Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia - Thomas Mitchell
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[* By which I find it has been named GEOPHAPS HISTRIONIEA.]
24TH SEPTEMBER.--I continued to seek the river across extensive downs, in
many parts of which dead brigalow stumps remained, apparently as if the
decay of that species of scrub gave place to open ground. I turned now to
the S.W., and became anxious to see the river again. At length we came
upon a creek, which I followed down, first to the S.W. and next
southerly, until it was time to alight, when we established our bivouac
by a large lagoon in its bed, in latitude 24 deg. 3' 30" S. Thermometer, at 3
P.M. 98 deg.. Height above the sea, 688 feet.
25TH SEPTEMBER.--At 6 A.M. the thermometer stood at 73 deg.. We ought to have
been retrogressive yesterday, according to the time calculated on for our
stock of provisions; but we could not leave the river without tracing it
to the furthest accesible point. We still continued, therefore, to follow
the water-course which had brought us thus far, expecting at every turn
to find its junction with the river, whose course had obviously turned
more than usual to the southward. We fell in with a larger tributary from
the N. W.; after which junction, the tributary took a more westerly
direction than the minor channel which brought us to it. We thus came
upon a large lagoon, beside which were the huts of a very numerous tribe
of natives, who appeared to have been there very recently, as some of the
fires were still burning. Well beaten paths, and large permanent huts,
were seen beyond that encampment; and it was plain that we had entered
the home of a numerous tribe. I should have gladly avoided them at that
time, had not a sight of the river been indispensable, and the course of
the creek we were upon, the only certain guide to it. Level plains
extended along its banks, and I had been disappointed by the appearance
of lofty Yarra trees, which grew on the banks of large lagoons. On
approaching one of these, loud shrieks of many women and children, and
the angry voices of men, apprised me that we had, at length, overtaken
the tribe; and, unfortunately, had come upon them by surprise. "AYA
MINYA!" was vociferated repeatedly, and was understood to mean, "What do
you want!" (What seek ye in the land of Macgregor!) I steadily adhered to
my new plan of tactics towards the aborigines, and took not the slightest
notice of them, but steadily rode forward, according to my compass
bearing. On looking back for my men, I saw one beckoning me to return. He
had observed two natives, with spears and clubs, hide themselves behind a
bush in the direction in which I was advancing. On my halting, they stole
away, and, when a little further on, I perceived an old white-haired
woman before me, on seeing whom I turned slightly to one side, that we
might not frighten her or provoke the tribe. The whole party seemed to
have been amusing themselves in the water during the noon-day heat, which
was excessive; and the cool shades around the lagoon looked most
luxuriant. Our position, on the contrary, was anything but enviable. With
jaded horses scarcely able to lift a leg, amongst so many natives, whose
language was incomprehensible, even to Yuranigh. I asked him whether we
might not come to a parley with them, and see if they could understand
him. His answer was brief; and, without turning even his head once to
look at them:--"You go on!" which advice, quite according with my own
notions, founded on experience, I willingly went on. Even there, in the
heart of the interior, on a river utterly unheard of by white men, an
iron tomahawk glittered on high in the hand of a chief, having a very
long handle to it. The anxious care of the females to carry off their
children seemed the most agreeable feature in the scene, and they had a
mode of carrying them on the haunch, which was different from anything I
had seen. Some had been digging in the mud for worms, others searching
for freshwater muscles; and if the whole could have been witnessed
unperceived, such a scene of domestic life amongst the aborigines had
been worth a little more risk. The strong men assumed a strange attitude,
which seemed very expressive of surprise; having the right knee bent, the
left leg forward, the right arm dropping, but grasping clubs; the left
arm raised, and the fingers spread out. "Aya, aya, minya!" they
continually shouted; and well might they ask what we wanted! Hoping they
would believe us to be Centaurs, and include the two old pack-horses in
counting our numbers, I had not the slightest desire to let them know us
more particularly; and so travelled on, glad, at length, to hear their
"Aya minyas" grow fainter, and that we were leaving them behind. About
five miles further south, the perfume from the liliaceous banks of the
river was the first indication of its vicinity. We found it full 400
yards broad, presenting its usual characteristics,--several separate
channels and ponds of water; there, according to the barometer, the
height above the sea was only 633 feet; the temperature at 3 P. M., in
the shade, 99 deg. of Fahrenheit. We watered our horses, crossed, and plunged
into the brigalow beyond, where I meant to steal a march upon the noisy
tribe; who, by that time, probably were sending to call in their hunting
parties, that they might follow our track. Their mode of killing a
kangaroo may best exemplify their tactics towards strangers; whose path
in the same manner could be followed by day, and sat down beside at
night, to be again tracked in the morning, until the object of pursuit
could be overtaken. The brigalow beyond the river grew on a rising ground
of sharpedged red gravel, and, from a small opening, I saw the course of
the river running nearly northward. Here, then, I turned towards the east
to travel home by ascending the left bank, with the intention to cut off
the great sweep which the river described, as we had found on tracing it
down; and, in hopes we should so intercept any tributaries it might
receive from that side. At dusk, I met with one containing a fine lagoon,
and near this I fixed my bivouac. Yuranigh most firmly objected to our
sitting down close by the water, saying we might there be too easily
speared by the wild natives who were then, probably, on our track; but he
did not object to my bivouac on the more open plain adjacent, one man
keeping a good look-out. I called these, Yuranigh's ponds. Latitude, 24 deg.
