Volume I Part 38 (1/2)

RIDE TO GREENOUGH'S GROUP. VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT.

The range, like all those which I had examined near the Darling, was of exactly the same kind of rock as D'Urban's group, Dunlop's range, etc.

etc., namely quartz rock breaking naturally into irregular polyhedrons, but at the base I noticed ferruginous sandstone. The summit afforded a very extensive view of the country to the eastward, which rose towards a range extending south-east and north-west, its two extremities bearing 103 and 122 degrees from north. At the foot of which a blue mist might be supposed to promise a river or chain of ponds in an ordinary season; and a rather high and isolated range of yellow rock, in the direction of Oxley's Mount Granard, seemed to overlook some extensive piece of water or s.p.a.cious plain to the south of it. An intervening valley appeared also to form a basin falling southwards, but immediately beyond the group I was upon a vast extent of country, not low, but without any prominent features, although chequered with plain and bush, stretched far to the eastward. There were no large trees visible on any side, but a thick scrub of bushes covered much of the country. Upon the whole I considered that in a wet season we might have travelled straight home, as there were many dry waterholes in the surface where it consisted of clay, but that, unless rain fell, it would be wiser, considering the exhausted state of our cattle, to keep to the beaten track, for the animals travelled much better upon it, and going back or homewards along that track, was more convenient in various respects than to travel where there was no road at all. As it now became necessary to distinguish the different ranges on my map I attached to this remarkable cl.u.s.ter of hills the name of Mr.

Greenough, a gentleman who has done so much in uniting geology with geography, to the great advantage of both.

BARTER WITH NATIVES BEYOND THE DARLING.

On returning to the camp I found that two natives had been in communication with our party on the river during my absence; and that overseer Burnett had made a good brargain, having obtained from one of them a very well made net in exchange for a clasp knife, with which the native seemed much pleased. These visitors were young men, carrying each a net, and seemed to belong to the other side of the river.

THE RED TRIBE AGAIN. THEIR IMPORTUNITY.

Soon after I returned our old friends of the Red tribe came up in a body of about twelve, carrying boughs. It was near sunset, and still they showed no disposition to go back to the river, but on the contrary they seemed about to make up their fires and remain with us for the night. As their calls for tomahawks were incessant it was easy to foresee that it would soon be necessary to frighten them away with our guns if they were allowed to continue near us. I therefore directed Burnett to point to the river, and request them to go thither to sleep, which they at length did.

We also took care not to allow them to come close to the carts, to prevent which several men met them at a little distance, where they took their stand.

NEW SPECIES OF CAPER EATEN BY THE NATIVES.

On the bank of the river at this place we found beside the native fires the remains of a fruit,* different from any I had seen before. It seemed to be of a round shape, with a rind like an orange, and the inside, which appeared to have been eaten, resembled a pomegranate. We here lost a bullock, which fell into a deep part of the river and was drowned, having been too weak to swim to the other side.

(*Footnote. Since ascertained to have been Capparis mitch.e.l.lii, Lindley ma.n.u.scripts. See below.)

IMPORTUNITY OF THE RED TRIBE.

July 27.

Early this morning the Red tribe come up and again begged for tomahawks.

It was evident now how injudicious we had been in giving these savages presents; had we not done so we should not have been so much importuned by them. To avoid their solicitations, which were a.s.suming an insolent tone, evinced by loud laughing to each other at our expense, we loaded and moved off as quickly as possible, and they remained behind to examine the ground which we had quitted. Upon the whole however the conduct of this tribe was much better than that of any we had seen lower down the river. They brought no arms, and had never attempted any warlike demonstrations, or to come forward when told to keep back; neither did they follow us. We got over our journey by two o'clock and encamped near the old ground of June 23. Here the bed of the Darling consisted of ferruginous clay with grains of sand.

July 28.

We proceeded by the beaten route and pitched our tents within about a mile of our former camp. The cattle being very weak I was desirous to avoid some soft ground near that position by taking a shorter cut next morning. The part of the river adjacent to this spot was fordable, the bed consisting of a variety of sandstone composed of small siliceous grains cemented by decomposed felspar.

July 29.

The day being clear and the party within thirteen or fourteen miles of Mount Macpherson, a fine hill beyond the river (bearing 301 1/2 degrees from North) I determined to give the cattle a day's rest, and to ascend that hill in order to take another look at the western interior beyond the Darling. I thought I might thus be enabled to fix many of the points observed from Mount Murchison, or at all events to ascertain the nature of the country to the north-west.

CROSS THE DARLING.

I accordingly crossed the Darling with four men, and proceeded straight for the hill over a very open country and plains which were tolerably firm. On my way however I saw nothing new as to ground. The clay plains were bounded by a ridge of red sand (extending south-west and north-east) at a distance of four miles. On this ridge were divers casuarinae and beyond it was a low polygonum hollow, and a watercourse in which water evidently sometimes ran north-east (!) and a duck-net stake, fixed opposite to a tree, still remained there. It appeared that in all these side channels or tributaries of the Darling the water flowed upwards, or FROM the river, a circ.u.mstance not unlikely to happen where the main channel rolls the acc.u.mulated waters of distant regions through absorbent plains on which partial rains can have but little effect.

At about eight miles we reached firm gravel consisting of small and very hard stones, precisely similar in character and position to that near Mount Murchison. The pebbles were mixed with red earth which also formed part of the lower features connected with the height before us. We crossed a deep gully, the bed of a creek in rainy seasons, but which had now been long dried up. The very hard sandstone still appeared, weathered to a purple colour; the lower part was most ferruginous, and not so hard as above; in the creek below I observed a red crust of clay and nodules of ironstone.

NEW SPECIES OF Ca.s.sIA.

There were several rocky and deep ravines in the side of the princ.i.p.al height, and in these the oat-gra.s.s, or anthisteria, appeared (for the first time since we had left the upper Bogan) also several plants which were new to me, and among them a bush of striking beauty, with a rich yellow flower, being a species of ca.s.sia.*

(*Footnote. This plant was found by Mr. Cunningham in 1817 on Mount Flinders, when he called it C. teretifolia. Dr. Lindley had described it as follows:

C. teretifolia, Cunningham ma.n.u.scripts; incano-tomentosa, foliis pinnatis 5-6-jugis eglandulosis: foliolis teretibus filiformibus obtusis, paniculis terminalibus, ramulis corymbosis sub-5-floris, bracteolis ovatis obtusis concavis calycibusque tomentosis.)