Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete

C >> Charles Sturt >> Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete

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Although we had left the immediate spot at which the kangaroo flies
(cabarus) seemed to be collected, I did not expect that we should have got
rid of them so completely as we did. None of them were seen during the
day; a proof that they were entirely local. They were about half the size
of a common house fly, had flat brown bodies, and their bite, although
sharp and piercing, left no irritation after it.

About noon we stopped at the creek side to take some refreshment. The
country bore an improved appearance around us, and the cattle found
abundance of pasture. It was evident that the creek had been numerously
frequented by the natives, although no recent traces of them could be
found. It had a bed of coarse red granite, of the fragments of which the
natives had constructed a weir for the purpose of taking fish. The
appearance of this rock in so isolated a situation, is worthy of the
consideration of geologists.

DESOLATION OF THE COUNTRY.

The promise of improvement I have noticed, gradually disappeared as we
proceeded on our day's journey, and we at length found ourselves once more
among brushes, and on the edge of plains, over which the rhagodia
prevailed. Nothing could exceed in dreariness the appearance of the tracks
through which we journeyed, on this and the two following days. The creek
on which we depended for a supply of water, gave such alarming indications
of a total failure, that I at one time, had serious thoughts of abandoning
my pursuit of it. We passed hollow after hollow that had successively
dried up, although originally of considerable depth; and, when we at
length found water, it was doubtful how far we could make use of it.
Sometimes in boiling it left a sediment nearly equal to half its body; at
other times it was so bitter as to be quite unpalatable. That on which we
subsisted was scraped up from small puddles, heated by the sun's rays;
and so uncertain were we of finding water at the end of the day's journey,
that we were obliged to carry a supply on one of the bullocks. There was
scarcely a living creature, even of the feathered race, to be seen to
break the stillness of the forest. The native dogs alone wandered about,
though they had scarcely strength to avoid us; and their melancholy howl,
breaking in upon the ear at the dead of the night, only served to impress
more fully on the mind the absolute loneliness of the desert.

It appeared, from their traces that the natives had lingered on this
ground, on which they had perhaps been born, as long as it continued to
afford them a scanty though precarious subsistence; but that they had at
length been forced from it. Neither fish nor muscles remained in the
creek, nor emus nor kangaroos on the plains. How then could an European
expect to find food in deserts through which the savage wandered in vain?
There is no doubt of the fate that would have overtaken any one of the
party who might have strayed away, and I was happy to find that Norman's
narrow escape had made a due impression on the minds of his comrades.

SANDY PLAINS; LEAVE THE CREEK.

We passed some considerable plains, lying to the eastward of the creek, on
parts of which the grass, though growing in tufts, was of luxuriant
growth. They were, however, more generally covered with salsola and
rhagodia, and totally destitute of other vegetation, the soil upon them
being a red sandy loam. The paths across the plains, which varied in
breadth from three to eight miles, were numerous; but they had not been
recently trodden. The creek continued to have a thick brush of casuarina
and acacia near it, to the westward of which there was a rising open
forest track; the timber upon it being chiefly box, cypress, and the
acacia longifolia. It was most probably connected with New Year's Range,
those elevations being about thirty miles distant. It terminated in some
gentle hills which, though covered in places with acacia shrub, were
sufficiently open to afford an extensive view. From their summit Oxley's
Table Land, towards which we had been gradually working our way, was
distinctly visible, distant about twenty miles, and bearing by compass
W. by S. On descending from these hills (called the Pink Hills, from the
colour of a flower upon them) which were scattered over with fragments of
slaty quartz, we traversed a box flat, apparently subject to overflow,
having a barren sandy scrub to its left. I had desired the men to preserve
a W.N.W. direction, on leaving them, supposing that that course would have
kept them near the creek; but, on overtaking the party, I found that they
had wandered completely away from it. The fact was, that the creek had
taken a sudden bend to the eastward of N. and had thus thrown them out.
It was with some difficulty that we regained it before sunset; and we were
at length obliged to stop for the night at a small plain, about a quarter
of a mile short of it, but we had the satisfaction of having excellent
feed for the animals.

OXLEY'S TABLE LAND.

