Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1879-11-12
Interior of australia.

tt western half of Australia has been
traversed in three nearly parallel lines,
about 300 miles apart; while various ex-
plOrations have mGde known large portions
of the intermediate country. The southern
and northern coasts are also fairly known.
and we IRE forced to conclude that nearly
half of the entire continent Of Australia IS
uninhabtable by Europeans. Nowhere
else, perhaps, on the globe do we meet with
the strange phenomenon of i dense vegeta-
ton combined with an aridity equal TO that
of the Sahara For the traveller, the coun-
try is even worse than the Sahara For
hundreds of niles at a stretch the sandy
undulations are covered with 'he dreadful
spInifex, or pOrcnpiae grass, which renders
it impossible To walk without painful pre-
caution. Again, for hundreds of miles is
found tine dens scrub OF dwarf eucalyptus,
covering the ground like the rods Of an Osier
bed. ten OF twelve feet high, hinderi-g all
view of the country, and rei dering If nee
eSsary literally to bore ones way, like a
mole, underground. Then come acacia
scrubs, which add the annoyance of shsrp
prickleS TO those of the other kinds. Mr..
Giles tells us thai horses dread the uIodia,
OF spiEifeX, like a pestileuCe- The constant
pricking Of this grass causes raw ami bleed
ing swellings round tbeir feet; and to escape
from it they will prefer to force their WY
through the densest scrubs, where the
aroand is soft. and the spiuileT does not
gIOw. Here they rush along, tearing the
coverings of their loads, and frequently
forcing sticks between their hacks and
their saddles: then COMES frantic Cr.lS.-
J.. 10. =
and horses are lest >iIhJ ui. hu H ay
take nouns or days 10 recover them Nor
do the travellers escape, for their clothes
get torn and ripped to pieces, and their
bodies scratched and often seriously wound
ed. Sometimes singing ants abound 20
such an extent that the weary explorer can
get NJ rest. However hot and tired he may
Ue, he dare not lie down in the shade, UuJ
unst remain exposed t. the sun or lie on
the heated soil in order to escape this tor
ment. In other parts the whole country IS
a mass OF angular stones, over which the
traveller has to pass for DAYS together with
out fihdinL a spot of easier ground. while
IN some districts loose sand Is heaped up in
ridges, like the long swell Of The ocean, and
appearing almOst as interiHiuabie. Often,
after passing days without water, when at
length II IS discovered, IT turns OFT TO be
uIdrlnkabie brine, or it eXiS,s in such small
quantity a. to Ue insufficient to supply the
wants of both n,en and horse tor a single
day. Again, the extreme uncertainty Of
the cliua,e ami rainfall renders ii impOSsi-
bic to depend on the accounts of previous
explorers in the Sa De district. " here wa
er Is al one ii ne abuud9nt and heritage
luxuriant, there may be found year OF
wo later a hWut-up desert The hike de
scribcd by On- Traveller uiay be found an
eXpanse of baked mud by MS succes or,
while, where one marched over grassy
pldi..s, another may be Stopped 10y inunda-
tons, which cover The whole country. EX-
ploraiion. for mere discovery : sdhe, has
now done its work IN Aus rIlid, and the
rest may be left TO the Unaideu expansion
Of agriculture and commerce. So many
outlying stations are already occupied, and
the overland telegraph affOrtS 50 admirable
"A base of operations, that every spot avail
ibie for settlement will be found and Occu-
pied quite as quickly as desirable. The
work that has already been done in so in
hOspiiaOe a country and SO trying climate
is little less than marvellous, and the slOIy
Of Australian exploration, with as epIsOdes
of herOism and martyrdom, affords Il con-
vincing proof of the uRd,minished energies
of Engllshmen in their southern home.