Production notes: Footnotes inserted in square brackets [] at point where referenced, or at end of paragraph. Plates (illustrations) not included. A list of plates is given at end of Table of Contents. 

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Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia: From Moreton Bayto Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, duringthe years 1844-1845

by Ludwig Leichhardt

 "Die Gotter brauchen manchen guten Mann Zu ihrem Dienst auf dieser weiten Erde"

GOETHE, Iph. Auf Tauris. 

ToWILLIAM ALLEYNE NICHOLSON, ESQ. , M. D. Of Bristol;ToROBERT LYND, ESQ. OF SYDNEYAnd toTHE GENEROUS PEOPLE OF NEW SOUTH WALESThis work is respectfully and gratefully dedicated, ByThe Author

PREFACE

In preparing this volume for the press, I have been under the greatestobligations to Captain P. P. King, R. N. , an officer whose researcheshave added so much to the geography of Australia. This gentleman has notonly corrected my manuscript, but has added notes, the value of whichwill be appreciated by all who consider the opportunities he has had ofobtaining the most correct information upon these subjects, during hissurveys of the coasts parallel to my track. 

To S. A. Perry, Esq. , Deputy Surveyor General, I am extremely indebtedfor the assiduous labour he has bestowed in draughting my map. I shallever remember the friendly interest he expressed, and the courteousattention with which he listened to the details of my journey. 

From the Rev. W. B. Clarke, in addition to the unvaried kindness he hasevinced towards me since my arrival in Australia, I have received everyassistance which his high scientific acquirements enabled him to give. 

I take this opportunity of publicly expressing my most sincere thanks tothese gentlemen, for the generous assistance they have afforded me onthis occasion, and for the warm interest which they have been kind enoughto take in the success of my approaching enterprise. 

LUDWIG LEICHIJARDT. SYDNEY, September 29th, 1846. 

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I LEAVE THE LAST STATION--FOSSIL REMAINS--DARLING DOWNS--ENTER THE WILDERNESS--WATERLOO PLAINS--THE CONDAMINE--HEAVY RAINS--CHARLEY'S MISCONDUCT--MURPHY AND CALEB LOST--KENT'S LAGOON--COAL--MURPHY AND CALEB FOUND AGAIN. 

CHAPTER II PARTY REDUCED BY THE RETURN OF MR. HODGSON AND CALEB--MEET FRIENDLY NATIVES--NATIVE TOMB--THE DAWSON--VERVAIN PLAINS--GILBERT'S RANGE--LYND'S RANGE--ROBINSON'S CREEK--MURPHY'S LAKE--MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY--EXPEDITION RANGE--MOUNT NICHOLSON--ALDIS'S PEAK--THE BOYD. 

CHAPTER III RUINED CASTLE CREEK--ZAMIA CREEK--BIGGE'S MOUNTAIN--ALLOWANCE OF FLOUR REDUCED--NATIVES SPEAR A HORSE--CHRISTMAS RANGES--BROWN'S LAGOONS--THUNDER-STORMS--ALBINIA DOWNS--COMET CREEK--NATIVE CAMP. 

CHAPTER IV SWARMS OF COCKATOOS--ALLOWANCE OF FLOUR FURTHER REDUCED--NATIVE FAMILY--THE MACKENZIE--COAL--NATIVES SPEAKING A DIFFERENT IDIOM--MOUNT STEWART--BROWN AND MYSELF MISS THE WAY BACK TO THE CAMP--FIND OUR PARTY AGAIN, ON THE FOURTH DAY--NEUMAN'S CREEK--ROPER'S PEAK--CALVERT'S PEAK--GILBERT'S DOME--GREAT WANT OF WATER. 

CHAPTER V DIFFERENCE OF SOIL AS TO MOISTURE--PHILLIPS'S MOUNTAIN--ALLOWANCE OF FLOUR REDUCED AGAIN--HUGHS'S CREEK--TOMBSTONE CREEK--CHARLEY AND BROWN BECOME UNRULY--THE ISAACS--NATIVE WOMEN--COXEN'S PEAK AND RANGE--GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER--CHARLEY REBELS AGAIN AND LEAVES--BROWN FOLLOWS HIM--BOTH RETURN PENITENT--VARIATIONS OF THE WEATHER--SKULL OF NATIVE--FRIENDLY NATIVES VISIT THE CAMP. 

CHAPTER VI HEADS OF THE ISAACS--THE SUTTOR--FLINT-ROCK--INDICATIONS OF WATER--DINNER OF THE NATIVES APPROPRIATED BY US--EASTER SUNDAY--ALARM OF AN OLD WOMAN--NATIVES SPEAKING A LANGUAGE ENTIRELY UNKNOWN TO CHARLEY AND BROWN--A BARTER WITH THEM--MOUNT M'CONNEL. 

CHAPTER VII THE BURDEKIN--TRANSITION FROM THE DEPOSITORY TO THE PRIMITIVE ROCKS--THACKER'S RANGE--WILD FIGS--GEOLOGICAL REMARKS--THE CLARKE--THE PERRY. 

CHAPTER VIII BROWN AND CHARLEY QUARREL--NIGHT WATCH--ROUTINE OF OUR DAILY LIFE, AND HABITS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE PARTY--MOUNT LANG--STREAMS OF LAVA--A HORSE BREAKS HIS LEG, IS KILLED AND EATEN--NATIVE TRIBE--MR. ROPER'S ACCIDENT--WHITSUNDAY--BIG ANT HILL CREEK--DEPRIVED OF WATER FOR FIFTY HOURS--FRIENDLY NATIVES--SEPARATION CREEK--THE LYND--PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF A SOJOURN IN THE WILDERNESS--NATIVE CAMP--SALT EXHAUSTED. 

CHAPTER IX THE STARRY HEAVENS--SUBSTITUTE FOR COFFEE--SAWFISH-- TWO-STORIED GUNYAS OF THE NATIVES--THE MITCHELL--MURPHY'S PONY POISONED--GREEN TREE-ANT--NEW BEVERAGE--CROCODILE-- AUDACITY OF KITES--NATIVES NOT FRIENDLY--THE CAMP ATTACKED AT NIGHT BY THEM--MESSRS. ROPER AND CALVERT WOUNDED, AND MR. GILBERT KILLED. 

CHAPTER X INDICATIONS OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE SEA--NATIVES MUCH MORE NUMEROUS--THE SEA; THE GULF OF CARPENTARIA--THE STAATEN--A NATIVE INTRUDES INTO THE CAMP--THE VAN DIEMEN--THE GILBERT--SINGULAR NATIVE HUTS--CARON RIVER--FRIENDLY NATIVES--THE YAPPAR--MR. CALVERT RECOVERED--MODE OF ENCAMPMENT--SWARMS OF FLIES--ABUNDANCE OF SALT--NATIVES FRIENDLY, AND MORE INTELLIGENT. 

CHAPTER XI SYSTEMATIC GRASS BURNINGS OF THE NATIVES--NATIVE CARVING--AUDACITY OF THE NATIVES OVERAWED--THE ALBERT, OR MAET SUYKER--NATIVE MODE OF MAKING SURE OF A DEAD EMU-- BULLOCK BOGGED; OBLIGED TO KILL IT--NATIVE DEVICE FOR TAKING EMUS--BEAMES'S BROOK--THE NICHOLSON--RECONNOITRE BY NIGHT--SMITH'S CREEK--THE MARLOW. 

CHAPTER XII HEAPS OF OYSTER-SHELLS--FALSE ALARM OF A NATIVE IN THE CAMP--TURNER'S CREEK--WENTWORTH'S CREEK--JOURNALS LOST; FOUND AGAIN--THE VAN ALPHEN--IMPORTANCE OF TEA--CHOICE OF BULLOCKS FOR AN EXPEDITION--CHOICE OF A DOG--THE CALVERT--THE ABEL TASMAN--GLUCKING BIRD AGAIN--DISCOVER A MODE OF USING THE FRUIT OF THE PANDANUS--SEVEN EMU RIVER--CROCODILE--THE ROBINSON--SHOAL OF PORPOISES--NATIVE METHOD OF PREPARING THE FRUIT OF THE PANDANUS AND CYCAS FOR FOOD--MR. ROPER CONVALESCENT--WEAR AND TEAR OF CLOTHES--SUCCEED IN DRESSING THE SEEDS OF STERCULIA--THE MACARTHUR--FRIENDLY PARLEY WITH CIRCUMCISED NATIVES--STORE OF TEA EXHAUSTED--MEDICAL PROPERTY OF THE GREVILLEA DISCOVERED. 

CHAPTER XIII CAPE MARIA--OBLIGED TO LEAVE A PORTION OF OUR COLLECTION OF NATURAL HISTORY--LIMMEN BIGHT RIVER--HABITS OF WATER BIRDS--NATIVE FISH TRAP--THE FOUR ARCHERS--THE WICKHAM--THE DOG DIES--IMMENSE NUMBER OF DUCKS AND GEESE--THE ROPER--THREE HORSES DROWNED--OBLIGED TO LEAVE A PORTION OF MY BOTANICAL COLLECTION--MORE INTERCOURSE WITH FRIENLDY NATIVES, CIRCUMCISED--HODGSON'S CREEK--THE WILTON--ANOTHER HORSE DROWNED--ANXIETY ABOUT OUR CATTLE--AN ATTACK ON THE CAMP FRUSTRATED--BOILS--BASALT AGAIN--INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF THE SEEDS OF AN ACACIA. 

CHAPTER XIV INTERVIEW WITH A NATIVE--DISTRESSING HEAT--A HORSE STAKED: IT DIES--MYRIADS OF FLYING-FOXES--MAGNIFICENT VALLEY--FRIENDLY NATIVES--SHOT EXHAUSTED--INSTINCT OF BULLOCKS--SOUTH ALLIGATOR RIVER--FRIENDLY NATIVES WITH AN ENGLISH HANDKERCHIEF, AND ACQUAINTED WITH FIRE-ARMS--THEIR LANGUAGE--MIRAGE. 

CHAPTER XV JOY AT MEETING NATIVES SPEAKING SOME ENGLISH--THEY ARE VERY FRIENDLY--ALLAMURR--DISCERNMENT OF NATIVE SINCERITY--EAST ALLIGATOR RIVER--CLOUDS OF DUST MISTAKEN FOR SMOKE-- IMPATIENCE TO REACH THE END OF THE JOURNEY--NATIVES STILL MORE INTELLIGENT--NYUALL--BUFFALOES; SOURCE FROM WHICH THEY SPRUNG--NATIVE GUIDES ENGAGED; BUT THEY DESERT US--MOUNT MORRIS BAY--RAFFLES BAY--LEAVE THE PACKHORSE AND BULLOCK BEHIND--BILL WHITE--ARRIVE AT PORT ESSINGTON--VOYAGE TO SYDNEY. APPENDIX LETTER FROM THE COLONIAL SECRETARY TO DR. LEICHHARDT

 THE LEICHHARDT TESTIMONIAL

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LIST OF PLATES (Not included in this etext)

 Lagoon near South Alligator River Portraits of "Charley" and "Harry Brown" Mount Nicholson, Expedition Range, etc. Peak Range Red Mountain Fletcher's Awl, etc. Campbell's Peak Mount M'Connel. Ranges seen from a granitic hill between second and third camp at the Burdekin Robey's Range Grasshopper View near South Alligator River Victoria Square, Port Essington

INTRODUCTION

ORIGIN OF THE EXPEDITION--PARTY FORMED--LEAVE SYDNEY FOR BRISBANE--PARTYENLARGED--OUTFIT AND STORES. 

On my return to Moreton Bay, from an exploratory journey in the countrynorthward of that district, which had occupied me for two years, I foundthat the subject of an overland expedition to Port Essington on the NorthCoast of Australia, was occupying much attention, as well on the part ofthe public as on that of the Legislative Council, which had earnestlyrecommended the appropriation of a sum of money to the amount of 1000pounds, for the equipment of an expedition under Sir Thomas Mitchell, toaccomplish this highly interesting object. Some delay was, however, caused by the necessity of communicating with the Secretary of State forthe Colonies; and in the mean time it was understood that Captain Sturtwas preparing to start from Adelaide to proceed across the Continent. From the experience which I had gained during my two years' journeyings, both in surmounting the difficulties of travelling through a brokenmountainous country, and in enduring privations of every sort, "I wasinspired with the desire of attempting it, " provided I could be assistedin the expense that would necessarily be incurred for the outfit, andcould find a few companions who would be contented with animal food, andwillingly and patiently submit to the privation of flour, tea, and sugar, and resign themselves to my guidance. 

I had well considered this interesting subject in all its bearings, andhad discussed it with many of my acquaintances at Brisbane and itsneighbouring district; who were generally of opinion that it waspracticable, under the plan I had marked out: but with others, particularly at Sydney, I had to contend against a strong but kindlymeant opposition to my journey. Some, who took more than a commoninterest in my pursuits, regretted that I should leave so promising afield of research as that which offered itself within the limits of NewSouth Wales, and in which they considered I had laboured with somesuccess during the last two years. Others considered the undertakingexceedingly dangerous, and even the conception of it madness on my part;and the consequence of a blind enthusiasm, nourished either by a deepdevotion to science, or by an unreasonable craving for fame: whilstothers did not feel themselves justified in assisting a man who theyconsidered was setting out with an intention of committing suicide. I wasnot, however, blind as to the difficulties of the journey which I wasdetermined to undertake; on the contrary, and I hope my readers willbelieve me to be sincere, I thought they would be many and great--greaterindeed than they eventually proved to be; but, during my recentexcursions through the Squatting districts, I had so accustomed myself toa comparatively wild life, and had so closely observed the habits of theaborigines, that I felt assured that the only real difficulties which Icould meet with would be of a local character. And I was satisfied that, by cautiously proceeding, and always reconnoitring in advance or oneither side of our course, I should be able to conduct my party through agrassy and well watered route; and, if I were so fortunate as to effectthis, I felt assured that the journey, once commenced, would be finishedonly by our arrival at Port Essington. Buoyed up by this feeling, and byconfidence in myself, I prevailed against the solicitations and argumentsof my friends, and commenced my preparations, which, so far as my ownslender means and the contributions of kind friends allowed, were ratherhurriedly completed by the 13th August, 1844. 

As our movements were to be comparatively in light marching order, ourpreparations were confined more to such provisions and stores as wereactually necessary, than to anything else. But I had frequently reason toregret that I was not better furnished with instruments, particularlyBarometers, or a boiling water apparatus, to ascertain the elevation ofthe country and ranges we had to travel over. The only instruments whichI carried, were a Sextant and Artificial Horizon, a Chronometer, a handKater's Compass, a small Thermometer, and Arrowsmith's Map of theContinent of New Holland. 

In arranging the plan of my journey I had limited my party to sixindividuals; and although many young men volunteered their services, Iwas obliged to decline their offers, and confine myself to the statednumber, as it was intimately connected with the principles and the meanson which I started. 

On leaving Sydney, my companions consisted of Mr. James Calvert; Mr. JohnRoper; John Murphy, a lad of about 16 years old: of William Phillips, aprisoner of the Crown; and of "Harry Brown, " an aboriginal of theNewcastle tribe: making with myself six individuals. 

We left Sydney, on the night of the 13th August, for Moreton Bay, in thesteamer "Sovereign, " Captain Cape; and I have much pleasure in recordingand thankfully acknowledging the liberality and disinterested kindness ofthe Hunter's River Steam Navigation Company, in allowing me a freepassage for my party with our luggage and thirteen horses. The passagewas unusually long, and, instead of arriving at Brisbane in three days, we were at sea a week, so that my horses suffered much for food andwater, and became discouragingly poor. On arriving at Brisbane, we werereceived with the greatest kindness by my friends the "Squatters, " aclass principally composed of young men of good education, gentlemanlyhabits, and high principles, and whose unbounded hospitality and friendlyassistance I had previously experienced during my former travels throughthe district. These gentlemen and the inhabitants of Brisbane overloadedme with kind contributions, much of which, however, to avoid anyunnecessary increase to my luggage, I found myself compelled to declineor leave behind; so that I had to forego the advantage of many useful anddesirable articles, from their being too cumbersome for my limited meansof carriage, and therefore interfering with the arrangements for myundertaking. 

My means, however, had since my arrival been so much increased, that Iwas after much reluctance prevailed upon to make one change, --to increasemy party; and the following persons were added to the expedition:--Mr. Pemberton Hodgson, a resident of the district; Mr. Gilbert; Caleb, anAmerican negro; and "Charley, " an aboriginal native of the Bathursttribe. Mr. Hodgson was so desirous of accompanying me that, inconsideration of former obligations, I could not refuse him, and, as hewas fond of Botanical pursuits, I thought he might be useful. Of Mr. Gilbert I knew nothing; he was in the service of Mr. Gould, the talentedZoologist who has added so much to our knowledge of the Fauna ofAustralia, and expressed himself so anxious for an opportunity of makingimportant observations as to the limits of the habitat of the EasternCoast Birds, and also where those of the North Coast commence; as well asof discovering forms new to Science during the progress of the journey, that, from a desire to render all the service in my power to NaturalHistory, I found myself obliged to yield to his solicitations, althoughfor some time I was opposed to his wish. These gentlemen equippedthemselves, and added four horses and two bullocks to those alreadyprovided. 

Perhaps, of all the difficulties I afterwards encountered, none were ofso much real annoyance as those we experienced at first starting fromBrisbane. Much rain had fallen, which filled the creeks and set themrunning, and made the road so boggy and soft as to render them almostimpassable. It took us the whole day to transport our party, cattle, andprovisions over the river, and the operation was not concluded beforesunset; but, as it was a fine moonlight night, I determined to start, however short my first stage might be. Fortunately, my friends had lentme a bullock dray to convey a portion of our stores as far as DarlingDowns; but, having purchased a light spring cart, it was also loaded;and, flattering myself that we should proceed comfortably and rapidly, Igave orders to march. After much continued difficulty in urging andassisting our horses to drag the cart through the boggy road, we arrived, at about one o'clock in the morning, at Cowper's Plains, about ten milesfrom Brisbane. 

I now found my cart an impediment to our movements; but, as it had beenan expensive article, I did not despair of its becoming more useful afterpassing the boggy country. A few days afterwards, however, an accidentsettled the question; the horses ran away with it, and thereby the shaftwas broken, and the spring injured, so that I was compelled to leave it;which I then did most cheerfully, as it is always easier to man to yieldto necessity, than to adopt an apparently inconvenient measure by his ownfree will. The load was removed to pack-horses, and we proceeded withcomparative ease to Mr. Campbell's station, enjoying the hospitality ofthe settlers as we passed on, and carrying with us their best wishes. 

I was fortunate in exchanging my broken cart for three good travellingbullocks, and afterwards purchased five draft-bullocks, which wecommenced to break in for the pack-saddle; for I had by this timesatisfied myself that we could not depend upon the horses for carryingour load. Neither my companions nor myself knew much about bullocks, andit was a long time before we were reconciled to the dangerous vicinity oftheir horns. By means, however, of iron nose-rings with ropes attached, we obtained a tolerable command over their movements; and, at last, bydint of habit, soon became familiar with, and even got attached to, ourblunt and often refractory COMPAGNONS DE VOYAGE. 

By a present from Messieurs Campbell and Stephens of four young steersand one old bullock, and of a fat bullock from Mr. Isaacs, our stock ofcattle consisted now of 16 head: of horses we had 17: and our partyconsisted of ten individuals. Of provisions--we had 1200 lbs. Of flour:200 lbs. Of sugar: 80 lbs. Of tea: 20 lbs. Of gelatine: and otherarticles of less consideration, but adding much to our comfort during thefirst few weeks of our journey. Of ammunition--we had about 30 pounds ofpowder, and 8 bags of shot of different sizes, chiefly of No. 4 and No. 6. Every one, at my desire, had provided himself with two pair of strongtrowsers, three strong shirts, and two pair of shoes; and I may furtherremark that some of us were provided with Ponchos, made of light strongcalico, saturated with oil, which proved very useful to us by keeping outthe wet, and made us independent of the weather; so that we were wellprovided for seven months, which I was sanguine enough to think would bea sufficient time for our journey. The result proved that ourcalculations, as to the provisions, were very nearly correct; for evenour flour, much of which was destroyed by accident, lasted to the end ofMay, the eighth month of our journey; but, as to the time it occupied, wewere very much deceived. 

Our riding-saddles and pack-saddles were made of good materials, but theywere not fitted to the horses' backs, which caused a constantinconvenience, and which would not have happened, had my means allowed meto go to a greater expense. So long as we had spare horses, to allowthose with sore backs to recover, we did not suffer by it: but when wewere compelled to ride the same horses without intermission, it exposedus to great misery and even danger, as well as the risk of losing ourprovisions and stores. Our pack-saddles had consequently to be altered tothe dimensions of the bullocks; and, having to use the new ones forbreaking in, they were much injured, even before we left Mr. Campbell'sto commence our journey. The statements of what a bullock was able tocarry were very contradictory; but in putting 250 lbs. Upon them theanimals were overloaded; and my experience has since shown me that theycannot, continually day after day, carry more than 150 lbs. For anydistance. The difficulties which we met with for the first three weeks, were indeed very trying:--the loading of bullocks and horses tookgenerally two hours; and the slightest accident, or the cargo gettingloose during the day's journey, frequently caused the bullocks to upsettheir loads and break the straps, and gave us great trouble even incatching them again:--at night, too, if we gave them the slightestchance, they would invariably stray back to the previous camp; and we hadfrequently to wait until noon before Charley and Brown, who generallyperformed the office of herdsman in turns, recovered the ramblers. Theconsequences were that we could proceed only very slowly, and that, forseveral months, we had to keep a careful watch upon them throughout thenight. The horses, with some few exceptions, caused us less trouble atthe commencement of our journey than afterwards, when our hobbles wereworn out and lost, and, with the exception of one or two which in turnswere tethered in the neighbourhood of the camp in order to prevent theothers from straying, they were necessarily allowed to feed at large. Itmay readily be imagined that my anxiety to secure our horses was verygreat, because the loss of them would have put an immediate stop to myundertaking. --But I hasten to enter on the narrative of our journey. 

CHAPTER I

LEAVE THE LAST STATION--FOSSIL REMAINS--DARLING DOWNS--ENTER THEWILDERNESS--WATERLOO PLAINS--THE CONDAMINE--HEAVY RAINS--CHARLEY'SMISCONDUCT--MURPHY AND CALEB LOST--KENT'S LAGOON--COAL--MURPHY AND CALEBFOUND AGAIN. 

It was at the end of September, 1844, when we completed the necessarypreparations for our journey, and left the station of Messrs. Campbelland Stephens, moving slowly towards the farthest point on which the whiteman has established himself. We passed the stations of Messrs. Hughs andIsaacs and of Mr. Coxen, and arrived on the 30th September, at Jimba, [It is almost always written Fimba, in the Journal; but I have correctedit to Jimba. --(ED. )] where we were to bid farewell to civilization. 

These stations are established on creeks which come down from the westernslopes of the Coast Range--here extending in a north and southdirection--and meander through plains of more or less extent to join theCondamine River; which--also rising in the Coast Range, where the latterexpands into the table-land of New England--sweeps round to thenorthward, and, flowing parallel to the Coast Range, receives the wholedrainage from the country to the westward of the range. The Condamineforms, for a great distance, the separation of the sandstone country tothe westward, from the rich basaltic plains to the eastward. Theseplains, so famous for the richness of their pasture, and for theexcellency of the sheep and cattle depastured upon them, have becomeequally remarkable as the depositaries of the remains of extinct speciesof animals, several of which must have been of a gigantic size, being theMarsupial representatives of the Pachydermal order of other continents. 

Mr. Isaacs' station is particularly rich in these fossil remains; andthey have been likewise found in the beds and banks of Mr. Hodgson's andof Mr. Campbell's Creeks, and also of Oaky Creek. At Isaacs' Creek, theyoccur together with recent freshwater shells of species still living inthe neighbouring ponds, and with marly and calcareous concretions; whichinduces me to suppose that these plains were covered with large sheets ofwater, fed probably by calcareous springs connected with the basalticrange, and that huge animals, fond of water, were living, either on therich herbage surrounding these ponds or lakes, or browsing upon theleaves and branches of trees forming thick brushes on the slopes of theneighbouring hills. The rise of the country, which is very generallysupposed to have taken place, was probably the cause of the disappearanceof the water, and of the animals becoming extinct, when its necessarysupply ceased to exist. Similar remains have been found in WellingtonValley, and in the Port Phillip District, where, probably, similarchanges have taken place. 

The elevation of Darling Downs--about 1800 to 2000 feet, according to thebarometrical observations of Mr. Cunningham--renders the climate muchcooler than its latitude would lead one to suppose; indeed, ice hasfrequently been found, during the calm clear nights of winter. DuringSeptember and October, we observed at sunrise an almost perfect calm. About nine o'clock, light westerly winds set in, which increased towardsnoon, died away towards evening, and after sunset, were succeeded bylight easterly breezes; thunder-storms rose from south and south-west, and passed over with a violent gust of wind and heavy showers of rain;frequently, in half an hour's time, the sky was entirely clear again;sometimes, however, the night and following day were cloudy. 

The plains, as we passed, were covered with the most luxuriant grass andherbage. Plants of the leguminosae and compositae, were by far the mostprevalent; the colour of the former, generally a showy red, that of thelatter, a bright yellow. Belts of open forest land, principally composed of the Box-tree of the Colonists (a species of Eucalyptus), separate thedifferent plains; and patches of scrub, consisting of several species ofAcacias, and of a variety of small trees, appear to be the outposts ofthe extensive scrubs of the interior. There are particularly threespecies of Acacias, which bestow a peculiar character on these scrubs:the one is the Myal (A. Pendula)--first seen by Oxley on LiverpoolPlains, and afterwards at the Barwan, and which exists in all the westernplains between the Barwan and Darling Downs--whose drooping foliage andrich yellow blossoms render it extremely elegant and ornamental. Thesecond, the Acacia of Coxen, resembles the Myal (without its droopingcharacter), its narrow lanceolate phyllodia rather stiff, its yellowishbranches erect. The third, is the Bricklow Acacia, which seems to beidentical with the Rose-wood Acacia of Moreton Bay; the latter, however, is a fine tree, 50 to 60 feet high, whereas the former is either a smalltree or a shrub. I could not satisfactorily ascertain the origin of theword Bricklow [Brigaloe, GOULD. ], but, as it is well understood andgenerally adopted by all the squatters between the Severn River andthe Boyne, I shall make use of the name. Its long, slightly falcateleaves, being of a silvery green colour, give a peculiar character tothe forest, where the tree abounds. 

Oct. 1. --After having repaired some harness, which had been broken by ourrefractory bullocks upsetting their loads, and after my companions hadcompleted their arrangements, in which Mr. Bell kindly assisted, we leftJimba, and launched, buoyant with hope, into the wilderness of Australia. 

Many a man's heart would have thrilled like our own, had he seen uswinding our way round the first rise beyond the station, with a fullchorus of "God Save the Queen, " which has inspired many a Britishsoldier, --aye, and many a Prussian too--with courage in the time ofdanger. Scarcely a mile from Jimba we crossed Jimba Creek, and travelledover Waterloo Plains, in a N. W. Direction, about eight miles, where wemade our first camp at a chain of ponds. Isolated cones and ridges wereseen to the N. E. , and Craig Range to the eastward: the plains werewithout trees, richly grassed, of a black soil with frequent concretionsof a marly and calcareous nature. Charley gave a proof of his wonderfulpower of sight, by finding every strap of a pack-saddle, that had beenbroken, in the high grass of Waterloo Plains. 

Oct. 2. --Bullocks astray, but found at last by Charley; and a startattempted at 1 o'clock; the greater part of the bullocks with sore backs:the native tobacco in blossom. One of the bullocks broke his pack-saddle, and compelled us to halt. 

Oct. 3. --Rise at five o'clock, and start at half-past nine; small plainsalternate with a flat forest country, slightly timbered; melon-holes;marly concretions, a stiff clayey soil, beautifully grassed: theprevailing timber trees are Bastard box, the Moreton Bay ash, and theFlooded Gum. After travelling seven miles, in a north-west direction, wecame on a dense Myal scrub, skirted by a chain of shallow water-holes. The scrub trending towards, and disappearing in, the S. W. : the Loranthusand the Myal in immense bushes; Casuarina frequent. In the forest, Ranunculus inundatus; Eryngium with terete simple leaves, of which thehorses are fond; Prasophyllum elatum, sweetly scented. A new compositewith white blossoms, the rays narrow and numerous. Sky clear; cumuli tothe S. W. ; wind from the westward. Ridges visible to the N. N. E. And N. E. At the outskirts of the scrub, the short-tailed sleeping lizard withknobby scales was frequent: one of them contained six eggs. We campedoutside of the scrub, surrounded by small tufts of the Bricklow Acacia. Droves of kangaroos entered the scrub; their foot-paths crossed theforest in every direction. 

The thermometer, before and at sunrise, 32 degrees; so cold that I couldnot work with my knife, away from the fire. At sunset, a thick gatheringof clouds to the westward. 

Oct. 4. --Cloudy sky; thermometer 50 degrees at sunrise; little dew; 64degrees at eight o'clock. 

We travelled about eleven miles in a S. W. And S. S. W. Direction, skirting the scrub. During the journey, two thunder-storms passed over;one to the southward beyond the Condamine, the other to the north andnorth-east over the mountains. The scrub is a dense mass of vegetation, with a well defined outline--a dark body of foliage, without grass, withmany broken branches and trees; no traces of water, or of a rush ofwaters. More to the southward, the outline of the scrub becomes lessdefined, and small patches are seen here and there in the forest. Theforest is open and well timbered; but the trees are rather small. A chainof lagoons from E. By N. --W. By S. ; large flooded gum-trees (but nocasuarinas) at the low banks of the lagoons. The presence of manyfresh-water muscles (Unio) shows that the water is constant, at least inordinary seasons. 

The scrub opens more and more; a beautiful country with Bricklow groves, and a white Vitex in full blossom. The flats most richly adorned byflowers of a great variety of colours: the yellow Senecios, scarletVetches, the large Xeranthemums, several species of Gnaphalium, whiteAnthemis-like compositae: the soil is a stiff clay with concretions:melon-holes with rushes; the lagoons with reeds. 

At night, a thunder-storm from south-west. Our dogs caught a femalekangaroo with a young one in its pouch, and a kangaroo rat. 

Oct. 5. --We followed the chain of lagoons for about seven miles, in awest by south direction; the country to our right was most beautiful, presenting detached Bricklow groves, with the Myal, and with the Vitex infull bloom, surrounded by lawns of the richest grass and herbage; thepartridge pigeon (Geophaps scripta) abounded in the Acacia groves; thenote of the Wonga Wonga (Leucosarcia picata, GOULD. ) was heard; and ducksand two pelicans were seen on the lagoons. Blackfellows had been here ashort time ago: large unio shells were abundant; the bones of thecodfish, and the shield of the fresh-water turtle, showed that they didnot want food. A small orange tree, about 5-8 minutes high, grows eithersocially or scattered in the open scrub, and a leafless shrub, belongingto the Santalaceae, grows in oblong detached low thickets. Chenopodiaceous plants are always frequent where the Myal grows. Thelatitude of our camp was 26 degrees 56 minutes 11 seconds. 

