Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1 / With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South Wales

by T. L. Mitchell

CHAPTER 2.7.

Commencement of the homeward journey.
The cattle begin to fail.
Halt and endeavour to lighten the carts.
Rain comes on.
Native conversations at a distance.
Party separated to watch the cattle.
Illness of some of the men from scurvy.
Mr. Larmer's excursion into the country to the eastward.
The Spitting tribe again.
Return of Mr. Larmer, who had found water and inhabitants.
A day's halt.
Ride to Greenough's group.
View from the summit.
Barter with natives beyond the Darling.
The Red tribe again.
New species of caper eaten by the natives.
Importunity of the Red tribe.
Cross the Darling.
View from the summit of Mount Macpherson.
Rain again threatens.
Absence of kangaroos and emus on the Darling.
The Occa tribe again.
Hints to Australian sportsmen.
Meet the Fort Bourke tribe.
Mr. Hume's tree.
Return to Fort Bourke.
Description of that position.
Saltness of the Darling.
The plains.
The rivers supported by springs.
Traces of floods.
Extent of the basin of this river.
Its breadth.
Surface of the plains.
Geology of the Darling.
Woods.
Gum acacia abundant.
Grasses.
General character of the natives.
Their means of existence.
Nets used by them.
Superstitions.
Condition of the females.
Singular habits of a rat.
Security of a species of ants.
Birds.
Fishes.
Apprehended scarcity of water on leaving the Darling.
Six of the cattle dead from exhaustion.
Rest of two days at Fort Bourke.
Visited by the Fort Bourke tribe.

COMMENCEMENT OF THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY.

July 12.

Early this morning ten men returned to the river with orders to raise the bullock to the bank, but after they had done so it again lay down, unable to move, the legs having become probably cramped or benumbed from remaining so long fast in the mud. They then descended the river about two miles to where the other bullock lay, which they were equally unable to move. No natives appeared or were even heard; and thus we might be considered to occupy the left bank of the river, all along our front. We broke up the camp at ten A.M. and turned our faces homewards. Our old track was a tolerably well beaten road, and therefore much easier for the bullocks, especially those of the leading cart; it was also no longer necessary to face bush or scrub. To me the relief in travelling homewards was considerable, as I was much more at liberty to attend to arrangements necessary for our defence than when the direction of our route required my attention. This day we cut off a corner by which we shortened our way about a mile; and we reached our second encampment back from that which we left in the morning, thus effecting two days' journey in one.

THE CATTLE BEGIN TO FAIL.

We only got to our ground however by eight o'clock at night; and before we arrived one bullock, which had been some time weakly, lay down to rise no more, and we were compelled to shoot it. The camp we reached was near the large native village on the river, and the hill with the natives' tombs (see July 8) and the same spot where the gin and the tall man first came up to us. We approached the place with some caution but found nobody in occupation, and we encamped with a strong guard on our cattle.

HALT AND ENDEAVOUR TO LIGHTEN THE CARTS.

July 13.

As there was good food here and our animals were much exhausted by the last journey I considered it highly advisable to halt this day. We examined the loads and, in order to lighten the carts as much as possible, we burned some heavy articles no longer required.

RAIN COMES ON.

The morning was damp and cloudy and at nine it began to rain heavily. We had still to traverse about 400 miles of level country, subject to floods, and peopled by cunning savages with whom we were now likely to be involved in war.

NATIVE CONVERSATIONS AT A DISTANCE. PARTY SEPARATED TO WATCH THE CATTLE.

About 11 o'clock a long, loud cooey from the hill of tombs announced that the natives had already overtaken us; but we were under arms immediately and prepared for defence. Natives were soon after seen to pass along the riverbank, but as none of them approached us I sent four armed men towards the huts or village with orders to ascertain what number was there and, in case they met a single native, to bring him to me. I was desirous to prevent any messenger whom the tribe might have sent back to the country through which we had to pass from arriving before we could dispel by our peaceful demeanour any fears that might be raised to provoke hostility on the part of the inhabitants there. The men found two natives hiding behind trees, who ran off when observed and swam the river. About two o'clock one of the guard with the cattle came in and reported that twelve or fourteen natives were watching on the other side of the Darling, and asked what he was to do. I instructed him and the other men to motion to all such to go away, but not to fire at any unless it became necessary to do so in their own defence. The afternoon cleared up a little but after dark the sky was overcast. The night passed quietly without further alarm of natives.

The vicinity of the river was an advantage to us here which the ground, for several stages on, would not afford; for in case of need it enabled all our men to be at hand.

THREE FEMALES FOLLOW THE PARTY.

July 14.

The morning was fair but the sky continued to be cloudy when we commenced our journey. After we had proceeded some miles the cooeys of the natives were heard around us, and we once more expected an attack. We were then in a close scrub and the cattle were advancing slowly, for the ground had been softened by the rain. We halted the carts in a small open space and prepared for defence. The men forming our rear guard, having concealed themselves behind bushes, intercepted three gins and a boy who appeared to be following our movements. When discovered they called out loudly "Wainba! Wainba!" and we concluded from this that the male savages were not far off, and that they employed these women on outpost duty. Our men beckoned to them to go back and, no other natives appearing, we resumed our march. The gins however were not to be driven from their object so easily; and indeed from the barking of our dogs towards the scrub during the night, and by the tracks observed in the sand across our route next morning, it appeared that these poor creatures had passed the night, a cold one too, in the scrub near our camp without fire or water, and that they had preceded us in the morning.

NATIVE CONVERSATIONS.

In the calm evening of that day and as the sun was setting I distinctly heard the women, at a distance of nearly two miles, relating something respecting us to a party of their tribe beyond the Darling. It may be difficult for those unused to the habits of Australian natives to understand how this could be; but it must be remembered that these people having no fixed domicile, the gins generally form a separate party, but may thus often carry on a conversation from a great distance with their male companions--consequently when a mile apart only these people may be said to be in company with each other. As the gins are always ordered by their lords and masters to meet them at such places of rendezvous as they may think proper, we may account for the well-known accuracy of these natives in the names which belong to every locality in their woods.

Nearly the whole day's journey led through a bushy scrub and over ground rather soft and heavy. We reached however our former place of encampment which we again occupied; and we sent our cattle to the river for the night with a party of four armed men. The evening was extremely cold and raw, the wind blowing from south-west, with drizzling rain. Between us and the river the country was open, but the above-mentioned scrub and low hills were close behind us; and through this scrub (as appeared by the foot-marks seen this morning) the gins had passed our camp, and preceded us along our line of route, making towards the river as soon as our track approached an open plain, probably because they could not have continued on the track of the party there, without having been seen by us.

