Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — Volume ISturt, Charles
History
Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — Volume I
Sturt, Charles
New South Wales -- Discovery and exploration; Sturt, Charles, 1795-1869
The two wooded hills I had seen from Oxley's Table Land were visible
from the range, bearing south; and other eminences bore by compass S.W.
and W. by S.; but in every other direction the horizon was unbroken. To
the westward, there appeared to be a valley of considerable extent,
stretching N. and S., in which latter direction there was a long strip
of cleared ground, that looked very like the sandy bed of a broad and
rapid river. The bare possibility of the reality determined me to
ascertain by inspection, whether my conjecture was right, and Mr. Hume
accompanied me on this excursion. After we left the camp we crossed a
part of the range, and travelled for some time through open forest land
that would afford excellent grazing in most seasons. We passed some
hollows, and noticed many huts that had been occupied near them; but
the hollows were now quite dry, and the huts had been long deserted.
After about ten miles' ride we reached a plain of white sand, from
which New Year's Range was distinctly visible; and this no doubt was
the spot that had attracted my attention. Pools of water continued on
it, from which circumstance it would appear that the sand had a
substratum of clay or marl. From this plain we proceeded southerly
through acacia scrub, bounding gently undulating forest land, and at
length ascended some small elevations that scarcely deserved the name
of hills. They had fragments of quartz profusely scattered over them;
and the soil, which was sandy, contained particles of mica.
MOSQUITOES.
The view from them was confused, nor did any fresh object meet our
observation. We had, however, considerably neared the two wooded hills,
and the elevations that from the range were to the S.W., now bore N.W.
of us. We had wandered too far from the camp to admit of our returning
to it to sleep; we therefore commenced a search for water, and having
found some, we tethered our horses near it for the night, and should
have been tolerably comfortable, had not the mosquitoes been so
extremely troublesome. They defied the power of smoke, and annoyed me
so much, that, hot as it was, I rolled myself in my boat cloak, and
perspired in consequence to such a degree, that my clothes were wet
through, and I had to stand at the fire in the morning to dry them. Mr.
Hume, who could not bear such confinement, suffered the penalty, and
was most unmercifully bitten.
A MAN MISSING.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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