Fearful that New Year's Creek would take us too far to the eastward, and
being anxious to keep westward as much as possible, it struck me that we
could not, under existing circumstances, do better than make for Oxley's
Table Land. Water, I knew, we should find in a swamp at it's base, and we
might discover some more encouraging feature than I had observed on my
hasty visit to it. We left the creek, therefore on the 23rd, and once more
took up a westerly course. Passing through a generally open country, we
stopped at noon to rest the animals; and afterwards got on an excellent
grazing forest track, which continued to the brush, through another part
of which I had penetrated to the marsh more to the south. While making our
way through it, we came upon a small pond of water, and must have alarmed
some natives, as there was a fresh made fire close to it. Our journey had
been unusually long, and the cattle had felt the heat so much, that the
moment they saw water they rushed into it; and, as this created some
confusion, I thought it best to stop where we were for the night.

In the morning, Mr. Hume walked with me to the hill, a distance of about a
mile. It is not high enough to deserve the name of a mountain, although a
beautiful feature in the country, and showing well from any point of view.
We ascended it with an anxiety that may well be imagined, but were wholly
disappointed in our most sanguine expectations. Our chief object, in this
second visit to Oxley's Table Land, had been to examine, more at leisure,
the face of the country around it, and to discover, if possible, some
fixed point on which to move.

If the rivers of the interior had already exhausted themselves, what had
we to expect from a creek whose diminished appearance where we left it
made us apprehend its speedy termination, and whose banks we traversed
under constant apprehension? In any other country I should have followed
such a water course, in hopes of its ultimately leading to some reservoir;
but here I could encourage no such favourable anticipation.

The only new object that struck our sight was a remarkable and distant
hill of conical shape, bearing by compass S. 10 E. To the southward and
westward, in the direction of D'Urban's Group, a dense and apparently low
brush extended; but to the N. and N.W., there was a regular alternation of
wood and plain. I left Mr. Hume upon the hill, that he might the more
readily notice any smoke made by the natives; and returned myself to the
camp about one o'clock, to move the party to the swamp. Mr. Hume's
perseverance was of little avail. The region he had been overlooking was,
to all appearance, uninhabited, nor did a single fire indicate that there
was even a solitary wanderer upon its surface.

EXCURSION TO D'URBAN'S GROUP.

Our situation, at this time, was extremely embarrassing, and the only
circumstance on which we had to congratulate ourselves was, the improved
condition of our men; for several of the cattle and horses were in a sad
plight. The weather had been so extremely oppressive, that we had found it
impossible to keep them free from eruptions. I proposed to Mr. Hume,
therefore, to give them a few days' rest, and to make an excursion, with
such of them as were serviceable, to D'Urban's Group. We were both of us
unwilling to return to the creek, but we foresaw that a blind reliance
upon fortune, in our next movements, might involve us in inextricable
difficulty.

On the other hand, there was a very great risk in delay. It was more than
probable, from the continued drought, that our retreat would be cut off
from the want of water, or that we should only be enabled to effect our
retreat with loss of most of the animals. The hope, however, of our
intersecting some stream, or of falling upon a better country, prevailed
over other considerations; and the excursion was, consequently, determined
upon.

DISTRESS FROM WANT OF WATER.

We left the camp on the 25th, accompanied by Hopkinson and the tinker;
and, almost immediately after, entered an acacia scrub of the most sterile
description, and one, through which it would have been impossible to have
found a passage for the boat carriage. The soil was almost a pure sand,
and the lower branches of the trees were decayed so generally as to give
the whole an indescribable appearance of desolation. About mid-day, we
crossed a light sandy plain, on which there were some dirty puddles of
water. They were so shallow as to leave the backs of the frogs in them
exposed, and they had, in consequence, been destroyed by solar heat, and
were in a state of putrefaction. Our horses refused to drink, but it was
evident that some natives must have partaken of this sickening beverage
only a few hours before our arrival. Indeed, it was clear that a wandering
family must have slept near this spot, as we observed a fresh made gunneah
(or native hut), and their foot-prints were so fresh along the line we
were pursuing, that we momentarily expected to have overtaken them. It was
late in the evening when we got out of this brush into better and more
open ground, where, in ordinary seasons we should, no doubt, have found
abundance of water. But we now searched in vain for it, and were contented
to be enabled to give our wearied animals better food than they had tasted
for many days, the forest grass, though in tufts, being abundant.