July 15.

The men returned from the river in good time with the cattle, having neither seen nor heard the natives. The morning was beautiful, and we proceeded, hoping that the fine weather might last. We passed the place where we had halted on the 5th, and continued the journey for a mile or two further in a new direction, by which we cut off a considerable detour, and gained in direct distance about five miles. We encamped near a bare hill beyond which the river was about a mile distant.

WEAK STATE OF THE CATTLE.

There was scrub all round us and I did not like our position; but it was impossible to drive the wearied cattle further. As we approached this camp I heard the voice of one of the gins answered by that of a male, and "wite ma" was the subject of conversation; they might have been two miles from us, as the voices of the natives in the woods are audible, as just stated, a long way off, in a still evening.

July 16.

After a cold frosty night the morning was fine, and we continued our journey. At about a mile and a half we entered on our former track, and after five miles more we encamped on the ground which we had occupied on the 4th instant. By this short journey I hoped to refresh the cattle a little, and to make out a better one next day by getting through the brush and past the natives' bivouac. This camp of ours was a good mile from the river, and it was very necessary to send a separate party to remain on its bank all night with the cattle.

July 17.

In these times, when I saw the animals brought up by the men all safe from the river in the morning, I was wont to thank God in my heart for their preservation. This morning I set out on a direct line for our former camp, not so much for the sake of cutting off two miles, which we did, as to avoid the very soft and heavy ground through which we had travelled with difficulty in the journey down. In this last and more direct line we found excellent firm plains for nearly the whole of the way; and we fell in with our old route where I wished, exactly at our former camp. Thus we had got over a day's stage by half-past one o'clock. The cattle were tired, but as we would be here in the midst of scrub and brush, and close to a large camp of natives, we continued our route about five miles further, to the spot where we had before repaired the wheels, and we reached it at five o'clock. One poor bullock laid down by the way and we were obliged to leave it. We heard no natives on the river, although it was here that we first fell in with the tribe which followed us down; and from the absence of all natives now it seemed that they had heard of the affair on the river, and kept out of our way perhaps from fear of us; at all events their absence was a great comfort, and we hoped it might continue.

July 18.

Two men went back early this morning and brought on old Pistol, the bullock which had lain down the day before. We started at ten o'clock, passing our encampment of the 1st July and halting on the bank of the river bed where, on coming down, we had found some water. It was now however dried up, but we had taken the precaution to bring on enough for the party, and there was good food for the cattle, and great appearance of rain falling. We had no occasion therefore to send to the river, which was a long way off. Pistol again fell behind this afternoon, and it was really distressing to see the animals in so weak a state with such a long journey still before them.

ILLNESS OF SOME OF THE MEN FROM SCURVY.

Some men now showed symptoms of scurvy and Robert Whiting, being unable to walk, had to be carried on the carts. The clover-leaved plant* growing here was therefore cooked for the men as a vegetable; and such medicines were administered as were likely to check the complaint: near this lagoon we also found the Plantago varia of Mr. Brown. The weather appeared unsettled; the sky again lowering, and at sunset it was overcast with portentous rainy-looking clouds. The air had become mild when the wind, which had blown some days from the south and south-west, suddenly came round to the north, and a few drops of rain fell in the evening.

(*Footnote. Trigonella suavissima, Lindley Manuscripts see above.)

July 19.

The wind blew strongly all night from the north-west, and in the morning huge clouds darkened the sky, but there was no immediate prospect of rain. The air was warm and parching, and we proceeded with our thirsty cattle to the next stage of our journey (the camp of the 30th June) distant about five miles. This we reached by half-past eleven, and I sent the cattle with four armed men to the river, which was about a mile from our position. In the course of the afternoon the wind from north-west increased to a gale, but the air was still warm, and the sun set in a clear sky, while the heavy clouds sank to the eastern horizon where sheet lightning played incessantly until after midnight. The air brought by that wind from the north-west was so dry as to occasion a most unpleasant heat and parched sensation in the skin of the face and hands, and several men complained of headache. That air seemed to contain no moisture, and in all probability blew over extensive deserts.

July 20.

The morning was clear with a cold and gentle breeze from north-west. We this day reached the spot which we had occupied on the 29th June and again encamped there, with the intention of halting two days in order to refresh the cattle. During the afternoon the sky became again overcast and the wind, shifting to the south-west, blew strongly with drizzling rain.

MR. LARMER'S EXCURSION INTO THE COUNTRY TO THE EASTWARD.

July 21.

Very tempestuous weather, unlike any we had hitherto met with in the interior. I sent Mr. Larmer with four men to examine the dry creek which we had now left higher up towards the hills on the east, that he might ascertain if any ponds remained there, as it lay in our best line of route homewards. That creek afforded the only prospect during this dry season of a line of route by which we might avoid the great detour in following the Bogan river, which route would otherwise be unavoidable merely from the general scarcity of water. Two of the men were now invalids, one with scurvy, the other with dysentery.

THE SPITTING TRIBE AGAIN.

July 22.

The wind blew very keenly all night, and in the morning the sky was cloudy, but no rain fell; towards noon the sun appeared, and the air became milder. About two P.M. I was informed that the Spitting tribe was on the riverbank, and in communication with our men in charge of the cattle; also that three had come over and sat down, asking as usual for tomahawks. These were the old man already mentioned (as wanting part of his nose) and two strong men. Our party beckoned to them to keep back, but they came over in three canoes. They had been fishing on the river, and had been roasting and eating the fish on the opposite bank. Overseer Burnett offered them his clasp-knife in exchange for a cod* weighing about 19 pounds but they would only give a small fish weighing not above one pound; and then coolly went over and sat down to eat the fish themselves. Our camp was established about a quarter of a mile from the river, on the edge of a plain and near a scrub, for the sake of fuel. At four P.M. the alarm was given that the natives were close to the camp, and we no sooner saw them than the whole of the scrub proved to be on fire, to the imminent danger of our equipment. I sent five men with muskets to them (au pas de charge); and in five minutes they had retired across the river, two shots having been fired over their heads as they ascended the opposite bank. It appeared that this party consisted of eight men, each carrying a spear and a waddy, besides the same boy who had been seen higher up, and who was observed on this occasion very busy lighting branches in the scrub; the vile old fellow sans nose was one, and also the sullen man, who was the first we had ever seen throw dust. These latter stood on our side, covering the passage of the others, and crossing last, which manly conduct was the best trait I had seen in their character. On reaching the top of the opposite bank they commenced their usual chant and demoniac dance, waving burning branches over their heads, brandishing their spears, and throwing their waddies high in the air, even above the lofty trees, all the time retreating in leaping and singing order. It was evident that our dogs had frightened them; and at the report of the guns the tall fellow fell flat on the earth as he was ascending the opposite bank. Later in the evening some natives were seen driving the bullocks about on the opposite side, but as they desisted when called to, and afterwards cooeyed to the others before they joined them, it was supposed that these had just arrived from a distance.

