The weather still very sultry. The horses were brought in at a quarter-past eight by Worthington, who had traced them up the valley to two miles above our former encampment. The rich soil in this valley is nearly as deep as the bed of the rivulet, which is twenty feet lower than the surface; a substratum of gravel, similar to that in the bed of the watercourse, appears in the bank; the pebbles, consisting chiefly of trap-rock, seemed to be the water-worn debris of the Liverpool range. The cattle and horses being at rest, we were occupied this day in making various observations with our instruments, trying the rate of the chronometer, etc. A thundercloud and a little rain afforded some relief from the excessive heat of the atmosphere. The night was very calm; but the mosquitoes were numerous and troublesome.

A SQUATTER.

December 8.

A road or track, which we found about half a mile east from the camp, led us very directly, on the bearing of 335 degrees, to Loder's station, distant about six miles from our encampment. Here stood a tolerable house of slabs, with a good garden adjoining it, in charge of an old stockman and his equally aged wife. This man was named by the blacks Longanay (Long Ned).* The station was situated on a fine running stream called the Cuerindie, and the state of the sheep and cattle about it proved the excellence of the pasture. We pa.s.sed the limits of the territory open to the selection of settlers, in crossing the Liverpool range; and the more remote country is not likely to come into the market soon. Such stations as this of Loder were held therefore only by the right of pre-occupancy, which has been so generally recognised among the colonists themselves, that the houses, etc. of these stations are sometimes disposed of for valuable considerations, although the land is liable to be sold by the government.

(*Footnote. His wife, whom the natives had told me of as a white gin, was perhaps the only white woman then dwelling beyond the mountains. She was enveloped in numerous flannel petticoats, and presented a singular contrast to the undraped slender native females, some of whom with children I saw about the place, and who appeared to be treated by her with great kindness.)

NATIVE GUIDE AND HIS GIN.

A native named Jemmy, whom I met with here, agreed to conduct me by the best way for carts to Wallamoul on the Peel, for which service I undertook to reward him with a tomahawk.* It was necessary, that we should ford the Cuerindie, which flows to the north-west, and notwithstanding the steepness of its banks, we effected a pa.s.sage without difficulty, guided by Jemmy. One mile beyond this, another creek lay in our way. It was smaller, but much more formidable and difficult to cross, for the bottom and banks consisted of blue-mud or clay, half-hardened on the surface, yet soft and yielding below. It was not without considerable delay, that we effected the pa.s.sage, for a wheel of one of the carts stuck fast in the mud, and it was necessary to dig away the earth in front of the other wheel before we could release the vehicle. At length everything was got across, and we fortunately met no other impediment for six miles. We then crossed the channels of two rivulets, neither of which contained any water. At half-past four I wished to encamp, and the natives having at length found a green mantling pool in the bed of the united channel of the two watercourses, we pitched our tents, at a place called Burandua. Bad as the water seemed to be, Jemmy soon obtained some which was both clear and cool, by digging a hole in the sand near the pool. This native was a quiet and sensible fellow--he steadily pursued the course he recommended for the wheelbarrows, as he termed our carts; and answered all my queries briefly and decidedly, either by a nod of a.s.sent, or the negative monosyllable Bel, with a shake of the head. His walk was extremely light and graceful; his shoulders were neatly knit, and the flowing luxuriance of his locks was restrained by a bit of half-inch cord, the two ends hanging, like a double queue, halfway down his back. He was followed by his gin and a child, which she usually carried on her back, although it seemed old enough and able to walk.

(*Footnote. A small axe used for numerous purposes by the natives of Australia.)

The air of evening was very refreshing, and the sun set with peculiar brilliancy. We had travelled during the whole day on good soil, and the ploughed appearance of the surface was very remarkable in various places, particularly a little to the south of Loder's station, where the hollows seemed to terminate in a common channel. I noticed also that the direction of all the watercourses was towards the north-west, and it was evident that the streams occasionally overflowed their banks.

December 9.

