upon which we had encamped, it led us to the westward, over a rocky line of country, until 1 p.m., when not meeting with any water, and the horses showing great weakness and symptoms of distress from the loss of their shoes, it was found desirable to quit the main gully and try and find feed and water up a promising tributary coming from the north with the view of ultimately falling back on the plains under the Hamersley Range, should we fail to meet with water sooner; fortunately, however, in an hour we came upon a small supply amongst rocks, surrounded by some tolerable feed. Had we failed to find this timely relief, it is probable that not more than half the horses would have been able to carry their loads to the nearest known waterhole. Camp 22.

16th June (Sunday).

This day of rest was alike acceptable to man and horse, and afforded me an opportunity, after reading prayers to the party, to clear a set of lunar distances, by which I found that the chronometer would have placed us forty miles to the west of our true position. I had long since observed that it could not be trusted under even ordinary variations of temperature, but could procure no other, the Acting Surveyor-General having declined to supply me with either of the two chronometers belonging to his department that could be relied on, and in consequence I now found I should be compelled to have recourse entirely to lunar observations and triangulation for the compilation of the maps, which would add very much to the amount of labour and liability to error. Several crested pigeons, white cockatoos, and crested quail or partridges, were shot as they came to drink at the waterhole.

METAMORPHIC ROCKS.

17th June.

The horses had so far recovered after the day's rest that we were enabled to resume a south-west course, following down the bed of the stream to latitude 22 degrees 51 minutes, the country slightly improving towards evening; but we again had to encamp without water, having, however, obtained a small quantity in some gravel at noon. The hills to the east of our track rose about 1000 feet above the bed of the watercourse, and consisted of metamorphic sandstones and shales, intersected by whinstone dykes, their summits being capped with red conglomerate. In one place the river had cut through a ridge of altered rocks, and exhibited a very singular contortion of the strata, the laminae being crippled up into an arch of 100 feet high, showing a dip on each flank of 45 degrees, forming a cave beneath running for some distance into the hill. Camp 23.

18th June.

Continuing to follow the stream-bed south-west for eight or nine miles, we came upon a patch of very green grass, on which we halted, to allow the horses the benefit, on account of their not having had any water since noon yesterday. In the meanwhile, accompanied by Mr. Brown, I started off and walked to a prominent hill six miles to the south, to get a view of the surrounding country. From the summit of this hill, which we found to have an elevation of 700 or 800 feet, we procured a valuable round of bearings, and had a distant view of the country to the southward. Level plains and detached ranges of moderate elevation appeared to be the general character of the country towards the Lyons River. We returned to the party by 3.0 p.m., and were glad to find that during our absence water had been found in shallow clay-pans a mile to the westward, to which we moved over and encamped. Camp 24.

Latitude 22 degrees 56 minutes 23 seconds; longitude by account 117 degrees 21 minutes.

19th June.

We were unable to proceed this day, owing to my having eaten some of the dwarf mesembryanthemum, which I had formerly observed to be used as food by the natives on the Gascoyne, but which had produced with me violent headache and vomiting. The horses were, however, enjoying excellent feed; and I contrived to work up my map and clear a lunar.

20th June.

Started at 7.25 a.m. with nineteen horses, having been obliged to leave behind a horse belonging to Mr. Lennard, so lame that he could not move. Following the stream-bed nearly west for ten miles, came upon a pool of permanent water containing flags--the first we had met with since quitting the Hamersley Range. This was of great value, as there was no water that could be depended upon on our return, in the last sixty miles. Pushing on quickly for twelve miles further, the river entered a wide plain, in which was some tolerable feed; we had again, however, to halt for the night without water.

DEPOT CAMP ON THE HARDEY RIVER.

21st June.

Although the size of the channel of the river we had been following down for the last sixty miles had considerably increased both in width and depth, yet very little water had been found in it, and as it took a decided turn in its course this morning to north-west, after two hours' ride, without observing any change, and there being every appearance of its keeping the same course for the next twenty miles, I was convinced that it could not be a tributary to either the Edmund or Lyons, which I had at first hoped it might prove. The barometer also ranged too high for it to be at a sufficient elevation to admit of it flowing into either of those rivers, as the elevation of the Lyons at the confluence of the Alma is at least of the same altitude above the sea. Having named the river the Hardey, we fell back upon the pools passed yesterday, where I had decided upon forming a depot camp at which to rest the weakest horses, while with a lightly equipped party I proposed to complete the expedition of the country intervening between this and the Lyons River. Camp 26.

Latitude 22 degrees 58 minutes 28 seconds; longitude 117 degrees 10 minutes.

22nd June.