Oct. 6. --Was fully occupied with mending our packsaddles and straps, broken by the bullocks in throwing off their loads. 

Oct. 7. --In following the chain of lagoons to the westward, we came, after a few miles travelling, to the Condamine, which flows to thenorth-west: it has a broad, very irregular bed, and was, at the time, well provided with water--a sluggish stream, of a yellowish muddy colour, occasionally accompanied by reeds. We passed several gullies and a creekfrom the northward, slightly running. 

The forest on the right side of the river was tolerably open, thoughpatches of Myal scrub several times exposed us to great inconvenience;the left bank of the Condamine, as much as we could see of it, was a finewell grassed open forest. Conglomerate and sandstone cropped out inseveral sections. Mosquitoes and sandflies were very trouble-some. Ifound a species of snail nearly resembling Succinea, in the fissures ofthe bark of the Myal, on the Box, and in the moist grass. Themuscle-shells are of immense size. The well-known tracks of Blackfellowsare everywhere visible; such as trees recently stripped of their bark, the swellings of the apple-tree cut off to make vessels for carryingwater, honey cut out, and fresh steps cut in the trees to climb foropossums. Our latitude was 26 degrees 49 minutes. The thermometer was41 1/2 at sunrise; but in the shade, between 12 and 2 o'clock, it stood at80 degrees, and the heat was very great, though a gentle breeze andpassing clouds mitigated the power of the scorching sun. 

Oct. 8. --During the night, we had a tremendous thunder-storm, with muchthunder and lightning from the west. The river was very winding, so thatwe did not advance more than 7 or 8 miles W. N. W. ; the Bricklow scrubcompelled us frequently to travel upon the flood-bed of the river. Finegrassy forest-land intervened between the Bricklow and Myal scrubs; thelatter is always more open than the former, and the soil is of a richblack concretionary character. The soil of the Bricklow scrub is a stiffclay, washed out by the rains into shallow holes, well known by thesquatters under the name of melon-holes; the composing rock of the lowridges was a clayey sandstone (Psammite). Sky cloudy; wind north-east;thermometer 80 degrees at 2 o'clock; the sunshine plant (Mimosaterminalis) was frequent on the black soil; a Swainsonia; an Anthericum, with allium leaf and fine large yellow blossoms; and another species withsmall blossoms, (Stypandra). 

Oct. 9. --Commenced with cloudy weather, threatening rain. It cleared up, however, about 10 o'clock, and we had a very warm day. We followed thecourse of the river for some time, which is fringed with Myal scrubs, separated by hills with fine open forest. Finding that the river trendedso considerably to the northward [It seems that NORTHWARD here is merelymiswritten for WESTWARD. --(ED. )], we left it at a westerly bend, hopingto make it again in a north-west direction. Thus, we continued travellingthrough a beautiful undulating country, until arrested by a Bricklowscrub, which turned us to the south-west; after having skirted it, wewere enabled to resume our course to W. N. W. , until the decline of daymade me look for water to the south-west. The scrubs were awful, andthreatened to surround us; but we succeeded in finding a fine largelagoon, probably filled by the drainage of the almost level country tothe north-east. No water-course, not the slightest channel produced byheavy rains, was visible to indicate the flow of waters. Occasionally wemet with swampy ground, covered with reeds, and with some standing waterof the last rains; the ground was so rotten, that the horses and bullockssunk into it over the fetlocks. The principal timber trees here, are thebastard box, the flooded-gum, and the Moreton Bay ash; in the Myal scrub, Coxen's Acacia attains a very considerable size; we saw also someIronbark trees. 

The tracks and dung of cattle were observed; and this was the farthestpoint to the westward where we met with them. Kangaroos seemed to be veryrare; but kangaroo rats were numerous. Black-fellows were very near to uslast night; they very probably withdrew upon seeing us make ourappearance. 

Oct. 10. --Cloudy; wind northerly; thermometer at 2h. 30m. P. M. 88degrees. At about 1 1/2 or 2 miles distance, in a north-west directionfrom our last camp, we came to a fine running creek from the north-east, which we easily crossed; and, at about one mile farther, reached acreek--which, at this time of the year, is a chain of lagoons--lined onboth sides by Bricklow scrub, which occupied a portion of its limitedflats in little points and detached groves. This vale was one of the mostpicturesque spots we had yet seen. An Ironbark tree, with greyishfissured bark and pale-green foliage, grows here, and Sterculiaheterophylla is pretty frequent amongst the box and flooded-gum, on therising ground between the two creeks. Farther on, the country opened, thescrub receded; Ironbark ridges here and there, with spotted gum, withdog-wood (Jacksonia) on a sandy soil, covered with flint pebbles, diversified the sameness. The grass was beautiful, but the tufts distant;the Ironbark forest was sometimes interspersed with clusters of Acacias;sometimes the Ironbark trees were small and formed thickets. Towards theend of the stage, the country became again entirely flat, without anyindication of drainage, and we were in manifest danger of being withoutwater. At last, a solitary lagoon was discovered, about 30 yards indiameter, of little depth, but with one large flooded gum-tree, marked, by a piece of bark stripped off, as the former resting-place of a native;the forest oak is abundant. Here I first met with Hakea lorea, R. Br. , with long terete drooping leaves, every leaf one and a-half to two feetlong--a small tree 18--24 minutes high--and with Grevillea mimosoides, R. Br. , also a small tree, with very long riband-like leaves of a silverygrey. We did not see any kangaroos, but got a kangaroo rat and abandicoot. 

Oct. 11. --Travelling north-west we came to a Cypress-pine thicket, whichformed the outside of a Bricklow scrub. This scrub was, at first, unusually open, and I thought that it would be of little extent; I was, however, very much mistaken: the Bricklow Acacia, Casuarinas and astunted tea-tree, formed so impervious a thicket, that the bullocks, inforcing their way through it, tore the flour-bags, upset their loads, broke their straps, and severely tried the patience of my companions, whowere almost continually occupied with reloading one or other of therestless brutes. Having travelled five miles into it, and finding noprospect of its termination, I resolved upon returning to our last camp, which, however, I was not enabled to effect, without experiencing greatdifficulty, delay, and loss; and it was not until the expiration of twodays, that we retraced our steps, and reached the lagoon which we hadleft on the 11th. We had lost about 143 pounds of flour; Mr. Gilbert losthis tent, and injured the stock of his gun. The same night, rain set in, which lasted the whole of the next day: it came in heavy showers, withthunder-storms, from the north and north-west, and rendered the groundextremely boggy, and made us apprehensive of being inundated, for thelagoon was rapidly rising: our tent was a perfect puddle, and the horsesand cattle were scarcely able to walk. 

Within the scrub there was a slight elevation, in which sandstone croppedout: it was covered with cypress-pine, and an Acacia, different from theBricklow. The Bottle-tree (Sterculia, remarkable for an enlargement ofthe stem, about three feet above the ground, ) was observed within thescrub: the white Vitex (?) and Geigera, SCHOTT. , a small tree, witharomatic linear-lanceolate leaves, grew at its outside, and in smallgroves scattered through the open forest. Fusanus, a small tree withpinnate leaves, and Buttneria, a small shrub, were also found in thesegroves. 

Many pigeons were seen; the black cockatoo of Leach (CalyptorhynchusLeachii) was shot; we passed several nests of the brush-turkey (TalegallaLathami, GOULD). Charley got a probably new species of bandicoot, withlonger ears than the common one, and with white paws. We distinguished, during the rain, three different frogs, which made a very inharmoniousconcert. The succinea-like shells were very abundant in the moist grass;and a limnaea in the lagoon seemed to me to be a species different fromthose I had observed in the Moreton Bay district, The thermometer atsunset 62 degrees (in the water 68 degrees); at sunrise 52 degrees (inthe water 62 degrees). 

On the 15th October, the wind changed during the afternoon to thewestward, and cleared the sky, and dried the ground very rapidly. 

Oct. 17. --The ground was too heavy and boggy to permit us to startyesterday; besides, three horses were absent, and could not be found. Last night, Mr. Roper brought in three ducks and a pigeon, and wasjoyfully welcomed by all hands. Charley had been insolent several times, when I sent him out after the cattle, and, this morning, he eventhreatened to shoot Mr. Gilbert. I immediately dismissed him from ourservice, and took from him all the things which he held on condition ofstopping with us. The wind continued from the west and south-west. 

Oct. 18. --Towards evening Charley came and begged my pardon. I told himthat he had particularly offended Mr. Gilbert, and that I could not thinkof allowing him to stay, if Mr. Gilbert had the slightest objection toit: he, therefore, addressed himself to Mr. Gilbert, and, with hisconsent, Charley entered again into our service. John Murphy and Caleb, the American negro, went to a creek, which Mr. Hodgson had first seen, when out on a RECONNOISSANCE to the northward, in order to get some game. John had been there twice before, and it was not four miles distant:they, however, did not return, and, at nine o'clock at night, we heardfiring to the north-east. We answered by a similar signal, but they didnot come in. I sent Mr. Hodgson and Charley to bring them back. If theyhad simply given the bridle to their horses, they would have brought themback without delay; but probably both got bewildered. 

The latitude of this lagoon, which I called Kent's Lagoon, after F. Kent, Esq. , is 26 degrees 42 minutes 30 seconds. We tried to obtain opossums, during the clear moonlight night, but only caught the common rabbit-rat. 

Our horses go right into the scrub, to get rid of the little flies, whichtorment them. The weather is very fair; the regular westerly breeze, during the day, is setting in again: the dew is very abundant duringclear nights: the morning very cold; the water of the lagoon 8 degrees to10 degrees warmer than the air. 

We have regularly balanced our loads, and made up every bag of flour tothe weight of 120 pounds: of these we have eight, which are to be carriedby four bullocks. The chocolate and the gelatine are very acceptable atpresent, as so little animal food can be obtained. The country continuesto be extremely boggy, though the weather has been fine, with high winds, for the last four days. Tracks of Blackfellows have been seen; but theyappear rare and scattered in this part of the country. Though we meetwith no game, tracks of kangaroos are very numerous, and they frequentlyindicate animals of great size. Emus have been seen twice. 

Thermometer at sunset 65 degrees 7 minutes (75 degrees in the water); ata quarter past one, 90 degrees. South-westerly winds. 

Oct. 19. --During the night, north-easterly breeze; at the break of day, aperfect calm; after sunset easterly winds again. Thermometer at sunrise51 degrees (60 degrees in the water); a cloudless sky. Mr. Hodgson andCharley, whom I had sent to seek John and Caleb, returned to the campwith a kangaroo. I sent them immediately off again, with Mr. Roper, tofind the two unfortunate people, whose absence gave me the greatestanxiety. Mr. Roper and Mr. Gilbert had brought one pigeon and one duck, as a day's sport; which, with the kangaroo, gave us a good and desirablesupper of animal food. During the evening and the night, a shortbellowing noise was heard, made probably by kangaroos, of which Mr. Gilbert stated he had seen specimens standing nine feet high. Brownbrought a carpet snake, and a brown snake with yellow belly. The fliesbecome very numerous, but the mosquitoes are very rare. 

On a botanical excursion I found a new Loranthus, with flat linearleaves, on Casuarina, a new species of Scaevola, Buttneria, and threespecies of Solanum. Mr. Hodgson brought a shrubby Goodenia; anotherspecies with linear leaves, and with very small yellow blossoms, growingon moist places in the forest; two shrubby Compositae; three differentspecies of Dodonaea, entering into fruit; and a Stenochilus, R. Br. Withred blossoms, the most common little shrub of the forest. 

Mr. Gilbert brought me a piece of coal from the crossing place of thecreek of the 10th October. It belongs probably to the same layer which isfound at Flagstone Creek, on Mr. Leslie's station, on Darling Downs. Wefind coal at the eastern side of the Coast Range, from Illawarra up toWide Bay, with sandstone; and it seems that it likewise extends to thewestward of the Coast Range, being found, to my knowledge, at LiverpoolPlains, at Darling Downs, and at Charley's Creek, of the 10th Oct. It ishere, as well as at the east side, connected with sandstone. Flintpebbles, of a red colour, were very abundant at Charley's Creek, and inthe scrub, which I called the Flourspill, as it had made such a heavyinroad into our flour-bags. The flat on which we encamp, is composed of amild clay, which rapidly absorbs the rain and changes into mud; a layerof stiff clay is about one foot below the surface. The grasses are atpresent in full ear, and often four feet high; but the tufts are distant, very different from the dense sward at the other side of the Range. As weleft the Myal country of the Condamine, we left also its herbage, abounding in composite, leguminous, and chenopodiaceous plants, with agreat variety of grasses. 

Oct. 20. --This morning, at half-past nine o'clock, Messrs. Roper, Hodgson, and Charley, returned with John Murphy and Caleb. They hadstrayed about twelve miles from the camp, and had fairly lost themselves. Their trackers had to ride over seventy miles, before they came up tothem, and they would certainly have perished, had not Charley been ableto track them: it was indeed a providential circumstance that he had notleft us. According to their statement, the country is very open, with afine large creek, which flows down to the Condamine; this is the creekwhich we passed on the 10th Oct. , and which I called "Charley's Creek. "The creek first seen by Mr. Hodgson joins this, and we are consequentlystill on westerly waters. 

Thermometer, at sunrise, 54 degrees (in the water 64 degrees); at eighto'clock 64 degrees. Strong easterly and northerly winds during the lasttwo nights. It becomes calm at a quarter past three, with the rise ofVenus. 

Mr. Calvert brought an edible mushroom out of Flourspill Scrub. 

The Loranthus of the Myal grows also on other Acacias with glaucousleaves. A bright yellow everlasting is very fine and frequent. 

Oct. 22. --I left Kent's lagoon yesterday. In order to skirt the scrub, Ihad to keep to the north-east, which direction brought me, after aboutthree miles travelling through open forest, to Mr. Hodgson's creek, atwhich John Murphy and Caleb had been lost. The creek here consists of aclose chain of fine rocky water-holes; the rock is principally clay, resembling very much a decomposed igneous rock, but full of nodules andveins of iron-stone. I now turned to the northward, and encamped at theupper part of the creek. To-day I took my old course to the north-west, and passed a scrubby Ironbark forest, and flat openly-timbered forestland. I came again, however, to a Bricklow scrub, which I skirted, andafter having crossed a very dense scrubby Ironbark forest, came to achain of rushy water-holes, with the fall of the waters to thenorth-east. The whole drainage of a north-easterly basin, seems to haveits outlet, through Charley's Creek, into the Condamine. 

On the banks of Hodgson's Creek, grows a species of Dampiera, with manyblue flowers, which deserves the name of "D. Floribunda;" here also wereLeptospermum; Persoonia with lanceolate pubescent leaf; Jacksonia(Dogwood); the cypress-pine with a light amber-coloured resin (Charleybrought me fine claret-coloured resin, and I should not be surprised tofind that it belongs to a different species of Callitris); an Acacia withglaucous lanceolate one-inch-long phyllodia; and a Daviesia; anotherAcacia with glaucous bipinnate leaves; a white Scaevola, Anthericum, anda little Sida, with very showy blossoms. Spotted-gum and Ironbark formedthe forest; farther on, flooded-gum. 

Pigeons, mutton-birds (Struthidia), are frequent, and provided us withseveral messes; iguanas are considered great delicacies; several blackkangaroos were scen to day. 

The weather very fine, but hot; the wind westerly; thermometer at sunset74 degrees (84 degrees in the water. )

Oct. 23. --At the commencement of last night, westerly winds, the skyclear; at the setting of the moon (about 3 o'clock a. M. ), the windchanged to the north-east; scuddy clouds passing rapidly from thatquarter; at sunrise it clears a little, but the whole morning cloudy, andfine travelling weather. 

We travelled in a north-westerly direction, through a Casuarina thicket, but soon entered again into fine open Ironbark forest, with occasionallycloser underwood; leaving a Bricklow scrub to our right, we came to a drycreek with a deep channel; which I called "Acacia Creek, " from theabundance of several species of Acacia. Not a mile farther we came on asecond creek, with running water, which, from the number of Dogwoodshrubs (Jacksonia), in the full glory of their golden blossoms. I called"Dogwood Creek. " The creek came from north and north-east and flowed tothe south-west, to join the Condamine. The rock of Dogwood Creek is afine grained porous Psammite (clayey sandstone), with veins and nodulesof iron, like that of Hodgson's creek. A new gum-tree, with arusty-coloured scaly bark, the texture of which, as well as theseed-vessel and the leaf, resembled bloodwood, but specificallydifferent; the apple-tree (Angophora lanceolata); the flooded-gum; aHakea with red blossoms; Zierea; Dodonaea; a crassulaceous plant withhandsome pink flowers; a new myrtaceous tree of irregular stunted growth, about 30 feet high, with linear leaves, similar to those of the rosemary;a stiff grass, peculiar to sandstone regions; and a fine Brunonia, withits chaste blue blossoms, adorn the flats of the creek as well as theforest land. The country is at present well provided with water andgrass, though the scattered tufts of Anthistiria, and the firstappearance of the small grass-tree (Xanthorrhaea), render its constancyvery doubtful. The winding narrow-leaved Kennedyas, Gnaphaliums inabundance; Aotus in low bushes. 

No game, except a kangaroo rat, pigeons, ducks, and mutton-birds. Mr. Phillips brought a crawfish from the creek: it had just thrown off itsold shell. Fresh-water muscles plentiful, though not of the size of thoseof the Condamine. A small rat was caught this morning amongst our flourbags; it had no white tip at the tail, nor is the tail so bushy as thatof the rabbit-rat: probably it was a young animal. 

Oct. 24. --The creek being boggy, we had to follow it down for severalmiles to find a crossing place. Even here, one of the horses whichcarried the tea, fell back into the water, whilst endeavouring toscramble up the opposite bank, and drenched its valuable load. We nowtravelled through a country full of lagoons, and chains of water-holes, and passed through several patches of cypress-pine, until we came toanother creek with rocky water-holes, with the fall to the eastward, probably joining Dogwood Creek, from which we were not four milesdistant. Fine grassy flats accompanied the creek on its left, whilst acypress-pine forest grew on its right bank. The latitude of ouryesterday's camp was 26 degrees 26 minutes 30 seconds and, to-day, we areonly four miles more to the westward. The country is still so flat and socompletely wooded--sometimes with scrubs, thickets, Acacia, and Vitexgroves, sometimes with open Ironbark forest intermingled with spottedgum--that no view of distant objects can be obtained. SeveralEpacridaceous shrubs and species of Bossiaea and Daviesia reminded me ofthe flora of the more southern districts. 

Oct. 25. --We travelled about twelve miles in a north-westerly direction, our latitude being 26 degrees 15 minutes 46 seconds. The country ingeneral scrubby, with occasional reaches of open forest land. Therosemary-leaved tree of the 23rd was very abundant. An Acacia with spinyphyllodia, the lower half attached to the stem, the upper bent off in theform of an open hook, had been observed by me on the sandstone ridges ofLiverpool Plains: and the tout ensemble reminded me forcibly of thatlocality. The cypress-pine, several species of Melaleuca, and a fineIronbark, with broad lanceolate, but not cordate, glaucous leaves, andvery dark bark, formed the forest. An arborescent Acacia, in densethickets, intercepted our course several times. Bronze-winged pigeonswere very numerous, but exceedingly shy. 

The stillness of the moonlight night is not interrupted by the screechingof opossums and flying squirrels, nor by the monotonous note of thebarking-bird and little owlet; no native dog is howling round our camp inthe chilly morning: the cricket alone chirps along the water-holes; andthe musical note of an unknown bird, sounding like "gluck gluck"frequently repeated, and ending in a shake, and the melancholy wail ofthe curlew, are heard from the neighbouring scrub. 

Oct. 26. --Our journey was resumed: wind in the morning from the west;light clouds passing rapidly from that quarter. 

Messrs. Hodgson and Roper, following the chain of ponds on which we hadencamped, came to a large creek, with high rocky banks and a broad streamflowing to the south-west. We passed an Acacia scrub, and stretches offine open Ironbark forest, interspersed with thickets of an aborescentspecies of Acacia, for about four miles in a north-west course, when wefound ourselves on the margin of a considerable valley full of Bricklowscrub; we were on flat-topped ridges, about 80 to 100 feet above thelevel of the valley. After several attempts to cross, we had to turn tothe N. N. E. And east, in order to head it, travelling through a mostbeautiful open Ironbark forest, with the grass in full seed, from threeto four feet high. Following a hollow, in which the fall of the countrywas indicated by the grass bent by the run of water after heavy showersof rain, we came to fine water-holes, about five miles from our lastcamp. 

At the other side of the valley, we saw distant ranges to the north-westand northward. The scrub was occasionally more open, and fine largebottle-trees (Sterculia) were frequent: the young wood of which, containing a great quantity of starch between its woody fibres, wasfrequently chewed by our party. Fusanus was abundant and in full bearing;its fruit (of the size of a small apple), when entirely ripe and droppedfrom the tree, furnished a very agreeable repast: the rind, however, which surrounds its large rough kernel, is very thin. 

Oct. 27. --During last night a very strong, cold, westerly wind. 

After travelling about 3 1/2 miles north, we were stopped by a Bricklowscrub, which compelled us to go to the east and south-east. I encamped, about three miles north-east by north from my last resting place, andexamined the scrub: it was out of the question to cross it. Mr. Gilbertshot three black cockatoos and a bronze-winged pigeon. 

Oct. 28. --During the night it was very cold, though no wind was stirring. In the morning we experienced an easterly breeze. Travelling to theeastward and east by south, I found that the water-holes outside of thescrub at which we were encamped, changed into a creek with rocky bed, having its banks partly covered with cypress-pine thickets. I crossed itabout three miles lower down, and, finding the Ironbark forestsufficiently open, turned to the northward; scarcely three miles farther, we came to another creek of a character similar to that of the last, which I suppose to be one of the heads of Dogwood Creek. The blueBrunonia was again frequent; the grass five feet high, in full ear, andwaving like a rye field. The soil, however, is sandy and rotten, and thegrass in isolated tufts. We encamped about four miles north-east from ourlast camp. 

CHAPTER II

PARTY REDUCED BY THE RETURN OF MR. HODGSON AND CALEB--MEET FRIENDLYNATIVES--NATIVE TOMB--THE DAWSON--VERVAIN PLAINS--GILBERT'S RANGE--LYND'SRANGE--ROBINSON'S CREEK--MURPHY'S LAKE--MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY--EXPEDITIONRANGE--MOUNT NICHOLSON--ALDIS'S PEAK--THE BOYD. 

Nov. 3. --For the past week, the heat was very oppressive during the day, whilst, at night, it was often exceedingly cold; for two or three hoursbefore dawn, and for an hour after sunset, it was generally delightful, particularly within the influence of a cheerful cypress-pine fire, whichperfumes the air with the sweet scent of the burning resin. 

It had now become painfully evident to me that I had been too sanguine inmy calculations, as to our finding a sufficiency of game to furnish myparty with animal food, and that the want of it was impairing ourstrength. We had also been compelled to use our flour to a greater extentthan I wished; and I saw clearly that my party, which I had reluctantlyincreased on my arrival at Moreton Bay, was too large for our provisions. I, therefore, communicated to my companions the absolute necessity ofreducing our number: all, however, appeared equally desirous to continuethe journey; and it was, therefore, but just that those who had joinedlast, should leave. Mr. Gilbert, however, who would, under thisarrangement, have had to retire, found a substitute in Mr. Hodgson, whohad perhaps suffered most by additional fatigues; so that he and Caleb, the American negro, prepared for their return to Moreton Bay. Previous, however, to their departure, they assisted in killing one of our steers, the meat of which we cut into thin slices, and dried in the sun. This, our first experiment--on the favourable result of which the success ofour expedition entirely depended--kept us, during the process, in a stateof great excitement. It succeeded, however, to our great joy, andinspired us with confidence for the future. The little steer gave us65lbs. Of dried meat, and about 15lbs. Of fat. The operation concluded, we took leave of our companions; and although our material was reduced bythe two horses on which they returned, Mr. Hodgson left us the greaterpart of his own equipment. The loss of the two horses caused us somelittle inconvenience, as it increased the loads of the animals. The dailyration of the party was now fixed at six pounds of flour per day, withthree pounds of dried beef, which we found perfectly sufficient to keepup our strength. 

Whenever it was necessary to delay for any time at one place, our cattleand horses gave us great trouble: they would continually stray back inthe direction we came from, and we had frequently to fetch them backfive, seven, and even ten miles. Mr. Hodgson's horses had returned evento the camp of the 21st October, and three days were required to findthem and bring them back. These matters caused us considerable delay; butthey were irremediable. On the 30th October, towards evening, we werehailed by natives, from the scrub; but, with the exception of one, theykept out of sight. This man knew a few English words, and spoke thelanguage of Darling Downs; he seemed to be familiar with the countryround Jimba; and asked permission to come to the camp: this, however, Idid not permit; and they entered the scrub, when they saw us handle ourguns, and bring forward two horses to the camp. On the 3rd of Novemberthey visited us again, and communicated with us, behaving in a veryfriendly way: they pointed out honey in one of the neighbouring trees, assisted in cutting it out and eating it, and asked for tobacco; it was, however, impossible to make any presents, as we had nothing to spare. They particularly admired the red blankets, were terror-struck at thesight of a large sword, which they tremblingly begged might be returnedinto the sheath, and wondered at the ticking of a watch, and at themovement of its wheels. The greater part were young men of milddisposition, and pleasing countenance; the children remained in thedistance, and I only saw two women. 

According to their statements, the scrub extends to the Condamine. 

The scrub was crossed in every direction by tracks of wallabies, ofwhich, however, we could not even get a sight. The glucking bird--bywhich name, in consequence of its note, the bird may bedistinguished--was heard through the night. They live probably upon theseeds of the cypress-pine; the female answers the loud call of the male, but in a more subdued voice. 

A Gristes, about seven inches long, resembling the one described in SirThomas Mitchell's journey, but specifically different from it, was caughtin the water-holes of the creek, which I called "Dried-beef Creek, " inmemorial of our late occupation. 

A Goodenoviaceous shrub, a pink Hibiscus, and a fine prostrate Sida, werefound between the camp of the 27th October and Dried-beef Creek. 

Nov. 4. --Having previously examined and found a passage through thescrub, we travelled through it for about eight miles on a north by westcourse. The head of Dried-beef Creek, was found to be formed by separatewater-holes, in a slight hollow along the scrub; and, when thesedisappeared, we were moving over a perfectly level land, without any signof drainage, but occasionally passing isolated holes, now for the greaterpart dry. On our left, our course was bounded by a dense Bricklow scrub;but, on our right, for the first four miles, the country wascomparatively open, with scattered Acacias; it then became denselytimbered, but free from scrub. Farther on, however, scrub appeared evento our right. A natural opening, which had recently been enlarged by abush fire, enabled us to pass into a dense Ironbark and cypress-pineforest; and then, bearing a little to the right, we came on a slightwatercourse to the northward, which rapidly enlarged as it descendedbetween ranges, which seemed to be the spurs of the table land we hadjust left. 

Nov. 5. --We observed the tomb of a native near our camp. It was a simpleconical heap of sand, which had been raised over the body, which wasprobably bent into the squatting position of the natives; but, as ourobject was to pass quietly, without giving offence to the aborigines, wedid not disturb it. It is, however, remarkable that, throughout our wholejourney, we never met with graves or tombs, or even any remains ofBlackfellows again; with the exception of a skull, which I shall noticeat a later period. Several isolated conical hills were in the vicinity ofour camp; sandstone cropped out in the creek, furnishing us with goodwhetstones. 

After travelling about four miles in a north-west direction, through afine open undulating country, we came to, and followed the course of, aconsiderable creek flowing to the westward, bounded by extensive floodedgum-flats and ridges, clothed with a forest of silver-leaved Ironbark. Large reedy lagoons, well supplied with fish, were in its bed. Ourlatitude was 26 degrees 4 minutes 9 seconds. 

Nov. 6. --The arrangement for loading our cattle enabled me at last tomount every one of my companions, which was very desirable; for thesummer having fairly set in, and no thunder-storms having cooled theatmosphere since we left the Condamine, the fatigue of walking during themiddle of the day had become very severe. From Jimba we started with afew horses without load, which only enabled us to ride alternately; but, as our provisions gradually decreased in quantity, one after the othermounted his horse; and this day I had the pleasure of seeing everybody onhorseback. 

We travelled along the valley of the river about ten miles, in awest-northerly course; our latitude of this day being 26 degrees 3minutes 44 seconds Fine box and apple-tree flats were on both sides ofthe creek, now deserving the appellation of a "River, " and which I calledthe "Dawson, " in acknowledgment of the kind support I received from R. Dawson, Esq. , of Black Creek, Hunter's River. At the foot of the ridgessome fine lagoons were observed, as also several plains, with the soiland the vegetation of the Downs, but bounded on the northward byimpenetrable Bricklow scrub. In a watercourse, meandering through thisscrub, sandstone cropped out, in which impressions of fossil plants werenoticed by me. It was interesting to observe how strictly the scrub keptto the sandstone and to the stiff loam lying upon it, whilst the mildblack whinstone soil was without trees, but covered with luxuriantgrasses and herbs; and this fact struck me as remarkable, because, duringmy travels in the Bunya country of Moreton Bay, I found it to be exactlythe reverse: the sandstone spurs of the range being there covered with anopen well grassed forest, whilst a dense vine brush extended over thebasaltic rock. The phenomenon is probably to be explained by thecapability of the different soils of retaining moisture, and, at the sametime, by taking into account the distance of the localities from theseacoast. I called these plains "Calvert's Plains, " after my companion, Mr. Calvert. Farther to the westward we passed over open ridges, coveredwith Bastard-box and silver-leaved Ironbark: the former tree growsgenerally in rich black soil, which appeared several times in the form ofploughed land, well known, in other parts of the colony, either underthat name, or under that of "Devil-devil land, " as the natives believe itto be the work of an evil spirit. 

Nov. 7. --The first two hours of the day were cloudy, but it cleared upand became very hot; the atmosphere was hazy and sultry; cumuli withundefined outlines all round the horizon: wind from south-west and south. I travelled west by north about eight miles, along the foot ofBastard-box and silver-leaved Ironbark ridges. The country wasexceedingly fine; the ground was firm; the valley from two to three milesbroad, clothed with rich grass, and sprinkled with apple-tree, flooded-gum, and Bastard-box; the hills formed gentle ascents, and wereopenly timbered. The water-holes seemed to be constant; they are verydeep, densely surrounded by reeds, and with numerous heaps of brokenmuscle-shells round their banks. Scrub was, however, to be seen in thedistance, and formed the dark spot in the pleasant picture. Game becamemore frequent; and last night every body had a duck. As we were pursuingour course, Mr. Gilbert started a large kangaroo, known by the familiarname of "old man, " which took refuge in a water-hole, where it waskilled, but at the expense of two of our kangaroo dogs, which weremortally wounded. As we were sitting at our dinner, a fine half-grown emuwalked slowly up to us, as if curious to know what business we had in itslonely haunts; unfortunately for us, the bark of our little terrierfrightened it; and, although one of my Blackfellows shot after it, itretired unscathed into the neighbouring thicket. Mr. Roper killed aRallus, which Mr. Gilbert thought to be new. The high land from which wecame, appears at present as a distant range to the south-east. Fine-grained sandstone, with impressions of leaves, was again observed, and a few pieces of silicified wood. A Thysanotus with fine largeblossoms now adorns the forest. The native carrot is in seed; theEryngium of Jimba, and a leguminous plant, prostrate with ternate leavesand bunches of yellow flowers, were frequent; several beautiful speciesof everlastings were occasionally seen, and the little orange-tree of theCondamine grew in the scrub. 