This morning the party was ready to proceed soon after five o'clock, but the barometer got out of order while I was using it in the dry bed of the rivulet, and some time was lost in an unsuccessful attempt to repair it.

This derangement of the instrument was very unfortunate at so early a stage of our journey.

After travelling about seven miles and a half we perceived, on our left, an open valley in which a numerous herd of cattle was feeding; and one mile further on, we came upon a fine little stream, which was rather difficult to cross, owing to the steepness of the banks. As the men were at work taking the carts over one by one, the native and I were amused with a large black snake, which was swimming about. On his casting a stone at it the snake glided swiftly towards him, and the poor fellow took to his heels, cautioning me to keep off, saying it would kill my horse. But he soon returned to the charge, and having succeeded in stunning it with stones, it was at length cut in two with my sabre. On measuring this snake I found it to be nine inches in circ.u.mference, and eight feet and a half in length.

Beyond that rivulet the country appeared tolerably open and level, so that we could pursue our course in one direction nearly eight miles. The most conspicuous hill on our right, was named by the native Barragundy.

It was visible during the whole of our day's journey. We at length entered upon an open and gra.s.sy plain, and found in the skirts of the wood beyond it, a channel containing water in abundance, and which was known to the natives as Carrabobbila.* Beyond this channel arose a peaked and picturesque range, whereof the highest summit was named Turi.

(*Footnote. Even before my men had seen this spot, the native name, in their mouths, was corrupted into Terrible Billy!)

MODES OF DRINKING AU NATUREL.

The water, when we encamped, was hot and muddy, but the blacks knew well how to obtain a cool and clean draught, by first scratching a hole in the soft sand beside the pool, thus making a filter, in which the water rose cooled but muddy. They next threw into this some tufts of long gra.s.s, through which they sucked the cooler water thus purified also from the sand or gravel. I was very glad to follow the example, and I found the sweet fragrance of the gra.s.s an agreeable addition to the luxury of drinking. But during the heat of the forenoon I had observed the female quenching her thirst with still greater satisfaction, by rushing into a pool, and drinking as she sat immersed up to the lip.

From Loder's station, we had travelled thus far on our way to Peel's river, without having any road or track to follow, and I had marked the trees along our line of route, which certainly seemed favourable for a cart-road in that direction. Near Carrabobbila, we came upon the track leading to Wallamoul, which was more circuitous, pa.s.sing by other cattle stations in the plains.

WOODS ON FIRE.

During the last three days of our journey, the woods were burning before us, but fortunately the fire was one day's march in advance of our party, and thus the flames had cleared everything away before our arrival, so that our camp was not exposed to danger. This evening however, the country seemed on fire all around us. The weather was calm and sultry, particularly when the day closed in, and a very heavy storm, accompanied by thunder, broke over us in the night.

December 10.

The morning was cloudy; and the rain, which we anxiously looked for, at length came down, and soon checked the progress of the flames. On this account, as well as on that of the want of water, it afforded providential relief to us, for the hills we were about to cross had been all in a blaze during the night. Trees lay smoking as we pa.s.sed; several gullies were difficult for the pa.s.sage of carts, and detained the party in its ascent.

CROSS THE TURI RANGE.

But at length we reached the top of this pa.s.s, and crossed the range, which appeared to be continuous, thus separating the basin of the Peel from that of the waters falling to Liverpool plains. We were agreeably surprised to find that the opposite side of these hills, and the whole face of the country beyond them, presented a very different appearance from that through which we had pa.s.sed. A gently sloping extremity lay before us for eight miles in the direction of our proposed route, and we were relieved from all the difficulties of crossing gullies, which had impeded our ascent on the other side of the range. We encamped at some waterholes, where this slope terminated in an extensive forest flat; over the whole of which, as my sable guide informed me, there was no other water at that time.

