DR. LEICHHARDT'S EXPEDITION.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 228, 18 July 1846, Page 79

DR. LEICHHARDT'S EXPEDITION.

[Continued from page 72.]

From the heads of the Isaacks we came to small creeks collecting into a common watercourse, going at first to the northward, afterwards to the westward, and even to south-west. I called this " Suttor's Creek." Open ironbark slopes and small plains render it very fit for cattle stations ; but, as the lower part of this creek, as well as the river which it joins, and which I called " The Suttor," got very scrubby, it may be rather considered as a continuation of the Isaacks, from which the access to it is very easy. The River Suttor, which I followed down from lat. 21*21*36 to 20*37*13, has in its upper course fine reedy water-holes. The flats which accompany its banks are openly timbered, but they change with thick scrubs and rocky country. In lat. 21*39*58 it splits into many branches, enters a thick scrub, and becomes deficient in water.

At lat. 21*37*31, however, there is a most magnificent sheet of water, like a little lake in its bed. Between 21*33 and 32 it entirely disappears' as a distinct watercourse, and forms chains of water-holes, which were, however, well supplied with water. The country opens at about 21*20; a big creek joining the Suttor from the south-east. Primitive rocks appear amongst sandstone rock ; and a limestone hill was observed in lat. 21*6. A iiver, as large as the Suttor, which I called the " Cape," joins from the westward. It turns, in lat. 20*44, round a fine isolated mountain, which I named Mount Maconnel, and joins a running stream with a bed one mile broad, which comes from the north-west and turns to the eastward. I made my first camp in the bed of this river in lat. 20*37*13, and called it the " Burdekin," as an acknowledgment of the liberal support which I received from Mrs. Burdekin in forming my expedition. Fine flats accompany the Suttor in its lower course. The grasses are very various and dense; there is particularly one grass, the oaten grass of the Isaacks, which grows to a considerable height, and the stem of which is very juicy and sweet. But, besides this, there are at least 20 different grasses, with various herbs which cattle and horses were fond to feed upon. Water is abundant ; the water-holes are often long and broad, and covered with ducks. It is even running five miles above its junction with the Burdekin. The pandanus was first observed here ; and in its bed, round old fire-places of black fellows, we found the empty shell of the fruit of cycas, the tree of which we first observed at the Upper Burdekin. A new species of grevillea was equally found, and the poplar gum was frequent. The drooping tea-tree, which grows to a great size in its bed, yields an excellent timber. The bloodwood and iron-bark are generally of a good size for building huts ; there was also no want of timber at the Isaacks, nor at the Burdekin.

I travelled along the Burdekin from latitude 20*37*13 to lat. 18*32-37, through 2*4*36 of lat. in a north-west by west course, and I had to leave it, probably still about fifty to sixty miles distant from its head, as it turned too much to the northward and eastward.

Almost the whole extent of its banks is available for pasturing purposes.

The character of the country is various : fine iron-bark, and box flats ; open ridges ; high ranges off the river, sometimes approaching the river, and rendering the passage very difficult. Those who follow me will find easier roads off the river. The river is supplied with abundance of water by living springs and brooks coming from a basaltic table land; creeks, provided with water-holes, with broad sandy beds lined with casuarinas, are numerous. At lat. 20*8*26, at 20-0-36, at 1949*21, at 19*13, at 18*59, at 18*52, large creeks and rivers join the Burdekin.

From the Suttorup to lat. 1958*11 the whole country is composed of granite and sienitic rock; pegmatite and hornblende rock are frequent. At 1958, I first observed basalt; at 19"54, a fine limestone, with many fossil corals, crops out ; but, higher up the river, basaltic ridges are prevailing, which are several times interrupted by quartz-porphyry (lat. 19*18*6; 19*13). Both rocks seem to have broken through talkchiste, sandstone, and conglomerate.

In lat. IS*4B*9 we entered into a large valley with numerous lagoons, at the east side of which the river came down, whilst a reedy brook swept along the basaltic ridges which bounded it to the southward. The lagoons were covered by nymphesa? (the lotus), the seed vessels and rnizomse of which formed the principal food of numerous black fellows. I called this country the " Valley of Lagoons," or the " Country of the Lotophagians." After ascending the basaltic ridges, which surrounded the valley to the south, the west, and north-west, we found ourselves on a level country, openly timbered with narrowleaved iron-bark or box, the forest changing with fine plains, sometimes many miles long and several miles broad. Often a small brook was running in them. To a very conspicuous mountain on the basaltic table-land I gave the name of " Mount Lang."

