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
delicious dish our expedition had offered: the others were stewed for the
next breakfast; and they were equally good: though a whole night's
stewing might have robbed them of a little of their rich flavour.
We had frequently observed the flight of waterfowl, at the commencement
of night, and a little before dawn. At Cycas Creek, Spoonbills, Ibises,
and Whistling ducks came at night fall to the fresh water, and left it in
the morning. The geese flew past at night from an open lagoon to the
westward, to more confined ponds at the head of the fern swamp to the
eastward. It would appear that they prefer a sheltered situation for the
night, and large open sheets of water by day.
The nights were usually dewy, in consequence of the moist sea breeze,
which blew almost the whole day from east and E. N. E., and set in
frequently as early as 9 or 10 o'clock. The morning, from about 7 o'clock
till the sea breeze set in, was exceedingly hot; but, before sunrise, it
was most delightful; the myriads of flies which crowded round us during
the day, and the mosquitoes which annoyed us after sunset, were then
benumbed; and although the sun rose with the full intensity of its heat,
it was not so inconvenient in the early morn as to induce us to look for
shade. Not a breath was stirring; and the notes of the laughing jackass
and some few small birds, alone showed that there were other beings
enjoying the beauty of this august solitude.
Oct. 12.--We proceeded three or four miles up the creek, and found a
crossing at a fishing place of the natives; in an old camping place near
this fishery, I saw a long funnel-shaped fish trap, made of the flexible
stem of Flagellaria. Hence we travelled about north-west by west, towards
a fine mountain range, which yesterday bore W. N. W. After six miles of
undulating scrubby country, and broad-leaved tea-tree forest, we arrived
at a creek with a fine pool of water, which, notwithstanding its
Nymphaeas, Charas, and Typhas, was slightly brackish and bitter. Limnaea,
and two species of Melania, were found in it; the one species, with a
long sharp spire, had been found in a reedy brook, at the upper Burdekin.
Limmen Bight river was not half a mile from our camp; and I now hoped
that we should soon be out of the system of salt-water creeks joining it
from the southward.
Our lat. was 15 degrees 13 minutes (?) and longitude, according to
reckoning, 135 degrees 30 minutes. We had left the stiff grasses of the
coast, and the pasture was fast improving. John Murphy shot the Torres
Straits pigeon (Carpophaga luctuosa, GOULD) which we had once before
observed; but it was exceedingly shy and rare, and only seen in pairs.
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