In camp, drying horseflesh; the wind from east; dewy, and at daylight foggy along the banks and valley of the river but soon clears off; we have had splendid weather for drying our meat. Caught some very nice fish but not sufficient to be of any real service. The timber is not anything like as large or so good as it is further up the river. The bed of the river here is from 400 to 500 yards wide. The horse Goliah has given us fifty-two pounds dry meat. We have shot a few crows, a cormorant, and a white eagle with blue back, to make a stew for breakfast, that with a little salted hide and about two pounds dried meat will make a very good meal as matters stand at present. The remainder of the dried meat and what we may shoot I hope will last us as far as the Farming River, which is about ninety miles from this, to which river I saw people start for from Sydney upwards of twelve months ago, and they must certainly be there now; perhaps we may be fortunate enough to meet them this side of that. I have been quite disappointed at not finding the stations much higher up the river even than where I now am.
Tuesday, July 15.
Camp 34. Dull morning; heavy dew; much sheet lightning during the night to south and east, heavy clouds in that direction this morning. Started at —— a.m.; for the first half mile or more down the river bed east 8 degrees south; then crossed and on bearing of south 35 degrees east; the river at crossing not more than 100 yards wide; first part through open timber, and gentle ascent for one and a quarter miles to a basalt and sandstone range, flat, well-grassed table-topped, and descended the same at two and a quarter miles; the dip from the table-top to the slope only a few yards; large boulders of basalt and sandstone; then well-grassed but ridgy and occasionally scrubby country; crossed springy creek at west-north-west (gum); at three and a quarter miles crossed fine gum creek, running, with lots of palms (corkscrew) from west-south-west at five miles; the country good till six miles, when it becomes more ridgy and stony, with spinifex, but improves shortly after; at eight miles crossed good creek; springs, etc., from south half east; close under ranges towards the source of the creek the ridges open and apparently well-grassed, though rather steep and stony; then over higher ranges and stony ridges, well-grassed, and descended a very steep one, the river close by on the left; at ten and a half miles rather rough, with ravines at foot of the range running into the river; at eleven and a quarter miles crossed a small creek from west-south-west with water in holes; then rocky low ridges with but scant vegetation for a short distance; then over rather flat travelling, well-grassed but indifferently timbered, and a good deal of it inclined to be swampy in wet weather; a good many poplar gums on it. The latter part rather rotten sandy ground. Made the river at the point where it is forced by rocks on the opposite side to this, sweeping out a very large piece of the bank on this side to the distance of several hundred yards, making the river bed at this sweep quite 800 yards across and well-timbered round the sweep on this side; caught some excellent fish this afternoon, a black bream, the largest five inches deep and fifteen to sixteen inches in length, excellent firm-eating fish and a great help to our evening meal. Distance today about fifteen and two-thirds miles. Rained a little during the afternoon with first of all a strong gale from the southward accompanied with thunder. Saw a platypus in the river this afternoon, first I have seen during the journey. Cormorants here are numerous but difficult to be got at and our shot is not heavy enough for them. Our crow-stew was excellent this morning.
Wednesday, July 16.
Camp 35. A good shower during the night; foggy this morning, but the rain evidently all cleared off; started at 8.3 a.m. course south by east; crossed deep creek from north-west by west, little water; at two and a half miles passed a swamp; at three and three-quarter miles crossed oak creek from west-south-west; at four and a quarter miles changed course to south 35 degrees east; crossed at one and three-quarter miles a small creek from north-north-west, plenty of waterholes; same creek afterwards was close on our left at five and three-quarter miles where it joins the river, and another oak creek close by joins at nearly or at same place. Then changed course to south 11 degrees east and passed lagoon at three miles; passed through an end of considerable swamp; at six and a quarter miles on our left and after going a short way saw where it had wound round a ridge and was a large sheet of water and swampy land; before and after this passed through several nasty thick belts of scrub with a very fine large white tree with dark rough butt growing amongst it, Moreton Bay ash, I imagine; made the river at nine and three-quarter miles where some drays and sheep had crossed some time since; followed the river down one and a quarter miles south-south-west, and crossed a fine creek from west by north and camped about three-quarters of a mile up the creek; one branch of it comes from north-west by north, the other and best from west half south. Basalt ridge close to the river and south banks of creek; a short distance down the river a cliffy precipitous tier of ranges comes right on to the river with dark scrubby-looking tops. On the right bank of the creek with its junction with the river is a mass of sandstone with bullets of stones through it, and a yellow hard-looking clay perfectly detached, the clay wall having a dip of about 45 degrees to south-west; abundance of water up the left hand or southernmost creek. Distance travelled twenty to twenty-one miles. I have called the creek we are now encamped on Gibson's after —— Gibson, Esquire, of Great Bourke Street, Melbourne.
