Part 13 (1/2)
June 19--We travelled about eight rees 22 oon, covered near its edges with Villarsias, but without Nyoon, was very stiff and suitable forthe Mitchell was an immense uninterrupted flat with a very clayey soil, on which the following plants were frequent: viz Grevillea, Cerotaphylla, and Mimosoides, a Melaleuca with broad lanceolate leaves, Spathodea and a Balfouria, R Br
Whilst walking down by the lagoon, I found a great quantity of ripe Grewia seeds, and, on eating htly acidulous taste, if iathered as many as I could, and boiled thee which they produced was at all events the best we had tasted on our expedition: andand boiling the seeds
Charley and Broho had gone to the river, returned at a late hour, when they told us that they had seen the tracks of a large anied to be about the size of a big dog, trailing a long tail like a snake Charley said, that when Brown fired his gun, a deep noise like the bellowing of a bull was heard; which frightened both so much that they immediately decamped This was the first time that we became aware of the existence of the crocodile in the waters of the gulf
June 20--We travelled about tenat a distance frorass alternated with an open forest; in which we observed Spathodea, Bauhinia, a Balfouria, groves of Cochlosperossypium, and several other trees, which I had seen in the scrubs of Co pods A Bauhinia, different from the two species I had previously seen, was covered with red blossoave quite a purple hue to the country The stringy-bark, the bloodwood, the apple-guue of the river
We passed soe The banks of the river were so steep, that the access to its water was difficult; its stream, deep and apparently slow, occupied about half the bed, which was perhaps one hundred and eighty, or two hundred yards broad The soil was very sandy, and three deep channels parallel to the river were overgroith high stiff grass A pretty yellow Ipoed the waters The unripe seeds of Cochlosperave a fine yellow colour, shaded into an orange hue
Large flocks of Peristera histrionica (the Harlequin pigeon) were lying on the patches of burnt grass on the plains, they feed on the brown seeds of a grass, which annoyed us very s, trowsers, and blankets The rose-breasted cockatoo, Mr Gilbert's Platycercus of Darling Downs, and the Betshi+regah (Melopsittacus undulatus, GOULD) were very nuulf are their principal horate to the southward The white and black cockatoos were also very nuht four perches, one of which weighed two pounds The purple ant of the east coast has disappeared, and a similar one with brick-coloured head and thorax, but by no um and the bloodere in blossom: this usually takes place, at Moreton Bay, in Noveetation to the northward and southward, ration of several kinds of birds
June 21--A shower of rain fell, but cleared up at rees 9 minutes 41 seconds, over a country very es, and past several fine lagoons, richly adorned by the large showy flowers of a white Nymphaea, the seed-vessels of which so blossoer and heavier, and sinks slowly to the bottom, where it rots until its seeds become free, and are either eaten by fishes and waterfowl, or form new plants The natives had consequently to dive for the ripe seed-vessels; and we observed the on the surface of the water They did not see us until ere close to them, when they hurried out of the water, snatched up so their harvest of Nyoon, where he had seen an old hten hirass on fire, but, when he saw that Brown still approached, he retired into the forest We took a net full of seeds, and I left the to the ca the capsule; but as some of the nuhtly bitter This experi failed, the boiled seeds were then (Unclear:)tied with a little fat, which rendered the The best way of cooking them was that adopted by the natives, who roast the whole seed-vessel I then made another trial to obtain the starch from the bitter potatoes, in which I succeeded; but the soup for eight people, made with the starch of sixteen potatoes, was rather thin
We were encamped at a small creek, scarcely a ht the leaves of the first paled to the genus Corypha; sos and evenings were very beautiful, and are surpassed by no clihtful to watch the fading and changing tints of the western sky after sunset, and to conteht, the stars as they successively appeared, and entered on their nightly course The state of our health showed how congenial the climate was to the human constitution; for, without the comforts which the civilized man thinks essentially necessary to life; without flour, without salt and h at tiht we stretched ourselves on the ground, alh most of my companions still used their tents, it was amply proved afterwards that the want of this luxury was attended with no ill consequences
We heard sohtlate from their excursions, and whose attention had been attracted by our fires I discharged a gun to make them aware of our presence; after which we heard no more of therees W to lat 16 degrees 3 oon, without any apparent outlet; near which a great nu on the reoon, and, in the latter part of our stage, the country had much improved, both in the increased extent of its forest land, and in the density and richness of its grass
June 23--We travelled eight or nine rees 0 minutes 26 seconds, over many Bauhinia plains with the Bauhinias in full blossom The stiff soil of these plains was here and there onal cracks, and, as these cracks retain thespace, they were fringed with young grass, which showed these reat number of dry swa a little water They were surrounded by the Mangroveat the lower Lynd The bottorass, which, like all the other grasses, was partly withered
Bustards were nue flocks Wallabies abounded both in the high grass of the broken country near the river, and in the brush Mr Roper shot one, the hind quarters of which weighed 15 1/2 lbs: it was of a light grey colour, and was like those we had seen at Separation Creek Charley and Brown got seventeen ducks, on one of the sedgy lagoons
I visited the bed of the river: its banks were covered with a rather open vine brush Palh, with a thick trunk swelling in theupwards and doards Sarcocephalus, the clustered fig-tree, and the drooping tea-tree, were also present as usual The bed of the river, an immense sheet of sand, was full a mile and a half broad, but the strea the night we had again a few drops of rain
June 24--We continued our journey about nine rees 59with Bauhinia plains and a well-grassed forest The banks of a large lagoon, on which several palreere covered with heaps ofin the trees, and, as we approached, they rose with a loud noise, flying up and down the lagoon, and circling in the air around us A chain of water-holes, fringed with Mangrove ed, farther to the ard, into a creek, which had no connection with the river, but was probably one of the heads of the Nassau We crossed it, and encamped on a water-hole covered with Nymphaeas, about a mile from the river, whose brushy banks would have prevented us froh the easterly winds still prevailed, a slight north-west breeze was very distinctly felt, from about 11 o'clock am
