Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia: From Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845 — John Shaqi
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia: From Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845Leichhardt, Ludwig
History
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia: From Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845
Leichhardt, Ludwig
Australia -- Description and travel; Australia -- Discovery and exploration
Oct. 24.--The creek being boggy, we had to follow it down for several
miles to find a crossing place. Even here, one of the horses which
carried the tea, fell back into the water, whilst endeavouring to
scramble up the opposite bank, and drenched its valuable load. We now
travelled through a country full of lagoons, and chains of water-holes,
and passed through several patches of cypress-pine, until we came to
another creek with rocky water-holes, with the fall to the eastward,
probably joining Dogwood Creek, from which we were not four miles
distant. Fine grassy flats accompanied the creek on its left, whilst a
cypress-pine forest grew on its right bank. The latitude of our
yesterday's camp was 26 degrees 26 minutes 30 seconds and, to-day, we are
only four miles more to the westward. The country is still so flat and so
completely wooded--sometimes with scrubs, thickets, Acacia, and Vitex
groves, sometimes with open Ironbark forest intermingled with spotted
gum--that no view of distant objects can be obtained. Several
Epacridaceous shrubs and species of Bossiaea and Daviesia reminded me of
the flora of the more southern districts.
Oct. 25.--We travelled about twelve miles in a north-westerly direction,
our latitude being 26 degrees 15 minutes 46 seconds. The country in
general scrubby, with occasional reaches of open forest land. The
rosemary-leaved tree of the 23rd was very abundant. An Acacia with spiny
phyllodia, the lower half attached to the stem, the upper bent off in the
form of an open hook, had been observed by me on the sandstone ridges of
Liverpool Plains: and the tout ensemble reminded me forcibly of that
locality. The cypress-pine, several species of Melaleuca, and a fine
Ironbark, with broad lanceolate, but not cordate, glaucous leaves, and
very dark bark, formed the forest. An arborescent Acacia, in dense
thickets, intercepted our course several times. Bronze-winged pigeons
were very numerous, but exceedingly shy.
The stillness of the moonlight night is not interrupted by the screeching
of opossums and flying squirrels, nor by the monotonous note of the
barking-bird and little owlet; no native dog is howling round our camp in
the chilly morning: the cricket alone chirps along the water-holes; and
the musical note of an unknown bird, sounding like "gluck gluck"
frequently repeated, and ending in a shake, and the melancholy wail of
the curlew, are heard from the neighbouring scrub.
Oct. 26.--Our journey was resumed: wind in the morning from the west;
light clouds passing rapidly from that quarter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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