One peculiarity is observable in the Darling,
that neither are there any reeds growing in its channel or on the flats.
Our journey on the last day of September terminated at noon, as we
arrived at a point from which it was evident the river takes a great
sweep to the eastward; and Nadbuck informed me that by going direct to
the opposite point, where, after coming up again, it turned to the north,
we should cut off many miles, but that it would take a whole day to
perform the journey. I determined therefore to follow his advice, and to
commence our journey across the bight at an early hour the following
morning, the 1st of October. I availed myself of the remainder of the day
to examine the country for some miles to the westward, but there was no
perceptible change in it. The same barren plains, covered sparingly with
salsolae and atriplex, characterised this distant part of the interior;
and sandy ridges covered with stunted cypress trees, acaciae, hakeae, and
other similar shrubs, proved to me that the productions of it were as
unchanged as the soil.
As we had arranged, we broke up our camp earlier than usual on the 1st of
October, for, from what Nadbuck had stated, I imagined that we had a long
journey before us; but after going fifteen miles, we gained the river,
and found that it was again trending to the north. It had now risen more
than bank high, and some of its flats were partly covered with water.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139