Nov. 8. --We followed the Dawson for about eight miles lower down. Aboutfour miles from our camp, it is joined by a fine chain of ponds from thenorth-east. The flats on both sides are covered by open Bastard-boxforest, of a more or less open character. In the rainy season, the wholevalley is probably covered with water; for we frequently observed themarks of torrents rushing down from the hills; and, along the foot of theridges, ponds and lagoons were frequent. The heat of summer had alreadyburnt up a great part of the grasses; and it was only in the immediateneighbourhood of the river that there was any appearance of verdure. Thebed of the river became drier, and changed its character considerably. Charley stated, that he had seen a large plain extending for many milesto the south-west, and a high mountain to the north. Several emus, pigeons, and ducks were seen. Mr. Calvert found concretions of marl inthe creek. John Murphy caught a great number of crawfish. For the firsttime since leaving the Condamine, we were visited by a thunder-storm. Cumuli generally during the afternoon, with wind from the W. N. W; duringthe night it usually clears up. 

Nov. 10. --The country along the river changed, during the last twostages, considerably for the worse. The scrub approached very near to thebanks of the river, and, where it receded, a disagreeable thicket ofBastard-box saplings filled almost the whole valley: fine lagoons werealong the river, frequently far above its level; the river itself dividedinto anabranches, which, with the shallow watercourses of occasionalfloods from the hills, made the whole valley a maze of channels, fromwhich we could only with difficulty extricate ourselves. "I never sawsuch a rum river, in my life, " said my blackfellow Charley. 

The open forest was sometimes one large field of everlasting flowers withbright yellow blossoms; whilst the scrub plains were thickly covered withgrasses and vervain. Almost all the grasses of Liverpool Plains growhere. Ironstone and quartz pebbles were strewed over the ground; and, inthe valley, fine-grained sandstone with layers of iron-ore cropped out. 

Large fish were seen in the lagoons; but we only succeeded in catchingsome small fish of the genus Gristes. Muscles continued to be frequent;and we saw the gunyas of the natives everywhere, although no native madehis appearance. 

It was here that I first met, growing on the scrubby hills, a species ofBauhinia, either shrubby or a small shady tree, with spreading branches;the pods are flat, of a blunt form, almost one inch in breadth, and fromthree to four inches long. The Bricklow seems to prevent the growth ofalmost all other vegetation, with the exception of a small shrub, withlinear lanceolate aromatic leaves. An Acacia, with long drooping, almostterete leaves, grew along the river; and Crinums grew in patches amongstthe everlasting flowers, on a sandy soil. Our latitude, of the 9thNovember, was 25 degrees 53 minutes 55 seconds; and that of the 10th, 25degrees 47 minutes 55 seconds, at about eleven miles north-west from thecamp of the 8th November. 

Until the 14th of November, we travelled down the Dawson. In order toavoid the winding course of the river, and the scrub and thickets thatcovered its valley, which rendered our progress very slow, we hadgenerally to keep to the ridges, which were more open. We several timesmet with fine plains, which I called "Vervain Plains, " as that plant grewabundantly on them. They were surrounded with scrub, frequently sprinkledwith Bricklow groves, interspersed with the rich green of the Bauhinia, and the strange forms of the Bottle-tree; which imparted to the scene avery picturesque character. From one of these plains we obtained, for thefirst time, a view of some well-defined ranges to the west-north-west. The general course of the river, between the latitudes of 25 degrees 41minutes 55 seconds and 25 degrees 37 minutes 12 seconds, was to thenorthward; but, as it commenced to turn to the east, I was induced tocross it, and to follow my former direction to the northwest. Betweenthose two latitudes, the river had commenced to run, which was not theease higher up, notwithstanding it was formed by long reaches of water, upon which pelicans and ducks were abundant. Mr. Calvert and the black, Charley, who had been sent back to one of our last camping places, had, on returning, kept a little more to the north-east, and had seen a riverflowing to the northward, and a large creek; both of which, probably, join the Dawson lower down. At that part of the river where it commencesto run, its bed was more confined, and was fringed by Melaleucas anddrooping Acacias. 

Our provisions had been increased by an emu, which Charley shot; ourremaining two kangaroo dogs also succeeded in catching an "old man"kangaroo on the Vervain Plains of the 14th November. I made it aninvariable practice to dry the meat which remained after the consumptionof the day's allowance, and it served considerably to save our stock ofdried beef, and to lengthen the lives of our bullocks. The utmost economywas necessary;--for we were constantly exposed to losses, occasioned bythe pack bullocks upsetting their loads; an annoyance which was at thistime of frequent occurrence from the animals being irritated by thestings of hornets--a retaliation for the injuries done to their nests, which, being suspended to the branches of trees, were frequently torndown by the bullocks passing underneath. 

A large turtle was seen; and Mr. Gilbert caught two fine eels in one ofthe lagoons. We had thunder-storms on the 12th and 13th of November: themorning is generally cloudy, the clouds come from the north-east andnorth, clearing away in the middle of the day; and the afternoon isexceedingly hot. 

Nov. 14. --A dense scrub, which had driven us back to the river, obligedme to reconnoitre to the north-west, in which I was very successful; for, after having crossed the scrub, I came into an open country, furnishedwith some fine sheets of water, and a creek with Corypha palms, growingto the height of 25 or 30 feet. The feelings of delight which Iexperienced when, upon emerging from the more than usually inhospitableBricklow scrub, the dark verdure of a swamp surrounding a small lake--with native companions (ARDEAANTIGONE) strutting round, and swarms ofducks playing on its still water, backed by an open forest, in which thenoble palm tree was conspicuous--suddenly burst upon our view, were sogreat as to be quite indescribable. I joyfully returned to the camp, tobring forward my party; which was not, however, performed withoutconsiderable trouble. We had to follow the Dawson down to where the creekjoined it; for the scrub was impassable for loaded bullocks, and, even onthis detour, we had to contend with much scrub as we proceeded down thevalley. It, however, became more free from scrub at every step, andopened out into flats of more or less extent on either side, skirted byhills, clothed with an open forest, rising into regular ranges. On myRECONNAISSANCE I crossed the Gilbert Ranges, which were named after mycompanion Mr. Gilbert, and came on waters which fall to the eastward, andjoin the Dawson lower down. From the summit of an open part of the range, I saw other ranges to the northward, but covered with Bricklow scrub, aswas also the greater part of Gibert's Range. To the east, however, theview was more cheering; for the hills are more open, and the vegetationcomposed of the silver-leaved and narrow-leaved Ironbark trees and anopen Vitex scrub. Several rocky gullies were passed, that were full ofpalm trees. The valley of Palm-tree Creek extends about nineteen milesfrom west to east The ranges which bound it to the south, I called"Lynd's Range, " after my friend R. Lynd, Esq. Gilbert's Range bounds itto the northward: Middle Range separates the creek from the Dawson up totheir junction. Several large swamps are within the valley; one of which, the small lake which first broke upon my view, received the name of"Roper's Lake, " after one of my companions. 

Nov. 17. --We went about nine miles up the valley, on a south branch ofPalm-tree Creek, which derives its waters from Lynd's Range. The finewater-hole which I selected for our camp, was not only shaded by statelyCoryphas and flooded gums, but the drooping Callistemon, the creekMelaleuca, and the Casuarina, gave to it the character of the rivers andcreeks of the Moreton Bay district. It changed, however, into a shallowwaterless channel, communicating with one of the large swamps whichgenerally extend along the base of the hills. I rode up Lynd's Range, passing plains similar to those I have before mentioned, composed ofblack soil intermingled with fossil wood and decomposed sandstone, anddensely covered with Burr, (a composite plant) and Verbena, and scatteredtufts either of Bricklow, or of Coxen's Acacia, or of the bright greenFusanus, or of the darker verdure of Bauhinia, with here and there asolitary tree of a rich dark-green hue, from forty to fifty feet inheight. From the summit I had a fine view down the valley of the Dawson, which was bounded on both sides by ranges. A high distant mountain wasseen about N. N. E. From Lynd's Range, at the left side of the Dawson. 

The water-holes abounded with jew-fish and eels; of the latter weobtained a good supply, and dried two of them, which kept very well. Twospecies of Limnaea, the one of narrow lengthened form, the other shorterand broader; a species of Paludina, and Cyclas and Unios, were frequent. The jew-fish has the same distoma in its swimming bladder, which Iobserved in specimens caught in the Severn River to the southward ofMoreton Bay: on examining the intestines of this fish, they were full ofthe shells of Limnaea and Cyclas. Large specimens of helix were frequenton the Vervain Plains, but they were only dead shells. The fat-hen(Atriplex) and the sow-thistle (Sonchus) grew abundantly on the reedyflats at the upper end of the creek; Grewia, a prostrate Myoporum, and abean with yellow blossoms, were frequent all over the valley. Atriplexforms, when young, as we gratefully experienced, an excellent vegetable, as do also the young shoots of Sonchus. The tops of the Corypha palm eatwell, either baked in hot ashes or raw, and, although very indigestible, did not prove injurious to health when eaten in small quantities. In thevicinity of the swamps of Palm-tree Creek, I noticed a grass with an earmuch resembling the bearded wheat: with the exception of the cultivatedCerealia, it had the largest seed I ever met with in grasses; even myBlackfellow was astonished at its remarkable size. 

During the night we experienced a strong wind from the northward, and, during the afternoon, a gust of wind and rain from west and north-west;but no thunder. 

Nov. 18. --Clouds gathered from the west and north-west, a few drops ofrain fell, and a few low peals of thunder were heard; but, althoughcharged with electric fluid, and, in appearance, threatening anapproaching thunder-storm, no discharge of lightning took place. We werevery much annoyed and harassed, during the evening and the early part ofthe night, by sand-flies and mosquitoes; but the clear night grew socold, that these great enemies of bush comforts were soon benumbed. Thelatitude of the camp of the 18th November was 25 degrees 30 minutes 11seconds. 

Nov. 19. --No air stirring, night very cold and bright; dew heavy; thesurface of the creek covered with vapour; the water very warm. 

Having no apparatus for ascertaining the height of our position above thelevel of the sea, this very interesting fact could not be determined;but, from the cold experienced, at a period so near the summer solstice, the elevation must have been very considerable. 

We travelled during the day in a westerly direction over a level country, partly covered with reeds and fat-hen, and came to a broad sandy creek, which turned to the south-east and south. Having crossed it, we passedseveral large lagoons and swamps covered with plovers and ducks; and, ata short mile farther, came again on the creek, which now had a deepchannel and a broad sandy bed lined with casuarinas and flooded-gumtrees. I called this "Robinson's Creek. " At its left bank, we saw a widesheet of water, beyond which rose a range densely covered with scrub: Icalled them "Murphy's Lake and Range, " after John Murphy, one of mycompanions. 

I believe that Robinson's Creek is a westerly water; and, if so, it isvery remarkable that the heads of Palm-tree Creek, which flows to theeastward, should be scarcely a mile distant; and that the interestingspace, separating the two systems of waters, should be, to allappearance, a dead level. 

I had descended--from a scrubby table land, the continuation of DarlingDowns--into a system of easterly waters. I had followed down the Dawsonfor a considerable distance, and then, following up one of its creeks, found myself again on westerly waters. I could not decide, to my entiresatisfaction, whether my views were right; for the country was difficultfor reconnoitring; and I was necessarily compelled to move quickly on, toaccomplish the object of my expedition: but it is a very interestingpoint for geographical research, and I hope, if I am not anticipated byother explorers, to ascertain, at some future period, the course of thesecreeks and rivers. 

Nov. 20. --The first part of the night till the setting of the moon wasvery clear; after this it became cloudy, but cleared again at sunrise, with the exception of some mackerel-sky and stratus to the north-west. During the forenoon it was again cloudy, and a thunder-storm occurred athalf-past two o'clock from the north-west and west-north-west, withlittle rain, but a heavy gust of wind. 

In travelling to the westward, along Robinson's Creek, although two orthree miles distant from it, we passed two lakes, one of which was afine, long, but rather narrow, sheet of water, with swamps to thesouth-east. About six miles farther on, the country began to rise intoirregular scrubby ridges; the scrub generally composed of Vitexintermingled with various forest trees. The small orange-tree, which wehad 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-boxgrew on the flats and on the ridges. The creek was well provided withlarge water-holes, surrounded by high reeds. 

We now entered a mountainous country; and the banks of the creek becamesometimes very steep and broken by narrow gullies, rendering our progressslow and difficult. We had to wind our way through narrow valleys, andover ranges from which the descent was frequently very steep anddangerous. The latitude of our camp of the 21st November was 25 degrees28 minutes 12 seconds; that of the 22nd was 25 degrees 25 minutes; thatof the 23rd, about 32 miles west of Murphy's Lake, was 25 degrees 27minutes 12 seconds. Here the ranges were, for the most part, openlytimbered, with the exception of the higher points, which were generallycovered with vine-brush; in one of which we found the nests of the brushturkey (Talegalla Lathami), and observed the bird itself. Someconsiderable stretches of beautiful country were now travelled over; theleading feature being low ridges, openly timbered with the silver-leavedironbark, covered with an abundance of grass and herbs, and furnishedwith large lagoons; there was also a constant supply of water in thecreek itself. On the banks of the latter, a species of Sterculia grows toa large size, and is one of the most pleasing and ornamental trees of thecountry; it is probably different from, although nearly allied to S. Heterophylla. Very disagreeable, however, was the abundance of Burr andof a spear-grass (Aristida), which attached themselves to our clothes andblankets, and entered (particularly the latter) into the very skin. Ihave also to mention, that a yellow Villarsia was found on one of thelakes; which were generally surrounded by high sedges. We have not seenblack swans since leaving Murphy's Lake; at which place we first saw aspecies of whistling duck, (Leptotarsis, GOULD. )

Appearances indicated that the commencement of the ranges was a favouriteresort of the "Blackfellows. " The remains of recent repasts of muscleswere strewed about the larger water-holes, and, as I passed a nativecamp, which had only lately been vacated, I found, under a few sheets ofbark, four fine kangaroo nets, made of the bark of Sterculia; alsoseveral bundles of sticks, which are used to stretch them. As I was inthe greatest want of cordage, I took two of these nets; and left, inreturn, a fine brass hilted sword, the hilt of which was well polished, four fishing-hooks, and a silk handkerchief; with which, I feltconvinced, they would be as well pleased, as I was with the cordage oftheir nets. It was to this spot that Mr. Pemberton Hodgson penetrated, when he afterwards followed my tracks, to ascertain the truth of therumours, which had been carried by the blacks to Moreton Bay, of myhaving been either killed by the natives, or destroyed by a hurricane, which was said to have passed through the narrow valley of the confinedcreek. 

The high mountain ranges, at the head of Robinson's Creek, which weobserved from the tops of the hills, at the entrance into the mountainouscountry, bore W. N. W. , and N. W. From the position I now occupied. We had athunder-storm on the 21st November, followed by continued rain and aperfect calm During the night occasional showers of rain fell; at sunriselight fleecy clouds from W. N. W. : the nights, when clear, were very cold. 

Until very lately we had all suffered severely from diarrhoea, which Icould not account for, othewise than by attributing it to our change ofdiet. Fresh meat had almost invariably affected us; but after a time ourcontinued exposure to the air, the regularity of our movements, andconstant state of exertion, rendered us more hardy, and sharpened ourappetites. Iguanas, opossums, and birds of all kinds, had for some timepast been most gladly consigned to our stewing-pot, neither good, bad, nor indifferent being rejected. The dried kangaroo meat, one of ourluxuries, differed very little in flavour from the dried beef, and both, after long stewing, afforded us an excellent broth, to which we generallyadded a little flour. It is remarkable how soon man becomes indifferentto the niceties of food; and, when all the artificial wants of societyhave dropped off, the bare necessities of life form the only object ofhis desires. 

One of our bullocks had torn one of the flour-bags, and about fifteenpounds of flour were scattered over the ground. We all set to work, toscrape as much of it up as we could, using the dry gum leaves as spoonsto collect it; and, when it got too dirty to mix again with our flour, rather than leave so much behind, we collected about six pounds of itwell mixed with dried leaves and dust, and of this we made a porridge, --amess which, with the addition of some gelatine, every one of us enjoyedhighly. 

No new insects, few new birds, and but few plants, attracted ourattention. Mr. Gilbert's parrot, which he first met with on the downs, was very frequent; the glucking-bird and the barking-owl were heardthroughout the moonlight nights. Several native dogs were killed, andtheir howling was frequently heard. Only one kangaroo had been shot sincewe left the Dawson, although their tracks were met with every where. Charley had taken several opossums; the presence of these animalsgenerally indicates a good country. Quails were abundant, but not worthour powder; flocks of spur-winged plovers were living at the lakes andswamps, and a shy hornbill (Scythrops) was seen and heard several times. The nests of the white ant were rarely seen; but the soldier ant, and thewhole host of the others, were every where. The funnel ant digs aperpendicular hole in the ground, and surrounds the opening with anelevated wall, sloping outwards like a funnel; the presence of thisinsect generally indicates a rotten soil, into which horses and cattlesink beyond their fetlocks. This soil is, however, by no means a puresand, but is well mixed with particles of clay, which allow the ant toconstruct its fabric. In rainy weather this soil forms the besttravelling ground, and is by no means so rotten as when dry. 

Large hornets of a bright yellow colour, with some black marks, madetheir paper nests on the stems of trees, or suspended them from the drybranches; most of us were several times severely stung by them. Whenfound near our encampment we generally destroyed them, by quickly raisinga large fire with dry grass. 

A species of Gristes was abundant in the water-holes, but it was of smallsize: the eels have disappeared. 

Nov. 25. --We travelled about eight miles, north by west, ascending aspur, from which the waters flowed, both to the south-west and to theeastward, but both collecting in Robinson's Creek. Every time we turnedto the westward we came on tremendous gullies, with almost perpendicularwalls, whereas the easterly waters formed shallow valleys of a gentlysloping character. The range was openly timbered with white-gum, spotted-gum, Ironbark, rusty-gum, and the cypress-pine near the gullies;and with a little dioecious tree belonging to the Euphorbiaceae, which Ifirst met with at the Severn River, and which was known amongst us underthe name of the "Severn Tree:" it had a yellow or red three-capsularfruit, with a thin fleshy pericarp, of an exceedingly bitter taste; thecapsules were one-seeded. The gullies were full of bush-trees, amongstwhich the Bottle-tree, and the Corypha-palm were frequent. Pomaderris andFlindersia were in fruit and blossom. According to Mr. Gilbert, rockwallabies were very numerous. On a RECONNOISSANCE I traversed thecontinuation of the range, which I found to be of a flat, sandy, androtten character, having, with the exception of the Blackbutt, all thetrees and other characteristics of the sandstone country of Moreton Bay:Xylomelum, Xanthorrhaea, Zamia, Leptospermum, a new species of forestoak, which deserves the name of Casuarina VILLOSA, for its bark looksquite villous; Persoonia falcata, R. Br. , a small tree about fifteen feethigh, with stiff glaucous falcate leaves, and racemose inflorescence; adwarf Persoonia, with linear leaves, the stringy-bark, and a species ofMelaleuca along the creek. In my excursion I crossed the main branch ofRobinson's Creek, and found the gullies of its right bank as steep andtremendous as those of the left. Water was very scarce. The whole countryis composed of a fine-grained sandstone. 

As the water-holes on the range are very few and distant from each other, they are frequented by the bronze-winged pigeons in great numbers. Mr. Gilbert shot eight of them, and Mr. Roper, John Murphy, and Charley, added to the number, so that we had a fine pigeon supper and breakfast, each having his bird--a rare occurrence in our expedition. A few drops ofrain fell in the morning. 

Nov. 26. --When we were waiting for our bullocks, four emus came trottingdown the slope towards the camp. Messrs. Gilbert, Roper, Murphy, andBrown, having their horses ready, gave chase, and, after a dangerousgallop, over extremely rocky ground, succeeded, with the assistance ofour kangaroo dog, Spring, in securing one of them. When Charley returnedto the camp with the bullocks, he told us that he had found these emuswalking amongst the bullocks, and that he had struck one of them with histomahawk. On our road to the water, which I had found on myreconnoisance, about seven miles W. N. W. , under a still higher range, rising at the right of Robinson's Creek, we started a herd of eightkangaroos, when our horsemen, assisted by Spring, were again successfulin taking one of them. 

Nov. 27. --A thunder-storm during the night, which passed, however, to theother side of the range. After a gust of wind of short duration, we hadsome very light showers; so light indeed, as not to interrupt ourmeat-drying process. 

Proceeding on our journey, we ascended the range, and travelled betweenfour and five miles on its level summit, which was covered with openforest, interspersed with thickets of Acacias and Casuarinas. From theextremity of the range we enjoyed a very fine and extensive view. Rangesof mountains with conspicuous peaks, cupolas, and precipitous walls ofrock, were observed extending at various distances from west by north tonorth-west. The most distant range was particularly striking andimposing; I called it "Expedition Range, " and to a bell-shaped mountainbearing N. 68 degrees W. , I gave the name of "Mount Nicholson, " in honourof Dr. Charles Nicholson, who first introduced into the LegislativeCouncil of New South Wales, the subject of an overland expedition to PortEssington; and to a sharp peak N. 66 degrees W. , the name of "Aldis'sPeak, " in acknowledgment of the kind assistance received from Mr. Aldisof Sydney. We then descended, with great difficulty into a broad valley, bounded on either side by fine slopes and ridges, openly timbered withsilver-leaved Ironbark. On the small well-grassed flats along thewatercourse, the flooded-gum and apple-trees grew to a considerable size. 

The morning was cloudy, with occasional drops of rain; but it cleared uptowards noon, and, near sunset, a wall of dark clouds rose in the west, over the ranges. Thunder-storms very generally come with westerly cloudyweather, with north-westerly, and northerly winds. We busied ourselves inextracting the oil from the skin of the emu: this operation was performedby suspending it on sticks before a gentle fire, the oil dripping from itinto a shallow vessel. It is of a light amber colour, and is very usefulin oiling the locks of our fire-arms; it has been considered a goodanti-rheumatic, and I occasionally used it for that purpose. 

Mr. Gilbert skinned the tail of the kangaroo to make a bag for holdingfat; but it broke and ripped so easily when dry, as to render it unfitfor that purpose. We used the skins of the kangaroos to cover ourflour-bags, which were in a most wretched condition. Our latitude was 25degrees 19 minutes 19 seconds. 

Nov. 28. --Charley and Brown informed us that they had followed thewatercourse, and had come to a broad river with precipitous banks, whichwould not allow any passage for our horses and cattle; they also statedthat the watercourse on which we were encamped, became a rocky gully, andthat it would be impossible to cross it lower down. From this informationI supposed that a river, like the Robinson, rising in many gullies of thenorth-east ranges, and flowing in south-west direction was before us; I, therefore, decided upon heading it. It was, however, very difficult tofind a leading spur, and we frequently came on deep and impassablegullies, surrounded by a dense thicket of cypresspine, and a greatvariety of shrubs peculiar to sandstone rock. After travelling about ninemiles in a N. 15 degrees E. Direction, we came to a subordinate range, and having found, in one of its watercourses, some tolerable grass and afine water-hole, we were enabled to encamp. Mr. Roper and Charley, whohad kept a little more to the left, reported that they had been on one ofthe heads of the Boyd, and had seen a fine open country to the westward, and south-west. The "Boyd" was so named in acknowledgment of the liberalsupport I had received from Benjamin Boyd, Esq. 

Amongst the shrubs along the gullies, a new species of Dodonaea, withpinnate pubescent leaves, was frequent. Towards evening we had athunderstorm from the westward. 

Nov. 29. --In reconnoitring the country in the neighbourhood of the camp, I ascended three mountains, and ascertained that there are five parallelranges, striking from north to south, of which the three easterly onessend their waters to the eastward; whereas the two westerly ones sendtheirs to the Boyd, the valley of which has a south-westerly direction. To the north of the Boyd, there is a steep mountain barrier, strikingfrom east to west. All these ranges are composed of sandstone, with theirhorizontal strata, some of which have a very fine grain. Impressions ofCalamites were observed in one of the gullies. We also saw two kangaroos. In the water-hole near our camp, there were numerous small brown leeches, which were very keen in the water, but dropped off as soon as we liftedour feet out of it. The hornets also were very troublesome. Recent bushfires and still smoking trees betokened the presence of natives; whokeep, however, carefully out of sight. This country, with its dry scrubbyranges and its deep rocky gullies, seems to be thinly inhabited; thenatives keeping, probably, to the lower course of Robinson's Creek and ofthe Boyd. The descent to the easterly waters is much more gentle; waterremains longer in the deep rocky basins or puddled holes of its creeks, and the vegetation is richer and greener. Instead of the cypress-pinescrub, the Corypha-palm and the Casuarina grew here, and invited us tocool shaded waters; the Corypha-palm promised a good supply of cabbage. We had a thunder-storm from the southward, which turned from the range tothe eastward. The two last days were cloudless and very hot; but, on theranges, a cool breeze was stirring from the northward. 

Nov. 30. --I wished to move my camp to a small water-hole about eightmiles east by north, which I had found yesterday; but, though I kept moreto the northward than I thought necessary, we were everywhere interceptedby deep rocky gullies. Losing much time in heading them, I ventured todescend one of the more practicable spurs, and, to my great satisfaction, my bullocks did it admirably well. The valley into which I entered wasvery different from these barriers; gentle slopes, covered with openforest of silver-leaved Ironbark, and most beautifully grassed, facilitated my gradual descent to the bottom of the valley, which wasbroad, flat, thinly timbered with flooded-gum and apple-trees, denselycovered with grass, and, in the bed of the creek which passed through it, well provided with reedy water-holes. Before I ventured to proceed withmy whole party, I determined to examine the country in advance, andtherefore followed up one of the branches of the main creek, in anortherly direction. In proceeding, the silver-leaved Ironbark forestsoon ceased, and the valley became narrow and bounded by perpendicularwalls of sandstone, composed of coarse grains of quartz, rising out ofsandy slopes covered with Dogwood (Jacksonia) and spotted-gum. The rockis in a state of rapid decomposition, with deep holes and caves inhabitedby rock-wallabies; and with abundance of nests of wasps, and wasp-likeHymenoptera, attached to their walls, or fixed in the interstices of theloose rock. Through a few gullies I succeeded in ascending a kind oftable-land, covered with a low scrub, in which the vegetation aboutSydney appeared in several of its most common forms. I then descendedinto other valleys to the eastward, but all turned to the east andsouth-east; and, after a long and patient investigation, I found noopening through which we could pass with our bullocks. Although Ireturned little satisfied with my ride, I had obtained much interestinginformation as to the geological character of this singular country. 

CHAPTER III

RUINED CASTLE CREEK--ZAMIA CREEK--BIGGE'S MOUNTAIN--ALLOWANCE OF FLOURREDUCED--NATIVES SPEAR A HORSE--CHRISTMAS RANGES--BROWN'SLAGOONS--THUNDER-STORMS--ALBINIA DOWNS--COMET CREEK--NATIVE CAMP. 

Dec. 1. --I rode to the eastward from our camp, to ascertain how far wewere from the water-hole to which I had intended to conduct my party. After having ascended the gullies, and passed the low scrub andcypress-pine thicket which surrounds them, I came into the open forest, and soon found our tracks, and the little creek for which I had steeredthe day before. This creek, however, soon became a rocky gully, andjoined a large creek, trending to the east and south-east. Disheartenedand fatigued, I returned to the camp, resolved upon following down thecourse of the Boyd to the south-west, until I should come into a moreopen country. On my way back, I fell in with a new system of gullies, south of the creek I had left, and east of the creek on which our campwas, and which I had called "The Creek of the Ruined Castles, " becausehigh sandstone rocks, fissured and broken like pillars and walls and thehigh gates of the ruined castles of Germany, rise from the broad sandysummits of many hills on both sides of the valley. 

When I returned to the camp, Mr. Gilbert told me, that Mr. Roper and JohnMurphy had been on a mountain towards the head of the main creek, north-west from our camp, and that they had seen an open country beforethem. I therefore started, on the 2d December, with Mr. Gilbert toexamine it. Our admiration of the valley increased at every step. Thewhole system of creeks and glens which join "Ruined Castle Creek, " wouldform a most excellent cattle station. With the exception of the narrowgorge through which the main creek passes to join the Creek of Palms[Mr. Arrowsmith is of opinion that such a junction is improbable, ifthe author is alluding to the creek, called Palm Tree Creek, which hefell in with about 60 miles to the S. E. --ED. ] to the south-east, which might be shut by a fence not thirty yards long; and of thepassable ranges to the north-west, which lead into a new country, and which form the pass seen by Roper and Murphy, it is everywheresurrounded by impassable barriers. Beautiful grass, plenty of water inthe lower part of the creek, and useful timber, unite to recommend thislocality for such a purpose. The creeks to the east and south-east arealso equally adapted for cattle stations. After passing a stony ridgecovered with spotted-gum, from which the remarkable features of thecountry around us--the flat-topped mountain wall, the isolated pillars, the immense heaps of ruins towering over the summits of themountains--were visible, we descended a slope of silver-leaved Ironbark, and came to a chain of water-holes falling to the east. Travelling in anorth-westerly direction, and passing over an openly timbered country, for about two miles, we came to the division of the waters, on a slightridge which seemed to connect two rather isolated ranges. We followed awatercourse to the northward, which, at seven miles [In the originaldrawing the watercourse is not more than two miles long, according toMr. Arrowsmith, so that seven miles must be a mistake. --ED. ] lowerdown, joined an oak-tree creek, coming from the ranges to the eastward. Here water was very scarce; the banks of the creek were covered withBricklow scrub; and a bush-fire, which had recently swept down the valley, had left very little food for our cattle: the blady-grass, however, hadbegun to show its young shoots, and the vegetation, on some patches ofless recent burnings, looked green. Sterculia (heterophylla?) and theBottle-tree, were growing in the scrub; and many Wonga-Wonga pigeons(Leucosarcia picata, GOULD. ) were started from their roosting-places underthe old trees in the sandy bed of the creek. We caught a young curlew; andMr. Gilbert shot two Wonga-Wongas, and three partridge-pigeons (Geophapsscripta). The latter abound in the silver-leaved Ironbark forest, wherethe grass has been recently burned. 

After having contended with scrubs, with swamps, and with mountains, wewere again doomed to grapple with our old enemy, the silver-leavedBricklow, and a prickly Acacia with pinnate leaves, much resembling theA. Farnesiana of Darling Downs. 