19' 2" S.
26TH SEPTEMBER.--At 6 A. M. the thermometer stood at 61 deg.. My horse was
quite leg-weary, and I was very loath to force him on, but one day's
journey further was indispensable. We traversed open plains and passed
through patches of brigalow of an open kind of scrub. The surface was
grassy, but very gravelly; indeed it was, in many places, so devoid of
mould as to resemble a newly Macadamized road,--the fragments being much
of that size, and in general of a reddish colour, consisting, for the
most part, of a red siliceous compound. In a ride of twenty-six miles, we
saw no country much better, and I was obliged to conclude that the left
bank was by no means so good as the country on the right, or to the
northward of the river. We arrived, however, by nightfall, at a goodly
water-course, in which we providentially found a pond, and encamped;
resolved there to rest our horses next day, (being Sunday,) and most
thankful to Him to whom the day was dedicated. Latitude 24 deg. 12' 37" S.
Thermometer, at 6 P.M., 92 deg..
27TH SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A. M., 68 deg.. On laying down my work on
paper, I found we had made a most favourable cut on the way homewards,
our old bivouac of the 21st inst., being about due east from us, and
distant not quite fifteen miles; the great tributary from the S.E.
passing between, upon which we could depend for a supply of water, if it
should be required.
It would appear that the finer the climate, and the fewer man's wants,
the more he sinks towards the condition of the lower animals. Where the
natives had passed the night, no huts, even of bushes, had been set up; a
few tufts of dry grass only, marked the spot where, beside a small fire,
each person had sat folded up, like the capital letter N; but with the
head reclining on the knees, and the whole person resting on the feet and
thigh-joints, clasped together by the hands grasping each ankle. Their
occupation during the day was only wallowing in a muddy hole, in no
respect cleaner than swine. They have no idea of any necessity for
washing themselves between their birth and the grave, while groping in
mud for worms, with hands that have always an unpleasant fishy taint that
clings strangely to whatever they touch. The child of civilization that
would stain even a shoe or a stocking with one spot of that mud, would
probably be whipt by the nurse: savage children are not subject to that
sort of restraint. Whether school discipline may have any thing to do
with the difference so remarkable between the animal spirits of children
of civilised parents and those of savages, I shall make no remark; but
that the buoyancy of spirit and cheerfulness of the youth amongst the
savages of Australia, seem to render them agreeable companions to the men
on their hunting excursions, almost as soon as they can run about. If the
naturalist looks a savage in the mouth, he finds ivory teeth, a clean
tongue, and sweet breath; but in the mouth of a white specimen of
similar, or indeed less, age, it is ten to one but he would discover only
impurity and decay, however clean the shoes and stockings worn, or
however fine the flour of which his or her food had consisted. What,
then, is civilization in the economy of the human animal? one is led to
inquire. A little reflection affords a satisfactory answer. Cultivated
man despises the perishable substance, and pursues the immortal shadow.