(*Footnote. Gristes peelii.)

RETURN OF MR. LARMER, WHO HAD FOUND WATER AND INHABITANTS.

Mr. Larmer returned at dusk having seen two more fine ponds of water in the direction of the river bed which we had lately left. He reported however that the watercourse ran eastward, or contrary to that of the Darling, a direction also opposed to the fall of the hills, where it no doubt originated. The party met a tribe of blacks in huts at the largest and most eastern of these ponds. They were perfectly inoffensive, only looking from their huts and asking, as it seemed, which way the party was going. Mr. Larmer reported that he saw from the range which he ascended a higher one about 40 miles to the southward, and smoke in the intermediate valley, the country being covered with a thick scrub.

July 23.

We proceeded at first 5 1/2 miles along our former route, then eight miles in a north-east direction, by which course we avoided the former camp of the Spitting tribe, and a portion of our route which led over a very soft, cracked plain: we also shortened the distance so much as to gain one day upon three of our former stages. In making this new cut we had the good fortune to meet with firm open ground, so that we encamped by three P.M. within sight of the river and our former route, and five miles beyond the camp of June 27 where the Spitting tribe had probably remained, expecting us.

July 24.

Early in the morning we observed a smoke in the woods near the river, at a distance of about two miles. At length I saw through my glass a native with a skin cloak advancing over the naked plains towards us, but he soon disappeared, then I perceived two others coming rapidly forward; at length I heard them calling, and observed that one held high up a green branch in his right hand. The intervening country was an extensive, open, dusty plain, and our camp was partially concealed by trees. The savages came to a stand for a moment at a low bush, a quarter of a mile off, but on my turning for a short time and again looking I perceived them already far away, scampering at amazing speed back towards the river. It seemed as if they had become alarmed at our silence, or on discovering our numbers and the extent of our camp. Of course we expected a visit from their tribe, either during the day's journey or in the evening. By proceeding in a direction 72 degrees 45 minutes East of North we travelled along a fine plain, and hit exactly a sharp angle in our former route (June 24). Thus a distance of a mile and a half was gained upon that line, and some very soft and heavy ground avoided. This day's route was consequently almost a straight line, and we halted opposite to a bend of the river, 2 1/2 miles short of the camp of June 23. As we approached this part of the river a dense column of smoke, such as the natives send up as signals, arose from it. We saw no more of the natives however that night, although the men with the cattle noticed their fires on the other side of the river.

July 25.

As we journeyed along the former tract and over a plain near the Darling we observed smoke to arise from the same place in which it had appeared on the preceding evening; but still no natives came to us. On passing our old camp we perceived that two men and a boy had that morning stood on the ashes of our former fires, and gone all over the ground. We saw nothing however of the natives during the whole of this day; and we finally halted within half a mile of our encampment of June 23. Here we found a species of Atriplex related to A. halimus.*

(*Footnote. Atriplex halimoides; fruticosa erecta squamuloso-incana, foliis rhombeo-ovatis integris, perianthiis fructiferis axillaribus solitariis sessilibus spongiosis, dorsi alis ovatis integris. Lindley manuscripts.)

A DAY'S HALT.

June 26.

The cattle having had a fatiguing journey I thought it best to give them a day's rest, especially as I wished to examine the country and a group of hills to the eastward.

COUNTRY EASTWARD OF THE DARLING.

I therefore set out with three men for the highest summit (bearing 124 degrees from North) and distant thirteen miles. We passed over four miles of firm open ground, with some small rough gumtrees upon it. We then crossed a track on which I saw the angophora for the first time since we traversed Dunlop's range; and near it we passed a hollow about half a mile wide and a mile and a half long; in which, although the surface was of clay, there was no appearance of water ever having lodged, a circumstance for which we could only account by supposing that much rain seldom falls, at any season, in this part of the interior. We next entered a scrub of dwarf casuarinae, and Myoporum montanum (R. Br.) the latter bush prevailing so as to form a thick scrub at the foot of the hills, and even upon them.

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 spacious 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 cluster 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 mitchellii, Lindley manuscripts. 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 assuming 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 circumstance not unlikely to happen where the main channel rolls the accumulated 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 CASSIA.

There were several rocky and deep ravines in the side of the principal height, and in these the oat-grass, 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 cassia.*

(*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 manuscripts; 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.)

VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT MACPHERSON.

The summit of Mount Macpherson was clear but did not afford the view I expected. The height consisted of some ridges which did not appear much higher further to the westward: those in that direction being connected with the summit, and also with each other, and extending to the north and south, prevented me from seeing almost any of the features observed from Mount Murchison, which hill was barely visible. The only striking feature I could perceive east of the Darling was Greenough's group, which rose upon the horizon, level on that side, save where one or two summits of the higher ground to the eastward just appeared to break the sharpness of the bounding line. But the flatness of the north-western line of vision was still more remarkable, and it was difficult to understand how the basin of the Darling, which appeared so narrow below, could find limits there. The country to the northward, if not a dead level, was varied by only some slight undulations, and it was partially covered with stunted bushes, alternating with a few naked plains. As far as I could see with my glass no smoke appeared to rise from the vast extent visible in that direction. After taking the bearings of the different points we returned and recrossed the Darling about sunset. At the base of the hill we met with several kangaroos, and had some shots (with bullets) at a very tame bustard. There was a rocky channel where water can be but seldom scarce. We saw none but, from the presence of kangaroos, we thought that there must have been some very near the hill. This hill I named Mount Macpherson after the collector of internal revenue at Sydney.

July 30.

Proceeded on our journey by our former route and arrived by four P.M. at our old camp of the 18th and 19th June, which we again occupied. We were still at a loss to know for what purpose the heaps of one particular kind of grass* had been pulled and so laid up hereabouts. Whether it was accumulated by the natives to allure birds, or by rats, as their holes were seen beneath, we were puzzled to determine. The soft ground retained no longer the footsteps imprinted on it by the haymakers, whoever they had been. The grass was beautifully green beneath the heaps and full of seeds, and our cattle were very fond of this hay. I found there also two other kinds of grass which were equally new to me, the one being an Andropogon allied to A. bombycinus; the other apparently a species of Myurus.