We brought up for the night at the edge of a scrub, having travelled from
thirty-two to thirty-five miles, judging the distance from the mountains
still to be about twelve.

BEARINGS FROM OXLEY'S TABLE LAND.

In the morning we started at an early hour, and immediately entered the
brush, beneath which we had slept; pursuing a westerly course through it.
After a short ride, we found ourselves upon a plain, that was crowded with
flocks of cockatoos. Here we got a supply of water, such as it was--so
mixed with slime as to hang in strings between the fingers; and, after a
hasty breakfast, we proceeded on our journey, mostly through a barren
sandy scrub that was a perfect burrow from the number of wombats in it, to
within a mile of the hill group, where the country appeared like one
continuous meadow to the very base of them. I never saw anything like the
luxuriance of the grass on this tract of country, waving as it did higher
than our horses' middles as we rode through it. We ascended the S.W. face
of the mountain to an elevation of at least 800 feet above the level of
the plain, and had some difficulty in scaling the masses of rock that
opposed themselves to our progress. But on gaining the summit, we were
amply repaid for our trouble. The view extended far and wide, but we were
again disappointed in the main object that had induced us to undertake the
journey. I took the following bearings by compass. Oxley's Table Land bore
N. 40 E. distant forty-five miles; small and distant hill due E.; conical
peak seen from Oxley's Table Land S. 60 E., very distant; long ridge of
high land, S.E., distant thirty-five miles; high land, S. 30 E., distant
thirty miles; long range, S. 25 W.

To the westward, as a medium point, the horizon was unbroken, and the eye
wandered over an apparently endless succession of wood and plain. A
brighter green than usual marked the course of the mountain torrents in
several places, but there was no glittering light among the trees, no
smoke to betray a water hole, or to tell that a single inhabitant was
traversing the extensive region we were overlooking. We were obliged to
return to the plain on which we had breakfasted, and to sleep upon it.

D'URBAN'S GROUP.

D'Urban's Group is of compact sandstone formation. Its extreme length is
from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and cannot be more than from seven to nine miles,
whilst its breadth is from two to four. The central space forms a large
basin, in which there are stunted pines and eucalyptus scrub, amid huge
fragments of rocks. It rises like an island from the midst of the ocean,
and as I looked upon it from the plains below, I could without any great
stretch of the imagination, picture to myself that it really was such.
Bold and precipitous, it only wanted the sea to lave its base; and I
cannot but think that such must at no very remote period have been the
case, and that the immense flat we had been traversing, is of
comparatively recent formation.

We reached the camp on the 28th of the month, by nearly the same route;
and were happy to find that, after the few days' rest they had enjoyed,
there was a considerable improvement in the animals.

Our experience of the nature of the country to the southward, and the
westward, was such as to deter us from risking anything, by taking such a
direction as was most agreeable to our views. Nothing remained to us but
to follow the creek, or to retreat; and as we could only be induced to
adopt the last measure when every other expedient should have failed, we
determined on pursuing our original plan, of tracing New Year's Creek as
far as practicable.

DESCRIPTION OF OXLEY'S TABLE LAND.

Oxley's Table Land is situated in lat. 29 degrees 57 minutes 30 seconds,
and in E. long. 145 degrees 43 minutes 30 seconds, the mean variation
being 6.32 easterly. It consists of two hills that appear to have been
rent asunder by some convulsion of nature, since the passage between them
is narrow and their inner faces are equally perpendicular. The hill which
I have named after the late Surveyor-general, is steep on all sides; but
the other gradually declines from the south, and at length loses itself in
a large plain that extends to the north. It is from four to five miles in
length, and is picturesque in appearance, and lightly wooded. A few
cypresses were growing on Oxley's Table Land; but it had, otherwise, very
little timber upon its summit. Both hills are of sandstone formation, and
there are some hollows upon the last that deserve particular notice. They
have the appearance of having been formed by eddies of water, being deeper
in the centre than at any other part, and contain fragments and slabs of
sandstone of various size and breadth, without a particle of soil or of
sand between them. It is to be observed that the edges of these slabs,
which were perfect parallelograms, were unbroken, and that they were as
clean as if they had only just been turned out of the hand of the mason.
We counted thirteen of these hollows in one spot about twenty-five feet in
diameter, but they are without doubt of periodical formation, since a
single hollow was observed lower than the summit of the hill upon its
south extremity, that had evidently long been exposed to the action of the
atmosphere, and had a general coating of moss over it.

