Nov. 13.--The two horses ridden by Charley and myself yesterday, had suffered so severely, that I had to allow them a day of rest to recover. In the mean time, I went with Charley and Brown to the spot where we had seen the greatest number of flying-foxes, and, whilst I was examining the neighbouring trees, my companions shot sixty-seven, of which fifty-five were brought to our camp; which served for dinner, breakfast, and luncheon, each individual receiving eight. The flying-fox lived here on a small, blue, oval stone-fruit, of an acid taste, with a bitter kernel; it grew on a tree of moderate size. Very small specimens of the Seaforthia palm were here observed for the first time; and the large scarlet fruit of Eugenia was found.
During the night, we heard the first grumbling of thunder since many months.
Nov. 14.--We travelled about twelve miles north by west. After crossing the river, we followed a rocky creek to its head, and passed over ten miles of level sandy country of stringy-bark forest, with Melalcuca gum and Banksia, interrupted only by a small Pandanus creek. At the end of the stage, we came to rocky creeks, one of which headed in a drooping tea-tree swamp, with rich vegetation, but without water. The creek, which we followed down for two miles, there changed its character, and meandered through sandy, well-grassed flats, and contained some good water-holes, on which we encamped. John told me that he had found the ripe fruit of Exocarpus cupressiformis; which I doubted very much, as I had not seen the slightest trace of it since we left the Dawson, although Exocarpus latifolia was very frequent all over the sandy table-land. But we gathered and ate a great quantity of gibong (the ripe fruit of Persoonia falcata), and some small yellow figs of the glossy-leaved fig-tree. I observed a Eucalyptus of rather stunted growth, with broad, almost oval leaves, and long, narrow seed-vessels.
During the night, thunder clouds and lightning were seen in every direction; and the whole atmosphere appeared to be in a state of fermentation. Heavy showers poured down upon us; and our tarpaulings, which had been torn to pieces in travelling through the scrub, were scarcely sufficient to keep ourselves and our things dry. But in the morning of the 15th, all nature seemed refreshed; and my depressed spirits rose quickly, under the influence of that sweet breath of vegetation, which is so remarkably experienced in Australia, where the numerous Myrtle family, and even their dead leaves, contribute so largely to the general fragrance. This day we travelled about six miles to the W. N. W.
Our course, however, was for three miles to the northward, over a sandy level forest, intercepted by several rocky creeks. The third which we came to, I followed down to the westward, and came to a large creek, which soon joined a still larger one from the eastward. Both were well provided with water; and we encamped at a very large hole under a ledge of rock across the bed of the creek; and which probably formed a fine waterfall during the rainy season.
Thunder-storms formed to the southward and northward; but we had only a few drops of rain. It was remarkable to observe that those to the southward vered round to the south-west by west, whereas those to the northward veered round to the north-east and east.
Nov. 16.--We travelled nine miles north-west by north; crossed numerous rocky creeks, and some undulating country; and had a most distressing passage over exceedingly rocky ranges. At the end of the stage, we came to a large Pandanus creek, which we followed until we found some fine pools of water in its bed. My companions had, for several days past, gathered the unripe fruits of Coniogeton arborescens, Br.; which, when boiled, imparted an agreeable acidity to the water, and when thus prepared tasted tolerable well. When ripe, they became sweet and pulpy, like gooseberries, although their rind was not very thick. This resemblance induced us to call the tree "The little Gooseberry tree." At the table land, and along the upper South Alligator River, it was a tree from twenty-five to thirty feet high, with a fresh green shady foliage; but, at the Cobourg Peninsula, it dwindled into a low shrub. The fruit was much esteemed there by the natives; for, although the tree was of smaller size, the fruit was equally large and fine.
Nov. 17.--We travelled four or five miles through Banksia, and Melaleuca-gum forest, crossed several rocky creeks; and followed down the largest of them; which in its whole extent was exceedingly rocky. The rock was generally in horizontal layers. There were many high falls in the bed, which compelled me to leave the creek, and proceed on the rising ground along its banks, when suddenly the extensive view of a magnificent valley opened before us. We stood with our whole train on the brink of a deep precipice, of perhaps 1800 feet descent, which seemed to extend far to the eastward. A large river, joined by many tributary creeks coming from east, south-east, south-west and west, meandered through the valley; which was bounded by high, though less precipitous ranges to the westward and south-west from our position; and other ranges rose to the northward. I went on foot to the mouth of the creek; but the precipice prevented my moving any farther; another small creek was examined, but with the same result. We were compelled to move back, and thence to reconnoitre for a favourable descent. Fortunately the late thunder-storms had filled a great number of small rocky basins in the bed of the creek; and, although there was only a scanty supply of a stiff grass, our cattle had filled themselves sufficiently the previous night to bear a day's privation. In the afternoon, Charley accompanied me on foot in a northerly direction (for no horse could move between the large loose sandstone blocks), and we examined several gullies and watercourses, all of a wild and rocky character, and found it impossible to descend, in that direction, into the valley. Charley shot a Wallooroo just as it was leaping, frightened by our footsteps, out of its shady retreat to a pointed rock. Whilst on this expedition, we observed a great number of grasshoppers, of a bright brick colour dotted with blue: the posterior part of the corselet, and the wings were blue; it was two inches long, and its antennae three quarters of an inch.
