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Updated: June 2, 2025
Bynoe also obtained specimens of one or two rare birds; the large red-necked vampire of the Adelaide River, and the cream-coloured pigeon before alluded to, were also seen by him, being the farthest south the latter was met with by us. Some brilliant meteors were observed during our stay, one in particular on the evening of the 20th, in the West-North-West.
Bynoe had shot, and hung on a tree, drew the attention of birds of prey, consisting of two kinds of hawks, one of a dark brown, almost black, and another a lighter shade of the same colour, resembling copper, with a great deal of white about the head; so that we were surrounded with feathered companions. The wind as usual was East-North-East in the morning, and North-West in the evening.
Bynoe, who was going on a shooting excursion. It being high-water, I was obliged to select a spot near the cliffs forming the point, for carrying out my intention. That selected was about 60 yards from the wood-crowned cliff which rose behind; thinking such an intervening distance would secure me from the spear of the treacherous native.
We crossed the river, or rather over its bed a patch of stones and found some shells of the water-tortoise at the remains of a native fire on the bank: we named the reach Tortoise Reach, in consequence. Here too Mr. Bynoe added some rare and beautiful specimens of finches to his collection.
The reader will be able to have an idea of the large sheet of water these united harbours form, by knowing that Port Patterson is twelve miles long and seven wide at the entrance; though at the upper part, forming the mouth of Bynoe Harbour, it is not half that width. The latter winds round to the South-East for a distance of 15 miles, with an average width of two, and a depth of nine fathoms.
Bynoe that in the night some man came to the side of his hammock and whispered in his ear that his father was dead. He fully believed that such was the case, and he was perfectly right.... 'He reminded Bennett of the dream. Mr. Darwin also mentions this case, a coincidental auditory hallucination. I have found no other savage cases quite to the point.
Bynoe; it was a finch,* and beautifully marked with stripes of crimson down the breast, on a black ground with white spots; the throat, and a patch round the stump of the tail, were crimson. It is remarkable that all the beauty and brilliancy of colour in this bird is underneath, the back being of a common earthy brown. Named by Mr.
Making slings and packing provisions for an early start to-morrow morning occupied the greater part of the day. Mr. Bynoe, as he had done yesterday, added to his valuable collection a few rare birds, and strange plants; while I took several readings of the barometer, morning and evening, for the elevation of the bed of the river: the mean gave a resulting height of thirty feet.
The sufferings of that night I will not fatigue my readers by describing; but I can never forget the anxiety with which Mr. Bynoe watched over me during the whole of it. Neither can I forget my feelings of gratitude to the Almighty when my sunken eyes the next morning once more caught the first rays of the sun.
As none of our party had been recently accustomed to much pedestrian exercise, and we had been travelling for nearly five hours over a broken country, and in a temperature varying from 87 to 100 degrees in the shade, I thought it time to halt and dine. While dinner was being prepared, Mr. Bynoe and myself shot three brace of rare ducks, of a small light grey kind, in the pools near.
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