Part 17 (2/2)

An ornithological lecture

shi+ft the caeons

Dragged by Diaway

Attacked by the natives

It was late on the 16th of January e left Fort Mueller We reached our first or Kangaroo Tanks in eleven aroos there on our first visit; but only having revolvers, we could not get near enough to shoot any of them The water had remained in them quite as well as I could expect, but we did not use it that night The horses were evidently inclined to ramble back, so we short-hobbled theallop Mr Tietkens and I went after theet up with the any sticks in the scrubs behind theo five or sixcloudy and dark, we hardly knehich way to drive theththe reflection of a fire, and it proved ere taking theot back We tied one up and waited forone to ride we thought to get them pretty soon It now appeared that in the scrubs and darkness last night we had missed three Noe had to use our tank water, the threehorses were found the next day, the 18th, and we continued our journey from these now empty tanks at twelve o'clock, and reached the native clay-pan tanks by night The second one we had dug, though well shaded, was quite dry, and the native hole contained only sufficient for about half the horses So without, but we consoled them with the assurance that they should have some e reached the top or Es, as our supply was exhausted On reaching it, however, to our disgust we found it perfectly dry, and as we couldn't get any water, the only thing to do was to keep pushi+ng on, as far and as fast as we could, towards the Alice Falls We got so in a small Grevillea (beef-wood-tree), water-channel, about three ly thirsty, and soers The grass was beautifully green

The last few days have been coes, I did not move the cae to explore the gorges we had fore was very stony, rough, and scrubby We reached the e, tied up our horses, and walked up We very soon ca into and out of it I could not touch the bottoorge rose almost perpendicularly above us, and the farther ent up, the e was completely stopped by the abruptness of the walls and the depth of the water at their feet; I called this Glen cue on which this reservoir exists I named Mount Russell; this was the e We then turned westerly towards the Alice Falls, and in a e, where there was a cascade falling into a very clear round basin over twenty feet deep, washed out of solid white stone There were nue one I called this place Glen Gerald Proceeding on our e came to another cascade and basin; the fall of water was froht I called this Glen Fielder From here ent to the Alice Falls, rested the horses, and had a swim and delicious shower bath A ind from the south-east prevailed all day

I wished to find a road through or over this range, but will evidently have to go farther to the west, where at seven or eight miles there are apparently two separate hummocks We returned to cah the country was very rough and stony The vegetation about here is in no way different fro a move now in the direction of the two apparently separated hills, we passed through soum-tree or eucalyptus flats, ater-channels At twelvecreek, with several sheets of water; its bed was broad, withthickly set with long coarse green rushes The flow of the water was to the north, and the creek evidently went through a glen or pass; the tihtly brackish taste All through the passseveral sreat quantities of ducks on it, but Gibson, who started to shoot soo off, but the ducks'

firearms acted much better, for they went off extremely well

We encarass was very good This was evidently a permanently watered pass, with soe appeared to continue to the west, and this seeh it I called this the Pass of the Abencerrages--that is to say, the Children of the Saddle The creek and its waters I named Sladen Water, after the late Sir Charles Sladen This evening, having had a coover to ht it was an attack by the natives He ed to knohat day of the month it was, and requested me to mention the fact, with day and date in my journal, that--yes, Gibson was actually seen in the act of bathing I thought Ji, as this I could not believe without the sensible and true avouch ofwater, and the swi, for I aed in since leaving Mount Olga, eighteen weeks to a day, and I am not at all sure that he bathed there It was therefore with great pleasure that I recorded the unusual circuet over ive mature consideration to this unusualthe welfare of the whole of the members of my expedition at heart--I say, it did appear better, on the principle of the greatest good for the greatest nuony of an all-over wash, than that we should be attacked and perhaps killed by the natives

The flies on this range are evidently very numerous, for their attention to our eyes is not only persistent but very annoying