Animal gratification is transient and dull, compared to the acquisition
of knowledge--the gratification of mind--the raptures of the poet, or the
delight of the enthusiast, however imaginary. It is true that, amongst
civilized men, substance is still represented by the yellow ore, and that
the votaries of beauty "bend in silken slavery;" but are not beauty or
gold as dust in the balance, substantial though they be, when weighed in
lofty minds against glory or immortality? When the shadow he pursues is
worth more, and is more enduring than the substance, well might it be
said that "Man is but a shadow, and life a dream." Such were my
reflections on this day of rest, in the heart of a desert, while
protected from the sun's rays by a blanket, and in some uncertainty how
long these dreams under it would continue undisturbed.
"The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of hell: a
hell of heaven!"
Thermometer, at 6 P. M., 90 deg..
28TH SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A. M., 63 deg.. The horses were much
refreshed by that day's repose, and we this morning continued our journey
in an easterly direction, over downs and through open scrubs, meeting no
impediment from brigalow. We crossed the various branches of a
considerable tributary coming from E.S.E., the only water seen this day,
besides the great river; which we met with, exactly where, according to
its general course, it was to be looked for. We crossed it, and encamped
on the right bank of the northern river, at the place where I had
previously crossed.
This day I had discovered, from the highest parts of the downs, a range
to the S. W., and was able to intersect some of the principal hills, and
so determine its place and direction. I named the most westerly feature,
Mount Gray; the lofty central mass, the Gowen Range, and a bold summit
forming the eastern portion, Mount Koenig. I had now obtained data
sufficient to enable me to determine the extent of the lower basin of the
river, by laying down the position and direction of the nearest ranges.
The last-mentioned appeared flat-topped, and presented yellow cliffs like
sandstone. At 6 P.M., the temperature was 81 deg..
29TH SEPTEMBER.--At 6 A.M., the thermometer was 59 deg.. Re-crossing the
river, I travelled, in a straight line, towards my camp of 19th
September: thus, performing in one, the journeys of two former days. We
crossed the main channel we had previously traced down, thus identifying
it. The country was, in general, open; the downs well covered with grass,
and redolent with the rich perfume of lilies and strange flowers, which
grew all over them amongst the grass. We arrived at the spot I sought,
and there encamped. Our provisions were nearly out; the sun having
reduced the men's sugar, and melted the bacon, which had been boiled
before we set out. This was an unfortunate blunder. Bacon, in such warm
weather, should be carried uncooked, and our's might have then been very
good. The men jocosely remarked, that, although we had out-manoeuvred the
natives, the weather had been so hot that, nevertheless, we could not
"save our bacon." Thermometer, at 5 P.M., 83 deg..
30TH SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer, at 7 A.M., 67 deg.. I found, by my map, that I
might very much shorten the homeward route to next camp (that of 18th
September), by travelling towards it in a straight line across the downs.
We accordingly set out on the bearing of 51/2 deg. S. of E., and hit the spot
exactly at a distance of eighteen miles; arriving early, so as to afford
some good rest to our horses. We crossed open downs chiefly, passed
through a narrow belt of brigalow (about a mile wide), and twice crossed
a tributary to the river, which tributary we thus discovered. The water-
course on which we had again encamped, arose in open downs of fine firm
clay, and it was pleasant to see a great river thus supplied by the
waters collected only amongst the swelling undulations and valleys of the
country through which it passed, like the rivers of Europe. The river we
had discovered, seemed, in this respect, essentially different from
others in Australia, which usually arise in mountains, and appear to be
rather designed to convey water into regions where it is wanting, than to
carry off any surplus from the surfaces over which they run.
1ST OCTOBER.--Our track back across the downs, brought again into view
the Northern range, and I now named the prominent mountain at its
salient, Mount Northampton, in honour of the noble marquis at the head of
the Royal Society. The range to the southward also appeared above the
trees of the valley, and I gave the name of Mount Inniskillen to the
salient mountain, which appeared so remarkable a feature to us on first
advancing into that region, from the eastward. We again reached the river
this day, after traversing the wide plains. Its woods still resounded
with the plaintive cooing of a dove, which I had not seen elsewhere. At a
distance, the sound resembled the distant cooy of female natives, and we
at first took it for their voices until we ascertained whence these notes
came. I had arrived at a fine reach of the river, and while watering the
horses, preparatory to leaving its banks, (to make a short cut on our
former route,) when a pair of these birds appeared on a bough over head,
so near that I could take a drawing, by which I have since ascertained
the bird to have been GEOPELIA CUNEATA.
