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To the westward of this belt of forest, we crossed extensive marshes covered with tender, though dry grass, and surrounded by low Ironstone ridges, openly timbered with stunted silver-leaved Ironbark, several white gums, and Hakea lorea, R. Br. in full blossom.
We removed down the river about eight miles S. S. W. to good water-holes, which had been seen by my companions the day before. Here the scrub approached the river, leaving only a narrow belt of open forest, which was occasionally interrupted by low ridges of stunted silver-leaved Ironbark. On our way we passed a fine lagoon.
He stood trying to catch sight of Pete again, but could not see him, for the simple reason that the lad had dropped down behind a clump of bracken growing silver-leaved in the sunshine in an opening in the wood, and here he crept on, watching as, after hesitating, Tom began to retire hastily, so as to return to his uncle in the chair.
The strata being generally inclined to the south and south-east, a great number of springs gush out on the southern side of the mountain. In the rainy season of the year, these springs form torrents, which descend in cascades, shaded by the hura, the cuspa, and the silver-leaved cecropia or trumpet-tree.
After passing a stony ridge covered with spotted-gum, from which the remarkable features of the country around us the flat-topped mountain wall, the isolated pillars, the immense heaps of ruins towering over the summits of the mountains were visible, we descended a slope of silver-leaved Ironbark, and came to a chain of water-holes falling to the east.
After passing some Ironstone ridges, covered with stunted silver-leaved Ironbark, we entered upon a large plain, from which we saw some low ranges to the south, and smoke to the W. 20 degrees S. I followed this course about seven miles; but the smoke was still very distant, and, perceiving a belt of forest to the westward, I took that direction, passed the head of a small creek which went to the southward, crossed some box forest and Ironbark ridges, and came into an open country, with alternating plains and ridges, which, even at the present season, was very pretty, and must, when clothed in the garments of Spring, be very beautiful.
The small orange-tree, which we had found in blossom at the Condamine, was setting its fruit. Farther on, the dense Bricklow scrub compelled me to approach the banks of the creek, where we travelled over fine flats, but with a rather sandy rotten soil. The apple-tree, flooded-gum, silver-leaved ironbark, and the bastard-box grew on the flats and on the ridges.
From the summit of an open part of the range, I saw other ranges to the northward, but covered with Bricklow scrub, as was also the greater part of Gibert's Range. To the east, however, the view was more cheering; for the hills are more open, and the vegetation composed of the silver-leaved and narrow-leaved Ironbark trees and an open Vitex scrub.
We came upon several lagoons, and found some very fine grass: the scrub reappeared on the rising ground about six miles north from the large sheet of water. A little farther on, we came to ridges of basaltic formation, openly timbered with silver-leaved Ironbark, and richly covered with young grasses and herbs, identical with those of the Darling Downs.
The vegetation of the forest, and along the river, did not vary; but, on the mountains, the silver-leaved Ironbark prevailed. The general course of the Lynd, from my last latitude to that of the 4th June, was north-west.
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