Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — CompleteSturt, Charles
History
Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — Complete
Sturt, Charles
New South Wales -- Discovery and exploration; Sturt, Charles, 1795-1869
At 4 we had a moderate breeze, and it promised to strengthen; we lost no
time therefore in embarking, and with a flowing sheet stretched over to
the W.S.W., and ran along the promontory formed by the right bank of the
Murray. We passed close under its extreme point at nine. The hills had
gradually declined, and we found the point to be a flat, elevated about
thirty feet above the lake. It was separated from the promontory by a
small channel that was choked up with reeds, so that it is more than
probable that the point is insulated at certain periods; whilst in its
stratification it resembled the first cliffs I have described that were
passed below the Darling. It is a remarkable fact in the geology of the
Murray, that such should be the case; and that the formation at each
extremity of the great bank or bed of fossils should be the same.
Thus far, the waters of the lake had continued sweet; but on filling a can
when we were abreast of this point, it was found that they were quite
unpalatable, to say the least of them. The transition from fresh to salt
water was almost immediate, and it was fortunate we made the discovery in
sufficient time to prevent our losing ground. But, as it was, we filled
our casks, and stood on, without for a moment altering our course.
PASSAGE ACROSS THE LAKE--ITS SHALLOWNESS.
It is difficult to give a just description of our passage across the lake.
The boisterous weather we had had seemed to have blown over. A cool and
refreshing breeze was carrying us on at between four and five knots an
hour, and the heavens above us were without a cloud. It almost appeared as
if nature had resisted us in order to try our perseverance, and that she
had yielded in pity to our efforts. The men, relieved for a time from the
oar, stretched themselves at their length in the boat, and commented on
the scenery around them, or ventured their opinions as to that which was
before them. Up to this moment their conduct had been most exemplary; not
a murmur had escaped from them, and they filled the water-casks with the
utmost cheerfulness, even whilst tasting the disagreeable beverage they
would most probably have to subsist on for the next three or four days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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