The most remarkable feature in the vegetation; however, was an aborescentZamia, with a stem from seven to eight or ten feet high, and about nineinches in diameter, and with elongated cones, not yet ripe. Inconsequence of the prevalence of this plant, I called the creek "ZamiaCreek. " In the fat-hen flats, over which we travelled in following thewatercourse to Zamia creek, I was surprised to find Erythrina, which Ihad been accustomed to meet with only on the creeks, and at the outskirtsof mountain brushes, near the sea-coast. The white cedar (MeliaAzedarach) grows also along Zamia Creek, with casuarina, and a species ofLeptospermum. On my return to the camp, I found that a party had been outwallabi shooting, and had brought in three; they were about two feetlong; body reddish grey, neck mouse grey, a white stripe on eachshoulder, black muzzle, and black at the back of the ear; the tail withrather long hair. The flying squirrel (Petaurus sciureus) which was notdifferent from that of the Hunter; and a Centropus phasianellus, (theswamp pheasant of Moreton Bay), were shot. 

Dec. 3. --We stopped at Ruined Castle Creek, in order to obtain morewallabies, which abounded among the rocks, and which appeared to be a newspecies: it approaches nearest to Petrogale lateralis of GOULD, fromwhich, however, it essentially differs. Mr. Gilbert and all our bestshots went to try their luck; they succeeded in killing seven of them. 

The weather was cloudy, but it cleared up during the forenoon; in theafternoon rain commenced with a perfect calm; for the last three dayseasterly winds have prevailed, often blowing very strong at night. 

In the rocky gullies, we found the following plants: a new species ofGrevillea, having pinnatifid leaves with very long divisions, theblossoms of a fine red, and the seed-vessels containing two flat seeds, surrounded by a narrow transparent membrane; Leucopogon juniperinum andlanceolatum; a Dodonaea with long linear leaves and D. Triquetra, werefrequent. 

Dec. 4. --I went with my whole party to Zamia Creek, the latitude of whichis 25 degrees 5 minutes 4 seconds, and which is about sixteen miles westby north from our last camp. 

Dec. 5. --We followed Zamia Creek about six miles down. It is very windingand scrubby; the rock on its banks is a clayey flagstone (Psammite); theupper strata are more clayey, and break in many small pieces. Severalhills approached the creek; and a large mountain which I called Bigge'sMountain, in acknowledgment of the kind support of Frederic Bigge, Esq. , was seen to the eastward. A large kangaroo started out of the creek, andwas killed by our dogs; it appeared to be rather different from thecommon one, being remarkably light-coloured, with a white belly, blackend of the tail, and the inside of the ear dark. We soon met with a finereedy water-hole, with swarms of little finches fluttering about it; and, the place being suitable, I encamped for the night, and took theopportunity to repair some of our harness. The night was cloudy; themorning very fine; and the day very hot, with an occasional fresh breezefrom the northward, which generally sets in about eleven o'clock. Thickcumuli came from the northward during the afternoon, but disappearedtowards sunset. 

Dec. 6. --After a fine night, we had a cold morning with heavy dew. Fromthe hills near the camp, Mount Nicholson bore N. 30 degrees W. AndAldis's Peak due north; Bigge's Range was in sight to the eastward. 

The horses had gone back to Ruined Castle Creek, about twenty-one milesdistant; and the bullocks to our last camp, which, according to Charley, had been visited by the Blackfellows, who had apparently examined it veryminutely. It was evident that they kept an eye upon us, although theynever made their appearance. Our allowance of flour was now reduced fromsix pounds to five. 

Dec. 7. --We travelled down Zamia Creek. The bed of the creek, thoughlined with many casuarinas, was entirely dry, and we did not reach awater-hole until we had travelled a distance of nine miles from the camp. Hoping that the supply of water would increase, I travelled on ward, leaving Mount Nicholson about six miles to the left. As we proceeded, theflats along the creek increased in size; and we entered a level country(which seemed unbounded towards the north-east) covered withsilver-leaved Ironbark, box, and flooded-gum. We passed a large scrubbycreek, coming from Mount Nicholson, and a considerable watercourse fromAldis's Peak. On the latter, we found a fine water-hole, at which weencamped. We started a great number of kangaroos; but, unfortunately, they all escaped. The whole country was full of game. 

Whilst preparing to proceed on a RECONNOISSANCE of the neighbourhood, Charley, who had been sent for my horse, returned at full gallop, andtold me that Blackfellows were spearing our horses. Fortunately Messrs. Gilbert and Calvert had just come in; and, mounting our horses, three ofus hastened to the place where Charley had seen the Blacks, leaving theremainder of our party to defend the camp. We found one of our horses hadbeen deeply wounded in the shoulder; but fortunately, the others wereunhurt, and were grazing quietly. Charley saw two Blackfellows retreatinginto the scrub, but had seen a great number of them when he first came tothe place. This event, fortunately not a very disastrous one, was so faruseful, as it impressed every one with the necessity of being watchful, even when the Blackfellows were not suspected to be near. 

The latitude of our camp was 24 degrees 54 minutes 19 seconds, and aboutseven miles from our last camp. Aldis's Peak bore N. W. By W. , distant twomiles and a half; and I found that it was surrounded by a dense scrub. After following Zamia Creek for some miles, I turned to the left, andtravelled about north-north-west, when the scrub opened, and we came uponopen ridges, and, at about a mile and a half from the river, found somefine lagoons. The ridges, which are spurs of Aldis's Peak and ExpeditionRange, disappear in the level country to the north-east. Farther on tothe north-north-west, I passed some fine plains, having the black soil, the vegetation, the dry creeks and watercourses, of Darling Downs. Thickscrub seems to extend all along the foot of the range, from Aldis's Peakto Mount Nicholson. Both these mountains are composed of basalt, containing numerous crystals of peridot. 

Dec. 8. --I travelled with my whole party over the ground which I hadreconnoitred yesterday, and had to go a considerable distance farther tofind water. Along the scrubs there are generally chains of water-holes, which retain the water for a long time, and are soon filled by heavythunderstorms; they are well puddled with clay, and, therefore, becomedry almost exclusively by evaporation. Our camp was about eight milesN. N. W. From the last. 

The feed was all parched up: the native carrot, which was so green whenwe passed Darling Downs, was here withered and in seed. Immense stretchesof forest had been lately burned, and no trace of vegetation remained. Partridge-pigeons were very numerous, and the tracks of kangaroos andwallabies were like sheep-walks. Charley saw an emu; but an iguana and apartridge-pigeon were the only addition to our night's mess. 

The sky was covered by a thin haze, occasioned by extensive bush fires. Afine breeze, which sprung up at eleven o'clock, from the northward, madetravelling very agreeable. We enjoy no meal so much as our tea and damperat luncheon, when we encamp between twelve and two o'clock. It isremarkable how readily the tea dispels every feeling of fatigue, withoutthe slightest subsequent injury of health. 

Paludinas and Unios were very frequent in the water-holes. Thesilver-leaved Ironbark (Eucalyptus pulverulentus) was here coming intoblossom. The whole vegetation seemed to feel the heat of an almostvertical sun; and, with the exception of the fresh green of the Vitexshrub, the silver-leaved Bricklow, and those patches of young grass whichhad been burnt about a month before--all nature looked withered. It wasvery hot from nine o'clock to eleven, when the cooling northerly breezeusually sets in. 

Upon reaching the place of our next camp, Mr. Roper went to cuttent-poles, but, perhaps too intent on finding good ones, unfortunatelylost his way, and wandered about the bush for about five miles before wewere able to make him hear our cooees. Accidents of this kind happen veryeasily in a wooded country, where there is no leading range orwatercourse to guide the rambler, or when sufficient care is not taken tomark and keep the direction of the camp. 

Dec. 9. --The haze of yesterday cleared up at sunset, after having formedtwo threatening masses of clouds in the east and in the west, united by abroad belt of mare's tails across the sky. It became cloudy again, andprevented my taking observations during the night; the morning was cooland agreeable, clearing up about eleven o'clock; the northerly windstirring, as usual. Proceeding on our journey, we travelled about ninemiles W. N. W. Over a Box flat, with stiff soil and melon-holes; after afew miles, it changed into an open silver-leaved Ironbark forest, withlighter soil. About six miles from our last camp, we came upon a finecreek (with Casuarinas and palm-trees), flowing from the mountains on anorth-easterly course; and, about three miles further, to the W. N. W. , wecame to another creek, and numerous palm-trees growing near it. Followingup the latter, we found a fine water-hole surrounded by reeds, and whichis probably fed by a spring. The forest was well grassed; and a smallAcacia, about fifteen or twenty feet high, with light green bipinnateleaves (from which exuded an amber-coloured eatable gum), formed grovesand thickets within it. A Capparis, a small stunted tree, was in fruit:this fruit is about one inch long and three-quarters of an inch broad, pear-shaped and smooth, with some irregular prominent lines. CapparisMitchelii has a downy fruit, and is common in the scrubs. A smalltrailing Capparis, also with oblong eatable fruit, was first observed ona hill near Ruined Castle Creek, in lat. 25 degrees 10 minutes: we metwith it frequently afterwards. We were encamped in the shade of a fineErythrina; and the Corypha-palm, Tristania, the flooded-gum, thesilver-leaved Ironbark, Tripetelus, and a species of Croton, grew aroundus. A species of Hypochaeris and of Sonchus, were greedily eaten by ourhorses; the large Xeranthemum grew on the slopes, among high tufts ofkangaroo grass. A species of Borage (Trichodesma zeylanica), with fineblue flowers, was first seen here; and the native raspberry, and Ficusmuntia, were in fruit. In the afternoon, I went with Brown up the range, following the bed of our creek; and, having ascended a spur of sandstone, with gullies on each side, we came to a large basaltic mountain, clothedwith fine open timber, and a great number of arborescent Zamias. 

Dec. 10. --Accompanied by Charley, I went in search of a passage over therange. We ascended several hills in order to obtain general views, andfound that the level country, over which we had travelled during the lasttwo days, was of less extent than I had anticipated. To the north-east byeast, ranges rise with the characteristic outlines of the basalt andphonolite, --in peaks and long stretched flat-topped hills, withundulations openly timbered extending at their base. One valley descendedto the north-north-east; another to the northward. The principal rangehas a direction from south-west to north-east; it is flat on the top, iswell grassed and openly timbered; but, to the northward, it becomesscrubby, and also changes its geological character. After having crossedthe range--without any great difficulty, with the exception of some steepplaces--we came on gullies going down to the north-west; and, from therocky head of one of them, the whole country to the west and northwestburst upon us. There was a fine valley, a flat country, plains, isolatedlong-stretched hills, and distant ranges; the highest points of thelatter bearing 77 degrees E. And 76 degrees W. ; and, as I hoped to reachthem by Christmas time, I called them "Christmas Ranges. " Not being ableto discover a good slope on which our bullocks could travel, I descendedat once into the gully, and followed it in all its windings; knowing wellfrom experience that it is easier to find a passage up a mountain rangethan down it. The gully had all the characters of those of the Boyd; thesame sandstone rock, the same abruptness, and the same vegetation;excepting, perhaps, a new Grevillea, with pinnatifid leaves andyellowish-white woolly flowers, which we found here. There was no water, except in some small holes full of gum leaves, which had rendered itunfit for use. After proceeding with great difficulty about three miles, we found that the gullies opened into a broad flat valley; in whichfields of fat-hen, the Croton shrub, the native Tobacco, Erythrina, finespecimens of flooded-gum, Tristania, and the Moreton Bay ash, weregrowing in great abundance. Farther down, however, the Bricklow scrubcovered the whole valley; the water-course disappeared almost entirely;and we were completely disappointed in our hopes of finding a finecountry. Small plains opened on both sides of the valley, surrounded byBricklow scrub, and with patches of Bricklow scattered over them, inwhich the Bottle-tree frequently made its portly appearance. A largeflight of Wonga Wonga pigeons were feeding on the seeds of variousspecies of Acacia; we shot two of them. No water was to be found in anextent of fifteen miles. The noisy call of the laughing Jackass (Dacclogigantea) made me frequently ride back and examine more minutely thosespots marked by a darker foliage; but the presence of this bird is nocertain indication of water, though he likes the neighbourhood of shadycreeks. I could not help thinking that a considerable creek must comefrom the north-west side of Mount Nicholson; and, seeing an isolatedrange to the south-west, I rode towards it, sure of finding water nearit, if there was any to be found. We approached the range just beforesunset, much tired, with two Wonga-Wongas and three iguanas at oursaddles. I had just informed my Blackfellow, that I wished to encamp, even without water, when some old broken sheets of bark, remains of thefrail habitations of the natives, caught my eye; a dry water-hole, thoughsurrounded with green grass and sedges, showed that they had formerlyencamped there, with water. This water-hole was found to be one of achain of ponds extending along the edge of the scrub which covered thehill; and, on following it farther down, we came to a fine pool of water, which enabled us to encamp comfortably. Next morning, after havingenjoyed an iguana, and finding several other ponds well supplied withwater, we returned. In crossing several of the scrub plains beforementioned, it was agreeable to observe that the dense vegetation whichcovered them was not the miserable Burr and the wiry Vervain, butSenecios and Sonchus (Sowthistle), which our horses greedily snatched asthey waded through them. The soil is of a dark colour, very rich, butmild; and the rock below is basaltic. Kangaroos were feeding on theplains along the scrub; and Charley fired unsuccessfully at a fine "oldman. " I saw one emu, and Charley a drove of ten more. The country wasremarkably rich in various kinds of game; and I was very sorry that wewere not better sportsmen, to avail ourselves of so favourable acircumstance. We found a passage for our bullocks at the west side of thevalley along which we had come down; the ascent was steep, butpracticable. We followed the spur up to the principal range, where wefound some difficulty in heading some steep gullies, which come up to thehighest crest of the mountains. After some tiresome riding, I wasfortunate enough to hit the head of the creek on which our party wasencamped; and, following it down--over loose rocks, large boulders, andoccasional steep falls--accompanied by my excellent little horse, whichwillingly followed wherever I led, I came into a more open country; andthe report of a gun gave me the pleasing assurance that our camp was atno great distance. My Blackfellow quitted me on the range, as he had donebefore, on several similar occasions; and it was too evident that I couldnot rely upon him in times of difficulty and danger. Within the scrub onthe range, we found five or six huts, lately constructed, of the natives;they come here probably to find honey, and to catch rock-wallabies, whichare very numerous in the sandstone gullies. In the gully which Idescended, a shrub with dark-green leaves was tolerably frequent; its redberries, containing one or two seeds, were about the size of a cherry, and very good eating when ripe. The new Grevillea, before mentioned, wasalso found here growing on a sandy soil; and a species of Clematis tiedthe shrubs into an almost impenetrable maze. The arborescent Zamia was asfrequent here as on the slopes and flat tops of the basaltic mountains;it grows from six to ten feet high, and even higher, and is about a footin diameter; and often, its dark scaly trunk, borne to the ground by thewinds, raises its fine head like a reclining man. 

There was a thunder-storm to the south-east and east on the 10thDecember. These thunder-storms are generally very local, belonging todistant valleys and ranges. Much rain had fallen at the foot of therange, but we had very little of it. Several of my companions suffered byeating too much of the cabbage-palm. The Blackfellows will doubtlesswonder why so many noble trees had been felled here. One of ourkangaroo-dogs followed a kangaroo, and did not return; a severe loss, aswe have only one left out of five, and this one is young and diseased. Our little terrier keeps very well. 

Dec. 12--After a clear night, the morning was misty, with a wall ofclouds to the westward; at nine o'clock it cleared up, and loose cumulipassed over from the east; at eleven o'clock all clouds had disappeared, and a cool breeze set in from the northward. Charley did not succeed inbringing in the horses and cattle sufficiently early for starting on thelong and difficult passage over the range. Our meat was all consumed; butwe wished to reserve our bullocks for Christmas, which was, in every oneof us, so intimately associated with recollections of happy days andmerriment, that I was determined to make the coming season as merry asour circumstances permitted. This decision being final, every onecheerfully submitted to a small allowance, and did his best to procuregame. Our latitude was 24 degrees 43 minutes. 

Dec. 13. --We travelled along the spur at the west and south-west side ofErythrina creek, at which we had been encamped; and, after having headedthe whole system of its gullies--keeping to the right along the mainrange for about three miles, we came to the spur on which I and Charleyhad ascended on our return, and which had a general direction to thenorth-west. When we arrived at the foot of the range, our cattle andhorses were so jaded, and the water-hole still so far off, that Iencamped here, more especially as the feed was young and rich, and as Ihad hopes of obtaining water by digging into the sand which filled theupper part of the valley. In this, however, I did not succeed; for, upondigging about three feet deep, I came on a layer of stiff clay very hardand dry. Fortunately, however, a thunder-storm came on towards theevening, which supplied our cattle as well as ourselves with water. Thiswas the only time we encamped without a certainty of water, during ourjourney from Jimba to the head of the gulf, which occupied ten months. The whole night was showery, the wind and clouds coming from alldirections. 

Dec. 14. --We reached the water-holes I had discovered three daysprevious. Our cattle were very thirsty, notwithstanding the late rain, and they rushed into the water as soon as they got sight of it. 

The hills, at the foot of which we are encamped, are composed ofwhinstone (basalt). Pebbles of conglomerate, of flint, and of quartzdeeply coloured with iron, are, however, very frequent on the slopes. Itis remarkable that that part of the range which is composed of basalt, isa fine open forest, whereas the basaltic hills of the large valley arecovered with dense scrub. The Myal was frequent; and the fruit of thesmall lemon-tree was ripe. 

I followed the watercourse which connects the water-holes on which weencamped, and met every where with Bricklow scrub. Mr. Gilbert ascendedthe hills, and stated that the whole valley to the westward appeared likean immense sea of scrub. 

A thunder-storm was forming to the north-west, but was probably deflectedby the ranges. 

Dec. 15. --Last night we had two thunder-storms; one rose in the west, andturned to the northward, following the Christmas Ranges; the other rosein the south, and turned to the east, probably attracted by ExpeditionRange. Still following the watercourse, we entered, after about fourmiles travelling, into the scrub. The watercourse was soon lost in thelevel ground, and water-holes appeared every where; the general directionof the waters seemed to be to the north-west. Four miles farther we cameto a piece of open forest at the foot of a hill, which was covered withironstone-pebbles. Here we encamped without water; but, having passedgood water-holes not four miles distant, I sent Mr. Calvert and Brown tofetch some, whilst I and Charley went forward to examine the country. Onmy way to some ranges which I had seen to the eastward, I fell in with adry watercourse, and, following it down for about half a mile from thecamp, discovered a well-filled water-hole. The watercourse was found tojoin a creek with a deep and very wide bed, but dry. Muscle-shellsstrewed in every direction, and other appearances, indicated that, duringthe wet season, the whole country must be very swampy. The course of thecreek was to the N. N. W. , and it is joined by watercourses from theright and left; all now quite dry. After having followed the creek forabout twelve miles, until sunset, without coming to the end of the scrubthrough which it trended, we were compelled to retrace our steps; inattempting which my companion, Charley, lost the track, but my goodlittle horse, Jim Crow, guided us to the camp, which we reached abouteleven o'clock. Mr. Calvert and Brown had not yet returned; although thereport of their guns had been heard several times. The night wasextremely cold, notwithstanding we were encamped under the shelter oftrees: and it was therefore evident that we were at a considerableelevation above the level of the sea. The Box-tree of Jimba-flats, theBricklow--in short, the whole vegetation of the scrubby country, west ofDarling Downs, were still around us; and the Moreton Bay ash (a speciesof Eucalyptus)--which I had met with, throughout the Moreton Baydistrict, from the sea coast of the Nynga Nyngas to Darling Downs--washere also very plentiful. 

Dec. 16. --Our cattle and our horses, with the exception of those we hadused the night before, had strayed in search of water; but Charley foundthem on the sow-thistle plains, beyond our last camp. Messrs. Calvert, Murphy, and Brown, came in early this morning; they had lost their way inthe dark, in consequence of remaining too long at the water-hole. Theyinformed me that they had passed the night on an open piece of forestground along a creek. This intelligence induced me to examine thelocality: I therefore went with Brown, and found the creek, with a deepsandy, but dry bed, full of reeds; its direction being from south by westto north by east. I followed it up about eight miles, when the scrubreceded from its left bank, and a fine open extensive flat stretched tothe westward. I looked into the Casuarina thickets which occasionallyfringed its bank, in search of water; but found none. I was frequently onthe point of returning, but, induced by the presence of reeds, continuedthe search, until the scrub again approached the right side of the creek;and, in one of those chains of ponds which almost invariably exist at theoutside of these scrubs, a small pool of water was found. This gave mefresh confidence, and I was eagerly examining the creek, when Brownexclaimed, "Plenty of water, sir! plenty of water!" and a magnificentlagoon, surrounded by a rich belt of reeds, lay before us. The nativesmust have been at this spot some time before, and have burned the grass;as the earth was now covered with a delicate verdure. The countryappeared flat, and was so openly timbered with fine flooded gum-trees, that we could see for a considerable distance; a circumstance veryfavourable to us, in case of the natives proving hostile. It would appearthat this place was frequently resorted to by the natives: the bark hadbeen recently stripped in various places; the huts were in good repair, with heaps of muscle-shells and some kangaroo-bones about them. Wereturned to the camp with the joyous news; for I had been greatlyperplexed as to the direction I ought to take. Charley returned very latewith the strayed cattle, and reported that he had seen the smoke of theBlackfellow's fires all along the western ranges. This was welcomeintelligence; for we knew that their presence indicated the existence ofa good country. Yesterday in coming through the scrub, we had collected alarge quantity of ripe native lemons, of which, it being Sunday, weintended to make a tart; but, as my companions were absent, the treat wasdeferred until their return, which was on Monday morning, when we madethem into a dish very like gooseberry-fool; they had a very pleasant acidtaste, and were very refreshing. They are of a light yellow colour, nearly round, and about half an inch in diameter; the volatile oil of therind was not at all disagreeable. 

The chains of water-holes within the scrub are covered with a stiffstar-grass, having a great number of spikes rising from the top of thestem; and several sedges crowd around the moister spots. A stiff, wiry, leafless polygonaceous plant grows in the shallow depressions of thesurface of the ground, which are significantly termed by the squatters"Melon-holes", and abound in the open Box-tree flats. A small shrubbyStenochilus with very green linear lanceolate leaves and red tubulousflowers, is frequent amongst the Bricklow. 

The pools and lagoons contain Unios, Paludinas, and the lanceolate andoval Limnaeas. Fine dry weather has set in; the northerly breeze is stillvery regular; but the mornings, from eight to eleven, are very hot. A fewmosquitoes have made their appearance, probably in consequence of thelate rains. Charley killed a Diamond snake, larger than any he had everseen before; but he only brought in the fat, of which there was aremarkable quantity. The Iguanas (Hydrosaurus, Gray) have a slight bluishtinge about the head and neck; but in the distribution of their colours, generally resemble H. Gouldii. 

Mr. Gilbert found a land crab in the moist ground under a log of wood;and Mr. Calvert brought me a species of helix of a yellowish greencolour. 

Dec. 18. --It was with very great difficulty that we collected our horsesand cattle; but we could not find one of our pack bullocks, which hadconcealed himself in the scrub, and, from the unfavourable situation ofour camp, we were obliged to abandon it. Old bullocks, when tired, carevery little about company, and even like to retire to any solitary spot, where there is good feed and water. Having nearly reached the end of ourstage, we were overtaken by a thunder-storm from the south; which wasfollowed by another from the west with very heavy rain. This was thefirst heavy rain to which we had been exposed, whilst on the day's march;for thunder-storms did not generally rise till after two o'clock; atwhich time we were usually secured in our tents. 

The fine lagoons--which I called "Brown's Lagoons" after theirdiscoverer--and the good feed about them, induced me to stop for thepurpose of killing the fat bullock which Mr. Isaacs had given us, and ofdrying it like the charqui of the South Americans; instead of waitingtill Christmas, as we originally intended; especially as we were ignorantof the character of the country before us. Accordingly, on the 18th atfive o'clock in the morning, it was slaughtered and cut into thin slices;which, before night, were nearly dried by the powerful heat of an almostvertical sun. We enjoyed ourselves very much on this occasion, andfeasted luxuriously on fried liver at breakfast, on stuffed heart forluncheon, and on a fine steak and the kidneys for supper. Those who mayhave lived for so long a time as we had upon a reduced fare, will readilyunderstand with what epicurean delight these meals were discussed. 

Dec. 19. --We completed our job, by melting down the fat, with which oursaddles, bridles, and all our leather gear, were well greased. In theafternoon Mr. Calvert and Charley, who had been sent after the bullock wehad left behind, returned with him. They had found him quietly chewingthe cud, in a Bricklow grove near a small pool of water. 

Dec. 20. --Whilst employed in arranging our packs, Murphy and Charley wentout to examine the surrounding country. On their return they informed methat they had met with a native camp, the inhabitants of which wereprobably out hunting, for they had left all their things behind. 

Capparis Mitchelii was found in blossom. The cockatoo parrakeet of theGwyder River, (Nymphicus Novae Hollandiae, GOULD. ), the common whitecockatoo, and the Moreton Bay Rosella parrot, were very numerous. We alsoobserved the superb warbler, Malurus cyaneus of Sydney; and theshepherd's companion, or fan-tailed fly-catcher (Rhipidura); both werefrequent. Several rare species of finches were shot: and a species of thegenus Pomatorhinus, a Swan River bird, was seen by Mr. Gilbert. Thelatitude of this encampment was found to be 24 degrees 44 minutes 55seconds. 

Dec. 21. --As our meat was not entirely dry, I thought it advisable toremain another day at this place, which was usefully occupied by packingthe fat into bags made of the hide of the animal. Besides the plantsabove-mentioned, a beautiful blue Nymphaea was found growing in thelagoon; and around it, among the reeds and high cyperaceous plants, asmall labiate, a Gomphrena, the native Chamomile, and a Bellis weregrowing. 

The days continue very hot. At 5 P. M. We had a thunder-storm from thesouthward: but little rain fell. It cleared up at seven o'clock; veryheavy dew in the morning. 

Dec. 22. --We travelled to-day about five miles in a north-north-westdirection, and encamped at the creek where Charley and his companion hadseen the huts of the natives, which we found deserted. Our route laythrough a flat country, timbered with true box, (small Acacias formingthe underwood), along a fine lagoon on which were a number of ducks;farther on, the Bastard box prevailed, with silver-leaved Ironbark, andpatches of Bricklow scrub, of Vitex and of the native lemon. A small tree(a species of Acacia) was also seen about thirty or forty feet high, withslightly drooping branches, and lanceolate deep green phyllodia about oneinch. 

I reconnoitred with Charley, and found that the creek soon becameenveloped by scrub: to the west and south-west rose ranges of a moderateelevation, parallel to which we travelled; plains frequently interspersedwith scrub, which became more dense as it approached the foot of theranges. From these appearances I determined upon sending my party back toBrown's Lagoons, to secure water; whilst I should examine the country inadvance, in order to ascertain the extent of the scrub, in which we wereentangled. 

Dec. 23--During the night we had a tremendous thunder-storm from thesouthward with much rain, which did not cease till after midnight, andwas succeeded by a hurricane from the east. We witnessed a remarkablemeteor, of a fine bluish colour, stretching from E. N. E. To W. S. W. Almostparallel to the thunder-clouds. The moon, a day from its full, to theeastward, probably produced this phenomenon. 

The bower of the bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata, GOULD) was seen in thescrub; it is made of dry grass, and its approaches at either end werethickly strewn with snail shells and flint pebbles, which had beencollected by the bird with great industry, but for what purpose we couldnot determine. Among the shells we found a Helix of a brownish colour andof an oval form, approaching that of Bulimus. 

Whilst my companions returned to Brown's Lagoons, Mr. Calvert and Brownremained with me to examine the country. The creek which I followed down, almost entirely disappeared; but, five miles farther on, its channel wasagain observed, as deep as before, and was joined by severalwater-courses from the Christmas Ranges. The principal channel of thecreek was lined with a species of Melaleuca, with slightly foliaciousbark. Several species of sedges, and nutritious grasses, grew round theholes in which the water was constant. At about fifteen miles from thecamp, the creek was joined by that which I had followed for some distanceon the 15th December, and, about three miles farther down, it receivesanother considerable tributary; and, at their junction, it is a finesheet of water. Here the country begins to open, with large Box-flatsextending on both sides. Two small creeks come in from the scrubby hillsto the eastward, but, at a short distance beyond their junction, almostthe whole channel disappears. Soon after, we came to another creek, tothe left of the first; but it disappeared in the same manner as theother. We came upon several lagoons, and found some very fine grass: thescrub reappeared on the rising ground about six miles north from thelarge sheet of water. A little farther on, we came to ridges of basalticformation, openly timbered with silver-leaved Ironbark, and richlycovered with young grasses and herbs, identical with those of the DarlingDowns. Water holes with fine water were found at the foot of the hills. Mimosa terminalis was frequent; numerous flights of partridge pigeons(Geophaps scripta) were also seen. 

Dec. 24. --We returned towards the camp, but, through some inattention, kept too much to the eastward, and passed through a country of anextremely diversified character, and very different in appearance fromthat we had just left. Here we passed an extensive Myal forest, thefinest I had seen, covering the hilly and undulating country, interspersed with groves of the native lemon tree; a few of which werestill sufficiently in fruit to afford us some refreshment. Occasionallywe met with long stretches of small dead trees, probably killed by bushfires, alternating with Bricklow thickets: and then again crossed smallplains and patches of open forest ground, which much relieved thetediousness of the ride through thick scrubs, which we had frequently topenetrate with both hands occupied in protecting the face from thebranches. We also crossed chains of water-holes surrounded by a coarsestargrass; these now changed into creeks with deep and irregular beds, lined with Melaleucas, and now again dwindled into shallow channels, scarcely to be recognised amidst the surrounding scrub. A week before, these holes were hopelessly dry; but a recent thunder-storm had filledthem; and had also made the ground soft and heavy, and had called intolife thousands of small frogs, which, by an incessant croaking, testifiedtheir satisfaction at the agreeable change. 

Dec. 25. --We returned to Brown's Lagoons, and entered our camp just asour companions were sitting down to their Christmas dinner of suetpudding and stewed cockatoos. The day was cloudy and sultry; we had had aheavy thunder-storm on Christmas eve. 

Dec. 26. --During the night, scud passed from the east; in the morning wehad some heavy showers without wind; it cleared up at ten o'clock, and wetook advantage of four hours fair weather to travel on. We again passedthe huts of the natives, and encamped about seven miles farther down thecreek. We were, however, scarcely housed, when heavy showers of rainbegan to fall, and rendered the soil, which was a stiff loam, heavy andboggy. 

Dec. 27. --Though we had hobbled our horses with straps and stirrupleathers, they had strayed, during the night, to the more open country, where they separated from each other in search of food; and it was notuntil after three hours search that Charley found the greater part ofthem. We had, however, watched the bullocks during the night, and weretherefore enabled to proceed; which we did as far as the fine sheet ofwater before mentioned, when Charley again went in search of the missinghorses, with which he returned after some time. 

The showers continued until about 10 o'clock last night; at 3 A. M. Thesky became clear, and continued so through the morning, except anoccasional cloud from the eastward. 

