McKinlay's Journal of Exploration in the Interior of AustraliaMcKinlay, John
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McKinlay's Journal of Exploration in the Interior of Australia
McKinlay, John
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; McKinlay, John, 1819-1872
had consequently to throw the whole of it away; at this time it is a very
great loss to us, the loss of upwards of seventy pounds of food. Even
with the spell our horses have had they come along very indifferently,
and I am almost afraid some more of them will have to be left behind as I
have not sufficient food to wait spelling for them till they get flesh;
there does not appear to be the same nourishment in the grass that there
is almost anywhere else. Saw the smoke of natives a few miles ahead of
us; I suppose we will see something of them tomorrow. Shot a new pigeon,
will try to preserve the skin. Some figs were got by some of the party
this morning before starting; I ate one of them apparently ripe, it was
very insipid, the principal part of them were full of small flies.
Distance travelled by bed of river not direct about ten and a half miles.
Friday, June 20.
Camp 20. Heavy dew last night; sky completely overcast with very heavy
rainy-looking clouds. We have now on hand dried meat sufficient for about
five and a half days, at the rate of one pound three ounces per day
without salt or anything else, which is not very heavy diet. I never saw
a country where less game was to be obtained; what euro and wallaby are
here are so very wild there is no getting near them. Just here the hills
are not so high or so rough as some distance further down; I hope they
may continue so, that the animals won't be distressed more than possible.
Not a breath of wind this morning. Our course as seen from a hill close
by last night will be about east-south-east for some distance this
morning. Started at 8.10 a.m.; at three and a quarter miles came to a
barrier right across from range to range, and after considerable
detention succeeded in finding a road on our left round the range that
the barriers form from; at four miles came to where one branch (the
largest) comes from the south with plenty of water in its bed in the
stone and rocks; the other branch is considerably to the east so will try
it, although it does not at all look a watery branch but is much more in
the direction I want to go. About the same course, over much more open
country, hilly and thinly clad with small ironbark timber, and is chiefly
of slate formation and well-grassed, but no water in its bed as far as we
went, say about five and a half miles further where we fortunately got
sufficient at the junction of a small side creek with the main
watercourse to suit our immediate wants. It is perfectly surprising to
see such a broad channel with such ranges close by and no water. One
other of our best horses obliged to be left behind today; he has been
ailing for some short time and all at once refused to proceed. A few
kangaroo seen today. I trust we will fall in with plenty of water
tomorrow, our horses never do so well as when they can go to water
themselves instead of watering out of buckets. For some distance the
creek bears to north of east; in fact the next bend, about a mile long,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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