But the river we were about to leave required a name, for no natives
could be made to understand our questions, even had they been more
willing than they were to communicate at all. It seemed to me, to deserve
a great name, being of much importance, as leading from temperate into
tropical regions, where water was the essential requisite,--a river
leading to India; the "nacimiento de la especeria," or REGION WHERE
SPICES GREW: the grand goal, in short, of explorers by sea and land, from
Columbus downwards. This river seemed to me typical of God's providence,
in conveying living waters into a dry parched land, and thus affording
access to open and extensive pastoral regions, likely to be soon peopled
by civilised inhabitants. It was with sentiments of devotion, zeal, and
loyalty, that I therefore gave to this river the name of my gracious
sovereign, Queen Victoria. There seemed to be much novelty in the plants
along its banks. The shells of the fresh-water mussle (UNIO), which lay
about the old fires of the natives, exceeded in size any we had seen
elsewhere. I measured one, and found it six inches long, and three and a
half broad. On the plains near this spot, grew a beautiful little ACACIA,
resembling A. PENDULA, but a distinct species, according to Mr.
Bentham.[*] We crossed the open downs and our former route, hastening to
make the tributary river before night. We reached the channel by sunset;
the moon was nearly full, and we continued to search in the bed for
water, until we again fell in with our former track, near the place where
we had watered our horses on the morning of the 17th September. On
hastening to the pond, we found the intense heat of the last twelve days
had dried it up, and we were obliged to encamp without water; a most
unpleasant privation after a ride of thirty miles, under an almost
vertical sun. The river must receive a great addition below this branch
from the Northampton ranges, entering probably about that great bend we
had this day cut off; leaving the deep reaches formerly seen there, on
our left, or to the northward. An uncommon drought had not only dried up
the waters of this river, but killed much of the brigalow scrub so
effectually, that the dead trunks alone remained on vast tracts, thus
becoming open downs.
[* A. VICTORIAE (Benth. MS.) glabra, glauca, ramulis teretibus,
phyllodiis linearibus subfalcatis obtusis basi angustatis crassis
enervibus, glandula prope basin immersa, pedunculis glaberrimis
gracilibus racemosis capitulo parvo 12-20-floro multoties longioribus.]
2D OCTOBER.--At 6 A.M. the thermometer gave a temperature of 59 deg.. The
height above the sea was 1081 feet. In tracing back our old track, I sent
Corporal Graham to examine a part of the river channel likely to contain
water, and the report of his pistol some time after in the woods,
welcomer than sweetest music to our ears just then, guided us to the
spot, where he had found a small pond containing enough for all our
wants. For the men, having no more tea or sugar, a good drink was all
that was required; the poor fellows prepared my tea not the less
assiduously, although I could have had but little comfort in drinking it
under such circumstances, without endeavouring to share what was almost
indivisible. We this day performed a long journey, reaching our former
bivouac, of the 16th September, on Graham's creek, at an early hour.
Three emus were seen feeding close by; but, although several attempts
were made to get near them, with a horse stalking, we could not kill any
of them.
3D OCTOBER.--Soon after we had quitted our bivouac, the emus were again
seen on the plains. I could not deny the men the opportunity thus
afforded them of obtaining some food; for, although they concealed their
hunger from me, I knew they were living on bread and water. Graham
succeeded in wounding one of the birds, which, nevertheless, escaped. He
then chased a female followed by about a dozen young ones, towards us,
when we caught three. It had occurred to me this morning, to mark and
number the bivouacs we had occupied thus far, for the purpose of future
reference, when any other party might proceed, or be sent again, into
this country. I had, therefore, cut the number 73 on a tree at this
bivouac of 3d October, under the initials N.S.W. We pursued a straight
course over the downs, east by compass, until we joined our old route
along the water-course, from our camp near the gap, and this brought us
back, at an early hour to that spot, where I marked a tree with the
figures 72.
4TH OCTOBER.--We recrossed the brigalow range, (where the temperature, at
9 A.M., was 79 deg.,) and alighted by the pond at the junction of the Nivelle
and Nive; near where we had passed the night of the 12th September. This
day we again saw the CALLITRIS; a tree so characteristic of sandy soils,
but of which we had not observed a single specimen in the extensive
country beyond. Marked 71 on a tree.
