Part 16 (1/2)

Toiling over these, at seven or eightN and distant about two rees, to pass to the ard of this new feature, which then proved to be a lake about the size of Lake Bonney, that is to say froe by which we had approached it terht there were other ridges ter in a similar manner, with rushy flats between them; eastward the country was dark and very low; to the north there was a desert of glittering white sand in low hillocks, scattered over with dwarf brush, and on it the heat was playing as over a furnace I to the shore of the lake, and on the western side a bright red sand hill, full eighty feet high, shut out the view in that quarter This ridge was not altogether a es of the sas

I did not yet knohether the waters of the lake were salt or fresh, although I feared they were salt Looking on it, however, I saw clearly that it was very shallow; a line of poles ran across it, such as are used by the natives for catching wild fowl, of which there were an abundance, as well as of hematops on the water As soon as we descended froot on a narrow native path, that led us down to a hut, about 100 yards from the shore of the lake

As we approached the water, the effluvia froround beca it we found that the water was neither one thing or the other, neither salt or fresh, but wholly unfit for use Close to itsto the eastward, or rather round the lake; and under the sand ridge to the west, were twenty-seven huts, but they had long been deserted, and were falling to decay Nevertheless they proved that the waters of the lake were sometimes drinkable, or that the natives had soreat distance, from whence they could easily come to take wild fowl, nor could I doubt such place would be the creek

Notwithstanding that the water was so bad, I tried several places by digging, but invariably cah black ood deal of rain must have fallen hereabouts, to have tempered the water of the lake so much; which it struck me would otherwise have been quite saline From the point where we first came down upon it, we traversed a flat beach covered with a short coarse rush, having the high red sand hill, of which I have spoken, to our left; before us a vast extent of lohite sand, and to the eastward an extremely dark and depressed country I was really afraid of entering on the scorching sands in our front, for ere now full 90 miles from the creek, and it was absolutely necessary, before I should exceed that distance, to find aon our way out In order to ascertain the nature of the country ed ter, and was induced, from what I then saw, to determine on a course somewhat to the west of north, since a due north course was evidently closed upon me; for I no that the country in that direction was hopeless, as well as in an easterly direction; but although I stood full 80 feet above the lake, I could not distinguish any thing like a hill on the distant horizon To the ard, as a es, similar to that on which I stood; but to the SW there seemed to be an interval of plain As the thunder storm had reached as far as the place where we last slept, I did not doubt but that it had also reached the lake, and on consideration determined to keep as northerly a course as circu into a country in which I was , therefore, on a bearing of 340 degrees, I went to a distance of six lad to halt, it being the only drinkable water we had seen Here we dug a third well, although, like the first, there was but little chance of benefiting by it It behovedof the 17th I thought it prudent to search for some, and as the country appeared open to the south, I turned to that point in the hope of success

We crossed soood deal of surface water, but none of a permanent kind We then crossed the NW

extrerassy plain, sier It continued, indeed, forbetween all the sandy points jutting into it; and so closely was the Desert allied to fertility at this point, and I ions, that I stoodin pure sand, with the other on luxuriant grass, springing up from rich alluvial soil At twoa native path we followed it up to the SW, and, at three-quarters of a mile, we reached two huts that had been built on a sround, with a fe trees near the these huts without a strict search round about, for I was sure that water was not far off; and at length we found a sth, hid in long grass, at a short distance from them The water was about three feet deep, and was so sheltered that I ht Grateful for the success that had attended our search, I allowed the horses to rest and feed on the grass for a time; but it was of the kind froh beautiful to the eye, was not relished by our animals

The plains extended for reat luxuriance and beauty; nor could I doubt they owed their existence to the final overflow of the large creek we had all alongdown to this point Such, indeed, I felt fro waters, would sooner or later be its termination, or that it would expend itself, less usefully, on the Stony Desert As yet, however, there was no indication of our approach to that iron region The plains were surrounded on all sides by lofty ridges of sand, and the whole scene bore ample testimony to the comparative infancy, if I may so express myself, of the interior We next pursued a NNW course into the interior, and soon left the grassy plains, crossing alternate sand ridges and flats on a bearing of 346 degrees, the whole country having a strong resemblance to that between Sydney and Botany Bay in New South Wales On one of the ridges we surprised a native, who ran froreat terror, and with incredible speed About noon we crossed a plain, partly covered with stones and partly bare, and at the further extree between two sand hills into another plain that was barren beyond description, with only salsolaceous herbs It had large white patches of clay on it, the shallow receptacles of rain water, but they were all dry

