Mr. Poole and Mr. Browne returned at 11 on the 5th, but I was sorry to observe that Mr. Browne looked very unwell, and Mr. Poole continued to complain. They had however succeeded in their mission, and as I was very anxious to get them to better water, our lagoon2 being all but dry, I determined3 on moving northward4 on the 7th.
Flood re-crossed the creek on the morning of the 6th, when the bullocks completed a task of about 170 miles in eight days.
As I had determined on moving on the 7th, it became necessary to examine the drays, and I was vexed5 to find that they wanted as much repair as they had done at Flood’s Creek. The men were occupied wedging them up, and greasing them on the 6th, and finished all but that of Lewis, the repair of which threw it late in the day on the 7th, before we proceeded on our journey. Independently, however, of my anxiety on account of my officers, several of the men were indisposed, and I was glad to break up our camp and fix it in a healthier spot than this appeared to be.
We started at 5 p.m., but as we had only about eight miles to go, it was not a matter of much consequence. We arrived at our destination at 10 p.m., but had some difficulty in finding the water, nor do I think we should have done so if we had not been guided to it by the hoarse6 and discordant7 notes of a bull-frog.
I had sent Mr. Stuart in the morning to some hills on our left, and Mr. Browne had ridden in the same direction to collect some seeds of a purple Hibiscus, and neither had joined the party when it reached the creek, as soon therefore as the cattle were unyoked, I fired a shot which they fortunately heard. Our collection of natural history still continued scanty8. A very pretty tree, a new species of Grevillia, out of flower, however, and which I only concluded to be a Grevillia from its habit, and the appearance of its bark, had taken the place of the gum-trees on the creeks9, and the jasmine was everywhere common, but, with the exception of a few solani and some papilionaceous plants, we had seen nothing either new or rare.
Of birds the most numerous were the new pigeon and the black-shouldered hawk10; but there was a shrike that frequented the creeks which I should have noticed before. This bird was about the size of a thrush, but had the large head and straight-hooked bill of its species; in colour it was a dirty brownish black, with a white bar across the wings. Whilst we were staying at Flood’s Creek, one of these birds frequented the camp every morning, intimating his presence by a shrill11 whistle, and would remain for an hour trying to catch the tunes12 the men whistled to him. His notes were clear, loud, metallic13 and yet soft; their variety was astonishing, and his powers of imitation wonderful; there was not a bird of the forest that he did not imitate so exactly as to deceive. I would on no account allow this songster to be disturbed, and the consequence was that his rich note was the first thing heard at dawn of day, during the greater part of our residence in that neighbourhood.
We passed several native huts shortly after leaving the creek that were differently constructed from any we had seen. They were all arched elliptically by bending the bough14 of a tree at a certain height from the ground, and resting the other end on a forked stick at the opposite side of the arch. A thick layer of boughs15 was then put over the roof and back, on which there was also a thick coating of red clay, so that the hut was impervious16 to wind or heat. These huts were of considerable size, and close to each there was a smaller one equally well made as the larger. Both were left in perfect repair, and had apparently17 been swept prior to the departure of their inmates18.
On the 8th we started at 5 a.m., and reached our destination (a place to which Mr. Poole had already been) at 11. We crossed barren stony19 plains, having some undulating ground to our left, and the magnetic hill as well as another to the south of it shewed as thunder clouds above the horizon. On our arrival at the creek we found about 30 fires of natives still burning, whom we must have frightened away. We did not see any of them, nor did I attempt to follow on their tracks which led up the creek.
As I have already stated the fall of Flood’s Creek was to the west. The creek from which we had just removed, as well as the one on which we then were, fell in the opposite direction or to the eastward20, terminating after short courses either in grassy21 plains or in shallow lagoons22.
On the 9th I remained stationary23, and thus gave Mr. Piesse an opportunity to examine a part of our stores. He reported to me that the flour had lost weight nearly 10 per cent., some of the bags not weighing their original quantity by upwards24 of sixteen pounds. As the men had their full allowance of meat, I thought it advisable, in consequence of this, to reduce the ration25 of flour to 7 lb. per week, and I should be doing an injustice26 to them if I did not give them credit for the readiness with which they acquiesced27 in this arrangement.
