The country along the river was an open box-forest. Natives cooeed around us; and we saw a man and his gin, and farther on two others busily occupied in burning the grass. When Charley came to the lagoon he saw a black boy, who immediately retreated out of sight. Two straw-necked Ibises and seven ducks were shot. Mr. Roper had suffered much by the long rides of the last stages; but his health was improving, notwithstanding. The Nonda tree had disappeared north of the Van Diemen, and the emu here feeds on the fruit of the little Severn tree, which is so excessively bitter, as to impart its quality to the meat, and even to the gizzard and the very marrow.
As we approached the salt water, the various species of Eucalyptus, with the exception of the box, disappeared, and various species of tea-tree (Melaleuca) took their place; they grew even on the sands with incrustations of salt, and gave way only to the mangroves, which were bathed by the brine itself.
We now commenced collecting the gum of the broad-leaved Terminalia of the upper Lynd, and boiled it for Mr. Roper, who liked it very much.
We recognised one of the kites (Milvus isiurus), which had followed us from our last killing camp, down to the head of the gulf.
July 20.--This morning, the bullocks had strayed farther than usual, and, whilst we were waiting for them, some natives came to the rocks opposite our camp; and one of them beckoned me to come over to him. They had been observing our camp last night, for some time after the rising of the moon, and I had caused Brown to discharge his gun, in order to drive them away. They did not, however, trouble us then any farther, but encamped at a neighbouring lagoon; showing evidently that they expected no harm from us. When the bold fellow invited me to come over to him, I hesitated at first, as they might have disturbed us when loading our bullocks; but, as the animals did not appear, I took my reconnoitring bag with some iron nose rings, and made Brown follow me at some distance with the double barrelled gun, and went over to them. After much hesitation, four of them approached me. I made them presents, which gained their confidence, and they began to examine and admire my dress, my watch, etc. It was singular that the natives were always most struck with our hats. We made them understand where we came from and whither we were going, and it seemed that they understood us better than we could understand them. When the bullocks arrived, we returned to our camp, accompanied by the natives, who had lost all fear after the tokens of friendship they had received: and when we started, they joined our train and guided us on their foot-path (Yareka) along the salt water creek (Yappar.) They very much admired our horses and bullocks, and particularly our kangaroo dog. They expressed their admiration by a peculiar smacking or clacking with their tongue or lips. The fine river changed very soon into a salt water creek, coming from south by west. We passed some very beautiful rocky lagoons under the abrupt terminations of low sandstone hills, which were openly timbered at the top, but surrounded by thickets of the little Severn tree. The box-tree grew on the flats which separated the ridges from the creek, with the small bread-tree, the bloodwood and pandanus. As the Mangrove disappeared, the drooping tea-tree took its place. Several rocky bars crossed the "Yappar," which seemed to be the name by which the natives called it; but only one was broad enough to allow us to cross safely with our horses and bullocks. Here our black friends took their leave of us; they seemed very desirous of showing us their whole country, and of introducing us to their tribe, which was probably very numerous. After crossing the creek in lat. 17 degrees 54 minutes or 55 minutes, and longit. 140 degrees 45 minutes approx., we travelled due west, and came at once into an undulating hilly country. The hills were composed of iron-sandstone; their summits were generally very openly timbered with apple-gum and a new white-barked tree; but their bases were covered with thickets of the little Severn tree. The intervening flats bore either a box-tree with a short trunk branching off immediately above the ground; or a middle-sized tea-tree, with a lanceolate leaf, or thickets of stunted tea-tree. We travelled full thirteen miles without water, or any decided water-course. We passed several dry water-holes shaded by the broad-leaved Terminalia; and saw many Acacias twenty-five and thirty feet in height, with a slender trunk, and an elegant drooping foliage: it very much resembled the Acacia of Expedition Range; but the drooping habit and more distant leaflets of its bipinnate leaves, showed at once their difference. We had travelled five hours and a half, and Mr. Roper rode up to me several times, to complain of his inability to go any farther. I encouraged him, however, and at sunset, we reached a creek, but it was dry; and, although we travelled until dark along its winding course, and saw many deep holes on its flats, and although fresh burnings showed that the natives had been there, yet no water was to be found, and we were obliged to encamp without it. We, therefore, hobbled and tethered all the horses, and watched the bullocks. Charley followed the creek for some distance in search of water, but returned without finding any.
July 21.--When Charley was riding after our hobbled horses, he came, at about two miles N. E., from our camp, to another watercourse, with well filled rocky water-holes. When he brought this welcome intelligence, we immediately loaded our bullocks, and moved to these water-holes; on which it appeared some natives had encamped very lately. The country around was broken and scrubby; but in general it was well-grassed, with a sound soil. Our latitude was 17 degrees 52 minutes 53 seconds.
The wind, during the last two days, was from the southward in the forenoon, and from the westward in the afternoon. The nights were calm and clear, but very cold.
Mr. Calvert had happily recovered so much as to be able to resume his duties; and, notwithstanding the fatigues of the last long stage, Mr. Roper had slightly improved.
July 22.--Last night was beautifully clear and calm, until midnight, when a cold south wind set in, which made us all shiver with cold. I had not felt it so much since the night of Mr. Gilbert's death, nor since we left the upper Lynd and the table land of the Burdekin. The wind was equally strong in the morning from the south-east, and veered in the course of the day to the south and south-west.
We travelled about eight miles and a half W.N.W. to lat. 17 degrees 50 minutes 28 seconds, at first passing over a scrubby country, which changed into box flats when we approached the waterless creek, at which we encamped on the night of the 20th. To the westward of this creek, box flats alternated with tea-tree thickets; and opened at last into a large plain, which we crossed at its southern termination, where it was three miles broad; it appeared boundless to the northward. Plains of the same character had been dimly seen through the open forest to the northward, for some time before we came to the one we crossed. This was not covered with the stiff grass, nor the dry wind-grass of the plains north of the Staaten; but it bore a fine crop of tender grasses, which rendered them infinitely more valuable for the pasture of horses and cattle. At the west side of the plain, we found a chain of fine long lagoons, surrounded by Polygonum, and apparently well stocked with fish.