The plain was otherwise covered with low salsolae, excepting on the higher ground, on which sa It was surrounded on all sides by sand hills of a fiery red, and not even a stunted hakea was to be seen Froain crossed alternate sand hills and flats, the for quite denuded of all vegetation; but one of the horses at last knocking up, I was obliged to halt in this glooion, at the only puddle of rain water we had seen since leaving the grassy plain I was sure, however, froe that had taken place, and the character of the country around us, that ere approaching that feature, the continuance of which, in order to elucidate its probable origin, it had been a principal object in my present journey to ascertain I felt so convinced on this point, that I could not have returned to Adelaide without having satisfied eneral ideas as to the past state of the depressed interior, from what I had already seen of it; but the Stony Desert was the key to disclose the whole,--and although I feared again to tread its surface, its existence so far away to the eastward of where I had first been on it, would at least tend to confirm my impressions as to what it had been

It was clear, indeed, froh which we had just passed, that ere again approaching the salt forround near us, I observed its generally dark aspect, and that there was the dry bed of a large salt lagoon directly in our course We here dug a fourth well: the water was extremely muddy and thick, for the basin in which it was contained was very shallow, and the wind constantly playing on its surface raised waves that had stirred up the mud; but as there was ht settle This was nothing new to us, for not only on our journey to Lake Torrens and to the NW, had we subsisted on sie, but the water at the Depot at Fort Grey was half mud, and perfectly opaque However, it was a matter of necessity to retain it here if possible, and we therefore took the best measures in our power to do so

On the 19th we resu keen from the south At about a oon, as it appeared to be in the distance, but which proved to be rather a flooded plain It was about two , and was speckled over rather than covered with salt herbs At this time, also, we had an immense barren plain to our left, bounded all around, but more particularly to the north, by sand hills; over these we toiled for nine miles, when at their terrees to the east of north, or nearly south At fivepreviously crossed a ses and valleys, both covered with spinifex, we ascended a pointed hill that lay directly in our course, and from it beheld the Stony Desert ale, that co so suddenly on it, I alle feature: herbless and treeless, it occupied more than one half of the visible horizon, that is to say, frorees east of north, ard round to south As to the eastward, so here the ridges we had just crossed abutted upon it, and as many of them were lower than the line of the horizon, they looked like sea dunes, backed by storm clouds, froloomy expanse of stoneclad desert we looked for some object on the NW horizon upon which toa very distant sand hill bearing 308 degrees, towards which I deterly descended to the plain, and soon found ourselves on its uneven surface There was a narrow space destitute of stones at the base of the sand hill, stahty to one hundredthere; and it appeared to ration of so the eather, but it was very clear those poor people never ventured on the plain itself

Descended froer see the sand hill just noticed, but held on our course by co two hours and fortyit in somewhat less than an hour afterwards, calculated the distance at thirteen miles As we approached, it looked like an island in the h shallow sheet of water aly thankful From this point we crossed to another sand hill that continued northerly further than we could see, having the Desert on either hand Our horses beginning to flag, I halted at five on the side of the ridge, near a sh for the of the 20th was bitterly cold, with the wind at SSE, and I cannot help thinking that there are extensive waters in some parts of the in terior, over which it carees We started on a course of 335 degrees for a distant sandy peak rising above the general line of the horizon At a ed in a little narrow channel just like that in the grassy plain; I say fortunately, for we ht otherwise have passed the water it contained without knowing it, so co the channel more closely, we discovered a little pool about three yards long and one broad, but deep At this we breakfasted and watered the horses, and then pushed on The lodge, and was evident froain it appeared we had occasion to be thankful, for on this supply I hoped we ht safely calculate for a week at least, so that we still held on our course with e, and passing an extent of five h an open box-tree forest, every tree of which was dead The whole scene being one of the most profound silence andwas to be seen

At nine e, and from it the Desert appeared to be interminable from N to NE, but a few distant sand hills noed themselves to the eastward of the last mentioned point We then descended into a valley of sand and spinifex, and at four e lying in our way From this, the view to the north-as over a succession of sand hills The point we stood upon, as well as the ridge, was flanked southwards by an immense plain of red sand and clay, and to the NE by a sireat plain, at four miles and a half we ascended another peak, and then traversed a narrow valley crossing from it into a second valley, dohich we travelled for six miles