A big creek sweeps along the east and northeast side of this plateau, and separates it from primitive formations. The frequency of big fantastic hills of the white ant, which I had not seen before of such a size, induced me to call it " Big Ant-hill Creek. At lat. 18*1 637, running brooks came down along the plains of the table land from Mount Lang and several other isolated hills, and join Big Ant-hill Creek. In leaving the Burdekin I followed up this creek, passed in a north-west direction over a level country, and came, in lat. IS'22*2, on waters which flowed to the east and north-east ; they either belong to the Burdekin or to a more northerly system. I called the first creek I

came to "Separation Creek," as it separated the basaltic from the primitive formations, as Big Ant-hill Creek had done; several other creeks joined it lower down. Fine flats extend along its banks. The whole table land is beautifully grassed, of great extent, well provided with water along the creeks, the brooks, and the river, but in the dry season waterless in its centre. This country is a pattern for cattle and sheep stations ; the elevation of it (at least 2,000 to 2,800 feet above the level of the sea) renders it cool and fit for sheep; the ground is sound, the forest is very open. It is in the centre of the York Peninsula, equally distant from the east coast and from the Gulf of Carpentaria, to which, as I shall presently show, a system of rivers, well provided with water, forms an easy communication, with the exception of some mountainous passages, which later travellers will change with easier roads farther off" the rivers.

It would be tedious to mention the numerous mountain ranges along the Burdekin, to some of which I gave names, leaving many of them nameless.

About 14 miles from Separation Creek, in a north-north-west direction, we came on gulleys and creeks, which collected into a watercourse going to the westward. In lat. 17*58 we found a fine reedy water-hole, below which another bigger creek joined from the northward : the bed became very broad, in some places more than half a mile, with several channels, which, however, collected again in passing through mountain gorges. I called this river "The Lynd," in acknowledgment of the infinite kindness which this gentleman has bestowed upon me. I followed it down from 17*58 to 16*30, where it joins a river coming from the east. The Lynd works its way in a north-weßterly course, through a very mountainous country, from 17*58 to 17*9*17. There is, however, plenty of grass and water to feed any number of cattle or horses which might be driven down to the gulf. Several big running creeks come in from the westward. They will probably allow a more immediate communication with the head of the gulf. From 17 w 9'l7 fine flats, well grassed, accompany the river; they are mostly timbered with box, apple-gum (a new species of gum, with the foliage of the apple tree of Darling Downs, and with the black butt of the Moreton Bay ash), bloodwood. and occasionally stringy-bark. We passed several fine lagoons on the flats along its lower course. It had a running stream from lat. 1725. The rock of the Upper Lynd is primitive; granite, sienite, pegmatite, hornblende: lower down, talkchiste, broken by porphyry, appears, and before the river enters the flats it is accompanied by sandstone ranges, which in some places form perpendicular walls on both sides of the broad sandy bed. It is interesting to see how we descend from the table land to the gulf from the same series of rock through which we had ascended from the east coast along the Burdekin, only in an, inverted order.

Many new trees made their appearance on the ranges, as well as along the river and within its bed. I shall mention a gum tree, with showy orange blossoms, very big seed vessels, two inches long, one inch broad, with a short foliaceous bark, the upper branches remaining white and naked : we called it tea-tree gum, as the foliaceous nature of its bark reminded us of the tea-tree. This tree was not observed at the east side of the gulf, but reappeared very extensively at the west side up to Port Essington, forming the even forest round Victoria. Several other forest trees, intermediate between the bloodwood and the gum-tree, were observed. All these trees are, however, of no use to the settler or squatter, as the fibre of their wood is too interwoven to allow splitting ; nor is their bark easily stripped. The iron-bark disappears where the Lynd enters into the flats, and it is wanting all round the gulf. At the neck of the Coburg Peninsula, is a tree which resembles the ironbark ; but it is rare, and differs essentially from it. The stringy-bark, the bloodwood, and the box are the only forest trees which accompanied us to the end of* our journey, always reappearing where the soil favoured their growth.

