We now commenced our return to the camp, and, being impatient to get on, put our horses into a canter; the consequence of which was that we lost our way, and were ignorant as to which side we had left the tracks. Thinking, however, that Mount Stewart would guide us, when we should come in sight of it, I kept a south-easterly course, which soon brought us into a thick Bricklow scrub. In passing the large flats of the last creek, which was here full of fine reedy water-holes, we observed a native; and Brown cooeed to him, and by a sign requested him to wait for us: but he was so frightened, by the sudden appearance of two men cantering towards him, that he took to his heels, and soon disappeared in the neighbouring scrub. We rode the whole day through a Bricklow thicket, which, in only three or four places, was interrupted by narrow strips of open country, along creeks on which fine flooded-gums were growing. The density of the scrub, which covered an almost entirely level country, prevented our seeing farther than a few yards before us, so that we passed our landmark, and, when night approached, and the country became more open, we found ourselves in a part of the country totally unknown to us. At the outside of the scrub, however, we were cheered by the sight of some large lagoons, on whose muddy banks there were numerous tracts of emus and kangaroos. In a recently deserted camp of the Aborigines, we found an eatable root, like the large tubers of Dahlia, which we greedily devoured, our appetite being wonderfully quickened by long abstinence and exercise. Brown fortunately shot two pigeons; and, whilst we were discussing our welcome repast, an emu, probably on its way to drink, approached the lagoon, but halted when it got sight of us, then walked slowly about, scrutinizing us with suspicious looks, and, when Brown attempted to get near it, trotted off to a short distance, and stopped again, and continued to play this tantalizing trick until we were tired; when, mounting our horses, we proceeded on our way. Supposing, from the direction of the waters, that we had left our former tracks to the left, I turned to the north-east to recover them; but it soon became very dark, and a tremendous thunder-storm came down upon us. We were then on a high box-tree ridge, in view of a thick scrub; we hobbled our horses, and covered ourselves with our blankets; but the storm was so violent, that we were thoroughly drenched. As no water-holes were near us, we caught the water that ran from our blankets; and, as we were unable to rekindle our fire, which had been extinguished by the rain, we stretched our blankets over some sticks to form a tent, and notwithstanding our wet and hungry condition, our heads sank wearily on the saddles--our usual bush pillow--and we slept soundly till morning dawned. We now succeeded in making a fire, so that we had a pot of tea and a pigeon between us. After this scanty breakfast, we continued our course to the north-east. Brown thought himself lost, got disheartened, grumbled and became exceedingly annoying to me; but I could not help feeling for him, as he complained of severe pain in his legs. We now entered extensive Ironbark flats, which probably belong to the valley of the Mackenzie. Giving our position every consideration, I determined upon returning to the mountains at which we had turned, and took a north-west course. The country was again most wretched, and at night we almost dropped from our saddles with fatigue. Another pigeon was divided between us, but our tea was gone. Oppressed by hunger, I swallowed the bones and the feet of the pigeon, to allay the cravings of my stomach. A sleeping lizard with a blunt tail and knobby scales, fell into our hands, and was of course roasted and greedily eaten. Brown now complained of increased pain in his feet, and lost all courage. "We are lost, we are lost," was all he could say. All my words and assurances, all my telling him that we might be starved for a day or two, but that we should most certainly find our party again, could not do more than appease his anxiety for a few moments. The next morning, the 21st, we proceeded, but kept a little more to the westward, and crossed a fine openly timbered country; but all the creeks went either to the east or to the north. At last, after a ride of about four miles, Brown recognized the place where we had breakfasted on the 19th, when all his gloom and anxiety disappeared at once. I then returned on my south-east course, and arrived at the camp about one o'clock in the afternoon; my long absence having caused the greatest anxiety amongst my companions. I shall have to mention several other instances of the wonderful quickness and accuracy with which Brown as well as Charley were able to recognize localities which they had previously seen. The impressions on their retina seem to be naturally more intense than on that of the European; and their recollections are remarkably exact, even to the most minute details. Trees peculiarly formed or grouped, broken branches, slight clevations of the ground--in fact, a hundred things, which we should remark only when paying great attention to a place--seem to form a kind of Daguerreotype impression on their minds, every part of which is readily recollected.
