On the tongue of land between them we found a native hut which differed from any before seen, in having a sloping roof. After passing this hut we began to wind up a rocky ascent, and just at sunset reached the watershed, which threw off streams to the north and south: the valley which lay immediately to the south of us appearing as fertile as that which we had been travelling through for the whole day.
March 28.
The first part of our journey was through a fertile valley, about four miles in length, through which wound a rapid stream. It was clothed with the richest grass, abounded in kangaroos, and was marked at its southern extremity by a very remarkable precipitous hill. The heights to the westward were all composed of basalt, whilst those to the eastward were sandstone. On passing the ridge of hills which bounded this valley to the south we entered on a sandstone district, although the hills to the westward were still basaltic.
NATURAL GRAPERY. GRAPE-LIKE FRUIT.
I here halted the party for breakfast by the side of a stream and, on casting my eyes upwards, I found that I was in a sort of natural grapery, for the tree under which I lay was covered with a plant which bears a sort of grape and I believe is a species of cissus.
We met altogether with three varieties of this plant, all of which were creepers but differing from each other in their habits and in the size of their fruit. Two of them generally ran along the ground or amongst low shrubs and the third climbed high trees; this latter kind bore the finest fruit, and it was a plant of this description which I today found. Its fruit in size, appearance, and flavour resembled a small black grape, but the stones were different, being larger, and shaped like a coffee berry. All three produced their fruit in bunches, like the vine, and, the day being very sultry, I do not know that we could have fallen upon anything more acceptable than this fruit was to us.
FORD THE GLENELG. ANOTHER RIVER.
After breakfast we continued our route through a barren, sandy district, heavily timbered; and in the course of the afternoon met either the Glenelg or a very considerable branch of that stream in south latitude 15 degrees 56 minutes, east longitude 125 degrees 8 minutes: it was 250 yards across and formed a series of rapids at this point, where it emerged from a rocky gorge. Just above the rapids we found a good ford, the average depth of which was not more than three feet. After crossing, the banks on the other side were clothed with a species of Casuarina which I did not observe elsewhere. The country on that side of the stream was sandy and, as I found by the time we had proceeded two or three miles that we were getting embarrassed in a sandstone range, I halted the party for the night and went on to try if I could find a pass across it. My exertions were not however very successful: I came upon a path which I thought might be rendered practicable for the ponies over the first part of the range, but found no line by which we could proceed without making a road.
WEAKNESS OF THE MEN.
March 29.