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
HEAPS OF OYSTER-SHELLS--FALSE ALARM OF A NATIVE IN THE CAMP--TURNER'S
CREEK--WENTWORTH'S CREEK--JOURNALS LOST; FOUND AGAIN--THE VAN
ALPHEN--IMPORTANCE OF TEA--CHOICE OF BULLOCKS FOR AN EXPEDITION--CHOICE
OF A DOG--THE CALVERT--THE ABEL TASMAN--GLUCKING BIRD AGAIN--DISCOVER A
MODE OF USING THE FRUIT OF THE PANDANUS--SEVEN EMU RIVER--CROCODILE--THE
ROBINSON--SHOAL OF PORPOISES--NATIVE METHOD OF PREPARING THE FRUIT OF THE
PANDANUS AND CYCAS FOR FOOD--MR. ROPER CONVALESCENT--WEAR AND TEAR OF
CLOTHES--SUCCEED IN DRESSING THE SEEDS OF STERCULIA--THE
MACARTHUR--FRIENDLY PARLEY WITH CIRCUMCISED NATIVES--STORE OF TEA
EXHAUSTED--MEDICAL PROPERTY OF THE GREVILLEA DISCOVERED.
Sept. 2.--We travelled N.W. by W. and came, after passing some of the
usual tea-tree scrub, to an undulating country, with scattered shrubs of
the salt water tea-tree, which grew particularly on the sandy heads of
salt water creeks. Salicornia was another sure indication of salt water;
and, after about seven or eight miles, our course was intercepted by a
broad salt-water creek. Its bed, however, was sandy, and the water
shallow, which enabled us to cross it a little higher up, without
difficulty. We turned again to the N.W. by W., steering for one of the
numerous smokes of the natives' fires which were visible in every
direction. We soon came, however, to broad sands with deep impressions of
the tracks of emus, wallabies, and natives; and to sandy depressions
sloping towards narrow salt-water creeks densely fringed with Mangroves.
A large river was no doubt before us. To get out of this difficult
meshwork of salt-waters, I turned to the south-west, and continued in
this direction until the sands, Mangrove creeks, and Salicornias,
disappeared, and we were again fairly in the scrubs, which however we
found more open, and frequently interspersed with bloodwood and Pandanus.
I sent Charley and Brown in different directions to look for water, and a
small pool with brackish ferruginous nasty water was found, which made a
very miserable tea, and affected our bowels. In the Mangrove creeks we
found Telescopium, Pleurotoma; and heaps of oyster-shells, for the first
time on our journey. Arcas were frequent, but no Cythereas. The mussels
(Unios) of the slightly brackish water were small, but plentiful.
It was on this stage that we first met with a leafless species of
Bossiaea, from three to five feet high, with compressed stem, and
branches of the habit of Bossiaea scolopendrium, with yellow blossoms,
and smooth many-seeded pods little more than an inch long. This shrub was
one of the principal components of all the scrubs we passed from this
place to Limmen Bight, and was also found, though less frequently,
towards the centre of Arnheim's Land.
The day was exceedingly hot, though cloudy; the wind from the east: the
night cool, without wind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account