From latitude 16*30 to 15*51 we travelled along a fine river with a running stream, now narrow and shallow, now swelling into fine long sheets of water. I called it the " Mitchell," in honour of Sir Thomas Mitchell. A belt of open forest accompanies its banks ; farther off, the country opens more and more, and changes into a series of plains, extending parrellel to the river; they are limited by a forest of small acacia trees, and several others, which I have not yet been able to determine. Lagoons become larger and larger, and more frequent, as we travelled down the river; the country improved, the plains grew bigger, the forest land richer, receding farther from the river.

In a large water- hole of the Lynd we found a dead saw-fieh (pristis); in those of the Mitchell, alligators were seen by my black fellows.

I expected that the Lynd, and afterwards the Mitchell, would turn to the westward, and join the sea in latitudes where the Van Diemen, the Staaten, the Nassau, were indicated; but the Mitchell passed the latitude of the Nassau, and I could now only expect to see it join the sea at the Waterplats, to which its general course inclined. I had followed these rivers more out of scientific and geographical interest than for the benefit of my expedition ; for I was compelled to go back in order to head the gulf. If my provisions had been sufficient, I should have followed the Mitchell up to its mouth; but, afraid that I should be short of provisions, I left the river and went to the westward.

Plains, open forest land, lagoons full of fish and covered with the broad leaves of showy blossoms of nymphaea, gave a great variety to

tibis fine country, well adapted for the breeding of cattle, and particularly horses, though deficient of good timber. Here, at one of the lagoons, m latitude 15*55, not very far from a large creek, which I consider the upper part of the Nassau, Mr. Gilbert was killed by black fellows, who had sneaked upon us immediately after nightfall, just when the greatest part of the party had retired to their couches. They wounded Mr. Roper and Mr. Calvert severely; but Mr. Gilbert was the only one who received a deadly wound, a spear entering into the chest between the neck and the clavicle, at the moment when be v was stooping to get out of his tent. At the, fij-at discharge of our guns the black fellows ran away. The next morning they were wailing for one of their number, who, it seems, had been severely wounded. They left the country, and we did not see any more of them.

I passed the Staaten in latitude 16*27*26; it is a river with a broad sandy bed, easily to be crossed at low tide ; its water is briny. Between the Staaten and the Van Diemen, which I crossed at 17*0*13, I passed four creeks, all provided with water-holes and fine water. Between the Staaten and Gilbert's Lagoon I found three creeks with water; the country along both rivers is excellent. Between the Van Diemen and the Carou, latitude 1728*11, I passed a small river which had no name, and which I called the " Gilbert," in commemoration of the fate of my unfortunate companion. Its latitude "was about 17*5; it contained numerous water iiples of fresh water; but was not running. A fine chain of lagoons is between the Van Diemen and the Gilbert ; seven creeks with water between the Gilbert and the Carou. Towards the latter river, which had no water in its bed, but chains of lagoons parallel to its banks, the creeks were lined by a dense tea-tree scrub, half a mile- or more broad. The tea-tree is of a peculiar species, which always indicates the neighbourhood of salt water. In latitude 17.49 we came on a salt water river, which I called the " Yappar," this word being frequently used by friendly black fellows, whom we met at one of the fine lagoons alongside the river. Between the Yappar and the Carou there is a chain of shallow lagoons of fresh water. The whole country from Gilbert's Lagoons to the Yappar, extending along the east coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is highly adapted for pastoral pursuits. Cattle and horses would thrive exceedingly well; sheep would not, neither the climate, the temperature, nor the nature of the soil is favourable for them. Large plains limited by narrow belts of open forest land, extensive box flats and tea-tree flats openly timbered, changing with a more undulating country, fine grassy meadows along frequent chains of lagoons, and shady forest land along the rivers, render this country pleasing to the eye of the traveller, and inviting to the squatter. After what I have learnt of the cultivation of rice and cotton, I can add, that long stretches of country would be adapted for both. The country is well inhabited by black fellows; we had three times intercourse with them ; the first time they were hostile (when Gilbert was killed) ; the second time they were very noisy, but withdrew at the approach of a horseman, and were not seen again ; the third time, at the Yappar, they were very friendly, and it was evident they had seen either Malays or white men before us.

I called the whole country between the Mitchell and the Van Diemen the " Nonda Country," from a fine shady tree with a yellow eatable fruit, which we enjoyed very much. It grew in the stretches of open forest land with the bloodwood and the pandanus I had seen at first at the Upper Lynd. It disappeared at the Van Diemen, and we never met it again.