Mr. Calvert found a Bauhinia in blossom; which was not only differentfrom the Bauhinia found afterwards at Comet River, but also from that ofthe Mitchell. Mr. Gilbert found a new species of sleeping lizard, withfour lighter stripes on the dark brown ground along the back, and withdark spots on the sides. Mr. Roper shot some ducks, and I found a speciesof Ancylus; besides the species of Limnaea and Paludina, which we hadpreviously met with. 

Dec. 28. --We travelled over the Box-tree flat, until we reached the openbasaltic ridges mentioned on the 23rd December, and kept along theirbase. The creek, which had disappeared on the flat, here again formed alarge deep channel, lined with Melaleucas. Hollows existed along thehills, and water-holes ran in lines parallel to the creek; all now quitedry; a scrubby forest land alternated with open flats and Bricklowthickets. Water was very scarce; and having encamped my party, I startedimmediately to reconnoitre the country. I followed the creek to thenorthward, and found it lined by scrub; but the belt along its west sidewas narrow, and beyond it, a fine open undulating country was observedextending far to the south-west and west, in which direction the loom ofdistant ranges was seen. These plains, which had some patches of openforest land, were, at the request of my companion, Mr. Calvert, named"Albinia Downs. " To the north-west, the mountain with the hummock layclose before us, throwing out subordinate spurs to the westward. Inriding to the most northerly end of it, I fell in with a smallwater-course, which led me to a large creek coming from the south-westand west-south-west, with fine Casuarinas fringing its banks and forminga dark tortuous line amongst the light green foliage of the trees on theneighbouring flats. About six miles lower down, it was joined by thescrub creek on which we were encamped. 

The sandy bed of the creek was entirely dry, and we must have encampedwithout water after a long and fatiguing ride, had not a heavythunder-shower supplied us; we caught the rain in our pannikins as itdropt from our extended blankets. 

The thunder-storm had passed, and the sun had set, when Brown, myblackfellow, suddenly threw back the blanket under which we sat, andpointed out to me a fine comet in a small clear spot of the western sky. I afterwards learned that this comet had been observed as early as the1st December; but our constant travelling in level forest land hadprevented us from seeing it before. The creek received the appropriatename of "Comet Creek. "

Dec. 29. --Following the creek down, we found water in chains of ponds, and watercourses coming from a belt of scrub occupying the ground betweenthe creek and the mountains. Fine, though narrow, but well-grassed flatsextended along Comet Creek. We observed growing on the creek, the dwarfKoorajong (Grewia), a small rough-leaved fig tree, a species of Tribulus, and the native Portulaca. The latter afforded us an excellent salad; butwas much more acid than I had found it in other parts of the country, where I had occasionally tasted it. The native melon of the Darling Downsand of the Gwyder, grew here also. Of animals, we saw several kangaroos, emus, native companions, and wallabies. 

During our return to the camp, a hot wind blew from the south-west acrossAlbinia Downs: the great extent of which sufficiently accounted for thehigh temperature. The only thermometer I had was unfortunately brokenshortly after we started; this loss was severely felt by me throughoutthe journey, as we had no means of ascertaining the exact temperature. Imade the latitude of our camp at Scrub Creek to be 24 degrees 25 minutes42 seconds. 

Dec. 30. --We travelled about seven miles to the north-east, crossed CometCreek, and encamped at some water-holes, in a small creek coming out ofthe scrub below the range. 

Our sportsmen gave chase to ten emus and a kangaroo on Albinia Downs: butthe rottenness of the ground prevented their capture: rather tantalizingto hungry stomachs! I examined the basaltic rock on several spots, andfound that it contained numerous crystals of Peridot. The sand in the bedof the river contains very minute particles of igneous rock. The slopesof the range of Comet Creek are composed of rich black soil, in someplaces without trees, in others openly timbered. Stones of a lightcoloured rock, with crystals of augite, pebbles of sandstone, ofconglomerate, and of quartz, are scattered over the ground, or imbeddedin the loamy beds of the water-courses. The belt of scrub at the foot ofthe slopes runs out in narrow strips towards the river, and these areseparated by box-tree thickets, and open box-tree flats. A pea-plant, with ternate leaves, and fine yellow blossoms, was found near our camp:Portulaca was very abundant. The bronze-winged pigeon lived here on thered fruit of Rhagodia, and the black berries of a species of Jasmine; andseems also to pick occasionally the seed vessel of a Ruellia, which isvery frequent on all the flats of Comet Creek. 

During the night, a thunder-storm passed to the southward, but did notreach us; at 10 o'clock we observed very vivid lightning to the westward:the wind was from the north and north-east. 

Dec. 31. --We travelled along the banks of the creek towards thenorth-east, but scarcely accomplished six miles, in consequence of itstortuous course. The water-hole which I had found when reconnoitring, wasdried up, and we were glad to find a shallow pool, of which our thirstycattle took immediate possession. The sand in the bed of the creek lookedmoist, but no water was found, after digging to a depth of five feet. Theimmediate neighbourhood of the creek was in some places open, in otherscovered with a shrubby Acacia, with long glaucous, and rather fleshyphyllodia. On both sides of the high banks are deep hollows, and chainsof ponds, surrounded with reeds; but now quite dry, and covered with thedead shells of Limnaea, Paludina, and Unio. 

Mr. Roper found an Agama, with light grey on the back, and a yellowbelly. A small Chlamy-dophorus, (Jew lizard of the Hunter) was also seen, and is probably identical with the animal inhabiting the banks of thatriver. Brown accompanied me to reconnoitre the country; and we hadscarcely travelled two miles along the creek, when my attention wasattracted by the remains of a hut, consisting of a ridge pole, and twoforked stakes, about six feet high, both having been cut with a sharpiron tomahawk. Neither of us doubted that this was the work of a whiteman, probably a runaway from the settlement at Moreton Bay. A few milesfarther we came to an anabranch of the creek, which turned considerablyto the westward. I followed it, and found a shallow watercourse that cameout of the scrub, which I also examined in search of water. It led me toanother deep channel within the scrub, which looked unusually green, andcontained some very large water-holes; but there was no water in them. Turning round one of its bends, we saw a column of thick smoke risingfrom its left bank, near a fine pool of water. It was evident that a campof natives was before us; we rode cautiously up to the water, near whichwe saw their numerous tracks, and then stopped to look around, butwithout dismounting. We were, however, very soon discovered by one ofthem, who, after staring at us for a moment, uttered a cry, resemblingthe word "whitefellow, " "whitefellow, " and ran off, followed by the wholeparty. We then rode up to the camp, and found their dinner ready, consisting of two eggs of the brush turkey, roasted opossums, bandicoots, and iguanas. In their "dillis, " (small baskets) were several roots ortubers of an oblong form, about an inch in length, and half an inchbroad, of a sweet taste, and of an agreeable flavour, even when uncooked;there were also balls of pipe-clay to ornament their persons forcorroborris. Good opossum cloaks, kangaroo nets, and dillis neatly workedof koorajong bark, were strewed about; there were also some spears, madeof the Bricklow Acacia: all were forgotten in the suddenness of theirretreat. I could not resist the temptation of tasting one of the eggs, which was excellent; but, as they seemed to have trusted to ourgenerosity, I left every thing in its place, and departed. Brown thoughtthat one of them looked like a half-caste, and, as they had called us, asfar as we understood, "whitefellows, " I felt confirmed in my supposition, either that a white man was with them, or had lived among them veryrecently. I returned to the creek, in order to find another water-holewith water; but did not succeed, and had to encamp without it. During thenight we heard the noise of a frog, "brrr, brrr;" probably a new species, for we had never heard that croak before. It seemed, however, to frightenBrown, who, like all blackfellows, is very timid after night-fall. Yesterday we met with a new leguminous shrub. It belongs to the sectionCassia, and has a long pinnate leaf, the leaflets an inch long, and halfan inch broad. Its pods were about a foot long, half an inch broad; andevery seed was surrounded by a fleshy spongy tissue, which, when dry, gave to the pod a slightly articulate appearance. The seeds, when young, had an agreeable taste, and the tissue, when dry, was pleasantlyacidulous, and was eaten by some of my companions without any ill effect, whilst others, with myself, were severely purged. To day I found the sameplant in form of a tree, about thirty feet high, with a short stem, andlong spreading shady branches. 

CHAPTER IV

SWARMS OF COCKATOOS--ALLOWANCE OF FLOUR FURTHER REDUCED--NATIVEFAMILY--THE MACKENZIE--COAL--NATIVES SPEAKING A DIFFERENT IDIOM--MOUNTSTEWART--BROWN AND MYSELF MISS THE WAY BACK TO THE CAMP--FIND OUR PARTYAGAIN, ON THE FOURTH DAY--NEUMAN'S CREEK--ROPER'S PEAK--CALVERT'SPEAK--GILBERT'S DOME--GREAT WANT OF WATER. 

Jan. 1, 1845. --After a ride of about four miles down the creek, we cameto a deep hole of good water, that had been filled by the latethunder-storms, the traces of which, however, had disappeared every whereelse. I found a red Passion flower, with three-lobed leaves, the lobesrounded: it was twining round the trunk of a gum tree, and rooted in alight sandy alluvial soil. A new species of Bauhinia, with large whiteblossoms, growing in small groves, or scattered in the scrub, particularly near the creeks, was conspicuous for its elegance, and wasthe greatest ornament of this part of the country. It is a tree abouttwenty-five feet high, with long drooping branches; the foliage is of arich green colour, and affords a fine shade. A climbing Capparis, withbroad lanceolate leaves, had also large white showy blossoms; and a finespecimen of this plant was seen growing in the fork of an old box tree, about twelve or fifteen feet from the ground; it was in fruit, butunfortunately was not yet ripe. There was also another species of thesame genus, with yellow blossoms, in other respects very similar inappearance to the first. The white cedar was still abundant. When Ireturned to the camp, I found my companions busily engaged in strainingthe mud, which had remained in the water-hole after our horses and cattlehad drunk and rolled in it. Messrs. Gilbert and Calvert had discovered afew quarts of water in the hollow stump of a tree; and Mr. Roper andCharley had driven the horses and cattle to another water-hole, about twomiles off. Our latitude was 24 degrees 16 minutes 9 seconds. 

Jan. 2. --I moved my camp to the water-hole, near which I had met with thenatives, and halted at the outside of a Bauhinia grove. On visiting thespot where the blacks were encamped, it appeared that they had returnedand carried away all their things, probably well contented that we hadnot taken more than the turkey's egg. The mosquitoes were a littletroublesome after sunset and in the early part of the night; but, afterthat time, it was too cold for them. The flies were a much greaternuisance; at times absolutely intolerable, from the pertinacity withwhich they clung to the corners of our eyes, to the lips, to the ears, and even to the sores on our fingers. The wind was generally from theeastward during the morning, with cumuli; but these disappeared in theafternoon. 

Brown found a crab, (a species of Gecarcinus?) the carapace about an inchand a quarter long, and one and a half broad, the left claws much largerthan the right, the antepenultimate joint having a strong tooth on theupper side; it is found in moist places and in the lagoons, and, whenthese are dried up, it retires under logs and large stones. 

Mr. Gilbert saw a large grey wallabi, and a small one which he thoughtwas new. Another species of Agama was found, differing from the former byits general grey colour, with black spots on the back. 

Jan. 3. --The night was clear; a fine easterly wind prevailed during themorning, with cumuli, which disappeared towards noon, when the sky becamecloudless. Thunder-storms generally follow a very sultry calm morning. Wetravelled about ten miles in a N. N. E. Direction, and came to the farthestwater-hole I had seen when out reconnoitring. We passed in our journeythrough a very scrubby country, opening occasionally into fine flatsthinly timbered with true box, which was at that time in blossom. Inoticed a small tree (Santalum oblongatum, R. Br. ), very remarkable forhaving its branches sometimes slightly drooping, and at other timeserect, with membranous glaucous elliptical leaves, from an inch to aninch and a half long, and three-quarters broad, with very indistinctnerves, and producing a small purple fruit, of very agreeable taste. Ihad seen this tree formerly at the Gwyder, and in the rosewood scrubsabout Moreton Bay, and I also found it far up to the northward, in themoderately open Vitex and Bricklow scrubs. 

Several small lizards (Tiliqua), probably only varieties of the samespecies, amused us with the quickness of their motions when hunting forinsects on the sunny slopes near the water-holes, and on the bark of thefallen trees; some were striped, others spotted, and there were some of asimple brownish iridescent colour. Our latitude was 24 degrees 6 minutes36 seconds. 

Jan. 4. --Brown accompanied me on my usual errand, to find, if possible, alarger supply of water, on which we might fall back, if the creek did notsoon change its character. The scrub came close to the banks of thecreek, but was occasionally interrupted by basaltic ridges with openforest, stretching to the westward. These ridges were on all sidessurrounded with scrub, which did not flourish where the basalticformation prevailed. Broad but shallow channels, deepening from time totime into large water-holes, follow in a parallel direction the manywindings of the creek, with which they have occasionally a smallcommunication. They seem to be the receptacles of the water fallingwithin the scrub during the rainy season: their banks are sometimes veryhigh and broken, and the bed is of a stiff clay, like that of the scrub, and is scattered over with pebbles of quartz and conglomerate. Whilstthese Melaleuca channels keep at a distance varying from one to threemiles from the creek, winding between the slight elevations of agenerally flat country--long shallow hollows and a series of lagoonsexist near the creek, from which they are separated by a berg, and arebounded on the other side by a slight rise of the ground. The hollows aregenerally without trees, but are covered with a stiff stargrass; and theyfrequently spread out into melon flats, covered with true Box. It isdifficult to travel along the creek, especially with pack bullocks, asthe scrub frequently comes close up to its banks; but the hollows, duringthe dry season, are like roads. In the channels within the scrub I founda large supply of water, in holes surrounded by sedges and a broad-leavedPolygonum, amongst which grew a species of Abutilon; the neighbouring drychannel was one beautiful carpet of verdure. In the scrub I found a plantbelonging to the Amaryllideae (Calostemma luteum?) with a cluster of fineyellow blossoms. Flights of ducks were on the water, and scores of littlebirds were fluttering through the grasses and sedges, or hopping over themoist mud in pursuit of worms and insects. The water-holes were about sixmiles from our camp. I continued my ride about four miles farther alongthe creek, where I found the scrub had retired, and was replaced by anopen silver-leaved Ironbark forest, in which the rich green feed relievedour eyes from the monotonous grey of the scrub, and quickened the stepsof our horses. Here also basaltic ridges approached the creek, and evenentered into its bed; among them were several fine water-holes. In ourreturn to the camp we found abundance of water in the lagoons near theriver, corresponding to the water-holes within the scrub. This localoccurrence of water depends either upon thunder-storms favouring sometracts more than others, or upon the country here being rather morehilly, which allows the rainwater to collect in deep holes at the foot ofthe slopes. 

Jan. 5. --We moved down to the water-holes of the basaltic ridges, beingabout nine miles in a N. N. W. Direction from our last camp. 

At three o'clock a. M. Clouds formed very rapidly over the wholesky--which had been clear during the previous part of the night--andthreatened us with wet. In the morning some few drops fell, with slightcasterly winds; it cleared up, however, about nine o'clock a. M. With anortherly breeze. 

Marsilea grows everywhere on the flats; and a fine little pea plant witha solitary red blossom, was found amongst the basaltic rocks round thewater-hole. We observed, growing along the creek, another species ofPortulaca, with linear fleshy leaves, erect stem, and small yellowflowers; and a half-shrubby Malvaccous plant, with small clustered yellowblossoms: the latter is common at the outside of scrubs in the MoretonBay district. We also remarked, within the scrub, a small tree, withbright-green foliage, and three-winged capsules slightly united at thebase; and another small tree, with deep-green coloured leaves, andtwo-winged capsules united in all their length; the last is nearly alliedto Dodonaea. 

I never before saw nor heard so many cockatoos as I did at Comet Creek. Swarms of them preceded us for one or two miles, from tree to tree, making the air ring with their incessant screams, and then returning inlong flights to their favourite haunts, from which we had disturbed them. We saw four kangaroos; and shot some bronze-winged pigeons; in the cropof one I found a small Helix with a long spire, --a form I do not rememberever having seen before in the colony. A considerable number of smallbrown snakes were living in the water-hole; they were generally seen inthe shallow water with their heads above the surface, but, at ourapproach, dived into the deepest part of the hole. Our daily allowance offlour was now reduced to three pounds. Our provisions disappear rapidly, and the wear and tear of our clothes and harness is very great; but, asour wants increase, our desires become more easily satisfied. The greenhide furnishes ample means to preserve our shoes, by covering them withmocassins, and with materials for repairing the harness. The latitude ofthis camp was 23 degrees 59 minutes 6 seconds. 

Jan. 6. --Leaving my companions at the camp well provided with both grassand water, I followed the creek, with Brown, in expectation of a longride, as Messrs. Gilbert and Roper had been forward about nine miles insearch of water, but without finding any. We very soon left the opencountry, and entered the vilest scrub we had ever before encountered. Theparallel lines of lagoons disappeared, and the banks of the creek becamevery broken by gullies, so that the stiff soil of the neighbouring scrub, not being intercepted by lagoons, is washed by heavy rains into the bedof the creek, which was no longer sandy, but inclined to the formation ofwater-holes, the clay rendering it impervious to water. The Casuarina, which likes a light sandy soil, disappeared at the same time, and wassucceeded by the narrow-leaved Melaleuca. The flooded-gum, however, keptits place, and frequently attained to a great size. About twelve milesfrom the camp, a small water-hole appeared in the bed of the creek. Thiswas the first we had met with while travelling along its banks a distanceof seventy miles; but, in proceeding about four miles farther, we passeda succession of fine water-holes well supplied with water; and otherswere found in the adjoining creeks. Afterwards, however, the watersuddenly disappeared again; and for eight miles farther its bed wasentirely dry, although fine grass was growing in it. We had everyprospect of passing the night without water, as the sun was sinking fast;but we fortunately reached a small hole before dark, containing a littlewater, which we had to share with our horses, with a small brown snake, and with a large flight of bronze-winged pigeons; the latter, surprisedat our presence, first alighted on the neighbouring trees to observe us, and then hurried down to take their evening draught. 

Jan. 7. --I travelled farther down the river, and again came, after a rideof three miles, into a well-watered country, but still occupied by scrub;in which the Capparis, with its large white sweet-scented blossoms, wasvery frequent; but its sepals, petals, and stamens dropped off at theslightest touch. Its fruit was like a small apple covered with warts, andits pungent seeds were imbedded in a yellow pulp, not at all disagreeableto eat. At last the scrub ceased, and, over an open rise on the rightside of Comet Creek, a range of blue mountains was discovered by mycompanion, promising a continuation of good country. At this time a finewater-hole was at hand, and invited us to stop and make our luncheon ondried beef and a pot of tea. Whilst I was preparing the tea, Brown wentto shoot pigeons; and, whilst thus employed, he was surprised by thecooee of a Blackfellow; and, on looking round, he saw one on the oppositebank of the creek making signs to him, as if to ask in what direction wewere going. Brown pointed down the creek; the black then gave him tounderstand that he was going upward to join his wife. We started abouthalf-an-hour afterwards, and met with him, about two miles up the creek, with his wife, his daughter, and his son. He was a fine old man, but he, as well as his family, were excessively frightened; they left all theirthings at the fire, as if offering them to us, but readily accepted twopigeons, which had been shot by Brown. We asked them for water (yarrai)which, according to what we could understand from their signs, wasplentiful lower down the creek. In returning homewards we cut offconsiderable angles of the creek, and passed through a much finer andmore open country. On its left bank we passed a scrub creek containingmagnificent lagoons. At my arrival in the camp, I was informed thatnatives had been close at hand, although none had showed themselves. 

Jan. 8. --I moved my camp about eight miles to the northward, and haltedat a fine water-hole in a scrub creek joining Comet Creek. A prettylittle diver was amusing himself on the water. The country is very richin game. Kangaroos and wallabies are very frequent; several brush turkeyswere seen, and the partridge and bronze-winged pigeons are veryplentiful. Our latitude was 23 degrees 51 minutes. 

Jan. 9. --In travelling down to the water-hole, where we had met theBlackfellow and his family, we kept a little too much to the westward, inhope of finding a more open country; instead, however, of an improvement, we encountered sandy hills covered with a dense low scrub andcypress-pine. The latter almost invariably grows on the slight sandstoneelevations in a scrubby country. After surmounting many difficulties, wecame upon a broad scrub creek, in the dry bed of which we travelled downto Comet Creek, which we followed, and at last reached our intendedcamping place. Our cattle and luggage had suffered severely, and wedevoted the next day to sundry repairs. The weather was very hot: thenight clear. Our latitude was 23 degrees 41 minutes 14 seconds. 

Jan. 10. --To prevent unnecessary loss of time by my reconnoitringexcursions, and to render them less fatiguing to myself, I arranged thatboth the blacks should go with me, in order that I might send one backfrom the first favourable camping place, to bring the party on, whilst Icontinued to explore the country with the other. Under this arrangement, therefore, I went forward, and, following the creek, it was found tosweep to the eastward, round a high plain of rich black soil, and coveredwith luxuriant vegetation. This plain is basaltic, but, in the valley ofthe creek, sandstone crops out below it. The slopes from the plain to thecreek are steep, and torn by deep gullies, which made travelling veryfatiguing. As the creek again turned to the west and north-west, thewater-holes increased both in size and number, although the flats withinthe valley were limited and intersected by watercourses. I sent Charleyback when we were about seven miles N. W. By N. From our camp, andproceeded with Brown down the creek, which, at about four miles farther, to my inexpressible delight, joined a river coming from the west andnorth-west, and flowing to the east and north-east. It was not, however, running, but formed a chain of small lakes, from two to three and eveneight miles in length, and frequently from fifty to one hundred yardsbroad, offering to our view the finest succession of large sheets ofwater we had seen since leaving the Brisbane. Its course continuedthrough a very deep and winding valley, bounded by high but generallylevel land. The gullies going down to the river were generally coveredwith a belt of thick scrub, as was also the high land nearest to it; but, farther off, the country appeared to be more open, plains alternatingwith open forest land, but yet, in places, much occupied by tracts ofalmost impervious scrub of various extent. We met frequent traces of thenatives, who had recently gone down the river, having previously burnedthe grass, leaving very little for our horses and cattle. At 8 o'clockP. M. A fine strong northerly breeze came up the river, flowing along itsbroad open valley, and which I supposed to be the sea breeze. Thissupposition was somewhat confirmed by a similar breeze occurring at thesame time on the following evening. 

The plains are basaltic, and occasionally covered with pebbles of whiteand iron-coloured quartz and conglomerate, and are in the vicinity ofslight elevations, which are probably composed of sandstone andconglomerate, and usually covered with low scrub and cypress-pine. Sandstone crops out in the gullies of the valley, in horizontal strata, some of which are hard and good for building, others like the blue claybeds of Newcastle, with the impressions of fern-leaves identical withthose of that formation. At the junction of Comet Creek and the river, Ifound water-worn fragments of good coal, and large trunks of treeschanged into ironstone. I called this river the "Mackenzie, " in honour ofSir Evan Mackenzie, Bart. , as a small acknowledgment of my gratitude forthe very great assistance which he rendered me in the preparations for myexpedition. Farther down the river, the country became better watered, even at a distance from the river; some small creeks, winding downbetween scrubby sandstone hills, were full of water, and a chain of finelagoons was crossed, covered with splendid blue Nymphaeas. Large coveysof partridge-pigeons rose from the burnt grass as we passed along, andducks and pelicans were numerous on the stretches of water in the bed ofthe river. Heaps of fresh-water muscles lined the water-holes, which wereteeming with fish, apparently of considerable size, as their splashingstartled me several times during the night, and made me believe, for themoment, that a large tribe of natives were bathing. 

A very stiff high grass became very general along the river. On theplains there were fields of native carrots, now dry; also of vervain andburr. The long-podded cassia was plentiful, and its young seeds tastedwell, but considerably affected the bowels. 

Cumuli passed from the north-east during the morning: the afternoon wasclear, and the night bright. 

When I returned to the camp on the 11th January, my companions told me, that upon their journey across the high plains they had observed a highrange to the north-west. 

Jan. 12. --I removed my camp down Comet Creek, and followed the Mackenziefor a few miles, as far as it was easy travelling along its bank. CometCreek joins the Mackenzie in a very acute angle; the direction of thelatter being east, and the course of the former, in its lower part, north-west. Our anglers caught several fine fishes and an eel, in thewater-holes of the Mackenzie. The former belonged to the Siluridae, andhad four fleshy appendages on the lower lip, and two on the upper; dorsalfin 1 spine 6 rays, and an adipose fin, pectoral 1 spine 8 rays; ventral6 rays; anal 17 rays; caudal 17-18 rays; velvety teeth in the upper andlower jaws, and in the palatal bones. Head flat, belly broad; back of agreenish silver-colour; belly silvery white; length of the body 15-20inches. It made a singular noise when taken out of the water. 

We found here Unios of a fine pink and purple colour inside the valves, and a new species of Cyclas with longitudinal ribs. Small black ants, andlittle flies with wings crossing each other, annoy us very much, the onecreeping all over our bodies and biting us severely, and the otherfalling into our soup and tea, and covering our meat; but the strongnight-breeze protects us from the mosquitoes. A pretty lizard (Tiliqua)of small size, with yellowish spots on a brown ground, was caught, andseemed to be plentiful here about. The Acacia, with very long lineardrooping leaves, that had been observed at the Dawson, re-appeared bothon Comet Creek and the banks of the Mackenzie. Our latitude was 23degrees 33 minutes 38 seconds. 

Jan. 13. --We travelled about nine miles E. N. E. Over the high land, andthrough open forest land, and several plains skirted on both sides byscrub. I observed a new species of Flindersia, a small tree about thirtyfeet high, with thin foliage and very regular branches, forming a spire. The latitude was 23 degrees 29 minutes. 

Jan. 14. --After travelling about three miles in a north-easterlydirection along the banks of the river--having, at about a mile from ourcamp, crossed a good-sized creek on its left bank--the river took asudden bend to the westward, and a large creek coming from the northward, joined it almost at a right angle to its course. As we proceeded, we camesuddenly upon two black women hurrying out of the water, but who, onreaching a distance in which they thought themselves safe, remainedgazing at us as we slowly and peaceably passed by. In the bed of theriver, which was here broad and sandy, a bean was gathered, bearingracemes of pink blossoms, and spreading its long slender stem over theground, or twining it round shrubs and trees: its pods were from three tofive inches long, and about half an inch broad, containing from four tosix seeds, very similar to the horse-bean. This plant was afterwardsfound growing in the sandy beds, or along the bergs of almost all thebroad rivers, and was always a welcome sight; for the seeds, afterroasting and pounding them, afforded us a very agreeable substitute forcoffee. 

We passed some very high cliffs, which showed a fine geological sectionof horizontal layers of sandstone and coal-slate. There were also somelayers of very good coal, but the greater part of those visible were of aslaty character. Nodules of Ironstone were very frequent in thesandstone. 

After having fixed upon a place to pitch the tent, and after somerefreshment, I started with my two black companions upon a reconnoitringexcursion along the course of the river, which made several large bends, though its general direction was to the north-east. We passed over somevery fine flats of Bastard-box, silver-leaved Ironbark, and white gum, with a few scattered Acacia-trees, remarkable for their drooping foliage, and mentioned under the date 22nd December. Farther on, we came again toscrub, which uniformly covered the edge of the high land towards theriver. Here, within the scrub, on the side towards the open country wefound many deserted camps of the natives, which, from their position, seemed to have been used for shelter from the weather, or ashiding-places from enemies: several places had evidently been used forcorroborris, and also for fighting. 

On a White-gum, which has long lanceolate green leaves, I found a speciesof Loranthus, with leaves resembling those of the silver-leaved Ironbark(Eucalyptus pulverulentus). Having reached a point down the river, inabout lat. 23 degrees 18 minutes, from which some low ranges to the N. W. Became visible, I returned to the camp. At the point where it turned, adyke of basalt traverses the river. The country still maintained itsfavourable character, and the river contained fine sheets of watersimilar to those already described, on one of which a pelican floatedundisturbed by our presence. Large heaps of muscle-shells, which havegiven food to successive generations of the natives, cover the steepsloping banks of the river, and indicate that this part of the country isvery populous. The tracks of the natives were well beaten, and thefire-places in their camps numerous. The whole country had been on fire;smouldering logs, scattered in every direction, were often rekindled bythe usual night breeze, and made us think that the Blackfellows werecollecting in numbers around us, --and more particularly on the oppositeside of the river; added to which, the incessant splashing of numerouslarge fishes greatly contributed to augment our fears. As a matter ofprecaution, therefore, we tied our horses near our sleeping-place, andgathered the grass which grew along the edge of the water for them toeat; and it was not till daylight that our alarm vanished. 

Jan. 15. --Having now ascertained, beyond a doubt, that the Mackenzieflowed to the north-east, I returned to the camp, resolved upon leavingit and renewing my course to the west-north-west and north-west; but, asit was extremely doubtful whether we should find water in travellingacross the country without a leading watercourse, and as we had failed inprocuring a sufficient quantity of game, I determined to take thisfavourable opportunity of killing a bullock before leaving the river. 

Jan. 16. --On returning, we found our party encamped about four mileslower down the river than where I had left them. I then removed them to amore convenient spot about two miles still lower down (lat. 23 degrees 21minutes 30 seconds). Just at the moment we were preparing to shoot thebullock, we heard the cooee of a native, and in a short time two men wereseen approaching and apparently desirous of having a parley. Accordingly, I went up to them; the elder, a well made man, had his left front toothout, whilst the younger had all his teeth perfect; he was of a muscularand powerful figure, but, like the generality of Australian aborigines, had rather slender bones; he had a splendid pair of moustachios, but hisbeard was thin. They spoke a language entirely different from that of thenatives of Darling Downs, but "yarrai" still meant water. Charley, whoconversed with them for some time, told me that they had informed him, aswell as he could understand, that the Mackenzie flowed to the north-east. Brown found an empty seed-vessel of the Nelumbium, in their camp. Atsunset we killed our bullock, and during the 17th and 18th occupiedourselves in cutting up the meat, drying it in the sun, frying the fat, preparing the hide, and greasing our harness. Charley, in riding afterthe horses, came to some fine lagoons, which were surrounded by a deepgreen belt of Nelumbiums. This plant grows, with a simple tap root, inthe deep soft mud, bearing one large peltate leaf on a leaf stalk, abouteight feet high, and from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, theflower-stalk being of the same length or even longer, crowned with a pinkflower resembling that of a Nymphaea, but much larger: its seed-vessel isa large cone, with perpendicular holes in its cellular tissue, containingseeds, about three quarters of an inch in length. We found the followingshells in the river, viz. ; two species of Melania, a Paludina, thelanceolate Limnaea, a cone-shaped Physa (?), a Cyclas with longitudinalribs, and the Unio before described. Murphy shot an Ostioglossum, aMalacopterygious fish, about three feet long, with very large scales, each scale having a pink spot. We afterwards found this fish in thewaters flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria; both on its eastern andwestern sides: and, according to the natives of Port Essington, to whom Ishowed the dried specimen, it is also found in the permanent water-holesof the Cobourg peninsula. 

