Journals of Australian Explorations

by Augustus Charles Gregory; Francis Thomas Gregory

The valley of the river being rocky and impassable above the camp, we crossed to the left bank and ascended the sandy tableland; steered about south-east from 7.45 a.m. to 11.0, when we came on the stream in a deep valley formed by almost perpendicular red sandstone cliffs from 50 to 200 feet in height, broken at short intervals by enormous fissures (their general direction west-north-west and nearly at right angles with the river), which time, with the action of water, had worn into impassable ravines, frequently extending more than half a mile back from the river, and rendered travelling very tedious and unsafe, as it was requisite to avoid the thick scrubs covering the higher land. The course of the river now changed to nearly south, and preserved the same rocky and unapproachable character till 5.0 p.m., when a break in the cliffs enabled us to descend into the valley, although with some difficulty and danger to the horses, which had to slide down the steep rocks at the risk of breaking their necks, which would have been the almost certain result of a single false step; but the descent being accomplished, they were rewarded by an abundant supply of grass and water, the latter from a large spring at the foot of the cliffs.

10th October.

While breakfast was preparing, Mr. Burges and myself examined the right bank of the river, and after a short search, found a practicable ascent to the top of the cliffs, and having cleared a way through the thicket of melaleuca on the bank of the river, returned to breakfast. At 7.50 a.m. commenced ascending, and at 8.30 reached the summit of the rocky hills, and steering about south-east through a succession of thickets, rocks, yawning chasms, sand-hills, and scrub, we attained to a fine grassy flat at 12.30 p.m. The bed of the river here quite changed its character, the sandstones giving place to granite gneiss, with dark trap dykes intersecting it in a northerly and southerly direction, the dip of the strata being to the west at a very high angle, at times almost perpendicular.

A DEPOT CAMP. EXPLORE THE UPPER MURCHISON.

11th October.

As this appeared to be a good spot for the formation of a depot, while we examined the upper portion of the Murchison, I proceeded up the river in company with Mr. Burges, leaving the rest of the party to guard the camp and attend to the horses. After one hour's ride we came on our track where we crossed the river on the 25th September, the general course of the stream-bed being east-north-east, its channel averaging 100 yards in width, full of rocks, small trees, and sandbanks, with many shallow brackish pools of water, with the exception of one, which was both wide and deep, where we halted for two hours to rest the horses; few of the pools seemed likely to last through the heat of summer. At 1.0 p.m. we came on a party of natives, five of whom came up to us, following us for some distance. As they seemed to prefer mimicking our attempts to speak the York dialect to using their own, we could not obtain much information; they carried kylies and dowaks, but had left their spears and shields with the rest of their party, who did not make their appearance. At 3.0 passed several ridges of red sandstone rocks, the strata dipping to the east-north-east at an angle of from 20 to 60 degrees. The granite rock entirely disappearing, the country became quite level, and covered with one universal thicket of acacia and cypress, except the very slight depression which formed a shallow valley about three miles wide, through which the river runs in a deep channel from 80 to 100 yards wide in ordinary seasons, but when in flood must exceed 300 yards, and the rise of the water, judging from the rubbish drifted up in former years, must exceed thirty feet. The valleys did not seem to be more than 100 feet below the general surface of the country (which was quite level), filled with a dense thicket of wattles; a narrow strip of large gum-trees, growing in grassy flats close to the river, marked the course of the stream. At 5.0 we halted for the night by a small pool of fresh water in one of the back channels of the river, the pools in the main bed being all brackish.

12th October.

Started at 6.35 a.m., following the river, the general course being north-north-east; no change was observed in its character. At 11.20 halted to rest the horses, and again started at 1.40 p.m. At 3.40 came on a large party of natives at a fresh water pool; five followed us some miles, and were not to be satisfied until we had made an exchange of part of a handkerchief for a quantity of noolban, some dowaks, and dabbas, some of which we accepted as a token of our friendly intentions. The stream-bed turned east, and we followed it until 6.0, when we were halted for the night, having the good fortune to find a little fresh water by digging in the sand in the bed of the river, the pools being all brackish.

RETURN TO DEPOT CAMP.

13th October.