I rejoined my party at the creek which comes from Mount Stewart. The natives had approached Mr. Gilbert when out shooting, with a singular, but apparently friendly, noise: "Ach! Ach! Ach!" They had heard the cooce of my blackfellow Charley, and thought Mr. Gilbert wanted them; but, as he was alone, he thought it prudent to retire to the camp.
The thunder-storm, which we experienced on the night of the 19th, had completely changed the aspect of the country round Mount Stewart. All the melon-holes of the scrub, all the ponds along the creeks, all the water-holes in the beds of the creeks, were full of water; the creek at which we encamped, was running; the grass looked fresh and green; the ground, previously rotten, was now boggy, and rendered travelling rather difficult; but we were always at home, for we found water and grass everywhere.
The days from the 17th to the 23rd were exceedingly hot, but, during the early morning and the evening, the air was delightfully cool. Light casterly and northerly winds stirred during the day. Cumuli passed from the same quarters; and generally gathered during the afternoon, and became very heavy. The thunder-storms veered round from the west by the north to the eastward. The nights of the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd were bright and cold, with heavy dew. On the morning of the 23rd we had misty, loose, confluent clouds, travelling slowly from the north-east, with some drops of rain. I was now convinced that the rainy season had set in near the sea coast; for the clouds which came from that direction, had evidently been charged with rain; but, in passing over a large tract of dry country, they were exhausted of their moisture, and the north-easterly winds were too weak to carry them quickly so far inland.
The whole country I had travelled over, is composed of sandstone, with probably occasional outbreaks of igneous rocks, as indicated by the rich black soil. The plains and creeks abound in fossil wood, changed into iron-ore and silica. The soil is generally good, but some of the sandy flats are rotten: and the ridges are covered with pebbles.
The trees, with the exception of the flooded-gum, are of stunted habit; and scrub is here developed ad infinitum. A Grevillea (G. ceratophylla R.Br.?) with pinnatifid leaves, a small tree from fifteen to twenty feet high, and about four inches in diameter; a Melaleuca about the same size, with stiff lanceolate leaves, about two inches long and half an inch broad, and slightly foliaceous bark; and an Acacia with glaucous bipinnate leaves, of the section of the brush Acacias of Moreton Bay--grew on the sandy soil along the ridges; and a handsome Convolvulus with pink flowers adorned the rich plain south-east of Mount Stewart. I examined the wood of all the arborescent Proteaceae which I met with, and observed in all of them, with the exception of Persoonia, the great development of the medullary rays, as it exists in several species of Casuarina.
On the 23rd, 24th, and 25th January, the party moved over the country which I had reconnoitred, to a place about twenty-five miles north-west from Mount Stewart's Creek, and about thirty-four miles from the Mackenzie. In the vicinities of several of the camps, Charley found many nests of the native bee, full of the sweetest and most aromatic honey we had ever tasted. The wild Marjoram, which grows abundantly here, and imparts its fragrance even to the air, seemed to be the principal source from which the bee obtained its honey. We collected a considerable quantity of the marjoram, and added it to our tea, with the double intention, of improving its flavour, and of saving our stock; we also used it frequently as a condiment in our soup.
To the westward of our camp of the 25th January, was a large hill, which I called "West Hill;" and, to the north and north-east, several ridges confined the large valley of our creek and its tributaries. From a sandstone peak to the north-east, which I descended with Mr. Roper, I again saw the range of peaks which I had first observed from Mount Stewart in a W.N.W. direction; and the country to the north and north-east was evidently very mountainous: the valleys descending in a northerly direction. We rode along the ridges on a W.N.W. and west course, and came into the valley of another creek, which we crossed; and, passing several other ridges, which appear to be connected with West Hill, descended to a fine creek, in which we found a reedy water-hole of considerable size. The character of all these creeks is the same. Extensive flats of rotten ground, but beautifully clothed with tufts of grass, openly timbered with Moreton Bay ash and flooded-gum, ascend into gentle grassy slopes of silver-leaved Ironbark and bloodwood, and then rise into sandstone ridges with Acacia thickets and shrubby plants peculiar to the sandstone formation. An Acacia with very large falcate, glaucous phyllodia, and the Euphorbiaceous Severn-tree, were very plentiful; and Crinum grew in thousands on the sandy flats. After a very hot day, the night was bright and dewy: a light breeze was felt at 8 o'clock, which cooled the air.