(*Footnote. Panicum laevinode, Lindley manuscripts; for description see above.)

July 31.

Continued along our route to our former camp of 17th June.

RAIN AGAIN THREATENS.

August 1.

Two smart showers of about two minutes duration each fell during the night, but the wind which had been blowing from the north-west was so parching that the canvas of our tents was quite dry by daybreak. The sky was overcast with heavy clouds in the morning but by noon it became clear. We travelled so as to make a short cut on our two days' journey of the 16th and 17th June, and thus, at about eight miles, we made that part of the river which we had seen formerly when nearly three miles from it, and here we encamped. As we crossed the plain on which the last kangaroo had been killed we saw many fresh tracks of these animals; and the dogs took after one which they killed, as appeared by their mouths when they returned.

ABSENCE OF KANGAROOS AND EMUS ON THE DARLING.

It may be observed that lower down on the Darling we saw neither kangaroos nor emus, a sufficient proof of the barrenness of the adjacent country. This day the ground somewhat resembled forest land, and we saw one or two trees of substantial timber of the description which the colonists term mahogany.

August 2.

We proceeded in a direction by which we reached our former route after four miles travelling; and at a distance of five miles more we came to a spot near the river where we encamped with the intention of avoiding next morning the detour we made on approaching the camp, when we formerly occupied the spot in the bend of the river.

THE OCCA TRIBE AGAIN.

As soon as our people approached the bank we met with a gin and two young girls, upon which they called to an old man, who soon came up. He appeared no way alarmed, and seemed to have seen us before. The fatal tea-kettle again attracted the attention of a gin, and she pointed it out to her grey lord and master who, pronouncing the well-known word "Occa" (give) reminded us of the greedy tribe in whose precincts we had now arrived, and which was in fact distinguished by the name of the Occa boys, from their constant use of the word, and coveting everything they saw. The old man however continued his journey down the river without obtaining the kettle, or yet a knife which he also demanded from one of our men whom he saw cutting tobacco.

August 3.

We continued in a northern direction till we cut upon the route to our last camp, and we thus avoided two bad miles without lengthening the journey to the next of our former encampments, which we reached in good time to allow the cattle to feed.

August 4.

We set off about eight this morning and reached by five P.M. our encampment of the 12th and 13th of June. On the way the ranges on our right, as they rose in view, afforded some relief to our eyes, so long accustomed to a horizon as flat as the ocean; and a gentle cooling breeze from the east felt very different from the parching west winds to which we had been exposed. This day and the one before were warm, and breathed most gratefully of spring. We recrossed a gravel bed of irregular fragments of quartz and flint at the base of some slight hills which reach from the range to the river. Between these undulations were soft plains the surface of which was cracked and full of holes; and it seemed that the torrents which fall from the hills are imbibed by this thirsty earth. As we approached our camp the dogs were sent after two emus, and at dusk one of them returned having killed his bird, though we did not find it until early next morning. The emu came to hand however in good time even then, for the men had been long living on salt provisions. Our former lagoon had become a quagmire of mud and we were forced to send for water from the river. The pigeons and parrots which swarmed about this hole at dusk, the quantity of feathers, and the tracks of emus and kangaroos around it, showed how scarce this essential element had become in the back country. At such small pools water becomes an object of desire and contest and, so long as it lasts, these spots in times of scarcity are invariably haunted by that omnivorous biped man, to whom both birds and quadrupeds fall an easy prey. We however during a sojourn of more than two months in the Australian wilderness had been abundantly supplied with the finest water from that extraordinary river which we had been tracing, and without which those regions would be deserts, inaccessible to and uninhabitable by either man or beast.

RESOLVE TO AVOID THE NATIVES.

August 5.

As the last journey had been a long one and we had some rough ground before us, we rested a day here while the blacksmith repaired one of the cartwheels. The calls of the natives were heard very early in the morning, and two fellows came to our men on the river, impudently demanding tomahawks; but little attention was paid to them, and they did not visit the camp. We had no longer any desire to communicate with the aborigines, for we had too long in vain held out to them the olive branch and made them presents; and as we could not hope to gain their friendship we were resolved to brook no longer the sight of their burning brands and other gestures of hostility; still less were we inclined to give tomahawks on demand, since our presents had not been received with that sense of obligation which might have been shown by any class of human beings, however savage. I therefore now determined to avoid the natives wherever I could and, if they came near the party, to encourage their approach as little as possible.

THEIR HABITS.

August 6.

We continued along our old route, but at about seven miles we cut off a considerable angle in that point of it where we formerly saw the Puppy tribe, and were thus enabled to pass two miles beyond our former ground, and to pitch our tents near the river. At this encampment we perceived smoke arising from the same native bivouac which I visited in my journey on horseback before the party left Fort Bourke. From this smoke and other circumstances it would appear that some of the tribes on the Darling are not migratory, but remain, in part at least, the gins and children possibly, at some particular portion of the river. This seems probable too, considering how much better they must thus become acquainted with the haunts of the fishes which are here their chief food. The ground we now occupied was upon the whole the best piece of country, in point of soil, that I had seen upon the Darling. Dunlop's range was just behind, an extremity of it extending to the river, at three miles west from our camp. Three miles further eastward our old route was crossed by a hollow which appeared to be the outlet of an extensive watercourse coming from the south-east, along the base of Dunlop's range, or the low country between it and D'Urban's group. We had scarcely started this morning when the dogs killed another emu, and in the course of the day we passed and recognised the spot where our first emu was killed. Thus in one day on our outward journey we had traversed the country in which all the emus we had ever killed on the Darling, three in number, had been found.

The hill which we crossed in our route consisted of a different sort of rock from any of those that we had seen further down the Darling, being a splintery quartz in which the grains of sand or quartz are firmly embedded in the siliceous cement.

HINTS TO AUSTRALIAN SPORTSMEN.

August 7.