CONTINUE THE JOURNEY; DOWN NEW YEAR'S CREEK.

We left Oxley's Table Land on the morning of the 31st of January, pursuing
a northern course through the brush and across a large plain, moving
parallel to the smaller hill, and keeping it upon our left. The soil upon
this plain differed in character from that on the plains to the eastward,
and was much freer from sand. We stopped to dine at a spot, whence Oxley's
Table Land bore by compass, S. by W., distant about twelve miles.
Continuing our journey, at 2 p.m. we cleared the plain, and entered a
tract covered with the polygonum junceum, on a soil evidently the deposit
of floods. Box-trees were thinly scattered over it, and among the
polygonum, the crested pigeons were numerous. These general appearances,
together with a dip of country to the N.N.W., made us conclude that we
were approaching the creek, and we accordingly intersected it on a N.N.E.
course, at about three miles' distance from where we had dined. It had,
however, undergone so complete a change, and had increased so much in size
and in the height of its banks, that we were at a loss to recognise it.
Still, with all these favourable symptoms, there was not a drop of water
in it. But small shells lay in heaps in its bed, or were abundantly
scattered over it; and we remarked that they differed from those on the
plains of the Macquarie. A circumstance that surprised us much, was the
re-appearance of the flooded-gum upon its banks, and that too of a large
size. We had not seen any to the westward of the marshes, and we were,
consequently, led to indulge in more sanguine expectation as to our
ultimate success than we had ever ventured to do before.

The party crossed to the right bank of the creek, and then moved in a
westerly direction along it in search of water. A brush extended to our
right, and some broken stony ground, rather elevated, was visible, to
which Mr. Hume rode; nor did he join me again until after I had halted the
party for the night.

DISTRESSED FOR WATER.

My search for water had been unsuccessful, and the sun had set, when I
came upon a broad part of the creek that appeared very favourable for an
encampment, as it was encompassed by high banks, and would afford the men
a greater facility of watching the cattle, that I knew would stray away if
they could.

My anxiety for them led me to wander down the bed of the creek, when, to
my joy, I found a pond of water within a hundred yards of the tents. It is
impossible for me to describe the relief I felt at this success, or the
gladness it spread among the men. Mr. Hume joined me at dusk, and informed
me that he had made a circuit, and had struck upon the creek about three
miles below us but that, in tracing it up, he had not found a drop of
water until he came to the pond near which we had so providentially
encamped. On the following morning, we held a westerly course over an open
country for about eight miles and a half. The prevailing timber appeared
to be a species of eucalypti, with rough bark, of small size, and
evidently languishing from the want of moisture. The soil over which we
travelled was far from bad, but there was a total absence of water upon
it. At 6 p.m. Oxley's Table Land was distant from us about fifteen miles,
bearing S. 20 E. by compass.

We had not touched upon the creek from the time we left it in the morning,
having wandered from it in a northerly direction, along a native path that
we intersected, and that seemed to have been recently trodden, since
footsteps were fresh upon it. At sunset, we crossed a broad dry creek that
puzzled us extremely, and were shortly afterwards obliged to stop for the
night upon a plain beyond it. We had, during the afternoon, bent down to
the S.W. in hopes that we should again have struck upon New Year's Creek;
and, under an impression that we could not be far from it, Mr. Hume and I
walked across the plain, to ascertain if it was sufficiently near to be of
any service to us. We came upon a creek, but could not decide whether it
was the one for which we had been searching, or another.

Its bed was so perfectly even that it was impossible to say to what point
it flowed, more especially as all remains of debris had mouldered away. It
was, however, extremely broad, and evidently, at times, held a furious
torrent. In the centre of it, at one of the angles, we discovered a pole
erected, and at first thought, from the manner in which it was propped up,
that some unfortunate European must have placed it there as a mark to tell
of his wanderings, but we afterwards concluded that it might be some
superstitious rite of the natives, in consequence of the untowardness of
the season, as it seemed almost inconceivable that an European could have
wandered to such a distance from the located districts in safety.

REACH A LARGE RIVER.