At that distance it was half a u about, a cockatoo, (Cacatua Leadbeateri) flew over the sand hill to our right, and pitched in the trees; we consequently crossed to the opposite side and halted for the night, where there was a good deal of green grass for the horses, but no water in the contiguous valley

CHAPTER II

THE HORSES--ASCEND THE HILLS--IRRESOLUTION AND RETREAT--HORSES REDUCED TO GREAT WANT--UNEXPECTED RELIEF--TRY THE DESERT TO THE NE--FIND WATER IN OUR LAST WELL--REACH THE CREEK--PROCEED TO THE EASTWARD--PLAGUE OF FLIES AND ANTS--SURPRISE AN OLD MAN--SEA-GULLS AND PELICANS--FISH--POOL OF BRINE--MEET NATIVES--TURN TO THE NE--COOPER'S CREEK TRIBE, THEIR KINDNESS AND APPEARANCE--ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE PLAINS--TURN BACK--PROCEED TO THE NORTHWARD--EFFECTS OF REFRACTION--FIND NATIVES AT OUR OLD CAMP AND THE STORES UNTOUCHED--COOPER'S CREEK, ITS GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION

I had taken all the horses, with the exception of one, out with me on this journey, and as they will shortly bear a prominent part in this narrative, I will rey--for which reason I called hi the whole period of s, and think I never saw an animal that could endure ed, and a proof, that in the brute creation as well as with ive a certain stamina that youth does not possess This animal, as the reader will believe, kneell, as indeed did all the horses, for I had stood by to see them watered many a time Mr Stuart rode Mr Browne's horse, a little anireat endurance also; Mack used a horse we called the Roan, a hunter that had been Mr Poole's Morgan rode poor Punch, whose name I have before had occasion tosubsequent rest, had not recovered froues of his northern excursion Besides these we had four pack horses:--Bawley, a strong and coh spirited, with a shi+ning coat, and having been a pet, was up to all kind of tricks, but was a general favourite, and a nice horse;--the other was Traveller, a light chesnut, what the hunter would call a washy brute, always eating and never fat;--the Colt, so called fro, certainly unequal to such a journey as that on which he was taken;--and Slo the sue fro hilanders; but, although the colt and my own horse contracted it, I postponed my final mandate, and all recovered; however, he continued weak At this time they were unshod, and had pretty orn their hoofs down to the quick, insoroundto ride theainst the changes and fatigues they had to go through

Froround near where we stopped in the valley, on the occasion of which I a dayto the NNW a line of dark looking hills, at the distance of about ten or twelve miles, but we could not discover tree or bush upon them, all we could make out was that they were dark objects above the line of horizon, and that the intervening country seeed fro flown froly warm I was sorry to observe, too, that the horses had scarcely touched the grass on which, for their sakes, I had been te from the previous day's journey of fro about the distance we had left the water in the grassy valley Beforeof the 21st, Mr Stuart and I went to see if we could ht before, what kind of country was in front of us, but ere disappointed, and found that we should have to wait patiently until we got nearer the hills to judge of their formation About half a mile belohere we had slept, the valley led to the NNE, and on turning, we found it there opened at once upon the Stony Desert; but the hills were now hid froot well into the plain we could hardly make out what the hills were As we neared theh sand hills, covered with stones even as the desert itself, to their tops

That part of it over which ere riding also differed froe sharp-pointed water-worn rocks est the stones, as if they had been so whilst the ground was soft There was a line of s the course of a creek between us and the hills, and a hope that we should find water cheered us for a moment, but that ray soon vanishedthe nature of its bed We searched along it for about half an hour in vain, and then turned to the hills and ascended to the top of one of the highest, about 150 feet above the level of the plain Froht object on which to rest Behind us to the south-east lay the sand hills we had crossed, with the stony plain sweeping right round them, but in every other direction the dark brown desert extended The line of the horizon was broken to the north-west and north by hills similar to the one we had ascended; but in those directions not a blade of grass, not a glittering spot was to be seen

At this point, which I have placed in lat 25 degrees 54 ain to choose between the chance of success or disaster, as on the first occasion; if I went on and should happen to find water, all for the time would be well, if not, destruction would have been inevitable I was now nearly 50 miles from water, and feared that, as it was, soet back to it, yet I lingered undecided on the hill, reluctant to ain retired, it would be a virtual abandon an injustice to Mr