The morning was calm and sultry but we continued the homeward route along our former track, and over a fine, firm plain. As soon as we had crossed what may be termed Dunlop's creek (the dry hollow above-mentioned) we started four kangaroos; of which the dogs first killed one which we got, and afterwards another, in a scrub into which they had pursued the rest. These two were the only kangaroos that we killed on this river; and the circumstance afforded another proof of the superiority of the grass in the adjacent country compared with that lower down. Neither these animals nor emus can approach the Darling (owing to the steepness of its banks) except by descending in the dry channels of watercourses, or by gullies; hence probably their appearance near Dunlop's creek, which affords an easy means of access; and hence also perhaps the chief motive for the establishment of the native camp in that neighbourhood, from the facility afforded for killing the animals as they approached to drink. Of the kangaroo and emu it may be observed that any noise may be made in hunting the latter without inconvenience; but that the less made in chasing the former the better. The emu is disposed to halt and look, being, according to the natives, quite deaf; but having an eye proportionally keen. Thus it frequents the open plains, being there most secure from whoever may invade the solitude of the desert. The kangaroo on the contrary bounds onward while any noise continues; whereas, if it be pursued silently, it is prone to halt and look behind, and thus to lose distance. Dogs learn sooner to take the kangaroo than the emu, although young ones get sadly torn in conflicts with the former. But it is one thing for a swift dog to overtake an emu, and another thing to kill, or even seize it. Our dogs were only now learning to capture emus, although they had chased and overtaken many. To attempt to lay hold by the side or leg is dangerous, as an emu could break a horse's leg with a kick; but if a dog fastens upon the neck, as good dogs learn to do, the bird is immediately overthrown and easily killed. The flesh resembles a beef-steak, and it has a very agreeable flavour, being far preferable to that of the kangaroo.

MEET THE FORT BOURKE TRIBE.

We passed our old camp of the 10th of June and, taking a new route thence in a north-east direction, we avoided a bad scrub, and encamped in fine open ground on the river. We were soon hailed by some of our old friends of the Fort Bourke tribe, by far the best conducted natives that we had seen on the Darling. They asked our men for tomahawks, and I had instructed them to explain that for three large cod-perch they should have one in exchange. We could catch none of these fishes ourselves, which was rather singular as some of our poor fellows were indefatigable in making the attempt every night, with hook and line and all kinds of bait. The natives seemed to understand our wants and they promised to bring us fish in the morning. At sunset the wind changed to the south-west and the sky became overcast: the air also was cooler, and after such heat as that which we experienced today, at this season, a fall of rain might have been expected; but I felt less apprehensive here, from four months' experience of the climate of the interior.

August 8.

Early this morning a number of natives came near our camp, but without bringing any fish. The man to whom the promise of a tomahawk had been made was not however amongst them. I went up to the party when we were about to continue our journey, and I recognised one of the Fort Bourke tribe, the total gules man, who had formerly appeared very shy and timid. Now however in half a minute his hand was in my pocket; on which I instantly mounted my horse and rode on. We crossed the tracks of our horses' feet on my first excursion, and entered a plain where we struck into the old route. In this plain we saw three emus and killed one after a hard run.

MR. HUME'S TREE.

On coming to the hollow which leads to the tree marked with Mr. Hume's initials (and which may therefore be called Hume's Creek) I measured with the chain its channel to the river so as to connect the tree with the survey. I found that it bore due north from where our route crossed this hollow, the distance being sixty-nine chains. We reached our camp of the 9th of June by half-past two o'clock and took up the same ground.

August 9.

We continued our journey along the old track to our camp of the 8th of June where we once more rested for the night. This was a very convenient station, being nearly on the margin of the river, the bank of which, consisting of concretionary limestone, afforded easy access for the cattle to the water while surrounding hollows supplied them with plenty of grass. I was now enabled to reduce the cattle guard from four to two men, which was a great relief to them. The backward journey allowed me a little time to look about me, and the river scenery here was fine. Indeed the position of our camp was most romantic, being a little eminence in the midst of grassy hollows, and recesses of the deepest shade, covered by trees of wild character and luxuriant growth.

RETURN TO FORT BOURKE.

August 10.

The whole party was ready to start early this morning and we proceeded in good time, in hopes of reaching our old home at Fort Bourke. Our dogs caught two of the largest kind of kangaroo as we crossed the plains. The cattle, although now weak, seemed also eager to get back to their old pasture on which they had fed so long formerly. We accomplished by four P.M. the journey of fourteen miles. From Fort Bourke we had been absent two months and two days, having travelled during that time over 600 miles, even in DIRECT distance.

DESCRIPTION OF THAT POSITION.

On our return from the lower country this place looked better than ever in our eyes. The whole of the territory seen by us down the river did not present such another spot, either for security, extent of good grazing land, or convenient access to water. The fort was uninjured except that the blacks had been at infinite pains to cut out most of the large spike nails fastening the logs of which the block-house was constructed. We all felt comparatively at home here; and indeed we were really about halfway to our true home, for we had retraced about 300 miles and were not more than the same distance from Buree, which is only 170 miles from Sydney. The cattle had done so well that I resolved to give them two days' rest; and more could not be afforded them as the weather, though beautiful, might change, and we had some very soft ground still to go over. It was remarkable that the water of the river, which for the last three days' journey had been brackish, was here again, as formerly, as pure and sweet as any spring water. Fort Bourke consists of an elevated plateau overlooking a reach of the river a mile and a half in length, the hill being situated near a sharp turn at the lower end of the reach. At this turn a small dry watercourse, which surrounds Fort Bourke on all sides save that of the river, joins the Darling, and contains abundance of grass.

THE PLAINS.

The plateau consists of about 160 acres of rich loam, and was thinly wooded before it was entirely cleared by us in making our place of defence. There are upon it various burying-places of the natives, who always choose the highest parts of that low country for the purpose of interment, their object being probably the security of the graves from floods. The tribe frequenting that neighbourhood consists of a very few inoffensive individuals, less mischievous, as already observed, than any we had seen on the banks of the Darling.

SALTNESS OF THE DARLING. THE RIVER SUPPORTED BY SPRINGS.

We were about to leave, at last, this extraordinary stream on which we had sojourned so long, enjoying abundance of excellent water in the heart of a desert country. From the sparkling transparency of this water, its undiminished current, sustained without receiving any tributary throughout a course of 660 miles, and especially from its being salt in some places and fresh at others, it seems probable that the river, when in that reduced state, is chiefly supported by springs. It would appear that the saltness occurs in the greatest body of water where no current was perceptible, and as this was excessive when the river was first discovered, it may be attributed to saline springs, due to beds of rock-salt in the sandstone or clay. The bed of the river is on an average about sixty feet below the common surface of the country. To this depth the soil generally consists of clay in which calcareous concretions and selenite occur abundantly; but at some parts the clay, charged with iron, forms a soft kind of rock in the bed or banks of the river. There are no traces of watercourses on these level plains such as might be expected to fall from the hills behind; though the latter contain hollows and gullies, which must in wet seasons conduct water to the plains. The distance of such heights from the river is seldom less than twelve miles; and it would appear that the intervening country is of such an absorbent nature that any water falling in torrents from the hills is imbibed by the soft earth, or is received in the deep broad cracks which sear the hollow parts, and in wet seasons must take up much water and retain it, until either evaporated or sunk to lower levels. The water may thus be absorbed and retained for a considerable time, or until it is carried by slow drainage into the river, especially where the lower parts of such plains are shut in by hills approaching the channel. Thus, where the extremity of Dunlop's range shot forward into the wide level margin, we found that the water had lost all taste of salt, a circumstance most easily accounted for by supposing that springs, being more abundant there from the near vicinity of the hills, had diluted the water which we had found salt higher up. That some tributary or branch joins the river from the opposite bank, at or near the sweep it describes round the hill, is not unlikely. I could not conveniently examine that part from our side, and hence it remains doubtful whether the problem admits of such easy solution.

