At this time, I was suffering from a great irritability of the skin, and was covered all over with a prickly heat; the slightest pressure or rubbing produced inflammation and boils, particularly about the knees: and Mr. Phillips suffered in the same way, at the arm and elbow. Mr. Gilbert had been subject to these boils when we were travelling at Peak Range, and along the Isaacs; but, since that time until now, none of the party had been inconvenienced by them.
Oct. 29.--We travelled about twelve miles N.N.W., and followed the creek about four miles, to allow our cattle and horses to drink freely at the water-hole discovered by Charley the day before. We passed some plains, and through a broad-leaved tea-tree forest, and then skirted a thick scrub, which covered the approaches of a range. After seven miles travelling, we came to an immense flat lightly timbered with box and broad-leaved tea-tree, and surrounded on every side, except the S.S.E., by high ranges, protruding like headlands into the plain. Upon passing them afterwards, I found them to form undulating chains of baked sandstone hills.
We crossed several small watercourses going to the north-east and east, and came to a considerable creek, near which basalt cropped out. This was the first igneous rock of more recent date, that we had met with since leaving Separation Creek, and the upper Lynd. Even my Blackfellows recognized at once the rock of Darling Downs; and we hailed it as the harbinger of western waters. The whole country up the creek had been lately burned, which induced me to follow it towards its head, in hope of finding the place where the natives had procured water. The bed was filled with basaltic boulders, as were also its dry holes, from one of which the Grallina australis rose, and for the first time deceived our expectations. In a wider part of the valley, I observed wells of the natives dug in the creek, which we enlarged in the hope of their yielding a sufficient supply of water; but in this we were mistaken, as barely enough was obtained to quench our own thirst. Charley, however, in a search up the creek, and after a long ramble, found a small pond and a spring in a narrow mountain gorge, to which he had been guided by a beaten track of Wallurus. Our horses and bullocks, which were crowding impatiently round the little hole we had dug, were immediately harnessed, and we proceeded about three miles in a north direction to the head of a rocky valley, where our cattle were enabled at least to drink, but all the grass had been consumed by a late bush fire.
The Acacia of Expedition Range was plentiful in the large flat and at the wells of the natives, and formed a fine tree: its seeds, however, were shed, and had been roasted by the late bush fire. Mr. Phillips (who was always desirous of discovering substitutes for coffee, and to whom we owed the use of the river-bean of the Mackenzie) collected these seeds, and pounded and boiled them, and gave me the fluid to taste, which I found so peculiarly bitter that I cautioned him against drinking it; his natural desire, however, for warm beverage, which had been increased by a whole day's travelling, induced him to swallow about a pint of it, which made him very sick, and produced violent vomiting and purging during the whole afternoon and night. The little I had tasted acted on me as a lenient purgative, but Mr. Calvert, who had taken rather more than I did, felt very sick. The gum of this Acacia was slightly acid, and very harmless.
Oct. 30.--We travelled about four miles to the N.W. and N.N.W. along the summit of rocky ranges, when a large valley bounded by high ranges to the north and north-west, burst upon us. We descended into it by a steep and rocky basaltic slope, and followed a creek which held a very tortuous course to the south-west; we had travelled along it about seven miles, when Charley was attracted by a green belt of trees, and by the late burnings of the natives, and discovered a running rivulet, coming from the N.N.W. It was fringed with Pandanus, Acacia (Inga monilifornis) and with an arborescent Vitex, with ternate leaves. The flats were well grassed, and lightly timbered with box and white-gum. On the flat summit of the sandstone ranges, we observed the Melaleuca gum, the rusty gum, the mountain Acacia, and Persoonia falcata, (R. Br.) The basaltic rock was apparently confined to the upper part of the valley, where it had broken through the sandstone, which composed all the ranges round our camp, the latitude of which I observed to be 14 degrees 23 minutes 55 seconds. At our last camp, I observed a Platycercus, of the size of the Moreton Bay Rosella, with blackfront, yellow shoulders, and sea-green body; the female had not the showy colours of the male, and the young ones were more speckled on the back. I believe it to be the Platycercus Brownii, GOULD. A black and white Ptilotis, the only stuffed specimen of which was taken by a kite almost out of Mr. Gilbert's hand, was very frequent at the wells of the natives.
During the night, a great number of flying-foxes came to revel in the honey of the blossoms of the gum trees. Charley shot three, and we made a late but welcome supper of them. They were not so fat as those we had eaten before, and tasted a little strong; but, in messes made at night, it was always difficult to find out the cause of any particular taste, as Master Brown wished to get as quickly as possible over his work, and was not over particular in cleaning them. Platycercus versicolor (the Port Essington Parrakeet) visited, in large flocks, the blossoms of the gum trees, and was quite as noisy through the day, as the flying-fox was during the night.
Oct. 31.--When we were going to start, Brown's old horse was absent, and after much searching, the poor brute was found lying at the opposite side of the creek, with its back down the slope, and unable to move. We succeeded in turning him, and helping him to rise, but he was so weak, as to be scarcely able to stand: indeed all our cattle were tired and foot-sore, in consequence of several days travelling over rocky ranges, and required rest. I therefore determined on remaining here a day, as no place could be better suited for their recovery. The grass was young and various, the water delightfully cool, and the scattered trees were large and shady. Numerous birds frequented the water; a species of Ptilotis, with its cheerful and pleasing note, entertained us at daybreak, as the Leatherhead with its constantly changing call and whistling did during the day. Dacelo cervina, GOULD, (the small laughing Jackass) was not heard so frequently nor so regularly as its representative of the east coast. I found a species of fern (Taeniopsis) along the creek, and a species of Mimosa about three feet high had been observed on the plains and the flats of the Roper. Charley and Brown went to shoot flying-foxes, and returned at luncheon with twelve; during the afternoon, they went again and brought in thirty more; having left about fifty hanging, wounded, on the trees. They had been at a large swamp and a pond, connected with the creek, in which Charley declared that he had seen a strange animal "with two horns," and which had deterred him from going into the water. As Brown, on the following day, saw a crocodile in the same pond, Charley's imagination had very probably added two horns to his wonderful animal.
CHAPTER XIV
INTERVIEW WITH A NATIVE
DISTRESSING HEAT
A HORSE STAKED: IT DIES
MYRIADS OF FLYING-FOXES
MAGNIFICENT VALLEY
FRIENDLY NATIVES
SHOT EXHAUSTED
INSTINCT OF BULLOCKS
SOUTH ALLIGATOR RIVER
FRIENDLY NATIVES WITH AN ENGLISH HANDKERCHIEF, AND ACQUAINTED WITH FIRE-ARMS
THEIR LANGUAGE
MIRAGE.