Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria - In search of Burke and Wills by William Landsborough
page 44 of 216 (20%)
page 44 of 216 (20%)
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water. At one place in the river where we bathed the current was so
strong that it took our feet from under us in wading across. It is so deep that it is not fordable except at the bars between the waterholes, where it runs rapid. Its bed is full of large trees, among which I observed gum, Leichhardt, tea, and cabbage-palm-trees. Along the edge of the water it has a fringe of pandanus. Among the trees in the second bed by the river there is coarse grass and other herbs. If we had seen the country under more favourable circumstances, a short time after rain had fallen instead of now, when the grass is dry and withered, I should have called it most beautiful country; for, with the exception of a few barren ranges the soil is very rich and clothed with the best of grasses. The trees upon it are chiefly bauhinia, and stunted box and gumtrees, without ironbark. Wednesday November 27. Camp Number 10, situated on the banks of the Gregory River. Ginger, the old black horse, was missing until eleven o'clock, when the troopers reported that they had found him in the river drowned, and floating down with the stream. I had the horses brought down on the previous evening to the only watering-place which was safe, but as they were watered a few hours before they did not all of them drink so soon again. From camp we crossed a bad gully and from it made a fair start at 11.52, having made at that place half a mile south-west by south. The river is at this place closely confined on both sides by stony ranges; a few drops of rain fell on us in that pass. At 12.40 p.m. made two miles west to a small dry watercourse from the north, which is full of pandanus at its mouth. The ranges on the left bank had on them dykes like artificial ones, which run at different places across the hills. At 1 p.m. we made three-quarters of a mile in the same direction south to |
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