PLATE 18: VIEW ON THE RIVER DARLING, NEAR CAMP, 9TH AUGUST 1835.
Major T.L. Mitchell del. G. Barnard Lith. J. Graf Printer to Her Majesty.
Published by T. and W. Boone, London.

TRACES OF FLOODS.

The marks of high floods were apparent on the surface, frequently to the extent of two miles back from the ordinary channel. Within such a space the waters appear to overflow and then to lodge in hollows (covered with Polygonum junceum) and which were at the time of our visit full of yawning cracks. Such parts of the surface would naturally be the first saturated in times of flood, and the last to part with moisture in seasons of drought. I observed that there was less of that kind of low ground where the water was saltest, which was to the westward of D'Urban's group.

EXTENT OF THE BASIN OF THIS RIVER.

The basin of the Darling, which may be considered to extend, in parts, at least, to the coast ranges on the east, appears to be very limited on the opposite or western side; a desert country from which it did not receive, as far as I could discover, a single tributary of any importance. A succession of low ridges seemed there to mark the extent of its basin, nor did I perceive in the country beyond any ranges of a more decidedly fluviatile character.

ITS BREADTH.

The average breadth of the river at the surface of the water, when low, is about fifty yards, but oftener less than this, and seldom more. Judging from the slight fall of the country and the softness and evenness of the banks (commonly inclined to an angle with the horizon of about 40 degrees) I cannot think that the velocity of the floods in the river ever exceeds one mile per hour, but that it is in general much less. At this time the water actually flowing, as seen at one or two shallow places, did not exceed in quantity that which would be necessary to turn a mill. The banks everywhere displayed one peculiar feature, namely the effect of floods in parallel lines, marking on the smooth sloping earth the various heights to which the waters had in different floods arisen.

Some of the hollows behind the immediate banks on both sides contained lagoons; in several of these reeds had taken the place of water; in others the first coating of vegetation which the alluvium receives on exposure to the sun consisted of fragrant herbs, and amongst them we found the scented trefoil (calomba*) which proved an excellent anti-scorbutic vegetable when boiled. It was found however only at three places.

(*Footnote. Trigonella suavissima, for the description of which plant see above.)

SURFACE OF THE PLAINS.

The surface of the plains nearest the river is unlike any part of the earth's face that I have elsewhere seen. It is as clear of vegetation as a fallow field, but it has greater inequality of surface and is full of holes. The soil is just tenacious enough to crack, when the surface becomes so soft and loose that the few weeds which may have sprung up previous to desiccation seldom remain where they grow, being blown out by the slightest wind. Over such ground it was very fatiguing to walk, the foot at each step sinking to the ankle, and care being necessary to avoid holes always ready to receive the whole leg, and sometimes the body. It was not very safe to ride on horseback even at a walk, and to gallop or trot in that country was quite out of the question. The labour which this kind of ground cost the poor bullocks, drawing the heavy carts, reduced them to so great a state of weakness that six never returned from the Darling. The work was so heavy for the two first teams on our advancing into these regions that one team was rendered quite unserviceable by leading; but on returning we found the beaten track much easier for the whole party. Notwithstanding these disadvantages we were much indebted to Providence for the continued dryness of the winter; for although it seemed then as if nothing short of a deluge could have completed the saturation, there were also many proofs that great inundations sometimes occurred; and it was still more obvious that had rainy weather, or any overflowing of the river happened, we could no longer have travelled on the banks of the Darling.

GEOLOGY OF THE DARLING.

The rocks about the surface of this country are few and simple. Besides the clay nothing occurred in the river bed except calcareous concretions, selenite, and in some parts sandstone similar to that seen at the base of almost all the hills. Back from the river the first elevation usually consisted of hillocks of red sand, so soft and loose that the cattle could scarcely draw the carts through. The clay adjacent to the sand was firmer than any clay seen elsewhere on the plains because the sand there acted like a sponge, taking up the water from the adjacent clay which consequently preserved its tenacity at all seasons. This edge of clay along the skirts of plains at the base of the red sand ridges I found the most favourable ground for travelling upon. Still further back gravel, consisting of fragments, not much water-worn, of various hard rocks, appeared, forming low undulations towards the base of more remote hills which consist of a very hard sandstone. I may here mention however that the extremity of Dunlop's range which, by approaching the river, there occupied the place of the hard gravel in other situations, seemed to be composed of the same rock of which much of that gravel consisted.

Of the hills in general it may be observed that those on the left bank are most elevated at the higher parts of the river, whereas those on the right bank rise to greatest height towards the lower parts of the river, as far as explored by us. The plains extend on each side of the channel to a distance of six or seven miles and are in general clear of timber. That deep and extensive bed of clay, so uniformly filling the basin of this river, has every appearance of a mud deposit.

WOODS AND GRASSES.

Behind the plains the country is sparingly wooded except by the stunted bush (Myoporum montanum) which forms a thick scrub, especially on the side of the low hills. On the riverbank trees peculiar to it grow to so large a size that its course may be easily traced at great distances; and they thus facilitated our survey most materially. These gigantic trees consist of that species of eucalyptus called bluegum in the colony; and their searching roots seem to luxuriate in the banks of streams, lakes, or ponds, so that the thirsty traveller soon learns to recognise the shining trunk and white, gnarled arms, as the surest guides to water. The alluvial portion of the margin of the Darling is narrow, and in most places overgrown with the dwarf box, which is another species of eucalyptus. In it are hollow places as already observed, covered with the Polygonum junceum, which is an unsightly leafless bush or bramble. Grass is only to be found on the banks of the river and, strictly speaking, the margin only can be considered alluvial, for this being irrigated and enriched by the floods it is everywhere abundantly productive of grass, though none may appear in the back country.

GUM ACACIA ABUNDANT.

In the ground beyond the plains some casuarinae and eucalypti are occasionally seen in the scrubs which grow on the red sand, and an acacia with a white stem and spotted bark there grows to a considerable size, and produces much gum. Indeed gum acacia abounds in these scrubs, and when the country is more accessible may become an article of commerce.