June 25--We travelled about ten rees 51 minutes 26 seconds, but did not follow the river, which s to the northward It was very broad where Bro it last, and, by his account, the brush was almost entirely composed of palm trees He saw a little boat with a fine Cy on the water Our road led us over a well grassed forest land, and several creeks, which, although rising near the river, appeared to have no communication with it Some plains of considerable size were between the river and our line of rassed, but full ofa remarkable water-shed, perhaps, between the Nassau and the Mitchell As we approached the river, we entered into a flat covered with stunted box, and intersected by nuular water-courses The box was succeeded by a Phyllanthus scrub, through which we pushed, and then ca, although high water- tea-trees proved that it was occasionally flooded We did not understand, nor could we ascertain, in what relation this singular country and the creek stood to the river, of which nothing was to be seen frorass along the creek, were swar hite flanked wallabies, three of which Brown and Charley succeeded in shooting; and these, with a co, and five ducks shot by Brown, provided our larder with a fine supply of game
When I first came on the Lynd, I supposed that it flowed either independently to the head of the gulf, or that it was the tributary of a river which collected the waters of the York Peninsula, and carried them in a south-west or south-south-west course to the head of the gulf of Carpentaria Such a course would have corresponded to that of the Burdekin at the eastern side, and the supposition was tolerably warranted by the peculiar confore down the Lynd, at every bend to the ard, that it would keep that course But, having passed the latitude of the head of the gulf, as well as those of the Van Diemen and the Staaten rivers, the Lynd still flowed to the north-west; and then, when it joined the Mitchell, I iined that the new river would prove to be the Nassau; but, when it passed the latitude of that river, I conjectured that it would join the sea at the large erees 5 ators To follow it farther, therefore, would have been merely to satisfy my curiosity, and an unpardonable waste of ti, and prudence urged the necessity of proceeding, without any farther delay, towards the goal of my journey I determined therefore to leave the Mitchell at this place, and to approach the sea-coast--so near at least, as not to risk an easy progress--and to pass round the bottoly, about seven15 degrees 52water-holes; some of which were surrounded with reeds, and others covered with the white species of Nyroves of Pandanus spiralis occupied their banks Sorassed, separated from each other by belts of forest-land, in which the Pandanus was also very frequent, were crossed during the day
June 27--We travelled eight miles WSW over a succession of plains separated by belts of forest, consisting of bloodwood, box, apple-guum So the plains are probably filled ater during the rainy season; dead shells of Paludina were extremely numerous, and we found even the shi+eld of a turtle in one of thee, we skirted sooons parallel to a dry creek, which rees 55 oon was covered with small white Nymphaeas, Damasoniums, and yellow Utricularias; and on its banks were heaps of mussel-shells The smoke of natives' fires were seen on the plains, in every direction; butno natives Brown approached very near to a flock of Harlequin pigeons, and shot twenty-two of thearoo was also taken
The kites were so bold that one of them snatched the skinned specimen of a new species of honey-sucker out of Mr Gilbert's tin case; and, ere eating ourtrees, and pounced down even upon our plates, although held in our hands, to rob us of our dinners;--not quite so bad, perhaps, as the Harpies in the Aeneid, but sufficiently so to be a very great nuisance to us
Yesterday and to-day we experienced a cold dry southerly wind, which lasted till about 11 o'clock A M, when it veered to the south-west, but at night returned again, and rendered the air very cold, and dry, which was very evident from the total absence of dew The forenoon was very clear; cu the afternoon The sky of the sunset was beautifully coloured After sunset, the clouds cleared off, but, as the night advanced, gradually collected again
A circuave me much concern, as it showed that the natives of this part were not so amicably disposed towards us as those we had hitherto ame in the vicinity of our ca up to our bullocks, evidently with the intention of driving them towards a party of his black co to receive the this manoeuvre, Charley and his co driven ahen the native gave the alarm, and all took to their heels, with the exception of a lame felloho endeavoured to persuade his friends to stand fight Charley, however, fired his gun, which had the intended effect of frightening them; for they deserted their careat hurry, leaving, a other articles, a small net full of potatoes, which Charley afterwards picked up The gins had previously retired; a proof that mischief was intended
June 28--We crossed the creek, near which we had encamped, and travelled about nine miles wost, over most beautifully varied country of plains, of forest land, and chains of lagoons We crossed a large creek or river, which I believed to be the main branch of the Nassau It ell supplied ater-holes, but there was no stream Loose clayey sandstone cropped out in its bed, and also in the gullies which joined it A smallthe Casuarina, grew plentifully on its banks We saw s-in every direction, which showed how thickly the country was inhabited Near the lagoons we frequently noticed bare spots of a circular form, about twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, round each of which was a belt of ten, twelve, or more fire places, separated from each other by only a few feet It seems that the natives usually sit within the circle of fires; but it is difficult to knohether it belonged to a family, or whether each fire had an independent proprietor Along the Lynd and Mitchell, the natives enerally in heaps of stones, which served as ovens for cooking their victuals Bones of kangaroos and wallabies, and heaps of mussel-shells, were commonly seen in their camps; but fish bones were very rarely observed It was very different, however, e travelled round the head, and along the western side, of the gulf; for fish seemed there to form the principal food of the natives