Volume I Part 34 (1/2)
(*Footnote. A singular coincidence with the ancient customs of Israel: ”The Jews used to mark their graves with white lime that they might be known, that so priests, Nazarites, and travellers might avoid them, and not be polluted. They also marked their graves with white lime, and so also in their intermediate feast-days. They made use of chalk because it looked white like bones.” Burder's Oriental Customs volume 2 page 232. It may be also remarked that a superst.i.tious custom prevailed amongst the Gentiles in mourning for the dead. They cut off their hair, and that roundabout, and threw it into the sepulchre with the bodies of their relatives and friends; and sometimes laid it upon the face or the breast of the dead as an offering to the infernal G.o.ds, whereby they thought to appease them and make them kind to the deceased. See Maimonides de Idol c. 12 1. 2. 5.)
AUSTRALIAN SHAMROCK.
On crossing the channel of the tributary which we had followed I found its bed broad, extensive, and moist, and in it two small ponds containing the first water besides that of the Darling seen by the party in tracing the course of this river nearly 200 miles. The rich soil in the dry bed was here beautifully verdant with the same fragrant trefoil which I saw on the 4th of June in crossing a lagoon, the bed of which was of the same description of soil. The perfume of this herb, its freshness and flavour, induced me to try it as a vegetable, and we found it to be delicious, tender as spinach, and to preserve a very green colour when boiled. This was certainly the most interesting plant hitherto discovered by us; for, independently of its culinary utility, it is quite a new form of Australian vegetation, resembling, in a striking manner, that of the south of Europe.* I endeavoured to preserve some of its roots by taking them up in the soil as the seed (a very small pea) was not ripe.
(*Footnote. Trigonella suavissima, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts; caulibus porstratis, foliolis obcordatis c.u.m dente interjecto subdentatis subtus pilosiusculis, stipulis semisagittatis aristato-dentatis trinerviis, umbellis paucifloris sessilibus, leguminibus falcatis reticulatis glabris.)
Finding that the minor river-course which had been at one time within half a mile of the Darling was again receding from that river, so that when I wished to encamp I saw no appearance of it within six miles, and that no more water could be seen in the dry channel, I crossed over and made for the Darling in a west-south-west direction.
OLD CANOE. DRY STATE OF THE COUNTRY.
Exactly where the carts pa.s.sed the dry channel a native's fis.h.i.+ng canoe, complete with the small oar or spear and two little cords, lay in the dry and gra.s.sy bed of this quondam river where now we were likely to pa.s.s the night without finding water.* The intervening plain became very soft and distressing to the draught animals, and we were compelled to encamp on the edge of a scrub which bounded it, and at a distance of about four miles from the Darling. This was a long way to send our cattle, but the observance of our usual custom seemed preferable upon the whole, even in this extreme case, to pa.s.sing the night without water. The sun was just setting when oxen and horses were driven towards the west in quest of the Darling, our only and never-failing resource at that time. Magnetic variation 7 degrees 8 minutes 15 seconds East.
(*Footnote. Large sh.e.l.ls of the Unio genus projected from the hard and gra.s.sy surface, which had evidently been in the state of mud for a sufficient time to admit of their growth.)
DANGER AND DIFFICULTY OF WATCHING THE CATTLE ON THE RIVERBANKS.
July 2.
The men who returned with water for the camp last evening had obtained it at a lagoon short of the river, and where a large tribe of natives were seated by their fires. Another party of our men had driven the cattle to the river itself, for on its banks alone could any tolerable gra.s.s be found. I was therefore apprehensive that the natives would molest the cattle, when so far from our camp, and I accordingly sent six men armed to watch them. They returned about eleven o'clock this morning with all the cattle except one bullock; and as the drivers had been closely followed by the natives from daybreak it was then supposed that the animal had been speared. One of our wheels requiring new spokes, I proceeded only four miles this day, towards an angle of the river, in order to encamp in a good position and recover the missing animal alive or dead. The death of a bullock by the hands of the natives would have been a most unfortunate circ.u.mstance at that time, not so much because this was one of our best working animals, as because the dread with which these animals inspired the natives was one of our best defences. If they once learned to face and kill them it would be difficult for us, under present circ.u.mstances, to prevent the loss of many, and still more serious evils might follow. As soon as we took up our ground therefore I sent six men in search of the lost bullock; and before night they had followed his track to within a mile and a half of our camp near the river. Meanwhile we had found, long before their return, that he had fortunately joined the others early in the morning.
UNIFORM CHARACTER OF THE DARLING.
