Sept. 5.--We travelled about ten miles west by north, to lat. 16 degrees 48 minutes 22 seconds. Having passed a rather open forest of bloodwood, apple-gum, and leguminous Ironbark, with isolated patches of scrub, and some dry teat-ree swamps with heaps of calcined mussel-shells, we came to a thick stringy-bark forest, on a sandy soil, with a hard sandstone cropping out frequently. This opened into the flats of a sandy Pandanus creek, which we crossed; and, three miles farther, we came to another broad creek with salt water. Its bed was rocky, and we forded it easily. I followed one of its branches for several miles, and found, after passing its salt-water pools, a small pool of fresh water in its rocky sandy bed, near which I observed an old camping place of the natives. I was considerably in advance of my train, and the dog was with me. As I was examining the pool of water and the numerous tracks round it, an emu came walking along the shady bed of the creek; I immediately mounted my horse and pursued it with the dog, and caught it after a very short run; to prevent its wounding the dog, I dismounted to kill it, when my horse became frightened, broke loose, and ran away. I returned with the emu to the water, and when the train arrived, I sent Charley after the horse, whilst I walked about two miles further up the creek to find a better supply of water. Not succeeding, however, I returned and encamped at the small pool, which we enlarged with the spade, and obtained a sufficient supply of very good water. Charley returned with the horse, but my saddlebags, my journals and a calabash were lost. I was in great anxiety, and blamed myself severely for having committed such an act of imprudence. Charley went, however, a second time on foot, and succeeded in finding everything but the calabash, which was a great loss to our dog.
In the camping place of the natives, I found a large round stone of porphyry, upon which the natives were accustomed to break the seed-vessels of Pandanus. I could discover no indications of this rock in the creek, not even the smallest pebble; and I am consequently inclined to think that this stone was brought by the natives from a considerable distance to the south-west. But, from the broken pieces of granite of our last camp, it became evident that a rocky primitive country, like that of the upper Lynd, could not be very distant. Even the vegetation agreed well with that of the same locality; as the dwarf Grevillea, G. chrysodendrum, and the falcate Grevillea of the upper Lynd, were here again observed. The tea-trees along the banks of the creek, as far as the salt-water extended, were leafless and dead. This may be accounted for by a succession of dry years in which usual freshes have not taken place; and by the supposition that the drooping tea-tree cannot live on water entirely salt.
Sept. 6.--We travelled twelve miles north-west, through Pandanus and bloodwood forest, alternating with scrub, stringy-bark forest, and tea-tree thickets; and, in the latter part of the stage, through broad-leaved tea-tree forest. We encamped at a fine river, with a bed three hundred yards broad from bank to bank, but with a narrow channel of running water. This channel was fringed with the water Pandanus, which we first observed at Beames's Brook; the sandy bed was covered with drooping tea-trees and Grevillea chrysodendrum. Charley shot a bustard, the stomach of which was filled with seeds of Grewia, with small yellow seeds, and some beetles. On this stage, we again passed some of those remarkable dry tea-tree swamps--surrounded with heaps of very large mussel shells--evidently showing that they had been a long time under water, though they were now overgrown with small tea-trees, perhaps five or six years old; and which proved, like the drooping tea-trees on the banks of the creek, that the last few years had been exceedingly dry. I supposed the river to be the Van Alphen of the Dutch navigators, as its latitude, where I crossed it, was about 16 degrees 41 minutes, and its longitude I calculated to be 137 degrees 48 minutes.
Sept. 7.--We travelled about nine miles N. N. W. to latitude 16 degrees 35 minutes; the first part of the stage was scrubby, the latter part undulating with a fine open stringy-bark forest. The trees were tall, but rarely more than a foot in diameter. Here we met with hard baked sandstone, of a whitish grey colour. About seven miles from our camp, we saw a low blue range to the westward; and, soon after, passed a sandy Pandanus creek, with scrubby broken banks: this was joined by a second, and both together entered a broad tea-tree creek, coming from the south-west, in which we found a fine pool of water covered with white and yellow Villarsias and yellow Utricularias.
