result. We were now walking on a course of 180
degrees, and followed this line for two miles and a half through a
similar country. We still found many native paths running along the
estuary, and saw the natives fishing, but they carefully avoided us,
making off for the high lands as fast as they could.
ESTUARY OF THE HUTT RIVER. DESCRIPTION OF THE
COUNTRY AND SCENERY.
The estuary became narrower here, and shortly after seeing these
natives we came upon a river running into it from the eastward; its
mouth was about forty yards wide, the stream strong, but the water
brackish, and it flowed through a very deep ravine, having steep
limestone hills on each side: many wild-fowls were on the river, but we
could not get a shot at them. Being unable to ford the river here we
followed it in a south-east direction for two miles, and in this distance
passed two native villages, or, as the men termed them, towns, the huts
of which they were composed differed from those in the southern
districts in being much larger, more strongly built, and very nicely
plastered over the outside with clay and clods of turf, so that although
now uninhabited they were evidently intended for fixed places of
residence. This again showed a marked difference between the habits of
the natives of this part of Australia and the south-western portions of
the continent; for these superior huts, well marked roads, deeply sunk
wells, and extensive warran grounds, all spoke of a large and
comparatively-speaking resident population, and the cause of this
undoubtedly must have been the great facilities for procuring food in so
rich a soil.
MOUNT VICTORIA AND MOUNT ALBERT.
We now came to two very remarkable hills bearing north-east of us and
distant about three miles, which I have named Mount Victoria and
Mount Albert. They lay about one mile apart, and were of the form
shown in Illustration 2, which will give a good idea of the flat-topped
hills hereabouts.
THE HUTT RIVER.
The river still ran in a deep wooded valley bordered by rich flats, high
hills lying both to the right and left of our line of route. Two miles and
a half more on a course of 135 degrees brought us out on some gravelly
barren plains, and just before coming to these, and in passing through a
scrub, we raised a flight of white cockatoos, of a species new to me.
One of the men got an ineffectual shot at them.
FIRST HILLS OF THE SOUTHERN IRONSTONE FORMATION.
After traversing these plains for two miles in a south-east direction we
came upon a valley through which flowed a branch of the river we had
this day discovered, running in a bed of fifty yards across, and having
in its centre a rapid stream falling in small cascades; it appeared at
times subject to extensive inundations, and here its course was through
barren plains covered with rocks piled up in strange fantastic masses,
and the bed was composed of that kind of red sandstone which at Perth
is called ironstone; this being the farthest point north at which I have
remarked it.
A number of grass-trees (Xanthorrhoea) grew near the spot where we
had halted; they appeared unhealthy and stunted, but indeed I suspect
they are a new and undescribed variety. Being desirous of procuring
anything I could for the men to eat I had the tops of some of these trees
cut off and boiled, they were however still so hard that to chew them
was impossible, and it was evident that we had not yet reached a
parallel of latitude calculated to produce tender-topped grass trees.
I knew our latitude and position this night exactly, as I had seen Mount
Naturaliste of the French in the course of the day. There could be no
doubt whatever that we were in a very remarkable district, for we stood
upon the point where the geological formations of the north-western
and south-western portions of the continent were associated together,
and the flora of which was so made up of those of both that it was
impossible to tell which predominated. There were many other
interesting circumstances connected with the surrounding country,
some of which have been already mentioned. I named the river and
estuary now discovered the Hutt after William Hutt, Esquire, M.P.,
brother of His Excellency the Governor of Western Australia.
INDISPOSITION OF MR. SMITH.
Mr. Smith this day complained of weakness, not sufficiently however
in the least to alarm me. He had hitherto been nearly always in the rear
of the party without lagging, but I thought two of the men in a much
weaker state than he was.
CHAPTER 2.
FROM THE HUTT RIVER TO WATER PEAK.
WILD TURKEYS
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