GRASSES.

The plants were in general different from those nearer the colony, and though they were few in number, yet they were curious. Of grasses I gathered seeds of twenty-five different kinds, six of which grew only on the alluvial bank of the Darling. Among them were a poa, and the Chloris truncata, and Stipa setacea of Mr. Brown. The country was nevertheless almost bare, and the roots, stems, and seeds, the products of a former season, were blown about on the soft face of the parched and naked earth where the last spring seemed indeed to have produced no vegetation excepting a thin crop of an umbelliferous weed.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE NATIVES.

The character and disposition of the natives may be gathered from the foregoing journal of our progress along the river. It seldom happened that I was particularly engaged with a map, a drawing, or a calculation, but I was interrupted by them, or respecting them. It was evident that our presents had the worst effect, for although they were given with every demonstration of goodwill on our part, the gifts seemed only to awaken on theirs a desire to destroy us, and to take all we had. While sitting in the dust with them, conformably to their custom, often have they examined my cap, evidently with no other view than to ascertain if it would resist the blow of a waddy. Then they would feel the thickness of my dress and whisper together, their eyes occasionally glancing at their spears and clubs. The expression of their countenances was sometimes so hideous that after such interviews I have found comfort in contemplating the honest faces of the horses and sheep; and even in the scowl of the patient ox I have imagined an expression of dignity when he may have pricked up his ears, and turned his horns towards these wild specimens of the lords of creation. Travellers in Australian deserts will find that such savages cannot remain at rest when near, but are ever ready and anxious to strip them by all means in their power of everything, however useless to the natives. It was not until we proceeded en vainqueur that we knew anything like tranquillity on the Darling; and I am now of opinion that to discourage at once the approach of such natives would tend more to the safety of an exploring party than presenting them with gifts. These rovers of the wilds seem to consider such presents as the offerings of fear and weakness; and I attribute much of their outrageous conduct to such mistaken notions and their incorrigible covetousness, against which the best security, unfortunately for them and us, appeared to be to keep them at a distance.

The further we descended the river the more implacably savage we found the blacks. I have already remarked that the more ferocious had not lost their front teeth, and that those we had seen on the Upper Darling had all lost one tooth. Indeed it was precisely where we first witnessed the inauspicious ceremony of the green branch burnt and waved at us in defiance that we first found natives who retained both front teeth. A considerable portion of the river, quite uninhabited, lay between these fire-throwers and the less offensive natives, and there was a difference in the pronunciation, at least, if not in the words, of the tribes.

The old men on the Darling are by far the most expert at stealing; and notwithstanding my marks of respect to them in particular, they were not the less the instigators and abettors of everything wrong. A mischievous old man is usually accompanied by a stout middle-aged man and a boy; thus the cunning of the old one, the strength of him of middle age, and the agility of the youth are combined with advantage; both in their intercourse with their neighbours and in seeking the means of existence. The old man leads, as fitted by his experience to do so; and he has also at his command, by this combination, the strength and agility of the other two.

THEIR MEANS OF EXISTENCE.

The natives of the Darling live chiefly on the fish of the river, and are expert swimmers and divers. They can swim and turn with great velocity under water, and they can both see and spear the largest fish, sometimes remaining beneath the surface a considerable time for this purpose. In very cold weather however they float on pieces of bark; and thus also they can spear the fish, having a small fire beside them in such a bark canoe.

NETS USED BY THEM.

They also feed on birds, and especially on ducks, which they ensnare with nets, in the possession of every tribe. These nets are very well worked, much resembling our own in structure, and they are made of the wild flax which grows in tufts near the river. These are easily gathered by the gins, who manage the whole process of net-making. They give each tuft (soon after gathering it) a twist, also biting it a little, and in that state it is laid about on the roof of their huts until dry. Fishing nets are made of various similar materials, being often very large; and attached to some of them I have seen half-inch cordage which might have been mistaken for the production of a rope-walk. But the largest of their nets are those set across the Darling for the purpose of catching ducks which fly along the river in considerable flocks. These nets are strong, with wide meshes; and when occasion requires they are stretched across the river from a lofty pole erected for the purpose on one side to some large opposite tree on the other. Such poles are permanently fixed, supported by substantial props, and it was doubtless one of them that Captain Sturt supposed to have been erected to propitiate some deity.

The native knows well the alleys green through which at twilight the thirsty pigeons and parrots rush towards the water; and there, with a smaller net hung up, he sits down and makes a fire ready to roast the birds which may fall into his snare.

These savages have a power of manipulating with their toes so as to do many things surprising to men who wear shoes.* This power they acquire chiefly by ascending trees from infancy, their mode of climbing depending as much on the toes as the fingers. With the toes they gather freshwater mussels (unio) from the muddy bottom of the rivers or lagoons; and the heaps of these shells beside their old fireplaces, which are numerous along the banks, show that this shellfish is the daily food of at least the gins and children. In their attempts to steal from us their feet were much employed. They would tread softly on any article, seize it with the toes, pass it up the back, or between the arm and side, and so conceal it in the armpit, or between the beard and throat.

(*Footnote.
Morruda, yerraba, tundy kin arra,
Morruda, yerraba, min yin guiny wite ma la.
Song of Wollondilly natives; meaning:
On road the white man walks with creaking shoes;
He cannot walk up trees, nor his feet-fingers use.)

SUPERSTITIONS.

The hoary old priest of the Spitting-tribe was intense on tricks of this kind, assisted by his people, and while he was thus plotting or effecting mischief he chanted that extraordinary hymn to some deity, or devil. It was evident that these people were actuated by superstitious ideas of some kind; but which, judging by their acts, had no connection with any good principle. When the two old men paced thrice round our lowest position on the Darling, chanting their song, throwing their arms to the sky, and rubbing themselves with dust, arrangements were no doubt in progress for the destruction of strangers, of whose goodwill towards them they had seen abundant proofs, not only in our conduct, but in the useful presents we had made them. They had no grounds for any suspicion of danger from us; yet, that these ceremonies were observed the better to ensure success in the plans for our destruction admitted of little doubt, for they were connected with all their hostile movements. Yet even in defence of such an implacable disposition towards the civilised intruder, much may be urged. No reflecting man can witness the quickness and intelligence of the aborigines as displayed in their instant comprehension of our numerous appliances without feelings of sympathy. He must perceive that these people cannot be so obtuse as not to anticipate in the advance of such a powerful race the extirpation of their own, in a country which barely affords to them the means of existence. Such must be the conclusion in their minds, although it is to be hoped that the results of our invasion may be different; and that if these savage people do not learn habits of industry, a breed of wild cattle may at least compensate them for the loss of the kangaroo and opossum.