The rose-coloured Sterculia, and a smooth broad-leaved Terminalia, were observed on the sandy flats of the creek; and a small fan-leaved palm (Livistona humilis, R. Br.), a small insignificant trunkless plant, growing between sandstone rocks, was here first observed. A taller species of this palm, as we subsequently found, formed large tracts of forest on the Cobourg Peninsula, and near the Alligator rivers.
As our tea bag was getting very low, and as I was afraid that we should have to go a long time without this most useful article, I thought it advisable to make a more saving arrangement. We had, consequently, a pot of good tea at luncheon, when we arrived at our camp tired and exhausted, and most in want of an exciting and refreshing beverage. The tea-leaves remaining in the pot, were saved and boiled up for supper, allowing a pint to each person. In the morning, we had our soup, and drank water ad libitum. Tea is unquestionably one of the most important provisions of such an expedition: sugar is of very little consequence, and I believe that one does even better without it. We have not felt the slightest inconvenience from the want of flour; and we were a long time without salt. The want of the latter, however, made us costive, and, when we began to use it again, almost every one of us had a slight attack of diarrhoea.
Our horses were still in excellent condition, and even improving; and our five bullocks also kept in good working order, although the oldest of them rather lagged behind. In choosing bullocks for such a journey, one should be particularly careful to choose young powerful beasts, about five or six years old, and not too heavy. All our old and heavy bullocks proved to be bad travellers; only one had borne the journey until now, and he was only preserved by great care and attention. During summer, the ground is so hot, and frequently so rotten, that even the feet of a dog sink deep. This heat, should there be a want of water during a long stage, and perhaps a run after game in addition, would inevitably kill a soft dog. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance to have a good traveller, with hard feet: a cross of the kangaroo dog with the bloodhound would be, perhaps, the best. He should be light, and satisfied with little food in case of scarcity; although the dried tripe of our bullocks gave ample and good food to one dog. It is necessary to carry water for them; and to a little calabash, which we obtained from the natives of the Isaacs, we have been frequently indebted for the life of Spring.
Sept. 8.--We travelled about ten miles north-west by west, to latitude 16 degrees (Unclear:)81 minutes. The first and last parts of the stage were scrubby, or covered with a dense underwood of several species of Acacia, Grevillea chrysodendrum and a species of Pultenaea with leafless compressed stem. The intervening part of our journey was through a stringy-bark forest, with sandy, and frequently rotten soil, on sandstone ridges or undulations. Some patches of stiffer soil were covered with box or with straggling apple-gum and bloodwood. In the scrub, I again observed Fusanus with pinnate leaves. Several good sized dry sandy creeks were surrounded with Pandanus. We saw a low range in form of a horse-shoe, to the westward; and a higher one beyond it in the distance. We encamped at a small river, which had just ceased running, but contained in its bed two chains of small deep ponds full of perches, and shaded with Pandanus and drooping tea-trees, which grew to a large size all over the bed between the two ponds. I named this river the "Calvert," in acknowledgment of the good services of Mr. Calvert during our expedition, and which I feel much pleasure in recording. We saw two emus, and Brown killed one of them, with the assistance of the dog, which received a severe cut in the neck from the sharp claw of the bird.
The whole country round the gulf was well-grassed, particularly before we crossed the Nicholson; and on the plains and approaches to the rivers and creeks. The large water-holes were frequently surrounded with a dense turf of Fimbristylis (a small sedge), which our horses liked to feed upon. Some stiff grasses made their appearance when we approached the sea-coast, as well on the plains as in the forest. The well-known kangaroo grass (Anthisteria) forms still one of the principal components of the pasture. The scrubby country had a good supply of a tufty wind-grass; and, although the feed was dry during this part of the year, our horses and cattle did exceedingly well, as I have already mentioned. Both took an occasional bite of some Acacias, of Grevillea chrysodendrum, and of several other shrubs. Cattle driven over the country we have passed, by short stages, and during the proper season, would even fatten on the road.
When we approached the water-hole on which we were going to encamp, John observed a fine large Iguana in the water, which was so strikingly coloured that he thought it different from those we had previously seen.