Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 1Grey, George
History
Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 1
Grey, George
Natural history -- Australia -- Western Australia; Western Australia -- Discovery and exploration
On the tongue of land between them we found a native hut which differed
from any before seen, in having a sloping roof. After passing this hut we
began to wind up a rocky ascent, and just at sunset reached the
watershed, which threw off streams to the north and south: the valley
which lay immediately to the south of us appearing as fertile as that
which we had been travelling through for the whole day.
March 28.
The first part of our journey was through a fertile valley, about four
miles in length, through which wound a rapid stream. It was clothed with
the richest grass, abounded in kangaroos, and was marked at its southern
extremity by a very remarkable precipitous hill. The heights to the
westward were all composed of basalt, whilst those to the eastward were
sandstone. On passing the ridge of hills which bounded this valley to the
south we entered on a sandstone district, although the hills to the
westward were still basaltic.
NATURAL GRAPERY. GRAPE-LIKE FRUIT.
I here halted the party for breakfast by the side of a stream and, on
casting my eyes upwards, I found that I was in a sort of natural grapery,
for the tree under which I lay was covered with a plant which bears a
sort of grape and I believe is a species of cissus.
We met altogether with three varieties of this plant, all of which were
creepers but differing from each other in their habits and in the size of
their fruit. Two of them generally ran along the ground or amongst low
shrubs and the third climbed high trees; this latter kind bore the finest
fruit, and it was a plant of this description which I today found. Its
fruit in size, appearance, and flavour resembled a small black grape, but
the stones were different, being larger, and shaped like a coffee berry.
All three produced their fruit in bunches, like the vine, and, the day
being very sultry, I do not know that we could have fallen upon anything
more acceptable than this fruit was to us.
FORD THE GLENELG. ANOTHER RIVER.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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