This rees 58', and longitude 127 degrees 55' We followed this creek; travelling along its banks, we found native huts very numerous, and for a few miles some sheets of water were seen; the bed then becaht or nine miles we found that sandhill and casuarina country existed, and sed up the unfortunate creek The ether with another range in front of us to the north, formed a kind of crescent No pass appeared to exist between thee that lay to the north of us, and passing over a low ridge had a good view of the surrounding country Ranges appeared in almost all directions; the principal ones lay to the west and north-west One conspicuous abrupt-faced rees east; this I named Mount Barlee There were others to the east-north-east, and the long sweep of the range from which we had co, and we found a deep rocky gorge ater in its neighbourhood In fact there were several fine rocky basins ten and twelve feet deep, though they were very rough places to get horses to I called the high hill Mount buttfield It appeared as if no rain had fallen here lately; the water in all these holes was greenish and stagnant, or stagning as Gibson and Jirass, such as there as old, white, and dry The country down below, north-wards, consisted of open, sandy, level, triodia ground, dotted with a few clu appearance to the eye, but its reality is startlingly different, keeping, as it were, the word of pro it to the hope While the horses were being collected this es continued to the west for a considerable distance I now decided to e we had left, which now bore nearly west, as there appeared to be a creek issuing fro over casuarina sandhills and soround, we found there was a creek with eucalypts on it, but it was quite evident that none of the late showers had fallen there Hardly any grass was to be found, the ground being open and stony, with thorny vegetation

In the main channel we could only find deep, rocky, dry basins, but up a se I found three small basins with a very limited supply of water, not sufficient for ht it better that they should do without it to-night Above the camp there was a kind of pound, so we put all the horses up there, as it was useless to let theht The ants were excessively troublesome here I could not find sufficient shade for the thermometer to-day, but kept it as cool as I could for fear of its bursting

This glen, or rather the vegetation which had existed in it, had been recently burned by the natives, and it had in consequence a still loomy and dreary appearance I called it by its proper naet no rest last night on account of the ants, the wretches almost ate me alive, and the horses tried so often to pass by the cahted at the reappearance of the morn Mr Tietkens also had to shi+ft his ca as elephants, or an earthquake that would destroy the world, would never wake Gibson and Jiet the horses to the place where the water was, and we could only h water, though none to spare One old fool of a horse must needs jump into an empty rock basin; it was deep and funnel shaped, so that he could not stand when he got there, so he fell, and had knocked hiet hiht he could coet him out in pieces when he made one last super-equine exertion, and fell up and out at the sa the horses, and extracting Terrible Billy from the basin, made it twelve o'clock before we could turn our backs upon this hideous place, hoping to find no e nearly west, and in less than two ue The tops of a second clump were also visible about half a mile off Mr Tietkens went to search down Desolation Creek I directed Gibson to go on with the horses to the foot of a hill which I pointed out to him, and to remain there until I overtook hilen was choked with a rank vegetation, beneath which the water ran in a strong and rapid streae In trying to cross this channel, etation, whose roots, planted in rich and oozy soil, induced the tops of this reh It had a nasty gu, coarse odour of peppermint The botanical naetation was not substantial enough to sustain ed so violently that he precipitated y h he reat difficulty in getting ear off the ani the horse, for he had ceased struggling, and was settling down bodily in theafter Gibson and Jimmy, but they were too far away; Mr Tietkens, however, on his way after thereat indeed when I showed hietation could hold us up above the running stream, and at last, but how I never couldat hi to help hith we got him out of this bottomless pit He hite when he went in, but coal black when he ca; the water drains from underneath the mountains, and is pers The water appears on the surface for a little over are-saddled e, where the clu; the water here springing frohty skeery hoe approached this A fine strealens with running springs, in about as many miles; they were named respectively, but afterwards, Groener's and Tyndall's Springs, the Great Gorge, Fort McKellar, where I subsequently had a depot, and the Gorge of Tarns Fort McKellar is the reeable encalens had fine rock-holes as well as running springs; most of the channels were full of bulrushes and the peculiar Stereen colour, of a pulpy nature, with a thick leaf, and bears a ular that all these waters should exist close to the place I called Desolation Glen; it appeared as if it e that was destitute of water After so places, it was tih Gibson had crossed all these channels within sight of their waters, he never stopped for a moment to see if the horses would drink We expected to overtake him in a mile or two, as the hill pointed out to him was now close at hand The country was so solid and stony that we could not follow the tracks of the horses for any distance, they could only be picked up here and there, but the country being open, though rising and falling into gullies and ridges, we thought to see them at any moment, so that, as we had found so many waters and the day was Sunday, I wanted to ca on, driving on, going in no particular direction--north, north-north-west, north-west, south-west, north again; and having got such a start of us, it was just night e overtook hi due south, slap into the range areatly annoyed, for, having found six splendid permanent waters, we had to camp without a drop of water either for ourselves or our horses, the aniht have had a fine day's rest, with green grass and splendid water It is impossible to drill sense into so into such a region ht; the ants were dreadful, and would not allow h the others did not seee still continued to the west, and other creeks were visible in that direction, but I decided to return to the last water I had seen--that is to say, at the Gorge of Tarns Not being able to sleep, I went after the horses long before daylight, and found they had wandered a terrible distance, although short-hobbled I soon found out the cause, for one horse had been loose all night with his pack on, and had consequently led the others a fine jaunt When all were found and packed, we returned to the gorge which, in consequence of its having so many splendid basins of deep water, I na, we fixed our cae basins, but the horses could water a rew, and where the water reappeared upon the surface after sinking beneath it There was soood feed here for the horses, but it was over a very limited area