Stuart and to my men if I did not here mention that I told them the position ere placed in, and the chance on which our safety would depend if ent on They ht well have been excused if they had expressed an opinion contrary to such a course, but the only reply theyto follow me to the last After this, I believe I sat on the hill for more than half an hour with the telescope in e me onwards; our situation, however, adone on and perished with all my men; but I saw neither the credit nor the utility of such a measure I trust the reader will believe that I would not have shrunk froth could have overcome; that indeed I did not shrink froe, would inevitably have awaited one on; but that in the exercise of sound discretion I decided on falling back The feeling which would have led me onwards was si coy, and ould rather run the risk of being shot, than of having the charge of pusillaniretted the step I took, and it has been no sratification to raphical Society, Lord Colchester, when addressing themedals to Dr Leichhardt and raphy, alluded to and approved ”the prudence hich further advance was abandoned, when it could only have risked the loss of those entrusted to e”

We slowly retraced our steps to the valley in which we had slept, and I stopped there for half an hour, but none of the horses would eat, with the exception of Traveller, and he certainly ood use of his time

The others collected round me as I sat under a tree, with their heads over e iven much at that moment to have relieved him, but I could not We were all of us in the same distress, and if we had not ultiether

Finding that they would not eat, we saddled and proceeded onwards, I should say backwards--and at 10 pes At the head of the valley Traveller fell dead, and I feared every moment that we should lose the Colt At one I stopped to rest the horses till dawn, and then reht it better to precede them, and if possible to take some water back to ly went in advance with Mr Stuart I thought we should never have got through the dead box-tree forest I have ht for the spot where we expected to relieve both ourselves and our horses, but the water was gone Mr Stuart poked his fingers into the mud and moistened his lips with the water that filled the holes he hadfor water when Morgan and Mack appeared, but without the colt; fortunately they had descended into the valley higher up, and had found a little pool, which they had emptied, under an impression that we had found plenty; and were astonished at hearing that none any longer remained In this situation, and with the apparent certain prospect of losing my own and Mr Browne's horse, and the colt which was still alive when the men left him, not more than a mile in the rear, we continued our search for water, but it would have been to no purpose Suddenly a pigeon topped the sand hill--it being the first bird we had seen--a solitary bird--passing us like lightning, it pitched for a moment, and for a moment only, on the plain, about a quarter of a mile from us, and then fleay It could only have wetted its bill, but Mr Stuart had ht to dwell for a ular occurrence, but I leave it to s I was enabled to send back to the colt, and we ed to save him, and as there was a sufficiency of water for our consuive the e across the Desert a little to the eastward of north, and with Mr Stuart proceeded in that direction on the ht of all high land The appearance of the Desert was like that of an iround, as if by the force of waters, and the stones werethe sandy bed beneath and betwixt thely hot, and our horses' hoofs were so brittle that pieces flew off theainst the stones We were at this time about sixteen or seventeen miles from the sand hill where we had left thea northerly direction, and certainly wasapparently for the Gulf of Carpentaria; nor could I doubt but that there had once been an open sea between us and it We reached our little bivouac at 9 phly wearied, and disappointed as we had been, I regretted that I had put the poor things to unnecessary hardshi+ps Perhaps I rong in having done so, but I could not rest Our latitude here was 26 degrees 26 rees 21portion of the Desert, as I had deter the sandy ridges reached our first water (the 4th going out), about sunset or a little before Water still re smelt so offensive that it was loathsoreat, indeed our only, dependence then was on the water in the little channel on the grassy plain; at this we arrived late on the afternoon of the 25th Another day and we should again have been disappointed: the water on which I had calculated for a fortnight was all but gone In thewe drained almost the last drop out of the channel We were now about 92 miles from the creek, without the apparent probability of relief till we should get to it, for it seemed hopeless to expect that we should find any water in the wells we had dug Crossing the grassy plains on an east-north-east course, we passed the salt lake about 10 aes between it and our encampment of the 15th, where we had made our second well, at 6 pm, but it was dry and the bottoiven er rest than prudence would have justified, but we had not tiain mounted, and went slowly on; and when darkness closed around us lit a s in front led the way for the others to follow; thus tracking our way over those dreary regions all night long, we neared our last re dawned Objects were still obscure as we approached the spot where our hopes rested, for our horses could hardly drag one foot after the other Mr Stuart was in front, and called to me that he saw the little trees under whose shade we had slept; soon after he said he saw so where the as, and immediately after shouted out, ”Water, water” It is i of uided us