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In returning along Ant-hill Creek, I passed a few native men sitting before their gunyas; they were not a hundred yards from me, yet they remained silent and motionless, like the black stumps of the trees around them, until the strange apparition passed by.
Seeing my watch, they pointed to the sun; and appeared to be well acquainted with the use of my gun. Further up the creek, we again saw some storied gunyas of the natives. July 30. We travelled about ten miles west by south, over an immense plain, with here and there a solitary tree, or a small patch of forest. It was full of melon-holes, and much resembled the plains of the Condamine.
Gilbert thought the two-storied gunyas were burial places; but we met with them so frequently afterwards, during our journey round the gulf, and it was frequently so evident that they had been recently inhabited, that no doubt remained of their being habitations of the living, and constructed to avoid sleeping on the ground during the wet season. June 15.
We saw besides the remains of a house, the gunyas, or huts, of a numerous encampment of natives; and the bones of bullocks were strewed about in great abundance, plainly enough showing the object of the stockyard, and that of The Barber's alliance with the aborigines of these parts.
We saw a very interesting camping place of the natives, containing several two-storied gunyas, which were constructed in the following manner: four large forked sticks were rammed into the ground, supporting cross poles placed in their forks, over which bark was spread sufficiently strong and spacious for a man to lie upon; other sheets of stringy-bark were bent over the platform, and formed an arched roof, which would keep out any wet.
At one side of these constructions, the remains of a large fire were observed, with many mussel-shells scattered about. All along the Lynd we had found the gunyas of the natives made of large sheets of stringy-bark, not however supported by forked poles, but bent, and both ends of the sheet stuck into the ground; Mr.
Ironstone and quartz pebbles were strewed over the ground; and, in the valley, fine-grained sandstone with layers of iron-ore cropped out. Large fish were seen in the lagoons; but we only succeeded in catching some small fish of the genus Gristes. Muscles continued to be frequent; and we saw the gunyas of the natives everywhere, although no native made his appearance.
Their gunyás only reached to the girdle, and below that followed short, fringed, linen hose which did not go at all well with the scarlet cloth of the dolmans. And now the waggon comes in sight. Four good boorish horses were attached to it, whose manes almost swam in the water; the reins were handled by an old coachman with the figure of a betyár.
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