5TH OCTOBER.--Soon after we left our bivouac, I saw in the grass before
me, a large snake. This was rather a novelty to us, being almost the
first we had seen in these northern regions of Australia. I dismounted,
and went forward to strike it with a piece of wood. Yuranigh did the
same, both missed it, when it unexpectedly turned upon us, took a
position on higher ground beside a large tree, then descended with head
erect, moving nimbly towards the horses, and the rest of the party. The
deadly reptile glided straight to the forefeet of my horse, touched the
fetlock with his head, but did not bite; then passed to the hind legs and
did the same, fortunately the horse stood quietly. The snake darted
thence towards one of the men, who was about to throw a stick at him, and
was next in the act of pursuing Yuranigh, when Graham gave him a charge
of small shot, which crippled his movements until he could be despatched.
This snake was of a brown colour, red spotted on the belly, about six
feet long, and five inches in circumference. I had never before known any
Australian snake to attack a party, but we had certainly brought the
attack on ourselves. We made a good cut on our former circuitous route
when tracing down the river Nive, and arrived at our former bivouac at an
early hour. This was fortunate, as all the ponds, formerly full of good
water, had, in the interim, dried up; and I proceeded to cross the
scrubby range, by pursuing a straight direction towards Mount Pluto. But
some magnetic influence so deranged my compass, that, on reaching the
crest of the range, I found that mountain bore nearly east instead of N.
E. N. I saw three of my fixed points, however, by which, with my pocket
sextant, I could ascertain our true position, which proved to be very
wide of my intended course. It was, like many other accidental
frustrations of my plans in this journey, an aberration that did us good,
for we had thereby avoided the bad scrub formerly passed through, and
also a rocky part of the range. We next descended into a valley in which,
after following down a dry watercourse two miles, we found a fine pond of
water, exactly as the sun was setting. This day I had shot a curious
bird, somewhat resembling a small turkey, in a tree. The feathers were
black; the head was bare and red. This fowl was apparently of the
galinaceous tribe. The flesh was delicious, and afforded a most timely
dinner to the party. A numerous body of natives had followed our former
track across the rocky ranges we traversed this day, as appeared by their
foot-marks, and Yuranigh also discovered, in the same manner, that three
natives had this morning preceded us on our return; nevertheless we saw
none of these denizens of the woods.
6TH OCTOBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A. M., 48 deg.. Height above the sea, 696
feet. This day we hoped to rejoin the party at the camp of the Pyramids;
but the journey was long, and it included an ascent of Mount Pluto, from
which I had still to observe some important angles. I marked this
bivouac, with 70 cut on a tree, the two last being, respectively marked,
71 and 72, as already stated; these numbers continuing the series from
LXIX, my lowest camp on the Belyando.
The scrub is thick about these volcanic ranges, but on the downs and
plains of Central Australia, that impediment disappears. My men and
myself were in rags from passing through these scrubs, and we rejoiced at
the prospect of rejoining, this day, our countrymen at the Pyramids. I
found a fine open forest between the ponds where we had formerly passed
the night, and Mount Pluto; and we crossed several water-courses, the
grass on their banks being green and young, because the old grass had
been burnt off by the natives. These water-courses form the highest
sources of the Salvator. We were at no very considerable elevation above
the sea where we had slept (696 feet), yet we found the air on the
mountains much cooler than that of the interior plains. There was much
Callitris in the woods passed through this day; and the soil, although
well covered with grass, was sandy. I ascended Mount Pluto by the N. W.
side, where the loose fragments of trap, on a very steep slope, obstruct
the growth of a thorny scrub, covering other parts of the mountain sides.
The view from the summit was very favourable for my purpose, and I passed
an hour and a half in taking angles on all distant points. Mount Owen and
Mount Kilsyth were both visible; Buckland's Table-land in the East, and
some of the recently discovered ranges in the west, were just visible
across the trap-rock range, which connected Mount Playfair with Mount
Hutton; which range almost shut out the view to the westward. In the S.
W., some very remarkable features appeared to terminate westward, in
abrupt cliffs over a low country, into which the Maran (as far as known),
the Warrego, and the Nive, seem to carry their waters. What that country
is, was a most interesting point, which I was very reluctant to leave
still a mystery. No volcanic hills appeared to the westward of this trio,
which thus seem to mark the place where the upheaving forces have most
affected the interior structure of Australia. The temperature on Mount
Pluto, at noon, was 90 deg.; and the elevation above the sea, 2420 feet.