The population of the Darling seemed to have been much reduced by smallpox, or some cutaneous disease which must have been very virulent, considering their dirty mode of living; and its violence was indeed apparent in the marks on those who survived.

CONDITION OF THE FEMALES.

Considering the industry and skill of their gins or wives in making nets, sewing cloaks, mussel fishing, rooting, etc., and their patient submission to labour, always carrying the bags which contain the whole property of the family, the great value of a gin to one of these lazy fellows may be easily imagined. Accordingly the possession of them appears to be associated with all their ideas of fighting; while on the other hand the gins have it in their power on such occasions to evince that universal characteristic of the fair, a partiality for the brave. Thus it is that after a battle they do not always follow their fugitive husbands from the field, but frequently go over, as a matter of course, to the victors, even with young children on their backs; and thus it was, probably, after we had made the lower tribes sensible of our superiority, that the three gins followed our party, beseeching us to take them with us.

Depending chiefly on the river for subsistence, they do not wander so much as those who hunt the kangaroo and opossum in the higher country near our colony. Hence the more permanent nature of the huts on the Darling; and it would appear that different tribes occupy different portions of the river. The Spitting tribe desired our men to pour out the water from the buckets, as if it had belonged to them; digging at the same time a hole in the ground to receive it when poured out; and I have more than once seen a river chief, on receiving a tomahawk, point to the stream and signify that we were then at liberty to take water from it, so strongly were they possessed with the notion that the water was their own.

We saw no kangaroos lower down than Dunlop's range, neither did we see any emus. In the red sandhills were many burrows of the wombat, but these also became scarce as we proceeded downwards.

SINGULAR HABITS OF A RAT.

A species of rat* was remarkable for the ingenious fabric it raised to secure itself from the native dog or birds of prey. The structure consisted of a rick or stack of small branches, commonly worked around and interlaced with some small bush, the whole resembling a pile laid for one of the signal fires so much used by the natives. As these heaps of dead boughs drew the attention of our dogs we at length examined several of them and always found a small nest in the centre occupied by the same kind of rat. This animal had ears exactly resembling those of a small rabbit, soft downy wool and short hind legs; indeed but for the tail it might have passed for a small rabbit.

(*Footnote. Conilurus constructor. Ogilby.)

SECURITY OF A SPECIES OF ANTS.

The work of an ant peculiar to the country also attracted our attention. Instead of a mound these insects made a habitation or excavation under the surface, about six feet in diameter, and it was quite smooth, level and clean, as if constantly swept. It was also nearly as hard as stone; and the only access to it was by one or two small holes. This surface was, to us, on first advancing into the interior, one of its wonders. Thus this variety of ant dwells securely at some depth below, for nothing less than a pickaxe can penetrate to the larvae; but those of another variety of the common kind which construct mounds are eaten by the native females and children, who carry wooden shovels for the purpose of digging them out.

BIRDS.

The bronze-wing pigeon was here as elsewhere the most numerous of that kind of bird. Next in abundance was the crested pigeon which seems more peculiar to these low levels. There were large flocks of a brown pigeon with a white head, and not an uncommon bird elsewhere; also a small species of dove with very handsome plumage. The large black cockatoo was sometimes seen, and about the riverbanks the common white cockatoo with yellow top-knot (Plyctolophus galeritus). The smaller bird of this genus with a scarlet and yellow crest and pink wings (Plyctolophus leadbeateri) was rarely noticed, and it appeared to come from a distance, flying usually very high. The pink-coloured wings and glowing crest of this beautiful bird might have embellished the air of a more voluptuous region; and indeed, from its transient visits, it did not seem quite at home on the banks of the Darling. The plumage of several kinds of parrots was extremely rich, and even the small birds were clothed in pink and blue. But the air, however much adorned by the feathered race, had its thieves, as well as the earth. The crows were amazingly bold, always accompanying us from camp to camp. It was absolutely necessary to watch our meat while in kettles on the fire and, on one occasion, notwithstanding our cook's vigilance, a piece of pork weighing three pounds was taken from a boiling pot and carried off by one of these birds! The hawks were equally voracious. A pigeon had been no sooner shot by Burnett than an audacious hawk carried it away and, as if fearless of a similar fate, he flew but a very short distance from the fowler before he had taken half the feathers off.

FISHES.

The species of fish most abundant in the Darling is the Gristes peelii, or cod-perch, and they are caught of a very large size by the natives. We also saw the thick-scaled mud-tasted fish (Cernua bidyana, see above). We did not on this occasion see that very remarkable fish, the Eel-fish (Plotosus tandanus) so abundant in the higher parts of the river. The water was too clear and the weather too cold for fishing with bait, one of each of the two species first mentioned caught during our first occupation of Fort Bourke, being all we ever procured.

APPREHENDED SCARCITY OF WATER ON LEAVING THE DARLING.

No rain had fallen during the four months which had elapsed since we left the colony, and it was probable that the ponds of the Bogan, many of which our cattle had drunk up during our advance, would not afford a sufficient supply of water, nor even be numerous enough on the route for our daily wants, considering the short stages we were obliged to travel on account of the exhausted cattle.

SIX OF THE CATTLE DEAD FROM EXHAUSTION.

We had already lost six bullocks on our return journey, some having got bogged, and others having lain down from weakness, never to rise. For three hundred miles we were now to depend on the ponds of the Bogan, and again to contend with the scarcity of water, a disadvantage from which we had been quite free while on the banks of the Darling.

REST OF TWO DAYS AT FORT BOURKE.

August 11.

Having at length two days of leisure, I was anxious to complete my surveys of this river. I found that the distance from D'Urban's group to Mr. Hume's tree, the furthest point attained by Captain Sturt, was 17 miles and 22 chains, not 33 miles as stated by that traveller; and that the highest summit of D'Urban's group bore from it 53 degrees East of South not 58 degrees East of South, the latter bearing, as given by Sturt, being probably a clerical or typographical error.

VISITED BY THE FORT BOURKE TRIBE.

August 12.

About ten A.M. the calls of the natives were heard, and four or five came towards the camp asking for tomahawks. I sent two of our people to them, but they were restless and importunate; soon after I saw them running, having set the grass on fire. We then sallied forth in pursuit to make them retire across the Darling, but they had crossed ere we saw them. I believe these were strangers, for the gins of the Fort Bourke tribe continued all the while quietly to fish for mussels in the river without taking notice of them.