Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia by Thomas Mitchell
page 111 of 402 (27%)
recent marks of natives' fires, and I was informed that they did not much
frequent that part of the river. The grass along the banks was very
luxuriant. Latitude 28° 31' 19" south. Thermometer at sunrise, 39°; at
noon, 75°; at 4 P.M., 76°; at 9, 50°;--with wet bulb, 46°. The height of
this camp above the level of the sea, being forty feet above the bed of
the river, 543 feet; from the mean of four observations.

3RD APRIL.--The section of this river being forty feet deep, and the
banks in general steep, the work necessary to render it passable to our
heavy drays could not be accomplished yesterday afternoon. This day,
however, our camp was established on the right bank of the Culgoa.
Thermometer at sunrise, 35°; at noon, 80°.; at 4 P.M., 77°; at 9, 49°;
and with wet bulb, 46°.

4TH APRIL.--We were now to proceed along the right bank of the Culgoa
upwards to the United Balonne, and thence to continue ascending along the
right bank of that river also, as far as the direction was favourable to
our progress northward. This remained to be ascertained in exploring that
river upwards. In gaining the right bank of the Culgoa, we had crossed
the vast basin of clay extending from the Bogan on the south, to this
river on the north, and westward to New Year's Range and Fort Bourke.
That country was liable to be rendered quite impassable, had the rains
set in. But even in such seasons we could still travel over the dry, firm
ground bounding this basin of clay on the northward, as the left bank of
the Bogan was also passable, however rainy the season, indeed more
conveniently then than during a dry one. Rain, if it had fallen at this
time, had greatly facilitated our exploration of the northern interior;
but these rivers we had reached would supply us with water for some
degrees to the northward, as I had been informed by the Commissioner of
the district, and in our progress so far, I hoped we should arrive at a
DigitalOcean Referral Badge