Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South WalesMitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
History
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South Wales
Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone), 1792-1855
Barney the native however soon set me right by taking up the root of a
large reed or bulrush which grew in a dry lagoon hard by, and by showing
me how the natives extracted from the rhizoma a quantity of gluten; and
this was what they eat, obtaining it by chewing the fibre. They take up
the root of the bulrush in lengths of about eight or ten inches, peel off
the outer rind and lay it a little before the fire; then they twist and
loosen the fibres, when a quantity of gluten, exactly resembling wheaten
flour, may be shaken out, affording at all times a ready and wholesome
food. It struck me that this gluten, which they call Balyan, must be the
staff of life to the tribes inhabiting these morasses, where tumuli and
other traces of human beings were more abundant than at any part of the
Lachlan that I had visited.
HORSES KNOCK UP.
April 25.
We continued our route upwards along the right bank of the Lachlan on a
bearing of 36 degrees East of North taken from Mr. Oxley's map: and
coming to the river at nine miles we again watered our horses, and rested
them for they were very weak. After travelling fifteen miles one of them
rode by Woods, who carried the theodolite, knocked up when we were far
from the Lachlan. With some difficulty we however got it on until we
reached the river and, finding water, we halted for the day after a ride
of twenty-one miles.
SCENERY ON THE LACHLAN.
The scenery was highly picturesque at that part of the banks of the
Lachlan notwithstanding the dreary level of the naked plains back from
them.
CHARACTER OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF TREES.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account