Between the Yappar, longitude 140*45 approx., and the Nicholson (longitude 138*55), which latter river I crossed in latitude 1757, I passed three big salt water rivers, one fine running creek, which I called Beames' Brook, and several chains of fresh, water lagoons. The country west of the Yappar is undulating and hilly forest land, frequently scrubby, for an extent of about twenty miles. Here it opens in immense plains, some of them three miles broad, ten miles long, and longer. The plains stretch along the banks of the rivers, and are separated by creeks, lined by thickets of a small tree, which we called raspberry-jam tree, from the scent of its wood. These creeks had fine water-holes, but they were all for the greater part dry. We found our water principally in grassy lagoons, surrounded by polygonum ; but the country is in general badly watered, though the number of black fellows, the smoke of whose fires we saw all around us in crossing the plains, showed that a nearer acquaintance of the country would probably lead to the discovery of a sufficient supply of water.

Beames' Brook, which I crossed in latitude 17"57, was about twenty yards broad where I first met it. A rich verdant brush of pandanus and the palm-tree, and several other trees, lined it. Its water was fresh, but affected by the tide. At the crossing place (about eight miles lower down) it was three yards broad, very deep in some places, shallow in others, a full flowing little stream, with magnificent oak trees and palms, and pandanus and flooded gum, along its banks. We never had met, nor did we meet another brook like it again.

About three miles further we crossed the "Nicholson," called so in honour of Dr. William A. Nicholson, of Bristol, who had enabled me to come to Australia to explore it, and to study its nature. Its bed is 100 yards broad, sandy, with magnificent drooping leaves, a shallow running stream, flood-marks 15*18 high, a chain of fine lotus lagoons parallel to its banks, which are accompanied by fine box fiats at its left. The salt water rivers which I had crossed, as

well as those which I have still to mention, are very broad (150, 200, 300 yards); but they were easily fordable after one or two travelling upwards, the fords generally being formed by rocky bars crossing the rivers. These fords were generally indicated by fisheries of the natives, sticks having been stuck close to each other to form a sort of hedge, preventing the fish from returning with the tide, or stone walls having been formed by heaping loose stones on each other. At the head of the salt water the bed of these rivers usually enlarged, and frequently it was formed bjr two or three deep chasms, separated by high bergues. One channel either contained a running stream of fresh water, lined by pandanus and the drooping teatree, or it had just ceased running, a chain of fine water-holes still remaining.

From the Nicholson to the Raper (lat. 14*50, long. 135*10), we travelled through a country, in part miserably scrubby, in part covered by a dense tea-tree forest and by stringy-bark forest, which was sometimes open, but generally scrubby, and rendered difficult for passage by a dense underwood. There was particularly a .leguminous Ehrub, from two, three, or Hve feet High, with a Ringed sieiu, and b»-?nch»-, leafless, with yellow blossoms (like Bossicse scolopendrium), which composed the scrub aud the underwood of this country. Several species of shrubby acacise, and several grevilleas were very frequent. The vegetation preserves the same character all along the west side of ths gulf, across the Arnbem Peninsula, and up to Port Essington, wherever the soil ia similar. Along large rivers the country opened, and fine box flats and open forest land refreshed the eye, tired by the endless scrub. It is very probable that farther from the sea coast, and higher up the rivers, before they enter into the mountains, a fine favourable country exiots. The country is in general well watered, numerous creeks provided with good water-holes, and several rivers, with running streams at the head of ths salt water, go in a north-easterly direction, which changes into an east-north-east and easterly one, to the sea. Between the Nicholson and the Marlow (latitude 17*), named after Captain Marlow of the Royal Engineers, for his kind contribution to our expedition, we met numerous creeks, which contained either fresh or slightly brackish water. The first (latitude 17*39) I called Moonlight Creek, as I had found it on a reconnoitre during a moonlight night ; another about sixteen miles, north 30* west, I called " Smith's Creek;" a third I met in latitude 17*25; a fourth about eleven miles north-north-west. The whole country was covered with an almost uninterrupted tea-tree scrub.