The river and its vicinity presented much the same appearance here that they did 200 miles higher up. Similar lofty banks (in this neighbourhood 60 feet in alt.i.tude) with marks of great floods traced in parallel lines on the clayey sides; calcareous concretions, transparent water, with aquatic plants, a slow current, with an equal volume of water, fine gumtrees, and abundance of luxuriant gra.s.s. Slight varieties in the feathered tribe were certainly observed; besides the crested pigeon there was one much smaller and of handsome but sober plumage and excellent flavour when dressed. c.o.c.katoos with scarlet and yellow top-knot, and about six kinds of parrots which were new to us; also some curious small birds.
THE GRENADIER BIRD.
But of all the birds of the air the great object of Burnett's search was one wholly scarlet, of which kind only two had been seen at different places, far apart. Being wholly new, this bird might have been named the Grenadier, as a companion to the Rifle-bird. The junction of even the dry bed of a tributary was certainly a novelty; and the effect of this on the course of the river remained to be seen. From the station beyond the Darling I took the bearing of the furthest visible trees in the line of that river, and on my map it exactly intersected the bend, now the nearest to our camp. Beyond it nothing could be seen from hills or lofty trees, and all I could know then was that the river turned nearly westward, and that a tributary was about to fall into it from the east.
We were near the place where it might reasonably be ascertained, from the direction of its further course, whether the Darling finally joined the Murray.
THE DOCTOR AND THE NATIVES.
July 3.
The repair of the wheel could not be effected before one o'clock.
Meanwhile The Doctor, having been to the river for two buckets of water, was surprised on ascending the bank by a numerous tribe armed with spears and boomerangs. One of the natives however stepped forward unarmed, between his fellows and The Doctor, and with the aid of two others made the tribe fall back. Souter had fortunately bethought him of holding out a twig as soon as he saw them. These three men accompanied him to the camp, and as they seemed well-disposed, and showed confidence, I gave the foremost a tomahawk. Two of them were deeply marked with smallpox. On mentioning the Calare, they immediately pointed towards the Lachlan, this being the well-known native name of that river; but their curiosity was too strongly excited by the novelties before them to admit of much attention being given to my questions. They remained about half an hour and then departed; and we soon after proceeded. Having pa.s.sed through some scrub we reached a firm bit of plain on which we encamped; the day's journey being about six miles. Near our camp there was a long lagoon in the bed of a watercourse which seemed to be a channel from the back country. We heard the many voices of our black friends in the woods.
A FRIENDLY TRIBE.
July 4.
The same tribe came up to our tents in the morning with the men who had been in charge of the cattle, and who reported that these natives had a.s.sisted in finding them. I was so much pleased with this kindness and the quiet, orderly behaviour of the tribe that I presented two of them with clasp-knives. They approached fearlessly, gins and all, and quite unarmed, to a short distance from our camp; and they were all curiosity to see our party. The difference between the conduct of these harmless people and that of those whom we had last seen was very striking. All the men retained both front teeth, an uncommon circ.u.mstance; for these were the first natives whom I had seen in Australia possessing both. Their women were rather good-looking. After travelling six miles we crossed the dry bed of a watercourse which I supposed was the same as that from which we turned a day or two before, but the line of bearing of this was southward, and we were following the river which flowed in the contrary direction. After travelling about eleven miles we encamped a mile east of two bends of the stream, beside a patch of scrub which afforded us fuel.
The banks of the Darling near this camp were unusually low, being not more than thirty feet high; the channel also was contracted and, containing many dead trees, had altogether a diminished appearance.
July 5.
Penetrating the scrub in a southerly direction we soon came upon open ground, the surface of which consisted of firm clay. The river was close on our right until, at about six miles forward, it turned off to the westward. We pursued our journey over plains and through scrubs, first south-west, then west, and finally north-west, encamping at last, after a journey of fourteen miles, where the bend of the river was still 1 1/2 miles to the north of us. We had crossed at 12 miles the dry bed of a river which was five chains wide, and whose course was to the north. In it were several natives' canoes, and on its banks grew large rivergum-trees, or eucalypti. The course of this tributary (which probably included that which we had seen previously) and the change in the direction of the main stream, which trended now so much towards the west, made it still possible that a range separated it from the Murray.
There was now less of the extensive plains of bare soft earth, and more of the firm clay, with small rough gumtrees. Few bushes of the genus acacia were now to be seen, but the minor vegetation appeared to be much the same as on the upper parts. As great a paucity of gra.s.s also prevailed here, except on the riverbank, and as great an abundance of the same atriplex and cucurbitaceous plants as I had noticed elsewhere.