The 10th of the month completed the fifth of our wanderings. We left our position rather late in the day, and halted a little after sunset at the outskirt of a brush, into which I was afraid to enter by that uncertain light, and as the animals had been watered at a small creek we crossed not long before, I had no apprehension28 as to their suffering. We started at 4 a.m. on the morning of the 11th, and soon passed the scrub; we then traversed open plains thickly covered in many places with quartz29, having crossed barren sandy plains on the other side of the scrub. We now found the country very open, and entirely30 denuded31 of timber, excepting on the creeks, the courses of which were consequently most distinctly marked. Keeping a little to the eastward to avoid the gullies connected with some barren stony hills to our left, we descended32 to the ground Mr. Poole had fixed33 upon as our next temporary resting place. To the eye of an inexperienced bushman its appearance was in every respect inviting34; there was a good deal of grass in its neighbourhood; the spot looked cheerful and picturesque35, with a broad sheet of water in the creek, which when Mr. Poole first saw it must have been much larger and deeper; but in the interval36 between his first and second visit, it had been greatly reduced, and now presented a broad and shallow surface, and I felt assured that it would too soon dry up. Convinced therefore of the necessity of exertion37, to secure to us if possible a supply of water, on which we could more confidently rely, I determined on undertaking38 myself the task of looking for it without delay. Both Mr. Poole and Mr. Browne were better, and the men generally complained less than they had done. On Sunday, the 12th, we had thunder with oppressive heat, but no rain. On Monday the wind, which had kept with the regularity39 of a monsoon40 to the E.S.E., flew round to the N.W., the thermometer at noon standing41 at 108 degrees in the shade.
From the period at which we left Flood’s Creek we had not seen any hills to the eastward, the ranges having terminated on that side. The hills we had passed were detached from each other, and to the westward42 of our course. The fall of the creek on which we were at this time encamped was consequently to the eastward, but there was a small hill about five miles to the E.N.E., under which it ran; that hill was the southern extremity43 of the ranges Mr. Poole and Mr. Browne had lately visited.
I left the camp on the 14th of the month, in the anxious hope that I should succeed in finding some place of more permanent safety than the one we then occupied, for we could almost see the water decrease, so powerful was the evaporation44 that was going on. I was accompanied by Mr. Browne and Mr. Poole, with Flood, Joseph, and Mack; but Mr. Poole only attended me with a view to his returning the next day with Mack, in the event of our finding water, to which he might be able to remove during my absence. We traced the creek upwards to the north-west, and at about four miles came to another, joining it from the westward. There was no water, but a good deal of grass about its banks, and it was evidently a tributary45 of no mean consequence. Crossing this we traced up the main creek on a more northerly course, having the Red Hill, subsequently called Mount Poole, on our left. We were obliged to keep the banks of the creek to avoid the rough and stony plains on either side. A little above the junction46 of the creek I have noticed, we passed a long water-hole, at which Mr. Poole and Mr. Browne had stopped on their excursion to the north; but it was so much diminished that they could hardly recognise it. The fact however shewed how uncertain our prospects47 were at this period. The bed of the creek was grassy, but broad, level, and gravelly. At almost every turn to which we came Mr. Poole assured me there had been, when he passed, a large sheet of water; but not a drop now remained, nor could we by scratching find the least appearance of moisture. Yet it was evident that this creek was at times highly flooded, there being a great accumulation of rubbish at the butts48 of the trees on the flats over which its waters must sweep, and the trunks of trees were lodged49 at a considerable height in the branches of those growing in its bed. Following its general course for 14 miles, we were led somewhat to the eastward of north, towards some hills in that direction, from which the creek appeared to issue, and then halted for the night, after a vain search for water. The Red Hill bore S. 47 degrees W., and some hills of less elevation50 were seen more to the westward of it, but beyond the last towards the north there were vast open and stony plains, destitute51 of timber and with very little vegetation upon them. On the morning of the 15th, at 5 p.m., we traversed these plains on a north course, and at 11 miles struck the creek of which Mr. Poole had spoken as containing muddy water, and found it precisely52 as he described. There were long water-holes about twenty-five feet broad, and three or four deep; but the water was exceedingly muddy. The banks were of a stiff, light-coloured clay, without any vegetation either on them or the contiguous flats, except a few bushes of polygonum growing under box-trees.
