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Updated: May 29, 2025
We travelled generally East-North-East for twenty miles over spinifex and undulating sand-hills, without seeing any water. We turned east for ten miles to a range, which we found to be covered with spinifex. Everywhere nothing else was to be seen; no feed, destitute of water; while a few small gullies ran out of the low range, but all were dry.
Far to the north and east it was all spinifex country with no appearance of hills or watercourse, in fact a barren worthless desert. Turning back they met the remainder of the party about twenty miles from the spring, and the whole party retreated to their former encampment, and after a day's rest Alexander Forrest and a black boy started for a trip to the south-east in search of water.
"Well," he said, "I can't see any, I will call them back." He called out "Sambo!" which was the name of the Corporal, "Where track?" Sambo pointed to a blade of spinifex. I asked "Where?" He answered, "There." So I got off my horse, and there was a tiny speck of blood which had dropped on the root, and had not been washed off by the rain.
Both Joseph and myself had walked the whole way, and our legs were full of the sharp ends of the spinifex, but it was more in mercy to poor Punch than to ourselves that I pulled up, and held a consultation with Joseph as to the prudence of taking the cart any further, when it was decided that our doing so would infallibly lead to Punch's destruction.
To the north, the natives were burning the spinifex, and this produced such a haze that no definite view could be obtained. Other portions of the range quite prevented a western view. The altitude of this summit was a little over 3000 feet above sea level. The first night we passed here was close and hot.
Her proper name was the Fair Maid of Perth; but somehow, from her lively, troublesome, and wanton vagaries, they called her the Sow-Cow. My own riding-horse, a small, sleek, cunning little bay, a fine hack with excellent paces, called W.A., I also had out previously. He would pull on his bridle all day long to eat, he would even pretend to eat spinifex; he was now very bad and footsore.
To the south, nothing but sand-hills and spinifex; to the North-East the Tomkinson Ranges showed up and looked very remarkable and promising. Marked a tree F 76, being 76th camp from Geraldton. Camp is in latitude 26 degrees 23 minutes 28 seconds, longitude about 128 degrees 32 minutes East. 21st. Left camp at Skirmish Hill in company with Windich, instructing my brother to follow to-morrow.
The whole of the day's journey has been through a wooded country, in some places very thick, but in most open; it is composed of gums, hedge-trees, and some new trees the gums predominating; there were also a few patches of lancewood scrub. For the first eighteen miles the soil was light and sandy, with spinifex and a little grass mixed.
McConnell's Stations where Lieutenant Fred Murray was stationed with his black trackers. Proceeding up the Cape River, we overtook the sheep at Natal Downs, then owned by Wm. Kellett. We left the Cape River here, and followed Amelia Creek through a lot of spinifex country. On the third camp, in my early morning watch, I noticed several of the sheep jumping.
In Northern Australia spinifex is in seed for three weeks, and when in this state, forms most excellent feed for horses, and fattens almost as quickly as oats; for the rest of the year it is useless.
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