Part 55

Leaving the camp at 6.0 a.m., steered an average course of north 300 degrees east; crossing the granite ridge, we entered a level sandy country with much scrub, which was traversed till 8.40, when we entered a wide grassy plain extending to the north-west, in which direction we steered till 2.10 p.m., when we halted at a small muddy puddle two inches deep and three yards wide. Then rode on with Mr. H. Gregory to search for a larger supply of water, and found a shallow pool about a mile distant, to which the party moved and encamped. Although this pool was not 100 yards long and six inches deep, a large flock of ducks, snipe, and small gulls, were congregated at it, several thousand pigeons of species new to us came to drink. These pigeons keep in flocks of from ten to more than a thousand, feeding on the seeds of the grass on the open plains, as they never alight on trees. They are somewhat larger than the common bronze-wing; the head is black, with a little white at the base of the beak and behind the eye; back pale brown; breast, blue; throat marked with white; wings with white tips to the feathers and a small patch of bronze; tail short, tip white; feet, dull red. The evening and night were cloudy.

WILD RICE.

15th February.

At 6.5 a.m. followed a line of small trees and bushes which grew on the lower part of the grassy plain and indicated the course of the water in the wet season, and at 9.0 came to the head of a small creek trending north-west. Water was now abundant and formed large pools, and at 11.15 camped on the right bank of the creek at a pool a quarter of a mile long and fifty yards wide. This spot seemed to be much frequented by the natives, and large quantities of mussel-shells lay around their fires. The plain traversed this morning was well grassed; the soil a stiff clay loam; this plain extended three to six miles on each side of the track, and was bounded by a low-wooded country, which, in some parts, rose nearly 100 feet above the plain. In the lower part of the plain we observed the salt-bush (atriplex) and a species of rice; but as it was only just in ear, we could not judge of the quality of the grain. In the afternoon there was a fine breeze from the east which lasted till 8.0 p.m., the sky being cloudy.

Latitude by Canopus and Pollux 17 degrees 53 minutes 50 seconds.

16th February.

At 6.25 a.m. resumed our journey down the creek, which turned first west and then south-west, and at 12.20 p.m. encamped at a small pool; on the right bank of the creek wide grassy plains extended from three to five miles back towards a low-wooded ridge, but on the left bank the scrubby country came close to the creek.

Latitude by a Orionis, Canopus and Pollux 17 degrees 59 minutes 40 seconds.

17th February (Sunday).

As the water and grass were abundant on this camp, we were not compelled to move on in search of these requisites, and were enabled to observe it as a day of rest.

18th February.

Resumed our journey at 6.30 a.m., and steered an average south-west course till 11.10, and then south till 12.25 p.m., and again camped on the creek. The country consisted of wide grassy plains on the bank of the creek, without trees and well grassed; beyond the plains, at one to six miles distance, low-wooded ridges were visible; but the general aspect of the whole was extremely level. A great number of ducks and a few geese were seen on some of the pools in the creek.

Latitude by Canopus 18 degrees 4 minutes 40 seconds.

STURT'S CREEK.

19th February.

Commenced our day's journey at 6.0 a.m., followed the bank of the creek till 8.15, thence south-south-west till noon, when the course was altered to south-south-east to close in with the creek, but found that the channel was completely lost on the level grassy plain, and at 1.40 p.m. encamped at a small puddle of muddy water as thick as cream. Before the creek was lost in the level plain it spread into some large, though shallow pools, which swarmed with ducks of several species, but principally the whistling duck. The grassy plain gradually extended to a greater breadth, and the back country was so nearly level that it scarcely rose above the grassy horizon, while to the south the country was so level that the clumps of bushes appeared like islands, and the grassy plain extended to the horizon. Near one of the waterholes in the creek we surprised a native, who was sitting at his fire with a couple of women, who decamped with all possible despatch. Several smokes have been observed to the south and south-west, which shows that water must exist in that direction, though it may not be in sufficient quantity to supply our horses. The morning was cloudy, and at midnight there was a heavy shower of rain. Judging from the general appearance of the country, the waters of the creek, after spreading over the plain, must escape to the westward, as the grass has been bent in that direction by the current last year, but there has been so little rain this season that the channel of the creek has not been filled.

20th February.

As it appeared that the waters of the creek trended to the west in the wet season, at 6.5 a.m. we steered north 250 degrees east, through a level forest of box-trees, with abundance of good grass; the soil brown loam with fragments of limestone; the shower last night had left many shallow pools of water on the surface. At 8.40 a.m. passed a small swampy salt flat covered with salicornia; at 9.10 came on the grassy plain which we skirted on a west course, but as it turned to the north-west, again changed the course to 320 degrees; the plain was now reduced to about a mile in width, and we therefore crossed it in search of a definite channel, but without success, though there were some slight indications that during inundation the water flowed to the north-west. At 11.50 we camped at a shallow puddle of rainwater, on the north side of the plain. From the camp, till 8.0 a.m., the grass, though very backward, showed that there had been sufficient rain to cause it to spring; but as we proceeded it was perfectly dry and parched up, as at the end of the dry season, showing that little or no rain had fallen for many months in this part of the country. The day was cloudy, with thunder, and was followed by a heavy shower at night, which prevented my ascertaining the latitude by observation.