The gra.s.s on this side of the hills was good: and almost all the timber consisted of box (eucalyptus). The heights which we had crossed appeared to extend from the Liverpool range to the northward, as far as could be seen; but the native told me, that it soon terminated on the river Callala (or Peel) whose course, he said, turned westward (as he pointed); a fact corroborating so far, the statements of The Bushranger.

ARRIVE ON THE RIVER PEEL.

December 11.

The weather cleared up at about six A.M.: and we travelled across a good soil, throughout the whole of this day's journey. The country appeared but thinly wooded, and without any hill or watercourse. After a journey of thirteen miles, we reached the bank of the Peel at Wallamoul, the lowest cattle station upon this river. It was occupied by Mr. Brown, who had there about 1600 head of cattle. I gave to Jemmy, our excellent guide, the promised tomahawk, also a knife to Monday his brother, whom he met here. The river was so low that Mr. White and I pa.s.sed over easily on a tree which the flood had laid across it. The current however was strong; and the men having been furnished from our stock with a few hooks and lines, caught three large fishes by sunset. I met, at this place, with some intelligent natives, from whom I learnt, that the spot where Mr. Oxley crossed the Peel on his journey, was about two miles lower down.

FISHES.

December 12.

At an early hour this morning, one of our men caught a fish, which weighed eighteen pounds; but, according to the natives, this was no uncommon size. These fishes are most erroneously called cod by the colonists, although they certainly very much resemble cod in taste. The flakes are firmer than sea cod, and equally white, the fish affording a very light and palatable food. When dried in the same manner as the Newfoundland cod, in which state I have tasted this fish at Bathurst, I could not perceive any difference either in flavour or appearance.

Being at length about to enter the Terra incognita, I deemed it expedient to repack our stores, in order that the load might be made as light and compact as possible, and that we might pa.s.s with less difficulty over whatever description of ground we were destined to encounter. With this view, I directed the flour to be started from casks into bags, and made such arrangements as tended materially to lessen the bulk of our provisions and other necessary stores. Having questioned the natives with regard to the course of the Peel, I learnt that, instead of flowing northward, as. .h.i.therto supposed, it took a westerly direction, and was soon joined by the Muluerindie, a river coming from the north-east. The natives further a.s.sured me that there was a good ford below the junction of these streams at a place called Wallanburra; and I determined to proceed to this ford, as it was not advisable, with the Muluerindie beyond, to cross the river above the junction.

ANOTHER NATIVE GUIDE.

Being anxious to procure another guide, the overseer at Wallamoul brought me a native named Mr. Brown, who agreed to accompany our party on condition that he should receive blankets for himself and his gin, and a tomahawk, the latter being a small hatchet, which is so valuable a subst.i.tute for their stone hatchet that almost all natives within reach of the colony have them, even where the white man is known as yet only by name--or as the manufacturer of this most important of all implements to the Australian native.

EXPLORE THE PEEL.

December 13.

Mr. Finch having joined us on the previous evening, without procuring the supply of flour that I had expected, I despatched him back this morning to the Hunter's River district, with directions to procure as much flour, tea, and sugar as he could pack on six bullocks, and to follow along my line of marked trees with all possible speed. I furnished him with an official letter to Mr. Dixon, in which I instructed that surveyor to supply him with any article he could possibly spare from his own equipment, without impeding the service on which he was engaged.

And now our arrangements being as complete as we could hope to make them, under existing circ.u.mstances, we broke up our encampment at eight A.M., and proceeded in the interesting pursuit of the course of the Peel River.

CHAPTER 1.2.

Enter an unexplored region.

Situation of Mr. Oxley's camp on the Peel.

Westward course of the river.

Kangaroo shot.

Calcareous rocks.

Acacia pendula first seen.

Other trees near the river.

Junction of the Peel and Muluerindie.

View from Perimbungay.

Ford of Wallanburra.

Plains of Mulluba.

View from Mount Ydire.

Hills seen agree with The Bushranger's account.

The river Namoi.

Stockyard of The Bushranger.

Singular fish.

View from Tangulda.

Cutting through a thick scrub.

Want of water.