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
Whilst we were at our last camp, Charley met a long file of native women
returning, with their dillies and baskets full of shell fish, to the
range; near which, very probably, fresh water existed. We saw their
numerous tracks, and a footpath leading to the river; and heard their
cooees round our present camp, which may have interfered with one of
their camping places. Our lat. was 15 degrees 14 minutes.
Oct. 7.--John and Charley went back to fetch the bullock, and, in the
mean time, I occupied myself in examining our packs, in order to dispense
with such things as were least necessary; for, with an additional weight
of 130 pounds of dried meat and hide, our pack bullocks were overloaded,
and it was now imperative upon me to travel as lightly as possible. Thus
I parted with my paper for drying plants, with my specimens of wood, with
a small collection of rocks, made by Mr. Gilbert, and with all the
duplicates of our zoological specimens. Necessity alone, which compelled
me to take this step, reconciled me to the loss.
Our bullock came in during the afternoon, and was immediately killed,
skinned, and quartered.
Oct. 8.--We cut the meat into slices, and put them out to dry.
Oct. 9.--I went with Brown to examine the country along the river, which
I called "Limmen Bight River;" from its disemboguing into Limmen Bight.
Charley had been at the upper part of the creek on which we were
encamped, and found it running and fresh; which made me believe, that
those pools of very brackish water we had previously seen, belonged to a
different watercourse. I rode with Brown to the westward, over a
succession of ironstone ridges covered with stringy-bark scrub. These
ridges formed steep headlands into the broad flat valley of the river.
Along the valley, bare sandy and boggy plains alternated with tea-tree
thickets and mangrove swamps, in one of which our horses got deeply
bogged. After five miles we came on a large piece of salt water, which,
according to Brown, was a tributary creek of the river. It flowed between
low banks fringed with tea-trees. We followed a foot-path of the natives,
who seemed very numerous, which led towards another range west by south;
and crossed several tea-tree creeks, Pandanus groves, and swamps full of
a high blady grass. We observed some springs, with but little water
however, though densely surrounded with ferns (Osmunda). After about
seven miles, we were stopped by a fern swamp full of fine box-trees, with
a thick jungle of high stiff grasses and ferns (Blechnum). A small
running creek formed its outlet, and contained a chain of deep ponds
covered with Nymphaeas, and surrounded with Typha (bull-rush), the
youngest part of the leaves of which is very tolerable eating. Large
swarms of ducks (Leptotarsis Eytoni, GOULD), rose with their peculiar
whistling noise, at our approach.
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