ENTER WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

21st February.

As we were now three days' journey from the last water which could be depended on for more than a few days, and the channel of the creek had been so completely lost on the plain that it was uncertain whether the marks of inundations near this camp had been caused by the creek flowing to the west, or by some tributary flowing to the east, I determined to attempt a south-west course, in the hope that, should the country prove rocky, the heavy showers might have collected a sufficient quantity of water to enable us to continue a southerly route, and accordingly selected the most prominent point of the rising ground to the south of our position, and at 6.5 a.m. started north 235 degrees east. After leaving the open plains we entered a grassy box forest, which continued to the foot of the hills, which we reached at 8.0. The slope of the hills proved very scrubby, with small eucalypti and acacia, the soil red sand and ironstone gravel; at 9.0 reached the highest part of the hills for many miles round. To the south the country was slightly depressed for ten or fifteen miles, and then rose into an even ridge or plain, the whole country appearing to be covered with acacia and eucalyptus scrub. To the west and north the view was more extended; the low ridge of sandstone hills extended to the west-north-west, on the northern side of the grassy flats for thirty miles, and only broken by a large valley from the north. Throughout its whole extent this range appeared to rise to 150 or 200 feet above the plain, and had the appearance of being the edge of a level tableland. South of the grassy plain, the western limit of which was not seen, the country rose gradually to eighty or 100 feet, and presented an extremely level and unvaried appearance. It was evident that our only chance of farther progress was to follow the grassy plain to the west till some change in the country rendered a southerly course practicable, it being probable that some creek from the north might join the grassy plain, and that the channel which had been lost might be reformed. At 9.30 steered north-west, and at 12.30 p.m. cleared the acacia scrub, and at 1.30 reached the bank of the creek, which had formed a channel twenty yards wide, with pools of water, which was brackish; but we were too glad to find any water which we could use without detriment to object to it because it was not agreeable in taste, and therefore encamped. We have thus been a second time compelled to make a retrograde movement to the north after reaching the same latitude as in the first attempt to penetrate the desert; but I did not feel justified in incurring the extreme risk which would have attended any other course, though following the creek is by no means free from danger, as very few of the waterholes which have supplied us on the outward track will retain any water till the time of our return. The weather was calm and hot in the early part of the day, and in the afternoon it clouded over, and there was a slight shower of rain. According to our longitude, by account, we have this day passed the boundary of Western Australia, which is in the 129th meridian.

Latitude by Canopus and Procyon 18 degrees 26 minutes.

STURT'S CREEK.

22nd February.

Leaving the camp at 5.40 a.m., followed the creek to the west-south-west and crossed a small gully from the south; at 11.30 a.m. camped at a fine pool of water in a small creek from the south, close to its junction with the principal creek, which we named after Captain Sturt, whose researches in Australia are too well known to need comment; the grassy plains extended from three to ten miles on each side of the creek, which has a more definite channel than higher up, there being some pools of sufficient size to retain water throughout the year; the plain is bounded on the north by sandstone hills 100 to 200 feet high, and there is also a mass of hilly country to the south, the highest point of which was named Mount Wittenoon; about noon a thunder-shower passed to the east and up the creek on which we were encamped, and though the channel was then dry between the pools, at 4.0 p.m. it was running two feet deep; the grass is much greener near this camp, and there has evidently been more rain here than in any part of the country south of Victoria yet visited; a fresh southerly breeze in the morning, thunderstorms at noon, night cloudy with heavy dew.

23rd February.

At 5.50 a.m. resumed our journey down the creek, the general course first south-west and changing to the south-south-west; the channel was gradually lost on the broad swampy flat, which was overgrown with polygonum and atriplex, etc., and had a breadth of half a mile to a mile, being depressed about ten feet below the grassy plain; the grassy plain also extended to about fifteen miles wide, the hills decrease in height, and the whole country is so level that little is to be seen but the distant horizon, scarcely in any part rising above the vast expanse of waving grass. At 10.50 a.m. camped at a shallow puddle of muddy water, just sufficient to supply the horses; I walked about a mile into the polygonum flat, but could not find any water, though the ground was soft and muddy in a few spots. Mr. H.C. Gregory, when rounding up the horses in the evening, saw eight blacks watching us; we therefore went out to communicate with them; but they hid themselves in the high bushes and grass. The night was clear, and I took a set of lunar distances, which the cloudy weather had prevented for more than a week, though I had been able to get altitudes for latitude.

Latitude by Canopus, Castor and Pollux 18 degrees 39 minutes 54 seconds.