Thursday, July 17.
Camp 36. Ice again this morning, very cold during the night. Started at 8 a.m.; four and a half miles on bearing of south by east along and over basalt country, crossed rocky oak creek at three and a half miles from west by south, swampy; continued this bearing for six and three-quarter to seven miles and changed course to 60 degrees east of south; one and three-quarter miles an immense swamp and lagoons, basalt ridges; close round crossed over these ridges; bore a little more to the east; and at five and three-quarters crossed a splendid stream from south by west with a number of anabranches. Basalt on the flats as well as the ridges; changed course to about east by south, horses tiring; halted at same, strong-running stream at four and three-quarter miles; as it passes it flows over falls in an east-south-east course along the foot of basalt ridges and comes, as far as visible, from west and north. East of this, apparently opposite side of the Burdekin River, are bald-topped ridges about eight miles distant; basalt ridge on this side a considerable distance in that direction. Distance twenty-two miles today. I have taken the liberty of naming the stream (to all intents and purposes an important river, though narrow compared with some streams, but down which quite as great a supply of pure water is now running as in the Burdekin) the River Browne after W.J. Browne, Esquire, of Booboorowie, South Australia. Large masses of granite are here in the bed of this river and on its banks, although the ridges close by are composed of very cellular basalt and close-grained sandstone. No mountains visible at all close in any direction. From the top of the heights, close to our camp, lots of tracks of sheep and cattle. No appearance of a station; fancy they have taken to the creeks.
Friday, July 18.
Very cold during the night, but beautiful morning. This river runs parallel to the Burdekin for some distance and at only a very short distance between. Started at 8.20 a.m. over the basalt ridges for the sake of better travelling than we are likely to have in the Burdekin, for some distance at least. South for one mile, then east-south-east through open forest with basalt blocks occasionally, and rather swampy-inclined land for two and three-quarter miles. Crossed a small sandy creek, vast numbers of young palms, from south, then the land of granite formation and stony; drainage to north and east. At three and one quarter miles crossed large sandy creek with water and a number of large palms and gums, from south-west, immediately after crossing, undulations of quite sandy country but commencing with but little scrub; but at about three miles from the creek obliged to turn out of it in a north-north-east course or all our packs would have been torn off; the scrub was full of game. On the last course we went about one and a half miles till we got to the edge of the scrub, then about east by north for about one and a half miles on to the south-west side of the large creek last crossed, now in immense, large, deep, and long waterholes running in about an east-south-east course, about parallel with the Burdekin, which creek we followed on its right side, the scrub coming often to the banks. Very fine stone fruit got here of a purple colour, quite an ornamental tree about twenty-five to thirty feet high, fruit in clusters, about the size of a large plum and very good boiled or roasted. At four miles on this course crossed an oak creek from south half east, with water coming from west side of stony ridges; then about three-quarter mile further to river in a course east 15 degrees south, then followed down the river for about one and a quarter miles and camped; distance travelled about sixteen and one quarter miles. I have called this the Kissock after W. Kissock, Esquire, Great Bourke Street, Melbourne. One of the horses completely knocked up, and as we can observe no recent traces of stock on the river made up my mind to kill him, spell a day, and carry as much of his flesh, boiled, with us as will last a couple of days. The river is very broad here, forming small falls with large blocks of granite-looking rocks, of a light and some of a yellow colour, across its bed for some distance.
Saturday, July 19.