58 MOUNT KOSCIUSKO AND AUSTRALIAN ALPS 



books and on the faces of maps, and the Murray it will 

 ever be ; but let it not be forgotten that its native name 

 truly describes what it is to man and beast in this scantily 

 watered land ; it is the " Happy- Happy," for in this sense 

 the word is often used. 



The scene from the top of Kosciusko is both beautiful 

 and imposing. The forest with which the sides of the 

 mountains are on all sides thickly clothed prevents the 

 explorer from obtaining a view of the surrounding 

 country until he is close to the top, when the magnificent 

 view bursts suddenly on him. Judging from what can be 

 seen here, one would imagine Australia to be a thickly 

 wooded country, which we know is not the case. From the 

 top of Kosciusko, however, the country for an immense 

 distance has the appearance of being clothed densely with 

 graceful festoons of foliage. The actual distance to which 

 the vision can range I do not know. Certain landmarks, 

 however, are not less that fifty, sixty, and seventy miles 

 away ; and it is probable that the extreme horizon is 

 quite thirty miles further off. In the neighbourhood of 

 the mountain, huge chasms loom in the misty depths 

 below ; so deep and narrow that only dimly can they be 

 discerned to be clothed with luxuriant verdure, in the form 

 of tall trees, and feathery shrubs and brush. Ferns of 

 gigantic size, nettles equally remarkable for great develop- 

 ment, and various species of grass-trees, give an exceed- 

 ingly light and graceful appearance to the vegetation of 

 the valleys ; and the immense crags of broken rock add a 

 wild beauty to the general scenery. 



Some of the streams which form the head-waters of the 

 Murray (here called the Hume) can be traced out on the 

 flat plains which form the boundary of the scene, and the 

 occasional scintillation, in the bright sunlight, of other 

 waters can be seen ; but on the whole the landscape lacks 

 that inexpressible charm which a large river generally 

 gives to scenery. No lakes, or broad sheets of water, are 

 visible ; nor are cascades noticeable : though scanty falls 

 of great height are found in other parts of the Alps and in 

 the Blue Mountains. Torrents rush along the bottoms of 