Jan. 18. --Leaving my party to complete the process of drying and packingthe charqui, I started with my two black companions to examine thecountry to the north-west. After passing the gullies in the immediateneighbourhood of the river, we came to sandstone ridges covered with analmost impenetrable scrub; chiefly composed of stiff and prickly shrubs, many of them dead, with dry branches filling the intervals. As no grassgrew on the poor soil, the bush-fires--those scavengers of theforest--are unable to enter and consume the dead wood, which formed theprincipal obstacle to our progress. Difficult, however, as it was topenetrate such thickets with pack-bullocks, I had no choice left, andtherefore proceeded in the same direction. In a short time, we reached anopen Bricklow scrub containing many dry water-holes, which, farther on, united into a watercourse. We passed a creek flowing to the eastward tojoin the Mackenzie, and continued our route through patches of Bricklowscrub, alternating with Bastard-box forest, and open Vitex scrub, inwhich the Moreton Bay ash was very plentiful. About eight miles from ourcamp, we came upon an open forest of narrow-leaved Ironbark (E. Resinifera) and Bastard-box, covering gentle slopes, from which shallowwell-grassed hollows descended to the westward. Coming again on scrub, and following it down in a westerly direction, we came to a dry creek;and found water in holes along the scrub. Considering this a favourableplace for the camp, I sent Charley back, to guide my party through thescrub; whilst I proceeded with Brown to examine the creek upwards, to thenorth-west. After a ride of about five miles, during which several finelagoons were seen, we reached a prominent hill of sandstone formation, surrounded by a most beautiful, open, silver-leaved Ironbark forest, changing occasionally into plains without a tree. I ascended the hill, and obtained a very extensive view from its summit. A range of peaks boreN. 57 degrees W. ; another range, with undulating outline, was seen to thesouth-east; and another less prominent range bore N. 45 degrees W. Thehill is in latitude 23 degrees 10 minutes, and bears the name of MountStewart, in compliment to Mr. Stewart, veterinary surgeon of Sydney, towhom I am indebted for great assistance and most valuable advice. 

Towards the north-east, the country appeared to be very level, with onlyone low ridge, apparently at a great distance. To the south, and also tothe west, some long-stretched flat-topped hills were visible, severalextending as far as the eye could reach. I continued my ride in thedirection of the range of peaks to the north-west, over an undulatingcountry of varied character, now extending in fine downs and plains, nowcovered with belts of thick Bricklow scrub, with occasional ridges ofopen silver-leaved Ironbark forest. Among the latter was a rather stuntedgum-tree, with a black scaly butt; it was very frequent, and greatlyresembled the Moreton Bay ash. The numerous watercourses which I crossed, were all dry; and, when the approach of night compelled us to select acamping place, which we did in a small grove of Bricklow, we should havebeen without water, had not a thunder-storm with light showers of rain, enabled us to collect about a quart of it to make some tea. The nextmorning we continued our examination, passing over a country of scrub, plain, and forest land; and made our breakfast, and watered our horses, at a small pool of water that was collected in a hole of a little creek, after the last night's thunder-storm. About four miles from this spot, weagain found permanent water, near the scrub; and, at three miles fartheron, crossed a fine creek, with a reedy bed, along which lightly timberedflats extended; and, about six miles to the W. N. W. , we found anothercreek, separated from the former by openly timbered ridges, andoccasional patches of scrub. The flats along this creek and itstributaries were covered with the most luxuriant grass; but are withoutpermanent water, although at present supplied by the late thunder-storms. Brown gave chase to an emu with several young ones, but did not succeedin capturing any of them. 

We now commenced our return to the camp, and, being impatient to get on, put our horses into a canter; the consequence of which was that we lostour way, and were ignorant as to which side we had left the tracks. Thinking, however, that Mount Stewart would guide us, when we should comein sight of it, I kept a south-easterly course, which soon brought usinto a thick Bricklow scrub. In passing the large flats of the lastcreek, which was here full of fine reedy water-holes, we observed anative; and Brown cooeed to him, and by a sign requested him to wait forus: but he was so frightened, by the sudden appearance of two mencantering towards him, that he took to his heels, and soon disappeared inthe neighbouring scrub. We rode the whole day through a Bricklow thicket, which, in only three or four places, was interrupted by narrow strips ofopen country, along creeks on which fine flooded-gums were growing. Thedensity of the scrub, which covered an almost entirely level country, prevented our seeing farther than a few yards before us, so that wepassed our landmark, and, when night approached, and the country becamemore open, we found ourselves in a part of the country totally unknown tous. At the outside of the scrub, however, we were cheered by the sight ofsome large lagoons, on whose muddy banks there were numerous tracts ofemus and kangaroos. In a recently deserted camp of the Aborigines, wefound an eatable root, like the large tubers of Dahlia, which we greedilydevoured, our appetite being wonderfully quickened by long abstinence andexercise. Brown fortunately shot two pigeons; and, whilst we werediscussing our welcome repast, an emu, probably on its way to drink, approached the lagoon, but halted when it got sight of us, then walkedslowly about, scrutinizing us with suspicious looks, and, when Brownattempted to get near it, trotted off to a short distance, and stoppedagain, and continued to play this tantalizing trick until we were tired;when, mounting our horses, we proceeded on our way. Supposing, from thedirection of the waters, that we had left our former tracks to the left, I turned to the north-east to recover them; but it soon became very dark, and a tremendous thunder-storm came down upon us. We were then on a highbox-tree ridge, in view of a thick scrub; we hobbled our horses, andcovered ourselves with our blankets; but the storm was so violent, thatwe were thoroughly drenched. As no water-holes were near us, we caughtthe water that ran from our blankets; and, as we were unable to rekindleour fire, which had been extinguished by the rain, we stretched ourblankets over some sticks to form a tent, and notwithstanding our wet andhungry condition, our heads sank wearily on the saddles--our usual bushpillow--and we slept soundly till morning dawned. We now succeeded inmaking a fire, so that we had a pot of tea and a pigeon between us. Afterthis scanty breakfast, we continued our course to the north-east. Brownthought himself lost, got disheartened, grumbled and became exceedinglyannoying to me; but I could not help feeling for him, as he complained ofsevere pain in his legs. We now entered extensive Ironbark flats, whichprobably belong to the valley of the Mackenzie. Giving our position everyconsideration, I determined upon returning to the mountains at which wehad turned, and took a north-west course. The country was again mostwretched, and at night we almost dropped from our saddles with fatigue. Another pigeon was divided between us, but our tea was gone. Oppressed byhunger, I swallowed the bones and the feet of the pigeon, to allay thecravings of my stomach. A sleeping lizard with a blunt tail and knobbyscales, fell into our hands, and was of course roasted and greedilyeaten. Brown now complained of increased pain in his feet, and lost allcourage. "We are lost, we are lost, " was all he could say. All my wordsand assurances, all my telling him that we might be starved for a day ortwo, but that we should most certainly find our party again, could not domore than appease his anxiety for a few moments. The next morning, the21st, we proceeded, but kept a little more to the westward, and crossed afine openly timbered country; but all the creeks went either to the eastor to the north. At last, after a ride of about four miles, Brownrecognized the place where we had breakfasted on the 19th, when all hisgloom and anxiety disappeared at once. I then returned on my south-eastcourse, and arrived at the camp about one o'clock in the afternoon; mylong absence having caused the greatest anxiety amongst my companions. Ishall have to mention several other instances of the wonderful quicknessand accuracy with which Brown as well as Charley were able to recognizelocalities which they had previously seen. The impressions on theirretina seem to be naturally more intense than on that of the European;and their recollections are remarkably exact, even to the most minutedetails. Trees peculiarly formed or grouped, broken branches, slightclevations of the ground--in fact, a hundred things, which we shouldremark only when paying great attention to a place--seem to form a kindof Daguerreotype impression on their minds, every part of which isreadily recollected. 

I rejoined my party at the creek which comes from Mount Stewart. Thenatives had approached Mr. Gilbert when out shooting, with a singular, but apparently friendly, noise: "Ach! Ach! Ach!" They had heard the cooceof my blackfellow Charley, and thought Mr. Gilbert wanted them; but, ashe was alone, he thought it prudent to retire to the camp. 

The thunder-storm, which we experienced on the night of the 19th, hadcompletely changed the aspect of the country round Mount Stewart. All themelon-holes of the scrub, all the ponds along the creeks, all thewater-holes in the beds of the creeks, were full of water; the creek atwhich we encamped, was running; the grass looked fresh and green; theground, previously rotten, was now boggy, and rendered travelling ratherdifficult; but we were always at home, for we found water and grasseverywhere. 

The days from the 17th to the 23rd were exceedingly hot, but, during theearly morning and the evening, the air was delightfully cool. Lightcasterly and northerly winds stirred during the day. Cumuli passed fromthe same quarters; and generally gathered during the afternoon, andbecame very heavy. The thunder-storms veered round from the west by thenorth to the eastward. The nights of the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd were brightand cold, with heavy dew. On the morning of the 23rd we had misty, loose, confluent clouds, travelling slowly from the north-east, with some dropsof rain. I was now convinced that the rainy season had set in near thesea coast; for the clouds which came from that direction, had evidentlybeen charged with rain; but, in passing over a large tract of drycountry, they were exhausted of their moisture, and the north-easterlywinds were too weak to carry them quickly so far inland. 

The whole country I had travelled over, is composed of sandstone, withprobably occasional outbreaks of igneous rocks, as indicated by the richblack soil. The plains and creeks abound in fossil wood, changed intoiron-ore and silica. The soil is generally good, but some of the sandyflats are rotten: and the ridges are covered with pebbles. 

The trees, with the exception of the flooded-gum, are of stunted habit;and scrub is here developed ad infinitum. A Grevillea (G. CeratophyllaR. Br. ?) with pinnatifid leaves, a small tree from fifteen to twenty feethigh, and about four inches in diameter; a Melaleuca about the same size, with stiff lanceolate leaves, about two inches long and half an inchbroad, and slightly foliaceous bark; and an Acacia with glaucousbipinnate leaves, of the section of the brush Acacias of MoretonBay--grew on the sandy soil along the ridges; and a handsome Convolvuluswith pink flowers adorned the rich plain south-east of Mount Stewart. Iexamined the wood of all the arborescent Proteaceae which I met with, andobserved in all of them, with the exception of Persoonia, the greatdevelopment of the medullary rays, as it exists in several species ofCasuarina. 

On the 23rd, 24th, and 25th January, the party moved over the countrywhich I had reconnoitred, to a place about twenty-five miles north-westfrom Mount Stewart's Creek, and about thirty-four miles from theMackenzie. In the vicinities of several of the camps, Charley found manynests of the native bee, full of the sweetest and most aromatic honey wehad ever tasted. The wild Marjoram, which grows abundantly here, andimparts its fragrance even to the air, seemed to be the principal sourcefrom which the bee obtained its honey. We collected a considerablequantity of the marjoram, and added it to our tea, with the doubleintention, of improving its flavour, and of saving our stock; we alsoused it frequently as a condiment in our soup. 

To the westward of our camp of the 25th January, was a large hill, whichI called "West Hill;" and, to the north and north-east, several ridgesconfined the large valley of our creek and its tributaries. From asandstone peak to the north-east, which I descended with Mr. Roper, Iagain saw the range of peaks which I had first observed from MountStewart in a W. N. W. Direction; and the country to the north andnorth-east was evidently very mountainous: the valleys descending in anortherly direction. We rode along the ridges on a W. N. W. And westcourse, and came into the valley of another creek, which we crossed; and, passing several other ridges, which appear to be connected with WestHill, descended to a fine creek, in which we found a reedy water-hole ofconsiderable size. The character of all these creeks is the same. Extensive flats of rotten ground, but beautifully clothed with tufts ofgrass, openly timbered with Moreton Bay ash and flooded-gum, ascend intogentle grassy slopes of silver-leaved Ironbark and bloodwood, and thenrise into sandstone ridges with Acacia thickets and shrubby plantspeculiar to the sandstone formation. An Acacia with very large falcate, glaucous phyllodia, and the Euphorbiaceous Severn-tree, were veryplentiful; and Crinum grew in thousands on the sandy flats. After a veryhot day, the night was bright and dewy: a light breeze was felt at 8o'clock, which cooled the air. 

Jan. 26. --I removed my camp to the reedy water-hole of yesterday, aboutfive miles in the direction of west or west by north from our lastencampment. Here I planted the last peach-stones, with which Mr. Newman, the present superintendent of the Botanic Garden in Hobart Town, hadkindly provided me. It is, however, to be feared that the fires, whichannually over-run the whole country, and particularly here, where thegrass is rich and deep even to the water's edge, will not allow them togrow. To the creek on which we were encamped I gave the name of "Newman'sCreek, " in honour of Mr. Newman. It flows in a south-east and southerlycourse, and unites probably with West Hill Creek, on which we wereencamped the day before, and with the large creek which we crossed on the25th; both of which probably belong to the system of the Mackenzie. Mr. Calvert and Charley accompanied me in an excursion to the W. N. W. , but, having crossed some ridges and coming to scrub, we took a direction tothe northward. Fine Bastard-box flats and Ironbark slopes occupy theupper part of Newman's Creek. On the ridges, we observed Persoonia withlong falcate leaves; the grass-tree (Xanthorrhaea); the rusty gum, andthe Melaleuca of Mount Stewart. Having ascended the sandstone ridge atthe head of Newman's Creek, we found ourselves on a table land out ofwhich rose the peaks for which we were steering, and from which we wereseparated by fine downs, plains, and a lightly timbered country, withbelts of narrow-leaved Ironbark growing on a sandy soil. On one of theplains quartzite cropped out; and silex and fossil wood lay scatteredover the rich black soil: the latter broke readily, like asbestos, intothe finest filaments, much resembling the fossil wood of Van Diemen'sLand. It is difficult to describe the impressions which the range ofnoble peaks, rising suddenly out of a comparatively level country, madeupon us. We had travelled so much in a monotonous forest land, with onlynow and then a glimpse of distant ranges through the occasional clearingsin the dismal scrub, that any change was cheering. Here an entirely opencountry--covered with grass, and apparently unbounded to the westward;now ascending, first, in fine ranges, and forming a succession of almostisolated, gigantic, conical, and dome-topped mountains, which seemed torest with a flat unbroken base on the plain below--was spread before ourdelighted eyes. The sudden alteration of the scene, therefore, inspiredus with feelings that I cannot attempt to describe. Proceeding onwards wepassed some water-holes; but, farther on, the water failed, except hereand there in a few pools, in the creeks coming from the range, that hadbeen filled by the last thunder-showers. These pools were generally linedwith patches of a narrow-leaved tea tree; and were full of basalticpebbles. 

The breeze set in full and strong, as usual, at a quarter past eighto'clock; the night was bright and cool, and the following morninginexpressibly beautiful. 

We enjoyed a dish of cockatoos for supper: the place abounds with them. 

Jan. 27. --Charley went back to bring forward our party, whilst Iproceeded with Mr. Calvert to reconnoitre the plains under the peaks, feeling confident of finding water at their foot. We passed over plainsand lightly-timbered basaltic ridges, between which shallow creeks camedown from the range, but we only found water in one or two holes. Theplains in the neighbourhood of our intended camp were richly grassed; anda species of Hypoxis and the native Borage (Trichodesma zeylanica, R. Br. ) adorned them with their bright yellow and blue blossoms. Farther on, however, the grass had been burnt, and was not yet recovered. As the dayadvanced, and the black soil became heated by the almost vertical sun, the heat from above and from below became almost insupportable. 

Three peaks of this range were particularly striking; two of them seemedto be connected by a lower ridge, in a direction from S. E. To N. W. Thesouth-eastern I called "Roper's Peak, " after my companion, who afterwardsascended it with Murphy and Brown, and the north-western, "Scott's Peak, "after Helenus Scott, Esq. , of Glendon, Hunter's River, who had kindlyassisted me in my expedition. In a W. By S. Direction from these, anddistant four or five miles, is another peak, to which I gave the name of"Macarthur's Peak, " after Mr. William Macarthur, of Cambden. All thesepeaks are composed of Domite; and Roper's and Scott's Peaks aresurrounded by a sandstone formation, covered with a dense low scrub. 

I passed between Roper's Peak and Macarthur's Peak, to the northward, andcame in sight of another very remarkable cone, which I afterwards calledCalvert's Peak, after my fellow-traveller, in consequence of his havingsuffered severely in its neighbourhood, as I shall soon have to mention. 

I traced a creek at the east side of Macarthur's Peak to its head, andwent down another on its west side to a large plain, which seemed to belimited to the westward by openly-timbered ridges. As we advanced intothe plain, a most remarkable and interesting view of a great number ofpeaks and domes opened to the N. N. W. And N. W. There seemed no end ofapparently isolated conical mountains, which, as they resemble very muchthe chain of extinct volcanos in Auvergne, might easily be mistaken forsuch; but, after changing the aspect a little, they assumed theappearance of immense tents, with very short ridge-poles. To the mostremarkable of them, which had the appearance of an immense cupola, I gavethe name of Gilbert's Dome, after my companion. Far to the N. N. W. A bluepeak was seen rising behind a long range of mountains, and from thelatter a valley seemed to descend to the W. N. W. A round hill, of areddish colour, to the south or south-west of Macarthur's Peak, wascalled Mount Lowe, after R. Lowe, Esq. Of Sydney. The general directionof these mountains seems to be from N. 60 degrees W. To S. 60 degrees E. , and, if we compare them with the line of the coast in the neighbourhoodof Broadsound and Shoalwater bay, bearing due east, it will be found thatthey are parallel to its direction. All the creeks which we examined, andwhich fell to the south-west, were entirely dry. On the ridges whichbounded the plain to the westward, I met with Acacia pendula; and I mayhere remark that this appears to be the most northern limit of itshabitat. Here also, in an old camp of the natives, we found a heap ofmuscle-shells, which were probably taken from some very deep and shadyholes in the creek, but which were now without the slightest indicationof moisture. Water failing us on the western slopes, I crossed to theeast side, under the idea and hope that the north and north-east sides ofthe range, from being more exposed to the sea winds, would be betterprovided with water; and, passing to the left of Calvert's Peak, over lowbasaltic ridges, I came to a creek with a shallow bed, winding betweenbasaltic ridges to the north-east. These ridges were lightly timbered, and covered with an abundance of dry grass: dark-green patches of scrubraised our hopes from time to time, and quickened our pace; but in vain, for no water was to be found. Fatigued and exhausted by thirst, bothrider and horse wished for an early halt. We stopped, therefore, andhobbled our horses; and, when I had spread my saddle, my head sankbetween its flaps, and I slept soundly until the cool night-air, and thebrilliant moonlight, awoke me. I found my poor companion, Mr. Calvert, suffering severely from thirst, more so indeed than I did; but I wasunfortunately labouring under a most painful diarrhoea, which of itselfexhausted my strength. In the morning, to add to our distress, our horseswere not to be found, and Mr. Calvert had a walk of four hours to getthem: the poor brutes had rambled away in search of water, but foundnone. The scream of a cockatoo made me wish to continue our ride down thecreek; but my companion was so completely exhausted that I resolved uponreturning to the camp, but by a different route, passing to the east sideof Scott's and Roper's Peaks. We found sandstone ridges to the very footof the peaks. Although we passed many localities where water might havebeen expected, and travelled where three different rocks, domite, sandstone, and basalt, came in contact, and where springs are sofrequently found, yet not a drop of water could we find. In travellingover the hot plains our horses began to fail us; neither whip nor spurcould accelerate their snail-like pace; they seemed to expect that everylittle shade of the scattered trees would prove a halting-place; and itwas not without the greatest difficulty that we could induce them to passon. It was indeed distressingly hot: with open mouths we tried to catchoccasional puffs of a cooler air; our lips and tongue got parched, ourvoice became hoarse, and our speech unintelligible. Both of us, butparticularly my poor companion, were in the most deplorable state. Inorder to ease my horse, I tried to walk; but, after a few paces. I foundit impossible; I was too much exhausted. At this distressing moment, however, we crossed the tracks of horses and bullocks, and then we knewwe were near the camp, the sight of which, a short time afterwards, wasmost welcome to us. 

Jan. 29. --Finding that one of the water-holes of the camp had dried up, and that the other was very muddy, we returned to larger water-holes twomiles to the south-east. After having done this, I sent Mr. Gilbert andCharley down the creek, to ascertain its course, and to see whether itwould be practicable to skirt the highland of peak range to the westward. 

Last night thunder-storms were gathering to the south-west, but they didnot come up to us. The night breeze is very strong and regular, and setsin invariably between a quarter and half-past eight o'clock; last nightit was quite a gale, which I considered to be the indication of a changein the weather, and of rain. 

John Murphy brought the flower of a yellow Hibiscus from Roper's Peak: itis certainly a new species. 

Jan. 30. --Last night clouds gathered into a thunder-storm to thesouth-west, but it passed by with very little rain: heavy clouds hunground us, in every direction, but it seemed as if even their passage overthe parched plains exhausted their moisture. In the east and south-east aheavy thunder cloud, with incessant lightning, was seen, but so distantthat we could not hear the thunder. In the morning, loose clouds spreadover the whole sky: this was the first cloudy day we had experienced forthe last three weeks. Nature looks quite refreshed; the grass is sogreen, and the modest blue Ruellia so plentiful; whole fields of Crinumare in full blossom; and the Ironbark and flooded-gum with a denser andricher foliage than usual, afford us a most agreeable shade. I wish Icould sufficiently describe the loveliness of the morning just before andafter sunrise: the air so clear, so transparent; the sky slightly tingedwith roseate hues, all nature so fresh, so calm, so cool. If water wereplentiful, the downs of Peak Range would be inferior to no country in theworld. Mr. Calvert collected a great number of Limnaea in thewater-holes: its shell is more compact than those we have before seen, and has a slight yellow line, marking probably the opening at a youngerage. Several insects of the genera Mantis and Truxalis were taken, butdid not appear different from those we had previously collected. 

Jan. 31. --We had a thunder-storm from the west, and thunder clouds in allquarters; but, as usual, very little rain. Mr. Gilbert returned from hisexploratory ride, and stated that the plains extended far to thewestward, and that they rose in that direction, forming a succession ofterraces; and that another fine range of peaks, even more imposing thanthose of our Peak Range, reared their heads to the westward of theplains, converging towards the latter [Note at end of para. ]; that all thecreeks went down to the south and south-west; but that he found no water, except one fine lagoon about fifteen miles to the south-west, which wascovered with ducks. He had observed the sign of an anchor, or broad-arrow, cut into a tree with a stone tomahawk, and which he supposed had beendone, either by a shipwrecked sailor, or by a runaway convict from MoretonBay, when it was a penal settlement: the neighbouring trees were variouslymarked by Blackfellows. 

[Note. Captain P. P. King, who surveyed this part of the coast, informs methat the coast hills as seen from the sea, are generally of peaked form, particularly the remarkable elevation of Mount Funnel, at the back ofBroad Sound--which is apparently not connected with the neighbouringranges--and also that of Double Mount, which is visible from a distanceof 60 miles. The Cumberland Islands also, which front the coast in thesame vicinity, are of peaked shape, and one, Mount Dryander, on the westside of Whitsunday Passage, is a very high peak. In the Appendix toCaptain King's Voyage, Dr. Fitton describes the islands, from thespecimens which were submitted for his inspection, to be of primitiveformation; and notices the following rocks: Compact felspar of aflesh-red hue, enclosing a few small crystals of reddish felspar and ofquartz; Coane porphyritic conglomerate of a reddish hue; Serpentine;Slaty clay--which forms the general character of the Percy Islands. Repulse Island produced a compact felspar--a compound of quartz, mica, and felspar, having the appearance of decomposed granite. (King's Voyage, Appendix, p. 607. ) Captain King also describes this portion of the coastto be more than usually fertile in appearance; and Captain Blackwood, ofHer Majesty's Ship Fly, saw much of this part, and corroborates CaptainKing's opinion as to its fertility. It is hereabouts that the AraucariaCunninghamiana grows in such abundance. ]

Being too weak to travel, I sent Mr. Roper and Brown to the northward andto the north-east, to examine the country. 

By my lunar observations, I made our longitude 148 degrees 19 minutes;our latitude was 22 degrees 57 minutes; so that our distance from KeppelBay was 175 miles, and from Broad Sound 100. The Mackenzie probablydisembogues into Keppel Bay, and if so, it will form the inlet to a finecountry; for I suppose that all the creeks going down to the south andsouth-west, either fall into the Mackenzie itself, or join one of itstributaries. 

Mr. Gilbert found the skull of a large kangaroo, the nasal cavity ofwhich appeared unusually spacious. He brought home a new Malurus, and aRallus: he also shot another species of Rallus on the water-hole near ourencampment; he also brought in a true Caprimulgus. 

On Mr. Roper's return, he informed me that he had met with a creek at theother side of the hills to the east of us; that the hills were coveredwith dense scrub, teeming with wallabis; and that the creek went to thenorth-east, several other creeks joining it; that, lower down, it waslined with Casuarinas, and that about seven miles from the hills, hefound fine water-holes. 

CHAPTER V

DIFFERENCE OF SOIL AS TO MOISTURE--PHILLIPS'S MOUNTAIN--ALLOWANCE OFFLOUR REDUCED AGAIN--HUGHS'S CREEK--TOMBSTONE CREEK--CHARLEY AND BROWNBECOME UNRULY--THE ISAACS--NATIVE WOMEN--COXEN'S PEAK AND RANGE--GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER--CHARLEY REBELS AGAIN AND LEAVES--BROWN FOLLOWSHIM--BOTH RETURN PENITENT--VARIATIONS OF THE WEATHER--SKULL OFNATIVE--FRIENDLY NATIVES VISIT THE CAMP. 

Feb. 2. --Being much recovered, I took both Blackfellows with me, andagain passed the defile east of Roper's and Scott's Peaks, and followedthe watercourse rising from it to the northward. About two or three mileslower down, we found water in deep rocky basins in the bed of the creek. The rock was sandstone, fissured from south-west to north-east. 

In passing the foot of the peaks, we found a species of Grewia (DwarfRoorajong) covered with ripe fruit; the fruit is dry, but the stringytissue which covers the seed, contains a slightly sweet and aciduloussubstance of a very agreeable taste. The fig-tree with a rough leaf, hadplenty of fruit, but not yet ripe. Erythrina was both in blossom and inseed. 

Sending Brown back to conduct our party to the water-holes we had found, and leaving the creek, which turned to the eastward, I continued my rideto the northward. I passed some gentle well-grassed slopes ofnarrow-leaved Ironbark and spotted gum; and also several basaltic ridges, which head out into small plains gently sloping to the east andnorth-east. They are formed of a rich black soil, and generally a shallowcreek meanders through them: sandstone ridges formed their boundary lowerdown, where, at their foot, water-holes generally existed, either with aconstant supply of water, or readily filled by thunder-showers. Thebasaltic ridges, as well as the plains, were covered with a fine crop ofdry grass; but the sandstone ridges were frequently scrubby. Thedifference between the sandstone country and the basaltic plains andridges, is very striking in respect to the quantity of water theycontain: in the latter, rain is immediately absorbed by the crackedporous soil, which requires an immense quantity of moisture before itallows any drainage; whereas the sandstone forms steeper slopes, and doesnot absorb the rain so quickly, so that the water runs down the slopes, and collects in holes at the foot of the hills parallel to the creeks. Scrubs are frequent round the low rises of sandstone; and, where thecountry is level, and the soil loamy, the hollows are often filled withwater by the thunder-storms. The moist character of this description ofcountry is probably the cause of the vegetation being more dense than itis in the rich black soil of the plains; in which latter, the seeds ofthe grasses and herbs lie dormant, until the first rain falls, when theyinstantly germinate and cover the plain with their rapid and luxuriantgrowth, as if by enchantment; but which, from its nature, is incapable ofmaintaining the growth of scrubs and trees. 

Feb. 3. --The dew was heavy through the night; and, in the morning, looserainy clouds gathered from the east and north-east, which, however, disappeared about eleven o'clock. Charley went back to the camp, to bringit on, and I continued to reconnoitre to the north-west. After passing asandstone ridge, I came to a creek, which went to the north-west, andwhich was supplied with water by the late thunder-showers. It was boundedon both sides by sandstone ridges, whose summits were covered with scruband Acacia thickets; and by grassy slopes and flats bearing narrow-leavedIronbark and Bastard-box. This would be a most beautiful country, if itcontained a constant supply of water. 

I observed on the ridges an Acacia, a small tree, from thirty to fortyfeet high, and from six to nine inches in diameter, and easilydistinguished by its peculiar rough frizzled bark, similar to that of theCasuarina found at the ranges of the Robinson. It has a darksweet-scented heartwood, like that of the Bricklow and the Myal and otherAcacias, which I had previously met with. The creek turned to the northand north-east, into a plain, and joined a larger creek which came infrom the right at about south-west. Near their junction, a veryconspicuous peak was observed, with several small water-holes with waterat its foot. I then returned to the spot to which Charley had beenordered to conduct the camp; but, as the party had not arrived, I fearedthat some accident might have happened, and therefore rode towards thewater-holes from which Brown had gone back to the camp. I found thedetention caused by the absence of the horses, which had strayed to theother side of the range. 

Feb. 6. --Charley rode my horse after the missing ones, and returned withthem about one o'clock to the camp; and then we proceeded about six milesdue north, in the direction of a fine mountain of imposing character--which I called "Phillips's Mountain, " after one of my companions--andencamped in sight of Calvert's and Scott's Peaks, the former of whichbore S. 22 degrees W. , and the latter S. 7 degrees E. Our latitude was 22degrees 43 minutes. 

Acacia farnesiana grew in low shrubs along the plains, stretching itsflexible branches over the ground; Mimosa terminalis (the sensitiveplant) was very plentiful, and more erect than usual; a species ofVerbena, with grey pubescent leaf and stem, was also abundant. The nightbreeze had been exceedingly strong during the last four days. At the campof the 4th of February my companions shot twenty-one pigeons (Geophapsscripta), and five cockatoos; a welcome addition to our scanty meals. Fora considerable time previous, I had reduced our allowance of flour tothree pounds; but now, considering that we were still so far to theeastward, it was, by general consent of my companions, again reduced to apound and a-half per diem for the six, of which a damper mixed up withfat was made every day, as soon as we reached our encampment. 

Feb. 6. --I brought my camp forward about six miles farther to thenorth-by-east, to the water-holes I had found at the foot of thesandstone ridges; and, after having settled my camp, I went with my twoBlackfellows in search of more water. About a mile and a-half north fromthe camp we came to an isolated peak, which I ascended, and from itssummit enjoyed the finest view of the Peak Range I had yet seen. Iattempted to sketch it in its whole extent, and gave to its mostremarkable peaks separate names. A long flat-topped mountain I called"Lord's Table Range, " after E. Lord, Esq. , of Moreton Bay; and a sharpneedle-like rock, which bore west-by-north, received the name of"Fletcher's Awl, " after Mr. John Fletcher, whose kind contributiontowards my expedition had not a little cheered me in my undertaking. Towards the east and north-east, a flat country extended, in which thesmoke of several fires of the natives was seen, and, in the distance, several blue ranges were distinguished. To the northward, the country wasvery mountainous, and in the north-west, at a short distance, Phillips'sMountain reared its head. Many shallow valleys, at present of anearth-brown colour, led down from the range. A large creek--whichprobably collects all the waters that we had passed on the east side ofthe range, and which I descended during my ride of the 3rdFebruary--flows down a very conspicuous valley to the eastward. I namedthis creek after--Stephens, Esq. , of Darling Downs; and the peak onwhich I stood after--Campbell, Esq. , of the same district. Both thesegentlemen had shown the greatest hospitality to me and to my party duringour stay at the Downs, before starting on the expedition. The rock ofCampbell's Peak is domitic; at the top it is of a bluish colour and veryhard, and contains very visible, though minute, crystals of felspar. 

