I remarked with some degree of pleasure, that although most of the stations are solely under charge of assigned servants, (convict is an obsolete word in the colony,) yet the huts are clean and well arranged. The men in most instances take care of the property entrusted to their charge, and are surrounded by every comfort; many of them (particularly those from the sister kingdom) have frequently assured me they never were so happy and well off before; and regarded their transportation as a blessing from Providence; and it certainly appeared to be a delightful change to many of the poor fellows, from the previous wretched lives they must have passed, both from their “unvarnished tales,” as well as what we know to be too true in unhappy Ireland.[97]
Proceeding on my journey, the Tumat was occasionally visible; the road often leading away from it, to avoid the extensive reedy swamps which abound close to its banks, in some places, whilst in others fine meadow land, with profuse and rich herbage, about which herds of cattle were feeding, was seen. The trees near the river, from being constantly refreshed by the water, had a vividness of foliage, which enlivened the prospect, and imparted a smiling appearance to the country: travelling was excellent; but the places now passed with so much facility, are, during the heavy rains in winter, overflown, and rendered nearly, if not totally impassable.
After crossing several creeks, (emptying themselves into the stream of the Tumat,) and riding about eight or ten miles, I arrived at a mountainous range, called “Mejungbury,” upon which were growing large quantities of a species of Callitrys, called the “Murrumbidgee pine” by the colonists, from having been seen first on the hills in the vicinity of that river: it is named Kara by the aborigines. The timber is described as close-grained and durable: the native blacks use it for fish-spears, on account of its lightness, which occasions it to float on the surface of the water: the white and rather fragrant gum-resin which exudes spontaneously in tears or drops from the trunk, is also used by them for several purposes; and the largest tree I saw about this range was thirty-five feet in elevation, and one to one and a half feet in diameter.
The geological character of the range upon which they grow, as far as I was capable of ascertaining, consisted of granite and quartz: they were readily distinguished from other trees on the same range, by their dark-green foliage and peculiar form. I collected several specimens of the tree in a state of fructification. The “Currijong-tree” was also occasionally seen about the range: it is named “Bundine” by the aborigines, who eat both the young roots and shoots of the tree, and use the bark in the manufacture of a small cordage, for nets, &c. Some of the roots are described to be a foot in circumference, like the stalk of a cabbage, consisting of medullary and fibrous substance, having a sweetish and agreeable taste.
A station situated in a fine fertile flat, called “Bumboly,” the property of Mr. Shelly, was next passed; and a few miles further brought me to Mr. Rose’s cattle station, called “Been,” located in a fertile, picturesque situation, surrounded by verdant hills and wooded mountains; the Tumat river and a fine creek running through the estate: it is excellent in situation, and has capabilities for a valuable farm. I remained here a few days to examine this but little known country, as also to observe the objects of natural history, which abounded in the vicinity.
CHAPTER XIV.
Wooded hills—Base of the Bugong mountains—Multitudes of the Bugong moths—Timber trees and granite rocks—Snow mountains—Method of collecting the moths—Use of these insects—Crows—Height of the Bugong mountains—The aborigines—Dread of ridicule in the females—Native fine arts—Lyre-bird of the colonists—Destruction of kangaroos and emus—The station of Been—Sanguinary skirmishes—A fertile plain—Cattle paths—Shrubs on the banks of the Tumat.
Near this station is a lofty table-mountain, rising above numerous wooded hills, varying in their degrees of elevation, as seen in the accompanying engraving: it forms the commencement of a mountainous range, extending in a south-west direction. It is named the “Bugong Mountain,” from the circumstance of multitudes of small moths, called Bugong by the aborigines, congregating at certain months of the year about masses of granite on this and other parts of the range. The months of November, December, and January, are quite a season of festivity among the native blacks, who assemble from far and near to collect the Bugong; the bodies of these insects, contain a quantity of oil, and they are sought after as a luscious and fattening food. I felt very desirous of investigating the places where these insects were said to congregate in such incredible quantities, and availed myself of the earliest opportunity to do so.