Volume I Part 21 (1/2)
March 28.
The first part of our journey was through a fertile valley, about four miles in length, through which wound a rapid stream. It was clothed with the richest gra.s.s, abounded in kangaroos, and was marked at its southern extremity by a very remarkable precipitous hill. The heights to the westward were all composed of basalt, whilst those to the eastward were sandstone. On pa.s.sing the ridge of hills which bounded this valley to the south we entered on a sandstone district, although the hills to the westward were still basaltic.
NATURAL GRAPERY. GRAPE-LIKE FRUIT.
I here halted the party for breakfast by the side of a stream and, on casting my eyes upwards, I found that I was in a sort of natural grapery, for the tree under which I lay was covered with a plant which bears a sort of grape and I believe is a species of cissus.
We met altogether with three varieties of this plant, all of which were creepers but differing from each other in their habits and in the size of their fruit. Two of them generally ran along the ground or amongst low shrubs and the third climbed high trees; this latter kind bore the finest fruit, and it was a plant of this description which I today found. Its fruit in size, appearance, and flavour resembled a small black grape, but the stones were different, being larger, and shaped like a coffee berry.
All three produced their fruit in bunches, like the vine, and, the day being very sultry, I do not know that we could have fallen upon anything more acceptable than this fruit was to us.
FORD THE GLENELG. ANOTHER RIVER.
After breakfast we continued our route through a barren, sandy district, heavily timbered; and in the course of the afternoon met either the Glenelg or a very considerable branch of that stream in south lat.i.tude 15 degrees 56 minutes, east longitude 125 degrees 8 minutes: it was 250 yards across and formed a series of rapids at this point, where it emerged from a rocky gorge. Just above the rapids we found a good ford, the average depth of which was not more than three feet. After crossing, the banks on the other side were clothed with a species of Casuarina which I did not observe elsewhere. The country on that side of the stream was sandy and, as I found by the time we had proceeded two or three miles that we were getting embarra.s.sed in a sandstone range, I halted the party for the night and went on to try if I could find a pa.s.s across it. My exertions were not however very successful: I came upon a path which I thought might be rendered practicable for the ponies over the first part of the range, but found no line by which we could proceed without making a road.
WEAKNESS OF THE MEN.
March 29.
At dawn this morning the men were at work forming the road; the poor fellows were however so much enfeebled from constant fatigue and very inefficient nutriment, whilst exposed to the great heat of a tropical climate, that they were unable to exert the same energy as formerly, and I could not but be struck with the great difference in their strength as evinced in their incapacity to move stones and other obstacles, which a few weeks ago they would have had little difficulty in lifting. The path was however soon made as pa.s.sable as our abilities permitted, and we started along it with the ponies; some of them were however no less reduced than the men and, in endeavouring to lead one of them up a rocky hill, it fell, and from weakness sank under its light load without making an effort to save itself; the spine was thus so severely injured as to render it unable to move the hinder extremities; we therefore killed the poor creature and moved on.
SANDSTONE CAVE.
Throughout the day we continued gradually the ascent of the range which we had yesterday commenced. The large valley we were in led us by a gentle slope winding higher and higher amongst the rocky hills; at first it had been so wide as to appear like a plain, but by degrees it contracted its dimensions, until, towards the afternoon, it suddenly a.s.sumed almost the character of a gorge. Just at this point we saw in the cliffs on our left hand a cave, which I entered in the hope of finding native paintings.
Nor was I disappointed for it contained several of a very curious character. This cave was a natural chasm in the sandstone rocks, elevated at its entrance several feet above the level of the ground, from which the ascent to it was by a natural flight of sandstone steps, irregular, of course, but formed of successive thin strata, resting one upon another, and thus const.i.tuting an easy ascent; these successive layers continued into the body of the cave, quite to the end, where was a central slab, more elevated than the others, and on each side of this two other larger ones which reached the top of the cave and partly served to support the immense sandstone slab that formed the roof.
ANOTHER PAINTED CAVE.
The cave was twenty feet deep and at the entrance seven feet high and about forty feet wide. As before stated the floor gradually approached the roof in the direction of the bottom of the cavern, and its width also contracted, so that at the extremity it was not broader than the slab of rock, which formed a natural seat.
FIGURE DRAWN ON THE ROOF.
The princ.i.p.al painting in it was the figure of a man, ten feet six inches in length, clothed from the chin downwards in a red garment which reached to the wrists and ankles; beyond this red dress the feet and hands protruded and were badly executed.
The face and head of the figure were enveloped in a succession of circular bandages or rollers, or what appeared to be painted to represent such. These were coloured red, yellow, and white; and the eyes were the only features represented on the face. Upon the highest bandage or roller a series of lines were painted in red, but, although so regularly done as to indicate that they have some meaning, it was impossible to tell whether they were intended to depict written characters or some ornament for the head. This figure was so drawn on the roof that its feet were just in front of the natural seat, whilst its head and face looked directly down on anyone who stood in the entrance of the cave, but it was totally invisible from the outside. The painting was more injured by the damp and atmosphere, and had the appearance of being much more defaced and ancient, than any of the others which we had seen.*
(*Footnote. This figure brings to mind the description of the Prophet Ezekiel: Men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
Chapter 23:14, 15.)
OTHER PAINTINGS.
There were two other paintings, one on each of the rocks which stood on either side of the natural seat; they were carefully executed and yet had no apparent design in them; unless they were intended to represent some fabulous species of turtle; for the natives of Australia are generally fond of narrating tales of fabulous and extraordinary animals such as gigantic snakes, etc.
One of the party who appeared much amused at these different paintings walked straight up the cavern, gradually ascending the steps until he reached the slab at the end, and then, taking his hat off with a solemn air, seated himself; to his own, and our surprise, his bare head just touched the roof of the cave, and on examining this part of it we found it fairly polished, and very greasy, from all appearance caused by the constant rubbing against it of the head of a person whilst seated on the rock. This and other circ.u.mstances led us to conjecture that the cave was frequented by some wise man or native doctor who was resorted to by the inhabitants in cases of disease or witchcraft. We saw many footmarks about, and found other signs of the close presence of the natives, but they themselves remained invisible.
BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.
The cave was situated in an exceedingly picturesque position, it occupied the corner leading from a wide valley to a narrow ravine, down which came bubbling along a clear deep stream, which pa.s.sed within a few yards of the cave's mouth. After making sketches of the paintings and for a few minutes admiring this romantic spot we moved up the ravine, which appeared to lead by a gradual ascent to the summit of the mountain range that now completely hemmed us in both to the southward and eastward.