In a hollow between the two rocky protuberances on the west side of thehill, a noble fig-tree spread its rich dark-green shady foliage; and onthe steep slopes Erythrina was frequent. I could not help contrasting thecharacter of this place with the moist creeks and mountain brushes of theBunya Bunya country near Moreton Bay, where I had been accustomed toobserve the same plant. Proceeding to the N. N. E. We passed several creeksor watercourses, some fine open Ironbark slopes, and a sandstone range;and, following down a watercourse, came to a creek which seemed tooriginate in Phillips's Mountain. This creek contained water; it flowedto the south-east and east, and very probably joined Stephens's Creek. Arather stunted rusty gum grew plentifully on the sandstone ridges;pebbles of concretionary limestone were found in the creek, probablycarried down from the basalt of Phillips's Mountain; and a deposit ofconcretionary limestone was observed in the banks of a creek, whilstpassing one of the black plains, on this side of the range. A profusionof Calcedony, and fine specimens of Agate, were observed in many places, along the basaltic ridges. My black companions loaded themselves with thepretty agates, which they had never seen before, and which they evidentlyconsidered to be very valuable; but, after a little time, the weightbecame inconvenient, and they kept only a few, to strike fire with. 

Feb. 7. --Having sent Brown back to guide our party to this creek, whichis about six miles N. N. E. From yesterday's camping place, in latitude22 degrees 32 minutes 27 seconds; I continued my ride with Charley to thenorth-west. We ascended a high sandstone range, and travelled for somemiles along its flat summit. The country was very broken, but openlytimbered, and occasionally of a most beautiful character; but frequentlyinterrupted by patches of miserable scrub. Having in our progress broughtMount Phillips to bear south-west and south, we entered a fine openBastard-box country, with slight undulations, and which seemed to extendto Peak Range. On the sandstone range I found Balfouria saligna R. Br. , ashrub or small tree, with long linear-lanceolate leaves, and ratherdrooping branches, covered with very fragrant yellow blossoms; itsseed-vessels varied from three to six inches in length, were terete, tapering to a point, and filled with silky seeds. The same little treewas subsequently observed, growing round the head of the gulf ofCarpentaria, and also at Arnheim's Land. Another shrub (Gardenia?), withopposite, oval, rather rough leaves, and large white or light yellowblossoms, like those of the Jasmine in shape and fragrance, had beenobserved once before, but was very common between this latitude and PortEssington; at which place a species of Guettarda, resembling it verymuch, but with larger flowers, grows along the beach. 

The last two days the mornings were clear; during the afternoon of eachday cirrhi formed, which settling down, became confluent, and united intoa dark cloud which promised rain, but dispersed towards evening; and thesun set in a cloudless horizon: in the morning, a northerly breeze isgenerally stirring, which renders that part of the day more agreeable fortravelling. 

Feb. 8. --I returned last night to the creek, from which I had sent Brownback, and found my companions encamped on a very fine water-hole. Thismorning we travelled to the water-holes I had seen about seven miles inadvance to the north-west, and about five or six miles due north fromPhillips's Mountain. After our mid-day meal, I set out again with the twoBlackfellows, not only with a view to find water for the next stage, butto endeavour to make the table land again, and thence to pursue a morewesterly course. 

A great number of sandstone ranges, several of them very steep, and ofconsiderable elevation, stretch parallel to each other from west to east, forming spurs from a higher mountain range to the westward, which isprobably connected with Peak Range. It is composed of basalt, and partlycovered with dense scrub, and in other parts openly timbered; where thescrub prevailed, the soil was shallow and rocky, but the soil of the openforest was deeper, and of the character of that of the plains. The deepgullies were all without water, but occasionally filled with patches ofrich brush. Many creeks went down between the sandstone ranges: and theywere generally bounded on both sides by fine well-grassed, narrow-leavedIronbark slopes, and sweet herbage, on which numerous emus and kangarooswere feeding. In one of the glens among the ridges I observed a newgum-tree, with a leaf like that of the trembling poplar of Europe, and ofa bright green colour, which rendered the appearance of the countryexceedingly cheerful. It is a middle-sized tree, of irregular growth, with white bark; but the wood, not being free grained, was unfit forsplitting. Lower down, water was found, without exception, in all thecreeks, and was most abundant at the edge of the level country to theeastward, where the ridges disappear, by more or less gradual slopes. Travelling across these sandstone ranges, with their thick vegetation, and deep gullies and valleys, was exceedingly difficult. The bullocksupset their loads frequently in clambering up and down the rocky slopes, and our progress was consequently very slow. This induced me to give upthe westerly course, and to look for a better-travelling country to theeastward; supposing, at the same time, that water would be found moreabundant, as we approached the sea-coast. 

I, therefore, returned to the camp, and on the 10th February, I travelledabout six miles N. N. E. , over several ranges and creeks, and came to acreek well supplied with water. On the following day, the 11th February, I travelled down this creek, and reached a flat country of great extent, lightly timbered with Ironbark, Bastard-box, and Poplar-gum; but thewater disappeared in the sandy bed of the creek, which had assumed a verywinding course, and we had to encamp on a shallow pool left on the rocks, which, for a short distance, formed again the bed of the creek. Ourlatitude was 22 degrees 23 minutes, about thirteen miles E. N. E. Fromour camp of the 8th February. 

Feb. 12. --We continued travelling along the creek, and halted at veryfine water-holes, within some Bricklow scrub, which here made itsappearance again. The stage did not exceed six miles east; but I did notventure to proceed farther until I had examined the country in advance, which did not look very promising. I named this creek "Hughs's Creek, "after--Hughs, Esq. , of Darling Downs. 

The grass-tree grew very abundantly on the rocky sandstone ranges; andthe Grevillea (G. Ceratophylla, R. Br. ?) with pinnatifid leaves, was notless common: on the upper part of Hughs's Creek, we first met with thedrooping tea-tree (Melaleuca Leucodendron?), which we found afterwards atevery creek and river; it was generally the companion of water, and itsdrooping foliage afforded an agreeable shade, and was also veryornamental. The slopes towards the flat country were sandy and rotten;but there were some fine hollows, with rich green grass, which veryprobably formed lagoons during the wet season. The whole country was verysimilar to that of Zamia Creek: it had the same extensive flats, the samegeological features, the same vegetation, the same direction of the creekto the east and north-east. Just before the creek left the hills, it wasjoined by another; and, at their junction, sandstone cropped out, whichwas divided by regular fissures into very large rectangular blocks. Thesefissures had been widened by the action of water, which made themresemble a range of large tombstones, the singular appearance of whichinduced me to call this, which joins Hughs's Creek, "Tombstone Creek. "This formation was very remarkable, and occupied a very considerablespace. The strata of the sandstone dip towards the east and north-eastoff Peak Range; but, in other localities, I observed a dip towards therange. 

A circumstance now occurred, which, as it seemed to augur badly for thewelfare of our expedition, gave me much concern and anxiety. My twoblacks, the companions of my reconnoitring excursions, began to showevident signs of discontent, and to evince a spirit of disobediencewhich, if not checked, might prove fatal to our safety. During my recentreconnoitre, they both left me in a most intricate country, and took theprovisions with them. They had become impatient from having been withoutwater at night; and, in the morning, whilst I was following the ranges, they took the opportunity of diverging from the track, and descended intothe gullies; so that I was reluctantly compelled to return to the camp. My companions were highly alarmed at the behaviour of the sablegentlemen, believing that they had concerted a plan to decamp, and leaveus to our fate. I knew, however, the cowardly disposition of theAustralian native too well; and felt quite sure that they would returnafter they had procured honey and opossums, in search of which they haddeserted me. To impress their minds, therefore, with the conviction thatwe were independent of their services, the party started the next day asusual, and, on reaching a beautiful valley, three emus were seen on agreen sunny slope, strutting about with their stately gait: Mr. Roperimmediately laid the dog on, and gave chase. After a short time, thehorse returned without its rider and saddle, and caused us a momentaryalarm lest some accident had happened to our companion: shortlyafterwards, however, we were made glad, by seeing him walking towards us, with a young emu thrown over his shoulder. He had leaped from his horseupon nearing the emus, had shot one in the head, and had taken a youngone from the dog, which immediately pursued the third, an old one; buthis horse escaped, which compelled him to return on foot, with thesmallest of the birds. Messrs. Gilbert and Calvert went in search of thedog, and were fortunate enough to find him with the emu which he hadkilled. We were rejoiced at our success, and lost no time in preparing arepast of fried emu; and, whilst we were thus employed, the twoBlackfellows, having filled their bellies and had their sulk out, madetheir appearance, both considerably alarmed as to the consequences oftheir ill-behaviour. Charley brought about a pint of honey as apeace-offering; and both were unusually obliging and attentive to mycompanions. At this time, I was suffering much pain from a severe kickfrom one of the bullocks, and felt unequal to inflict any punishment, andtherefore allowed the matter to pass with an admonition only. But eventssubsequently proved that I was wrong, and that a decided and severepunishment would have saved me great trouble. I was, however, glad tofind that their conduct met with the general indignation of mycompanions. 

The Blackfellows told us, that they had caught a ring-tailed opossum, andhad seen a black kangaroo with a white point at the end of the tail. Brown brought the fruit of a tree, which, according to his account, hadthe simple pinnate-leaf of the red cedar (Credela) with a darkpurple-coloured fruit half an inch long, and one inch in diameter, with athin astringent pericarp: the stony seed-vessel consisted of manycarpels, which, if I remember rightly, were monosperme. It belongsprobably to an Ebenaceous tree. 

The wood-duck (Bernicla jubata) abounded on the larger water-holes whichwe passed; and the swamp-pheasant (Centropus Phasianus, GOULD) was heardseveral times among the trees surrounding the grassy hollows. 

The smoke of extensive bush-fires was observed under Lord's Table Range, and along the western and south-western ranges. As we approached theplace of our encampment of the 12th February, some Blackfellows werebathing in the water-hole, but fled as soon as we made our appearance. 

The night of the 8th February was cloudy, with a little rain, whichcontinued to the morning of the 9th, but cleared up at noon, and theweather became very hot. During the afternoon, thunder-storms passed tothe north and north-west, and also to the east and east-south-east. Onthe 10th, thunder-storms again surrounded us on all sides, and from one, which broke over us in the night, a heavy shower fell. The night of the11th was exceedingly cold; and the night breeze was observed to be lessregular than formerly. 

We were here very much troubled with a small black ant; infesting ourprovisions during the day and running over our persons, and biting usseverely at night. A large yellow hornet with two black bands over theabdomen, was seen, humming about the water-holes. A crow was shot androasted, and found to be exceedingly tender, which we considered to be agreat discovery; and lost no opportunity of shooting as many as we could, in order to lessen the consumption of our dried meat. We again enjoyedsome fine messes of Portulaca. 

Feb. 12. --I went, accompanied by Mr. Roper and Charley, in a due northdirection to reconnoitre the country. The flat continued for about eightmiles, and then changed into slight undulations. Considerable tracts werecovered with the Poplar-gum; and broad belts of Bricklow descended fromthe hills towards the east. In the scrub; Fusanus was observed in fruit, and the Stenochilus and the white Vitex in blossom; from the latter thenative bee extracts a most delicious honey. A small tree, with stiffalternate leaves scarcely an inch long, was covered with red fruit of theform of an acorn, and about half an inch long, having a sweet pericarpwith two compressed grain-like seeds, which had the horny albumen of thecoffee, and were exceedingly bitter. The pigeons, crows, and cockatoos, fed upon them, we also ate a great number of them; but the edible portionof each seed was very small. It is a remarkable fact that trees, which wehad found in full blossom or in fruit in October and November, were againobserved to be in blossom and fruit in February. 

We had to encamp at night without water; and although the clouds gatheredin the afternoon of a very hot day, yet no thunder-storm came to ourrelief. The night breeze, which was in all probability the sea-breeze, set in about ten minutes to six. 

Feb. 13. --The morning was very cloudy. I continued my course to thenorthward, and, coming to a watercourse, followed it down in the hopes offinding water: it led us to the broad deep channel of a river, but nowentirely dry. The bed was very sandy, with reeds and an abundance ofsmall Casuarinas. Large flooded-gums and Casuarinas grew at intervalsalong its banks, and fine openly timbered flats extended on both sidestowards belts of scrub. The river came from the north and north-west, skirting some fine ranges, which were about three miles from its leftbank. As the river promised to be one of some importance I called it the"Isaacs, " in acknowledgment of the kind support we received from F. Isaacs, Esq. Of Darling Downs. 

When we were approaching the river, the well-known sound of a tomahawkwas heard, and, guided by the noise, we soon came in sight of three blackwomen, two of whom were busily occupied in digging for roots, whilst theother, perched on the top of a high flooded-gum tree, was chopping outeither an opossum or a bees' nest. They no sooner perceived us than theybegan to scream most dreadfully, swinging their sticks, and beating thetrees, as if we were wild beasts, which they wished to frighten away. Wemade every possible sign of peace, but in vain: the two root-diggersimmediately ran off, and the lady in the tree refused to descend. When Iasked for water, in the language of the natives of the country we hadleft--"Yarrai" "yarrai, " she pointed down the river, and answered "yarraiya;" and we found afterwards that her information was correct. Uponreaching the tree we found an infant swaddled in layers of tea-tree bark, lying on the ground; and three or four large yams. A great number ofnatives, men, boys, and children, who had been attracted by the screamsof their companions, now came running towards us; but on our putting ourhorses into a sharp canter, and riding towards them, they retired intothe scrub. The yams proved to be the tubers of a vine with blue berries;both tubers and berries had the same pungent taste, but the formercontained a watery juice, which was most welcome to our parched mouths. Asimilar tuber was found near Mount Stewart on the 18th January. We thenproceeded down the river; but not succeeding in our search for water, returned to our camp, which was about fifteen miles distant. As soon as Iarrived, I sent Mr. Gilbert and Brown down Hughs's Creek, to examine thecountry near its junction. 

Very thick clouds came from the westward, from which a few drops of rainfell: thunder-storms were forming to the north-east and also to the west, but none reached us: the night was very cloudy and warm: the scud flyingfrom the north-east. 

Feb. 14. --After sunrise the weather cleared up again. All hands were nowemployed in shooting crows; which, with some cockatoos, and a small scrubwallabi, gave us several good messes. 

Mr. Gilbert and Brown had, on their excursion, found a rushy lagoon onthe left bank of the Isaacs, at a short half-mile from its junction withHughs's Creek. Here they encamped; and, about 10 o'clock at night, theloud voices of Blackfellows travelling down the river were heard; thesealso encamped at some small water-holes, not very distant from Mr. Gilbert, of whose presence they were not aware. Mr. Gilbert kept thehorses tied up in case of any hostility; but was not molested. The blackscontinued their loud conversations during the greater part of the night;and Mr. Gilbert departed very early in the morning without being seen bythem. He continued to follow the river further down, and found that fourlarge creeks joined it from the northward. Another creek also joined itfrom the southward; as subsequently observed by Mr. Roper. Beyond thesecreeks, several lagoons or swamps were seen covered with ducks, andseveral other aquatic birds, and, amongst them, the straw-coloured Ibis. 

Feb. 15. --We travelled down to the above-mentioned lagoon, which wasabout ten miles east by north from our camp; its latitude, was bycalculation, about 22 degrees 20 or 21; for several circumstances hadprevented me from taking observations. As the river turned to theeastward, I determined to trace it up to its head; and set out with Mr. Gilbert and Brown to examine the country around the range which I hadobserved some days before and named "Coxen's Peak and Range, " in honourof Mr. Coxen of Darling Downs. We passed the night at a small pool, butwere not successful in discovering water in any of the numerouswatercourses and creeks, which come down from Coxen's Range, or out ofthe belt of scrub which intervened between the range and the river. Aloose variegated clayey sandstone, with many irregular holes; cropped outin the beds of the creek. Coxen's Peak and Range were found to becomposed of horizontal strata of excellent sandstone, rising by steepterraces, on the western side, but sloping gently down to the east; itssummit is covered with scrub, but its eastern slope with groves ofgrass-trees. The view from the top of Coxen's Peak was very extensive:towards the south-west and west, Peak Range was seen extending fromScott's and Roper's Peaks to Fletcher's Awl; and, beyond the last, othermountains were seen, several of which had flat tops. Mount Phillipsseemed about thirty or forty miles distant; and a very indistinct bluehill was seen to the W. N. W. To the northward, ranges rose beyond ranges, and to the eastward, the country seemed to be flat, to a great extent, and bounded by distant mountains. To the southward, the eye wandered overan unbroken line of horizon, with the exception of one blue distantelevation: this immense flat was one uninterrupted mass of forest withoutthe slightest break. Narrow bands of scrub approached the river from thewestward, and separated tracts of fine open forest country, amongst whichpatches of the Poplar-gum forest were readily distinguished by thebrightness of their verdure. A river seemed to come from the south-west;the Isaacs came from the north-west, and was joined by a large creek fromthe northward. There was no smoke, no sign of water, no sign of theneighbourhood of the sea coast;--but all was one immense sea of forestand scrub. 

The great outlines of the geology of this interesting country were seenat one glance. Along the eastern edge of a basaltic table land, rose aseries of domitic cones, stretching from south-east to north-west, parallel to the coast. The whole extent of country between the range andthe coast, seemed to be of sandstone, either horizontally stratified, ordipping off the range; with the exception of some local disturbances, where basalt had broken through it. Those isolated ranges, such asCoxen's Range--the abruptness of which seemed to indicate igneousorigin--were entirely of sandstone. The various Porphyries, and Diorites, and Granitic, and Sienitic rocks, which characterize large districtsalong the eastern coast of Australia, were missing; not a pebble, exceptof sandstone, was found in the numerous creeks and watercourses. Piecesof silicified wood were frequent in the bed of the Isaacs. 

The nature of the soil was easily distinguished by its vegetation: theBastard box, and Poplar gum grew on a stiff clay; the narrow-leavedIronbark, the Bloodwood, and the Moreton Bay ash on a lighter sandy soil, which was frequently rotten and undermined with numerous holes of thefunnel ant. Noble trees of the flooded-gum grew along the banks of thecreeks, and around the hollows, depending rather upon moisture, than uponthe nature of the soil. Fine Casuarinas were occasionally met with alongthe creeks; and the forest oak (Casuarina torulosa), together withrusty-gum, were frequent on the sandy ridges. 

One should have expected that the prevailing winds during the day, wouldhave been from the south-east, corresponding to the south-east tradewinds; but, throughout the whole journey from Moreton Bay to the Isaacs, I experienced, with but few exceptions, during the day, a cooling breezefrom the north and north-east. The thunder-storms came principally fromthe south-west, west, and north-west; but generally showed an inclinationto veer round to the northward. 

From Coxen's Range I returned to the river, and soon reached the placewhere I had met the Black-fellows. In passing out of the belt of scrubinto the openly timbered grassy flat of the river, Brown descried akangaroo sitting in the shade of a large Bastard-box tree; it seemed tobe so oppressed by the heat of the noonday sun as to take little noticeof us, so that Brown was enabled to approach sufficiently near to shootit. It proved to be a fine doe, with a young one; we cooked the latterfor our dinner, and I sent Brown to the camp with the dam, where mycompanions most joyfully received him; for all our dried meat was by thistime consumed, and all they had for supper and breakfast, were astraw-coloured ibis, a duck, and a crow. As Mr. Gilbert and myself werefollowing the course of the river, we saw numerous tracks ofBlackfellows, of native dogs, of emus, and kangaroos, in its sandy bed;and, when within a short distance of the place where I had seen the blackwomen, loud cries of cockatoos attracted our notice; and, on going intheir direction, we came to a water-hole in the bed of the river, at itsjunction with a large oak tree creek coming from the northward. Thiswater-hole is in latitude 22 degrees 11 minutes; the natives had fencedit round with branches to prevent the sand from filling it up, and haddug small wells near it, evidently to obtain a purer and cooler water, byfiltration through the sand. Pigeons (Geophapsscripta, GOULD. ) had formeda beaten track to its edge; and, the next morning, whilst enjoying ourbreakfast under the shade of a gigantic flooded-gum tree, we were highlyamused to see a flight of fifty or more partridge pigeons tripping alongthe sandy bed of the river, and descending to the water's edge, andreturning after quenching their thirst, quite unconscious of thedangerous proximity of hungry ornithophagi. The cockatoos, however, observed us, and seemed to dispute our occupation of their waters, byhovering above the tops of the highest trees, and making the air resoundwith their screams; whilst numerous crows, attracted by a neighbouringbush fire, watched us more familiarly, and the dollar bird passed withits arrow-like flight from shade to shade. 

We continued our ride six miles higher up the river, without finding anywater, with the exception of some wells made by the natives, and whichwere generally observed where watercourses or creeks joined the river. Inthese places, moisture was generally indicated by a dense patch of greenreeds. The bush fire, which was raging along the left bank of the riveron which we were encamped for the night, fanned by the sea breeze, whichset in a little after six o'clock, approached very near to our tent, butdied away with the breeze; and the temperature cooled down, although nodew was falling. The fire, which was smouldering here and there along thesteep banks of the river, was quickened up again by the morning breeze. 

We observed a great number of very large dead shells of Limnaea andPaludina, in the dry water-holes and melon-holes along the scrub; some ofthem not even bleached; but every thing seemed to indicate this to be amore than usually dry season. 

In the morning we returned to the camp. As I had not discovered a moreconvenient spot for killing another bullock, I decided upon stopping atthe rushy lagoon, until we had provided ourselves with a fresh stock ofdried beef. Accordingly, on the 17th February, we killed Mr. Gilbert'sbullock, which turned out a fine heavy beast, and gave us a large supplyof fat meat and suet. We had formerly been under the erroneous impressionthat fat meat would not dry and keep; and, consequently, had carefullyseparated the fat from the meat. Some chance pieces, however, had shownus, that it not only dried and kept well, but that it was much finer thanthe lean meat. We therefore cut up the fat in slices, like the lean; andit was found not only to remain sweet, but to improve with age. The onlyinconvenience we had experienced in this process, was a longer detention;and we had to remain four days, (to the 21st February) before theprovision was fit for packing. On the 19th, immediately after breakfast, whilst we were busily employed in greasing our saddles and straps--a verynecessary operation on a journey like ours, where every thing is exposedto the dust, and a scorching sun--Charley left the camp, and did notreturn before the afternoon. He had frequently acted thus of late; and itwas one of the standing complaints against him, that he was opossum andhoney hunting, whilst we were kept waiting for our horses and cattle. AsI was determined not to suffer this, after his late misbehaviour, Ireprimanded him, and told him that I would not allow him any food, shouldhe again be guilty of such conduct. Upon this, he burst out into the mostviolent and abusive language, and threatened "to stop my jaw, " as heexpressed himself. Finding it, therefore, necessary to exercise myauthority, I approached him to show him out of the camp, when the fellowgave me a violent blow on the face, which severely injured me, displacingtwo of my lower teeth; upon which my companions interfered, andmanifested a determination to support me, in case he should refuse toquit us; which I compelled him to do. When he was going away, Brown toldhim, in a very consoling manner, that he would come by and bye and sleepwith him. I was, however, determined that no one within the camp shouldhave any communication with him; and therefore told Brown, that he hadeither to stop with me entirely, or with Charley. He answered that hecould not quarrel with him; that he would sleep with him, but returnevery morning; and, when I replied that, in such a case, he should neverreturn, he said that he would stop altogether with Charley, and walkedoff. If I had punished these fellows for their late misconduct, I shouldhave had no occasion for doing so now: but full of their own importance, they interpreted my forbearance, by fancying that I could not proceedwithout them. 

Previous to this occurrence, Charley had, during my absence from thecamp, had an interview with the natives, who made him several presents, among which were two fine calabashes which they had cleaned and used forcarrying water; the larger one was pear-shaped, about a foot in length, and nine inches in diameter in the broadest part, and held about threepints. The natives patted his head, and hair, and clothing; but theyretired immediately, when he afterwards returned to them, accompanied byMr. Calvert on horseback. 

We started, on the 21st February, from our killing camp, and travelled along stage; the day was very hot, and the heat of the rotten ground wasintense. Our little terrier, which had so well borne former fatigues, died; and our remaining kangaroo-dog was only saved by Mr. Calvert'scarrying him on his horse. It was a day well calculated to impress on theBlackfellows the difference between riding and walking, between finding ameal ready after a fatiguing journey, and looking out for food forthemselves. Hearing Brown's cooee as we were travelling along, Mr. Roperstopped behind until Brown came up to him, and expressed his desire torejoin my party, as he had had quite enough of his banishment and bushlife; and, before sunset, he arrived quite exhausted at ourcamping-place, and begged me to pardon him, which I did, under the formercondition, that he was to have no farther communication with Charley, towhich he most willingly assented. 

Feb. 22. --On a ride with Mr. Gilbert up the river, we observed severallarge reedy holes in its bed, in which the Blackfellows had dug wells;they were still moist, and swarms of hornets were buzzing about them. About eight miles north-west from the junction of North Creek with theriver, a large flight of cockatoos again invited us to some goodwater-holes extending along a scrubby rise. Large Bastard-box flats liebetween North Creek and the river. About four miles from the camp, thecountry rises to the left of the river, and ranges and isolated hills arevisible, which are probably surrounded by plains. Wherever I had anopportunity of examining the rocks, I found sandstone; flint pebbles andfossil-wood are in the scrub and on the melon-hole flats. 

At night, on my return, I had to pass Charley's camp, which was about ahundred yards from ours. He called after me, and, when I stopped, he cameup to me, and began to plead his cause and beg my pardon; he excused hissulkiness and his bad behaviour by his temperament and somemisunderstanding; and tried to look most miserable and wretched, in orderto excite my compassion. My companions had seen him sitting alone underhis tree, during almost the whole day, beating his bommerangs which hehad received from the natives. I pitied him, and, after some consultationwith my companions, allowed him to rejoin us; but upon the condition thathe should give up his tomahawk, to which he most joyfully consented, andpromised for the future to do every thing I should require. His spiritwas evidently broken, and I should probably never have had to complain ofhim again, had no other agent acted upon him. 

Feb. 23. --I moved on to the water-holes, which I had found the daybefore, and encamped in the shade of a Fusanus. The latitude was observedto be 22 degrees 6 minutes 53 seconds. 

Feb. 24. --Mr. Gilbert and Brown accompanied me this morning upon anexcursion. At about a mile and a-half from the camp, a large creek, apparently from the southward, joined the river, and water was found in ascrub creek four miles from the camp, also in wells made by the nativesin the bed of the river; and, at about eight miles from the camp, we cameupon some fine water-holes along the scrub. Here the birds were verynumerous and various; large flights of the blue-mountain andcrimson-winged parrots were seen; Mr. Gilbert observed the female of theRegent-bird, and several other interesting birds, which made him regretto leave this spot so favourable to his pursuit. He returned, however, tobring forward our camp to the place, whilst I continued my ride, accompanied by Brown. Several creeks joined the river, but water wasnowhere to be found. The high grass was old and dry, or else so entirelyburnt as not to leave the slightest sign of vegetation. For several milesthe whole forest was singed by a fire which had swept through it; and thewhole country looked hopelessly wretched. Brown had taken the precautionto fill Charley's large calabash with water, so that we were enabled tomake a refreshing cup of tea in the most scorching heat of the day. Towards sunset we heard, to our great joy, the noisy jabbering ofnatives, which promised the neighbourhood of water. I dismounted andcooeed; they answered; but when they saw me, they took such of theirthings as they could and crossed to the opposite side of the river ingreat hurry and confusion. When Brown, who had stopped behind, came up tome, I took the calabash and put it to my mouth, and asked for "yarrai, yarrai. " They answered, but their intended information was lost to me;and they were unwilling to approach us. Their camp was in the bed of theriver amongst some small Casuarinas. Their numerous tracks, however, soonled me to two wells, surrounded by high reeds, where we quenched ourthirst. My horse was very much frightened by the great number of hornetsbuzzing about the water. After filling our calabash, we returned to thecamp of the natives, and examined the things which they had left behind;we found a shield, four calabashes, of which I took two, leaving in theirplace a bright penny, for payment; there were also, a small water-tightbasket containing acacia-gum; some unravelled fibrous bark, used forstraining honey; a fire-stick, neatly tied up in tea-tree bark; akangaroo net; and two tomahawks, one of stone, and a smaller one of iron, made apparently of the head of a hammer: a proof that they had had somecommunication with the sea-coast. The natives had disappeared. Thethunder was pealing above us, and a rush of wind surprised us before wewere half-a-mile from the camp, and we had barely time to throw ourblanket over some sticks and creep under it, when the rain came down intorrents. The storm came from the west; another was visible in the east;and lightning seemed to be everywhere. When the rain ceased, we contrivedto make a fire and boil a pot of tea, and warmed up a mess ofgelatine-soup. At eight o'clock the moon rose, and, as the weather hadcleared, I decided upon returning to the camp, in order to hasten overthis dreary country while the rain-water lasted. The frogs were mostlustily croaking in the water-holes which I had passed, a few hoursbefore, perfectly dry and never were their hoarse voices more pleasing tome. But the thunder-storm had been so very partial, that scarcely a drophad fallen at a distance of three miles. This is another instance of thesingularly partial distribution of water, which I had before noticed atComet Creek. We arrived at the camp about one o'clock a. M. ; and, in themorning of the 25th February, I led my party to the water-holes, which akind Providence seemed to have filled for the purpose of helping us overthat thirsty and dreary land. Our bullocks suffered severely from theheat; our fat-meat melted; our fat-bags poured out their contents; andevery thing seemed to dissolve under the influence of a powerful sun. 

The weather in this region may be thus described: at sunrise some cloudscollect in the east, but clear off during the first hours of the morning, with northerly, north-easterly, and easterly breezes; between ten andthree o'clock the most scorching heat prevails, interrupted only byoccasional puffs of cool air; about two o'clock P. M. Heavy clouds form inall directions, increase in volume, unite in dark masses in the east andwest, and, about five o'clock in the afternoon, the thunder-storm bursts;the gust of wind is very violent, and the rain sometimes slight, and atother times tremendous, but of short duration; and at nine o'clock thewhole sky is clear again. 

In the hollows along the Isaacs, we found a new species of grass from sixto eight feet high, forming large tufts, in appearance like the oat-grass(Anthistiria) of the Liverpool Plains and Darling Downs; it has very longbrown twisted beards, but is easily distinguished from Anthistiria by itssimple ear; its young stem is very sweet, and much relished both byhorses and cattle. 