We here stopped to breakfast, although there was but little for the horses to eat. We then proceeded on a north-east {SOUTH-EAST in published text} course down the creek, keeping close upon its banks to avoid the macadamized plains on either side. To our left there were some undulating hills, and beyond them the summits of some remarkable53 flat-topped hills were visible. After leaving the place where we had breakfasted, we did not find any more water in the bed of the creek, but halted late in the afternoon at a small lagoon, not far from it. This lagoon was surrounded by trees; but like those of the creek its waters were muddy and not more than 18 inches deep. Our latitude54 at this point was 29 degrees 14 minutes S., and our longitude55 141 degrees 42 minutes E.; the variation being 5 degrees 5 minutes E.
Not wishing to keep Mr. Poole any longer away from the party, I sent him back to the camp on the 16th, with Mack, directing him to examine the creek we had crossed on his way homewards; as it appeared to me to break through some hills about three miles from its junction with the main creek, and I thought it probable he might there find water. I also directed him during my absence to trace the creek on which the camp was established downwards56, to ascertain57 if there was water in it below us.
In the mean time Mr. Browne and I pushed on for the ranges, which presented a very singular appearance as we surveyed them from the lagoon.
The geological formation of these hills was perfectly58 new, for they were now composed almost exclusively of indurated or compact quartz. The hills themselves no longer presented the character of ranges, properly so called, but were a group of flat-topped hills, similar to those figured by Flinders, King, and other navigators. Some were altogether detached from the main group, not more than two-thirds of a mile in length, with less than a third of that breadth, and an elevation of between three and four hundred feet. These detached hills were perfectly level at the top, and their sides declined at an angle of 54 degrees. The main group as we now saw it appeared to consist of a number of projecting points, connected by semicircular sweeps of greater or less depth. There was no vegetation on the sides either of the detached hills or of the projecting points, but they consisted of a compact white quartz, that had been split by solar heat into innumerable fragments in the form of parallelograms. Vast heaps of these laid at the base of the hills, and resembled the ruins of a town, the edifices59 of which had been shaken to pieces by an earthquake, and on a closer examination it appeared to me that a portion of the rock thus scaled off periodically. We approached these hills by a gradual ascent60, over ground exceedingly stony in places; but as we neared them it became less so, the soil being a decomposition61 of the geological structure of the hills. It was covered with a long kind of grass in tufts, but growing closer together than usual. There were bare patches of fine blistered62 soil, that had as it were been raised into small hillocks, and on these, rounded particles, or stools, if I may so call them, of gypsum rested, oval or round, but varying in diameter from three to ten inches or more. These stools were perfectly flat and transparent63, the upper surface smooth, but in the centre of the under surface a pointed64 projection65, like that in a bull’s eye in window glass was buried in the ground, as if the gypsum was in process of formation.
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1
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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creeks
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| n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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13
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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impervious
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| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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lagoons
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| n.污水池( lagoon的名词复数 )；潟湖；（大湖或江河附近的）小而浅的淡水湖；温泉形成的池塘 | |
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stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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denuded
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| adj.[医]变光的，裸露的v.使赤裸( denude的过去式和过去分词 )；剥光覆盖物 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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monsoon
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| n.季雨，季风，大雨 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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evaporation
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| n.蒸发，消失 | |
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45
tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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46
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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48
butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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49
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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50
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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51
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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52
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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55
longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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56
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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57
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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