We had a swihted to be joined by Gibson in our ablutions Could the bottoravel, and sand, it would doubtless be found of very great depth; but the rains and floods of ages have nearly filled it with stones, loosened from the upper rocks, and it is only in the crevices between the rocks at the bottoreater than seven feet Shade here is very scarce when the sun is overhead, except up around the large basin, where there are caves and overhanging rocky ledges, under which we sit, and over which the splashi+ng waters from their sources above fall into the tarn below

The view froe was very similar to that from Mount buttfield, only that now to the south we could see an horizon of scrub To the north, the natives were burning the spinifex, and this produced such a haze that no definite view could be obtained Other portions of the range quite prevented a western view The altitude of this summit was a little over 3000 feet above sea level

Not being able to glean any farther infor country, we (con)descended to work in the shady caves, swi the day, for we had plenty of the ever-recurring tasks to do, nas and clothes, and the unravelling of canvas for twine

The first night we passed here was close and hot We had soto do that we set to ith a will; our clothes also require as s and pack-saddles No one could conceive the a on; could either a friend or stranger see us in our present garb, our appearance would scarcely be thought even picturesque; for a ed set of tatterdemalions it would be difficult to find upon the face of the earth We are not, indeed, actually destitute of clothes, but, saving our best for future earments, hence our peculiar appearance, as our hats, shi+rts, and trousers, are here and there, so quilted with bits of old cloth, canvas, calico, basil, greenhide, and old blanket, that the original garment is scarcely anywhere visible

In the matter of boots the traveller must be able to shoe hiions of the west The explorer indeed should be possessed of a good few accost these I may enumerate that he should be able to erel verse or two, not for himself, but simply for the benefit or annoyance of others, and not necessarily for publication, nor as a guarantee of good faith; he ain, mend a watch, kill or cure a horse as the ti of astronoy, et hoc, siive th is required for boots in this country I repaired mine at Fort Mueller with a double sole of thick leather, with sixty horseshoe nails to each boot, all beautifully clenched within, giving the to the feet inside; then, with an elegant corona of nail-heads round the heel and plates at the toes, they are perfect dreadnoughts, and with such understandings I can tread upon alike firmness, but they were nearly the death of me afterwards for all that

