Volume II Part 4 (2/2)

Squall

Muscle Bend

Meet Natives

Successful fishi+ng

Party distressed

Thirsty Flat

Tortoise Reach

Singular appearance of the ranges

Effect of the great heat

One man knocked up

Approach of natives

Preparation for defence

Appearance of the natives

Move further up the river

Eht quarters

Upward course of the Victoria

Cohts

New Tortoise

Lucky Valley

Race ith a native

Meet his tribe

They ht

Return to Reach Hopeless

EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA

The expedition, consisting of the two large boats and gig, with Captain Wickha place, left the shi+p early on theof the 31st of October I was to follow in one of the whaleboats, and explore the upper parts in co the survey near the shi+p, I was at last fairly off to explore the Victoria with the first gli, once more to revel in scenes where all was ne ahts for all his toils! To ascend a hill and say you are the first civilized aze around from its summit and behold a prospect over which no European eye has ever before wandered; to descry new lance down unexplored valleys, and unvisited glens; to trace the course of rivers whose waters no white man's boat has ever cleaved, and which tempt you onwards into the bosom of unknown lands: these are the charms of an explorer's life

Mr Forsyth accoe I have before s Here we found two native rafts of precisely the same construction as those we had previously seen on the North-west coast, formed out of nine poles The shape the reader will remember from the sketch in that part of the work, and with the exception of only two instances, where they appeared merely temporary affairs, we have noticed no other kind of rafts in use

Wherever this great similarity in their mode of water-conveyance prevails, we may infer the natives have had coht in the end of a crooked reach, near the only rocky islet in the river, lying four miles East-South-East from the furthest point I had before attained With the exception of a squall from north-east in the afternoon, there was scarcely any wind, and the night was cloudy with soht showers of rain As the lad, when the day broke, to be againWe now found the river take a north-east direction for eightin width upwards of three-quarters of a e in the trend of the reaches brought in sight the strange appearance of the country represented in the woodcut annexed

CURIOSITY PEAK

The peak on the right bank we na, Curiosity Peak Landing at the foot ere not long reaching the surees in the shade The river formed a remarkable feature in the landscape before us, to the north-east; and behind it rose a high table-range of hills, from five to six hundred feet in elevation These were capped with low reddish-coloured cliffs

WHIRLWIND PLAINS

At their feet stretched an extensive and seely boundless plain in a north-east direction, whilst on the south-east side, and distant about eighteen es of hills were visible

Here and there over the plains werein the distance like streaks of sh affording relief to the eye in the wide prospect that opened before us, are fraught with danger when occurring on the river; for on one occasion they nearly upset the gig, and threatened to consign its crew to a watery grave In the present instance they gave an inating the level tract of country before us, Whirlwind Plains The high land rising suddenly out of it, and bounding it very abruptly on the north-west side, we na at its foot in an East-North-East direction for nine e island lying ed its course for a short distance

I found a strange kind of fruit growing in a hollow, near the top of Curiosity Peak; the tree was s in bunches about the size of a dae stone I afterwards had a pie