Between the Marlow (longitude 138*25 appigree) and the Van Alphen (latitude 16 '30, longitude 137*18), I passed six creeks, containing a greater or smaller supply of fresh or brackish water ; some of the very isolated waterholes^werevery small, and often very brackish : seven creeks, ten to twenty yards broad, were salt, the water filling their whole bed; they were easily fordable, as the bed was composed of a firm sand, or of rock. The three most southern ones probably join into a large river, the mangrove line of which I saw in the distance. I called the most southern one Turner's Creek, in acknowledgment of the liberal support I received from Cooper Turner, Esq. In lat. 16*52, about eighteen miles south-east of the Van Alphen, the country opens, and fine plains extend along a big creek, though badly supplied with water. In the bed of this creek I found a piece of granite, and near another, about eight miles west-north-west of this, a large piece of porphyry, in an old black fellow's camp. This piece had served to crush the seed vessels of the pandanus, which grows abundantly all along these creeks. These pebbles show that the table land, or the division of the waters, is not very distant, as I found the primitive rocks almost invariably connected with at least the ascent to a table land.

Between the Van Alphen and the Abel Tasman (latitude 16*29) I passed a big creek (latitude 16*35), and a small river well supplied with water, which I called the " Calvert," in commemoration of the good services of my trusty companion, Mr. James Calvert. Sandstone rock crept frequently out in the open stringy-bark forest, which covers the greater part of the intervening country. Sandstone ranges were seen to the west and north-west. The lower part of the Abel Tasman forms a broad sheet of salt water ; the banks are steep, lined with mangrove and several trees peculiar to the change of fresh and salt water, as I feel convinced that during the rainy season the freshes go far out into the sea. The flats along the river are well grassed, openly timbered with bloodwood, stringy-bark, and white gum. In latitude 16*29, the water is fresh, running strong over a rocky bed ; the stream is about three feet deep, fifteen to twenty yards broad, the whole bed from bank to bank 300 yards.

Between the Abel Tasman and the Seven Emu River (longitude 137/5, latitude 16*12) I crossed seven creeks, containing pools of water, some of them brackish ; four had a fine supply of it. The whole country is a succession of tea-tree and Cypress-pine thickets and scrubs. A fine open well grassed country extends along the Seven Emu River, which received its name from numerous flocks of emus, seven of which were hunted down, as we travelled eight miles up its banks. We met soon the fresh water stream, which we crossed at a black fellow's well and a fishery.

Between the Seven Emu River and the Robinson (latitude 16*8, longitude 136*43) several small waterless creeks were met, after having passed the fine country near the river and some miserable scrub. A fine path of the natives led me to a large but waterless creek, the banks of which were covered with Cypress pine and cycas

groves (the cycas, a tree of the aspect of the palm, 30—50 feet high and higher, frequently with two or three heads, the leaves like those of Jatnia spiralis in the neighourhood of Sydney, the nuts arranged in two parallel lines along an intermediate flat fleshy fruit stalk). The foot path went from cycag grove to cycas grove ; big weHs 6—B6 — 8 feet deep were, dug in a sandy soil, which rested on a layer of stiff clay. All these wells Jgflge, however, dry, though the whole cquntr|?|joked fresh and verdant. About five mil?s from this creek we came to a large salt water river, equally accompanied by cycas groves. , A^fine footpath brought us to a large well.under the bank of the river. An alligator was tracked at this well, and porpoises were seen playing in the broad salt water of the river. Two miles below the spot where we came to the river, it entered into a still bigger one coming from the westwar.d^jthe first became narrow five miles higher; up, where the salt water ceased and fresh water" pools commenced. I called this " Cycas Creek," and the more northerly river the "Robinson,", as a slight sign of gratitude towards P. L. Robinson, Esq., for his kind support' of- our expedition. „ The fruit of tf\% cydas'fon-fis the p;&QU)(p food of the natives during September. They cut it in slices of the size and thickness of a shilling, spread these slices on the ground and dry them, soak them for several days in water, and pack them after this closely up in sheets of tea-tree bark. Here it undergoes a process of fermentation — the deleterious properties of the fruit are destroyed, and a mealy substance with a musty flavour remains, which the black fellows very probably form into cakes, which they bake. The fruit of the pandanus forms another, apparently very much liked, eatable of the natives'. We found heaps of them in their catnps, and soaking in the water contained in large koolimafcs made of stringy-bark. I am inclined to believe that they are able to obtain a fermented liqour, by soaking the seed-vessel of the pandanus, and by washing the sweet mealy substance out, which is contained in the lower part of the seed-vessel between its fibres. [To be continued."]