In the shade of our caves here the therlen, where we sleep in the open air, it is no cooler

On the 29th we left this cool and shady spot--cool and shady, however, only ast the caves--and continued our e

In eight es in the range; all that I inspected had rocky basins, with more or less water in theot of any horizon to the west; only the northern and eastern ones being open to our view The country surrounding the range to the north appeared to consist of open red sandhills, with casuarina in the hollows between At sixteen e; but little or no grass for the horses--indeed, the whole country at the foot of this range is very bare of that commodity, except at Sladen Water, where it is excellent

Since we left Sladen Water the horses have not done well, and the slopes of this range being so rough and stony, ns of sorefootedness I cannot expect the range to continue farther than another day's stage; and though I cannot see its end, yet I feel 'tis near

Many delays by visiting places caused it to be very late e sat down aal supper A solitary eagle was the hest peak of a bare ridge, and fore--always there sat the solemn, solitary, and silent bird, like the Lorelei on her rock-- above--beautifully, there, as though he had aevents, and to record theer and see; this I called the Circus, but this creek and our rock-hole ever after went by the name of the Circus In a few e In nine miles we crossed three creeks, then ascended a hill north of us, and obtained at last a western view It consisted entirely of high, red sandhills with casuarinas and lowrange that had brought us so far to the as at an end; it had fallen off slightly in altitude towards its western extre sandhill country, covered with desert vegetation, surrounded it on all sides Nearer to us, north-westerly, and stretching nearly to west, lay the dry, irregular, and broken expanse of an ancient lake bed On riding over to it we found it very undefined, as patches of sandhills occurred aes of limestone, with bushes and a fe trees all over the expanse There were patches of dry, soda-like particles, and the soil generally was a loose dust coloured earth

Sarew in patches upon it, and some patches of our arch-enemy, triodia Great numbers of wallaby, a different kind frost the limestone rises; they had completely honeycombed all we inspected Water there was none, and if Noah's deluge visited this place it could be conveniently stoay, and put out of sight in a quarter of an hour

Returning to the horses, we turned southerly to the e I found some water up at the head of it in rock-holes; but it was so far up easterly, that we could not have been ht's encampment at the Circus There was only a poor supply of water in two ser than three days at the rees to-day Some of the horses are now terribly footsore I would shoe theain io Mr Tietkens and I ascended the highest hill in this part of the range I had yesterday seen soe south-westerly; I now found it was part of a low distant range, and not of a very pro nature There was a conspicuous mountain, which now bore north-east about fifty miles away, and I fancied I saw the refracted tops of other ranges floating in the ht discover others, which ht lead me away to the west Up to the present ti when first seen, the North-west Mountain I thought a change of country ht be met with sooner in a north or north-westerly direction than in a west or south-westerly one, as the sources of the Murchison River must be -point of water here, and found that the ebullition occurred at two degrees higher than at the Alice Falls, which indicated a fall of nearly 1000 feet, the western end of the range being much lower than the middle or eastern We had still a couple of bottles of spirit left in the et ill, we opened one here Ji been a sailor boy, I a When we opened the last bottle at Christmas, and Jimmy had had a taste, he said, ”What's the use of only a nobbler or two? I wouldn't give a d--,” duet drunk” I said, ”Well, now,to do that” He said, ”Why, I'd drink six bottles off and never know it” I said, ”Well, the next bottle we open you shall have as much out of it as you can take in one drink, even if you drink the whole bottle” He replied, ”Oh, all right, I'll leave a nobbler for you, you know, Mr

Giles; and I'd like to give Tietkens a taste; but that [adjective]

Gibson, I'll swear he won't git none” So we opened the bottle, and I said, ”Now then, Ji, let's see howto drink it all at once” ”All right,” I said, ”if you don't, we shall--so now is your chance” Jilass and persisted in sing it raw In five ot out of the bottle; he never woke till , and then--well, the bottle was empty then