The creek had flooded-gum growing upon its banks, and, on places
apparently subject to flood, a number of tall straight saplings were
observed by us. We returned to the camp, after a vain search for water,
and were really at a loss what direction next to pursue. The men kept the
cattle pretty well together, and, as we were not delayed by any
preparations for breakfast, they were saddled and loaded at an early hour.
The circumstance of there having been natives in the neighbourhood, of
whom we had seen so few traces of late, assured me that water was at hand,
but in what direction it was impossible to guess. As the path we had
observed was leading northerly, we took up that course, and had not
proceeded more than a mile upon it, when we suddenly found ourselves on
the banks of a noble river. Such it might in truth be called, where water
was scarcely to be found. The party drew up upon a bank that was from
forty to forty-five feet above the level of the stream. The channel of the
river was front seventy to eighty yards broad, and enclosed an unbroken
sheet of water, evidently very deep, and literally covered with pelicans
and other wild fowl. Our surprise and delight may better be imagined than
described. Our difficulties seemed to be at an end, for here was a river
that promised to reward all our exertions, and which appeared every moment
to increase in importance to our imagination. Coming from the N.E., and
flowing to the S.W., it had a capacity of channel that proved that we were
as far from its source as from its termination. The paths of the natives
on either side of it were like well trodden roads; and the trees that
overhung it were of beautiful and gigantic growth.

DISAPPOINTMENT ON FINDING THE RIVER SALT.

Its banks were too precipitous to allow of our watering the cattle, but
the men eagerly descended to quench their thirst, which a powerful sun had
contributed to increase; nor shall I ever forget the cry of amazement that
followed their doing so, or the looks of terror and disappointment with
which they called out to inform me that the water was so salt as to be
unfit to drink! This was, indeed, too true: on tasting it, I found it
extremely nauseous, and strongly impregnated with salt, being apparently
a mixture of sea and fresh water. Whence this arose, whether from local
causes, or from a communication with some inland sea, I knew not, but the
discovery was certainly a blow for which I was not prepared. Our hopes
were annihilated at the moment of their apparent realization. The cup of
joy was dashed out of our hands before we had time to raise it to our
lips. Notwithstanding this disappointment, we proceeded down the river,
and halted at about five miles, being influenced by the goodness of the
feed to provide for the cattle as well as circumstances would permit. They
would not drink of the river water, but stood covered in it for many
hours, having their noses alone exposed above the stream. Their condition
gave me great uneasiness. It was evident they could not long hold out
under their excessive thirst, and unless we should procure some fresh
water, it would impossible for us to continue our journey. On a closer
examination, the river appeared to me much below its ordinary level, and
its current was scarcely perceptible. We placed sticks to ascertain if
there was a rise or fall of tide, but could arrive at no satisfactory
conclusion, although there was undoubtedly a current in it. Yet, as I
stood upon its banks at sunset, when not a breath of air existed to break
the stillness of the waters below me, and saw their surface kept in
constant agitation by the leaping of fish, I doubted whether the river
could supply itself so abundantly, and the rather imagined, that it owed
such abundance, which the pelicans seemed to indicate was constant, to
some mediterranean sea or other. Where, however, were the human
inhabitants of this distant and singular region? The signs of a numerous
population were around us, but we had not seen even a solitary wanderer.
The water of the river was not, by any means, so salt as that of the
ocean, but its taste was precisely similar. Could it be that its unnatural
state had driven its inhabitants from its banks?

One would have imagined that our perplexities would have been sufficient
for one day, but ere night closed, they increased upon us, although our
anxiety, with regard to the cattle, was happily removed. Mr. Hume with his
usual perseverance, walked out when the camp was formed; and, at a little
distance from it, ascended a ridge of pure sand, crowned with cypresses.
From this, he descended to the westward, and, at length, struck upon the
river, where a reef of rocks creased its channel, and formed a dry passage
from one side to the other; but the bend, which the river must have taken,
appeared to him so singular, that he doubted whether it was the same
beside which we had been travelling during the day. Curiosity led him to
cross it, when he found a small pond of fresh water on a tongue of land,
and, immediately afterwards, returned to acquaint me with the welcome
tidings. It was too late to move, but we had, at least, the prospect of a
comfortable breakfast in the morning.

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