Feb. 26. --I set out reconnoitring with Mr. Gilbert and Charley. We foundthat the effects of the thunder-storm of the 24th extended very little tothe north and north-west, having passed over from west to east. From timeto time we crossed low ridges covered with scrub, and cut through by deepgullies, stretching towards the river, which became narrower and verytortuous in its course; its line of flooded-gum trees, however, becamemore dense. Within the reedy bed of the river, not quite five miles fromthe camp, we found wells of the natives, not a foot deep, but amplysupplied with water, and, at four miles farther, we came to a water-hole, in a small creek, which had been supplied by the late rains; we alsopassed several fine scrub creeks, but they were dry. About ten miles fromthe wells another deep scrub creek was found, on the right hand of theriver, full of water. Its bed was overgrown with reeds, and full ofpebbles of concretions of limestone, and curious trunks of fossil trees, and on its banks a loose sandstone cropped out. Here we found the skullof a native, the first time that we had seen the remains of a human bodyduring our journey. Near the scrub, and probably in old camping places ofthe natives, we frequently saw the bones of kangaroos and emus. I mentionthis fact in reference to the observations of American travellers, whovery rarely met with bones in the wilderness; and to remark, that theclimate of Australia is so very dry as to prevent decomposition, and thatrapacious animals are few in number--the native dog probably finding asufficiency of living food. 

On the 25th there were thunder-storms, but they did not reach us. Thenight was cloudy, and we had some few drops of rain in the morning of the26th, but the weather cleared up about ten o'clock; cumuli formed in theafternoon, and towards night thunder-storms were observed both in theeast and west. I found a shrubby prickly Goodenia, about four or fivefeet high, growing on the borders of the scrub. 

Feb. 27. --Mr. Gilbert, whom I had sent back from the wells of the nativesto bring on the camp, had been prevented from doing so, and I hadconsequently to return the whole distance. The interruption was caused byour bullocks having gone back several miles, probably in search of betterwater, for we found them generally very nice in this particular. 

The natives had, in my absence, visited my companions, and behaved veryquietly, making them presents of emu feathers, bommerangs, and waddies. Mr. Phillips gave them a medal of the coronation of her Majesty QueenVictoria, which they seemed to prize very highly. They were fine, stout, well made people, and most of them young; but a few old women, with whitecircles painted on their faces, kept in the back ground. They were muchstruck with the white skins of my companions, and repeatedly patted themin admiration. Their replies to inquiries respecting water were notunderstood; but they seemed very anxious to induce us to go down theriver. 

We started at noon to Skull Creek, which, in a straight line, wasfourteen miles distant, in a north by east direction. Loose cumulifloated in the hazy atmosphere during the whole forenoon, but rose in theafternoon, and occasionally sheltered us from the scorching sun. At fouro'clock two thunder-storms formed as usual in the east and west, and, eventually rising above us, poured down a heavy shower of rain, whichdrenched us to the skin, and refreshed us and our horses and bullocks, which were panting with heat and thirst. Our stores were well coveredwith greasy tarpaulings, and took no harm. 

Feb. 28. --Successive thunder-storms, with which this spot seemed morefavoured than the country we had recently passed, had rendered thevegetation very luxuriant. The rotten sandy ground absorbed the rainrapidly, and the young grass looked very fresh. The scrub receded alittle more from the river, and an open country extended along its banks. The scene was, therefore, most cheerful and welcome. Mr. Gilbert andCharley, who had made an excursion up the river in search of water, returned with the agreeable information that a beautiful country wasbefore us: they had also seen a camp of natives, but without having hadany intercourse with them. 

Feb. 29. --It was cloudy in the morning, and became more so during theday, with easterly and north-easterly winds. As soon as our capricioushorses were found, which had wandered more than eight miles through adense Bricklow scrub, in search of food and water, we started andtravelled about ten miles in a north-east direction, leaving the windingsof the river to the left. The character of the country continued thesame; the same Ironbark forest, with here and there some remarkablypretty spots; and the same Bastard-box flats, with belts of scrub, approaching the river. At about nine miles from Skull Creek, which Isupposed to be in latitude 21 degrees 42 minutes, the Isaacs breaksthrough a long range of sandstone hills; beyond which the country opensinto plains with detached patches of scrub, and downs, with "devil-devil"land and its peculiar vegetation, and into very open forest. The riverdivides into two branches, one coming from the eastward, and the otherfrom the northward. It rained hard during our journey, and, by the timewe reached the water-hole which Mr. Gilbert had found, we were wet to theskin. 

In consequence of the additional fatigues of the day, I allowed somepieces of fat to be fried with our meat. Scarcely a fortnight ago, someof my companions had looked with disgust on the fat of our stews, and hadjerked it contemptuously out of their plates; now, however, every one ofus thought the addition of fat a peculiar favour, and no one hesitated todrink the liquid fat, after having finished his meat. This relishcontinued to increase as our bullocks became poorer; and we became aseager to examine the condition of a slaughtered beast, as the natives, whose practice in that respect we had formerly ridiculed. 

As I had made a set of lunar observations at Skull camp, which I wishedto calculate, I sent Mr. Roper up the north branch of the Isaacs to lookfor water; and, on his return, he imparted the agreeable intelligence, that he had found fine holes of water at about nine or ten miles distant, and that the country was still more open, and abounded with game, particularly emus. 

CHAPTER VI

HEADS OF THE ISAACS--THE SUTTOR--FLINT-ROCK--INDICATIONS OF WATER--DINNEROF THE NATIVES APPROPRIATED BY US--EASTER SUNDAY--ALARM OF AN OLDWOMAN--NATIVES SPEAKING A LANGUAGE ENTIRELY UNKNOWN TO CHARLEY ANDBROWN--A BARTER WITH THEM--MOUNT M'CONNEL. 

I was detained at this place from the 1st to the 4th March, from a severeattack of lumbago, which I had brought on by incautiously and, perhaps, unnecessarily exposing myself to the weather, in my botanical and otherpursuits. On the 4th March. I had sufficiently recovered to mount myhorse and accompany my party to Roper's water-holes. Basalt cropped outon the plains; the slight ridges of "devil-devil" land are covered withquartz pebbles, and the hills and bed of the river, are of sandstoneformation. 

A yellow, and a pink Hibiscus, were frequent along the river. 

My calculations gave the longitude of 148 degrees 56 minutes for SkullCreek; my bearings however make it more to the westward; its latitude wassupposed to be 21 degrees 42 minutes: the cloudy nights prevented mytaking any observation. 

March 5. --I sent Mr. Gilbert and Charley up the river, which, accordingto Mr. Roper's account, came through a narrow mountain gully, the passageof which was very much obstructed by tea-trees. They passed the mountaingorge, and, in about eight miles north, came to the heads of the Isaacs, and to those of another system of waters, which collected in a creek thatflowed considerably to the westward. The range through which the Isaacspasses is composed of sandstone, and strikes from north-west tosouth-east. In its rocky caves, wallabies, with long smooth tails, hadbeen seen by Brown; they were quite new to him, and, as he expressedhimself, "looked more like monkeys than like wallabies. " Mr. Gilbert andCharley came on two flocks of emus, and killed two young ones; andCharley and John Murphy hunted down another; Charley fell, however, withhis horse, and broke a double-barrelled gun, which was a very seriousloss to us, and the more so, as he had had the misfortune to break asingle-barrelled one before this. 

The weather continued showery; loose scud passed over from the east andsouth-east, with occasional breaks of hot sunshine. The Corypha palm isfrequent under the range; the Ebenaceous tree, with compound pinnateleaves and unequilateral leaflets, is of a middle size, about thirty feethigh, with a shady and rather spreading crown. 

We have travelled about seventy miles along the Isaacs. If we considerthe extent of its Bastard-box and narrow-leaved Ironbark flats, and thesilver-leaved Ironbark ridges on its left bank, and the fine open countrybetween the two ranges through which it breaks, we shall not probablyfind a country better adapted for pastoral pursuits. There was a greatwant of surface water at the season we passed through it; and which weafterwards found was a remarkably dry one all over the colony: the wellsof the natives, however, and the luxuriant growth of reeds in many partsof the river, showed that even shallow wells would give a large supply tothe squatter in cases of necessity; and those chains of large water-holeswhich we frequently met along and within the scrubs, when once filled, will retain their water for a long time. The extent of the neighbouringscrubs will, however, always form a serious drawback to the squatter, asit will be the lurking place and a refuge of the hostile natives, and ahiding place for the cattle, which would always retire to it in the heatof the day, or in the morning and evening, at which time the flies aremost troublesome. 

March 7. --I moved my camp through the mountain gorge, the passage ofwhich was rather difficult, in consequence of large boulders ofsandstone, and of thickets of narrow-leaved tea-trees growing in the bedof the river. To the northward, it opens into fine gentle Ironbark slopesand ridges, which form the heads of the Isaacs. They seem to be thefavourite haunts of emus; for three broods of them were seen, of ten, thirteen, and even sixteen birds. About four miles from the gorge, wecame to the heads of another creek, which I called "Suttor Creek" after--Suttor, Esq. , who had made me a present of four bullocks when Istarted on this expedition; four or five miles farther down we found itwell supplied with fine water-holes. Here, however, patches of scrubagain appeared. The ridges were covered with iron-coloured quartzpebbles, which rendered our bullocks footsore. The marjoram was abundant, particularly near the scrubs, and filled the air with a most exquisiteodour. A mountain range was seen to the right; and, where the ranges ofthe head of the Isaacs abruptly terminated, detached hills and ridgesformed the south-western and southern barrier of the waters of SuttorCreek. 

March 8. --As we followed the creek about nine miles farther down, itbecame broader, and the Casuarinas were more frequent. Its bed was sandy, occasionally filled with reeds, and contained numerous water-holes, particularly where the sandstone rock formed more retentive basins. 

During the last two days we had drizzling rain, which cleared up a littleabout noon and at night. The weather was delightfully cool; the wind wasvery strong from the eastward. I sent Mr. Roper forward to look forwater, of which he found a sufficient supply. He stated that the countryto the westward opened into fine plains, of a rich black soil; but it wasvery dry. The bluff terminations of the left range bore E. By S. , andthat on the right E. N. E. 

March 9. --We moved to the water-holes found yesterday by Mr. Roper. Onour way we crossed a large scrub creek, coming from the northward andjoining Suttor Creek, which turned to the westward, and even W. By S. AndW. S. W. 

Mr. Gilbert and Charley made an excursion to the westward, in whichdirection Mr. Roper had seen a distant range, at the foot of which Iexpected to find a large watercourse. Wind continued from the east andsouth-east; about the middle of last night we had some rain. 

A slender snake, about five feet long, of a greyish brown on the back, and of a bright yellow on the belly, was seen nimbly climbing a tree. Thehead was so much crushed in killing it that I could not examine itsteeth. 

Mr. Roper and John Murphy succeeded in shooting eight cockatoos, whichgave us an excellent soup. I found in their stomachs a fruit resemblinggrains of rice, which was slightly sweet, and would doubtless afford anexcellent dish, if obtained in sufficient quantity and boiled. 

March 10. --We had slight drizzling showers towards sunset; the night verycloudy till about ten a. M. , when it cleared up. The variety of grasses isvery great; the most remarkable and succulent were two species ofAnthistiria, the grass of the Isaacs, and a new one with articulate earsand rounded glumes. A pink Convolvulus, with showy blossoms, is verycommon. Portulaca, with terete leaves, grows sparingly on the mild richsoil. 

Were a superficial observer suddenly transported from one of the reedyponds of Europe to this water-hole in Suttor Creek, he would not be ableto detect the change of his locality, except by the presence ofCasuarinas and the white trunks of the majestic flooded-gum. Reeds, similar to those of Europe, and Polygonums almost identical as tospecies, surround the water, the surface of which is covered with thebroad leaves of Villarsia, exactly resembling those of Nymphaea alba, andwith several species of Potomogeton. Small grey birds, like the warblersof the reeds, flit from stem to stem; hosts of brilliant gyrinus play onthe water; notonectes and beetles, resembling the hydrophili, live withinit--now rising to respire, now swiftly diving. Limnaea, similar to thoseof Europe, creep along the surface of the water; small Planorbis live onthe water-plants, to which also adhere Ancylus; and Paludina, Cyclas, andUnio, furrow its muddy bottom. The spell, however, must not be broken bythe noisy call of a laughing jackass (Dacelo gigantea); the screams ofthe white cockatoo; or by the hollow sound of the thirsty emu. Thelatitude of this spot was 21 degrees 23 minutes S. 

I examined the country northward for about five miles, crossing somesmall undulating or hilly downs of a rich black soil, where the Phonolithfrequently cropped out. There were occasional tracts of "devil-devil"land, and patches of scrub, which, at no great distance, united into onemass of Bricklow. Tracing a little creek to its head, I crossed ridgeswith open forest. Mr. Gilbert and Charley returned, after having found, as I anticipated, a considerable watercourse at the foot of the westerlyrange. Suttor Creek was afterwards found to join this watercourse, and, as it was its principal tributary, the name was continued to the mainstream. 

March 12. --In travelling to Mr. Gilbert's discovery, we crossed largeplains, and, at the end of six miles, entered into thick scrub, whichcontinued with little interruption until we reached the dry channel ofthe Suttor. This scrub, like those already mentioned, varies in densityand in its composition; the Bricklow acacia predominates; but, in moreopen parts, tufts of Bauhinia covered with white blossoms, and patches ofthe bright green Fusanus and silvery Bricklow, formed a very pleasingpicture. The bed of the Suttor was rather shallow, sandy, and irregular, with occasional patches of reeds; its left bank was covered with scrub;but well grassed flats, with Bastard-box and Ironbark, were on its right. We encamped near a fine reedy water-hole, nearly half a mile long, inlat. 21 degrees 21 minutes 36 seconds. We had travelled about fifteenmiles west by north from our last camp. Throughout the day the weatherwas cloudy and rainy, which rendered the tedious passage through thescrub more bearable. 

March 13. --We proceeded six or seven miles down the river, in a S. S. W. Course. The flats continued on its right side, but rose at a shortdistance into low ridges, covered either with scrub or with a verystunted silver-leaved Ironbark. On one of the flats we met with a broodof young emus, and killed three of them. The morning was bright; cumuligathered about noon, and the afternoon was cloudy. The wind was from theeastward. The Suttor is joined, in lat. 21 degrees 25 minutes, by a largecreek from the N. W. From the ridges on the left bank of the creek Iobtained an extensive view. The bluff termination of the ranges on thehead of the Isaacs bore N. 55 degrees E. Many high ranges were seentowards the north and north-east. Towards the south the horizon wasbroken only by some very distant isolated mountains. Peak Range was notvisible. A group of three mountains appeared towards the north-west; oneof them had a flat top. The whole country to the westward was formed oflow ridges, among which the Suttor seemed to shape its winding course. The hills on which we stood, as well as the banks of the creek, werecomposed of flint-rock. Pebbles and blocks of Pegmatite covered the bedof the creek. This rock also cropped out along the river. This was thefirst time since leaving Moreton Bay that we met with primitive rocks, and I invite the attention of geologists to the close connection of theflint rock with granitic rocks; which I had many opportunities ofobserving in almost every part of the northern and western falls of thetable land of New England. 

A Melaleuca with very small decussate leaves, a tree about twenty-fivefeet high, was growing on the scrubby ridges. Flooded-gums of mostmajestic size, and Casuarinas, grew along the river; in which there weremany large reedy water-holes. The season must be more than usually dry, some of the largest holes containing only shallow pools, which werecrowded with small fishes, seemingly gasping for rain. A Ruellia, withlarge white and blue flowers, adorned the grassy flats along the Suttor. The latitude of this spot was 21 degrees 26 minutes 36 seconds. 

March 14. --We removed down the river about eight miles S. S. W. To goodwater-holes, which had been seen by my companions the day before. Herethe scrub approached the river, leaving only a narrow belt of openforest, which was occasionally interrupted by low ridges of stuntedsilver-leaved Ironbark. Pegmatite and Porphyry (with a very few smallcrystals of felspar) and Gneiss? were observed in situ. On our way wepassed a fine lagoon. A dry but not hot wind blew from the S. S. W. ; thenight and morning were bright; cumuli with sharp margins hung about aftereleven o'clock. 

A pelican was seen flying down the river, and two native companions andan ibis were at the water-holes. Crows, cockatoos, and ducks werefrequent. From the remains of mussels about these water-holes, thenatives have enjoyed many recent meals. 

I sent Mr. Roper and Charley down the river, who informed me, on theirreturn late at night, that they had found water at different distances;the farthest they reached was distant about seventeen miles, in awater-hole near the scrub; but the bed of the river was dry. As theyrode, one on the right and the other on the left side of the river, aBlackfellow hailed Charley and approached him, but when he saw Mr. Roper--who crossed over upon being called--he immediately climbed a tree, and his gin, who was far advanced in pregnancy, ascended another. As Mr. Roper moved round the base of the tree, in order to look the Blackfellowin the face, and to speak with him, the latter studiously avoided lookingat Mr. Roper, by shifting round and round the trunk like an iguana. Atlast, however, he answered to the inquiry for water, by pointing to theW. N. W. The woman also kept her face averted from the white man. Proceeding farther down the river they saw natives encamped at awater-hole, who, as soon as they became aware of the approach of the twohorsemen, withdrew with the greatest haste into the scrub; the mendriving the shrieking women and children before them. Upon Mr. Ropergalloping after them, one athletic fellow turned round and threatened tothrow his bommerang, at this sign of hostility Mr. Roper prudentlyretired. Kangaroo and other nets made of some plant and not of bark, koolimans, bommerangs, waddies, and a fine opossum cloak were found atthe camp, but were left untouched by our companions. 

March 15. --Our party moved to the water-holes, where Mr. Roper had seenthe natives; the latter had removed their property, and were notafterwards heard or seen by any of us. The general course of the riverwas about south-west, and is joined by several scrub creeks; its bed isbroad and shallow, with numerous channels, separated by bergues; and theriver itself is split into several anabranches. The scrub is generally anopen Vitex; a fine drooping tea-tree lines the banks of the river;Casuarina disappears; the flooded-gum is frequent, but of smaller size. The Mackenzie-bean and several other papilionaceous plants, with some newgrasses, grow in it. The most interesting plant, however, is a species ofDatura, from one to two feet high, which genus has not previously beenobserved in Australia. I also found species of Heliotropium of a mostfragrant odour. 

Sandstone cropped out in several places, and red quartz pebbles were veryabundant in some parts of the river; the sands of its bed are sotriturated that no one would ever surmise the existence of graniticrocks, at sixteen or twenty miles higher up. The whole country was flat;no hill was visible, but, towards the end of our day's journey, wecrossed a few slight undulations. 

During the night of the 14th, southerly winds were followed by a galefrom the eastward, with scud and drizzling rain. The morning of the 15thwas cloudy with a little rain; wind southerly. Early in the night, astrong east-wind with drizzling long rain set in, but cleared up atmidnight. The morning of the 16th was cloudy, with a southerly wind. Ourlat. Was 21 degrees 39 minutes 58 seconds. 

March 17. --Mr. Gilbert and Brown went forward in search of water, supposing that they would find it at a convenient distance, but wereunsuccessful, and, as they had taken neither guns nor provisions, theywere obliged to return. Keeping, however, a little more to the left, ontheir return, they came to two fine water-holes at the foot of someironstone ridges, where they passed the night, and reached the camp thefollowing day, having had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours. The campwas then moved to these water-holes, about nine miles off, in a due westcourse. Fine water-holes were passed at a short half-mile from our camp;and, after crossing the northern anabranch of the river, we again foundwater. 

The detection of isolated water-holes in a wooded country, where there isnothing visible to indicate its presence, is quite a matter of chance. Wehave often unconsciously passed well-filled water-holes, at less than ahundred yards distant, whilst we were suffering severely from thirst. Ourhorses and bullocks never showed that instinctive faculty of detectingwater, so often mentioned by other travellers; and I remember instances, in which the bullocks have remained the whole night, not fifty yards fromwater-holes, without finding them; and, indeed, whenever we came to smallwater-holes, we had to drive the cattle down to them, or they would havestrayed off to find water elsewhere. On several occasions I followedtheir tracks, and observed they were influenced entirely by their sightwhen in search of it; at times attracted by a distant patch of deeperverdure, at others following down a hollow or a watercourse, but I do notrecollect a single instance where they found water for themselves. Thehorses, however, were naturally more restless and impatient, and, when weapproached a creek or a watercourse after a long journey, would descendinto the bed and follow it for long distances to find water; giving greattrouble to those who had to bring them back to the line of march. Whenever they saw me halt at the place where I intended to encamp, theynot only quickened their pace, but often galloped towards me, wellknowing that I had found water, and that they were to be relieved oftheir loads. In looking for water, my search was first made in theneighbourhood of hills, ridges, and ranges, which from their extent andelevation were most likely to lead me to it, either in beds of creeks, orrivers, or in water-holes, parallel to them. In an open country, thereare many indications which a practised eye will readily seize: a clusterof trees of a greener foliage, hollows with luxuriant grass, eaglescircling in the air, crows, cockatoos, pigeons (especially beforesunset), and the call of Grallina Australis and flocks of little finches, would always attract our attention. The margins of scrubs were generallyprovided with chains of holes. But a flat country, openly timbered, without any break of the surface or of the forest, was by no meansencouraging; and I have frequently travelled more than twenty-five milesin a straight line without obtaining my object, In coming on creeks, itrequired some experience in the country, to know whether to travel up ordown the bed: some being well provided with water immediately at the footof the range, and others being entirely dry at their upper part, butforming large puddled holes, lower down, in a flat country. From dailyexperience, we acquired a sort of instinctive feeling as to the course weshould adopt, and were seldom wrong in our decisions. 

The ridges, near the water-holes on which we were encamped, are composedof an igneous rock containing much iron, with which the water wasimpregnated to such a degree, that our tea turned quite black and inky. The natives were very numerous in these parts, and their tracks wereeverywhere visible. They had even followed the tracks of Mr. Gilbert'sand Brown's horses of the preceding day. 

The night was bright; the day cloudy, and the wind easterly. I went withCharley, in the afternoon of the 17th, to examine the extent of thescrubby country, of which Mr. Gilbert had given us so poor an account. The channel of the river became narrow and deep, with steep banks, as itenters the scrub, and there the flooded gums entirely disappeared. Thescrub is about eight miles long, and from two to three miles broad, andis tolerably open. The Bricklow is here a real tree, but of stuntedgrowth, with regularly fissured bark, like that of the Ironbark(Eucalyptus resinifera). It has long broad falcate phyllodia, whilstanother species of the same size has an irregular scaly bark, with smallphyllodia, but of a greyer colour than those of the common Bricklow. Bothspecies grow promiscuously together. Where the river left the scrub, itentered into a wild water-worn box flat, and cut up into severalirregular channels, lined by a dense thicket of narrow-leaved Melaleucasof stunted growth and irregular shapes. The Box-tree itself is here adifferent species, the bark has deeper fissures, and the young wood isvery yellow. I shall distinguish it by the name of "Water-box, " as itgrows exclusively near creeks, or on the neighbouring flats. I firstobserved it at the Mackenzie; its bark strips freely, but the stem is tooshort and irregular to be of any use. 

In passing a low hill, at the foot of which the box-flat commenced, wecame on a very distinct path of the natives, which led us to a deepwater-hole, covered with luxuriant grass; containing but a small quantityof water. Farther on we came to a second hole better supplied, and to athird; and at last Charley cried out, "Look there, Sir! what big water!"and a long broad sheet of water stretched in sweeps through a denseBauhinia and Bricklow scrub, which covered its steep banks. It is asingular character of this remarkable country, that extremes so oftenmeet; the most miserable scrub, with the open plain and fine forest land;and the most paralysing dryness, with the finest supply of water. 

Swarms of ducks covered the margin of the lake; pelicans, beyond thereach of shot, floated on its bosom; land-turties plunged into itswaters; and shags started from dead trees lying half immersed, as we trodthe well-beaten path of the natives along its banks. The inhabitants ofthis part of the country, doubtless, visit this spot frequently, judgingfrom the numerous heaps of muscle-shells. This fine piece of water, probably in the main channel of the Suttor, is three miles long, and issurrounded with one mass of scrub, which opens a little at itsnorth-western extremity. 

March 10. --I continued my ride, ten or twelve miles down the river; thescrub continued, but the immediate neighbourhood became a little moreopen; several trees were observed, that had been recently cut by thenatives in search of honey or opossums. Emus were very numerous;sometimes a solitary bird, and at others two, three, four, and up tothirteen together, were seen trotting off in long file, and now and thenstopping to stare at us. We caught a bandicoot with two young ones, whichgave us an excellent luncheon. When we left the lake, Charley thought hecould distinguish a plain to the northward; and, riding in thatdirection, I was agreeably surprised to find that the scrub did notextend more than a mile and a-half from the river; and that, beyond it, plains and open forest extended far to the northward; and fine ridgeswith most excellent feed, to the southward. The traveller who is merelyfollowing the course of a river, is unable to form a correct idea of thecountry farther off, unless hills are near, from which he may obtainextensive views. At the water-worn banks of the Mackenzie, I littleexpected that we were in the vicinity of a country like that of PeakRange; and I am consequently inclined to believe that much more availableland exists along the banks of the Suttor, where its valley is coveredwith scrub, than we know anything about. 

March 19. --The camp was removed to the lake of the Suttor, about twelvemiles and a-half N. 80 degrees W. We chased a flock of emus, but withoutsuccess; four of my companions went duck-shooting, but got very few; theothers angled, but nothing would bite. 

The day was cloudy; some drizzling rain fell in the morning; the nightwas clear. Lat. 21 degrees 37 minutes 31 minutes. 

During my absence, my companions found a quantity of implements andornaments of the natives, in the neighbourhood of our last camp. 

On the plains I found two new species of Sida; and, on the tea-trees, anew form of Loranthus, with flowers in threes on a broad leafy bract, scarcely distinguishable from the real leaves. 

March 20. --We travelled down to the water-holes, at which I had turnedback. Sandstone rock cropped out on several spots, and pieces of brokenquartz were strewed over the ground. All the water-holes along the lowridges and within the bed of the river, were full of water; and thedistrict seemed to be one of those which, from their peculiarconformation of surface, are more frequently favoured by thunder-storms. Native companions flew down the river, and flights of ducks held theircourse in the same direction. With the hope of finding a good supply ofwater lower down, we continued our journey on the 21st March. The creekfrequently divided into channels, forming large islands of a mile and amile and a-half in length, covered with scrub, and over which freshes hadswept. All at once, the water disappeared; the deepest holes were dry;the Melaleucas were not to be found; the flooded-gums became very rare, and the rich green grass was replaced by a scanty wiry grass. The wholeriver seemed to divide into chains of dry water-holes, scarcely connectedby hollows. Two miles farther we came to a fine large water-hole, surrounded by Polygonums and young water-grass, and, at two milesfarther, to another, and in about the same distance to a third. Recentcamps of the natives were on each of them, and a beaten path led from oneto the other. One of these holes was crossed by a weir made of sticks forcatching fish. Bones of large fish, turtle shells, and heaps of muscles, were strewed round the fire places. 

The whole day was bright and very hot; the wind in the afternoon fromE. S. E. The latitude of our last camp was 21 degrees 31 minutes 16seconds, being about eighteen miles W. N. W. From the lake. 

Mr. Roper and Brown rode about seven miles down the river, and found thatit again formed a large regular bed well supplied with water; and thatthe country was of a more open character. They came suddenly upon twowomen cooking mussels, who ran off, leaving their dinners to theirunwelcome visitors, who quickly dispatched the agreeable repast; fartheron they saw four men, who were too shy to approach. Charley also, whilstbringing in the horses on the morning of the 22nd, passed a numerouscamp, who quietly rose and gazed at him, but did not utter a single word. 

I travelled with my party to the water-holes found by Mr. Roper; onapproaching them, we crossed an extensive box-flat, near that part of theriver where it is split into collateral chains of holes. Talc-schistecropped out at the latter part of the journey; its strata wereperpendicular, and their direction from north-west to south-east; itscharacter was the same as that of Moreton Bay and New England; numerousveins of quartz intersected the rock. 

The water-holes were surrounded by high Polygonums; blue Nymphaeas wereobserved in several of them; and ducks were very numerous. 

The forenoon was cloudless and hot; cirrhous clouds formed in theafternoon; with a breeze from the E. S. E. Our lat. Was 21 degrees 25minutes. 

Mr. Gilbert and Charley, when on a reconnoitring ride, met another partyof natives; among them two gins were so horror-struck at the unwontedsight, that they immediately fled into the scrub; the men commencedtalking to them, but occasionally interrupted their speeches by spittingand uttering a noise like pooh! pooh! apparently expressive of theirdisgust. 

March 23. --The party moved on about ten miles to the north-east, andencamped at the junction of a large creek which comes from the S. S. E. Itscharacter is similar to that of the Suttor; and I should not be surprisedif it should prove to be the northern anabranch of that creek, and whichwe crossed on the 17th of March, the day before we arrived at the lake. 

The country opens into lightly-timbered ridges, which are composed of ahard rock, the sharp pieces of which covered the ground, and made ouranimals foot-sore. It seems to me to be a clayey sandstone (Psammite)penetrated by silica. A coarse-grained sandstone and quartzite croppedout in that part of the river situated between the two camps. Themelon-holes of the box-flats were frequently over-grown with thepolygonaceous plant, mentioned at a former occasion; and the small scrubplains were covered with a grey chenopodiaceous plant from three to fourfeet high. The stiff-leaved Cymbidium was still very common, and two orthree plants of it were frequently observed on the same tree; its stem iseatable, but glutinous and insipid. 

The morning of Easter Sunday was very clear and hot; the wind from E. N. E. As soon as we had celebrated the day with a luncheon of fat damper andsweetened tea, I rode with Charley about seven or eight miles down theriver, and found abundance of water, not only in the bed of the river, but in lines of lagoons parallel to it. Charley shot several ducks, whichwere very numerous upon the water. Whilst riding along the bank of theriver, we saw an old woman before us, walking slowly and thoughtfullythrough the forest, supporting her slender and apparently exhausted framewith one of those long sticks which the women use for digging roots; achild was running before her. Fearing she would be much alarmed if wecame too suddenly upon her, --as neither our voices in conversation, northe footfall of our horses, attracted her attention, --I cooeed gently;after repeating the call two or three times, she turned her head; insudden fright she lifted her arms, and began to beat the air, as if totake wing, --then seizing the child, and shrieking most pitifully, sherapidly crossed the creek, and escaped to the opposite ridges. What couldshe think; but that we were some of those imaginary beings, with legendsof which the wise men of her people frighten the children into obedience, and whose strange forms and stranger doings are the favourite topics ofconversation amongst the natives at night when seated round their fires?

I observed a fine sienite on several spots; it is of a whitish colour, and contains hornblende and mica in almost equal quantities; granite wasalso seen, and both rocks probably belong to each other, the presence ofhornblende being local. A very hard pudding-stone crops out about ninemiles down the river. From the ridges, hills were seen to the N. N. E. Andto the westward. Vitex scrub is met with in patches of small extent. Awhite crane, and the whistling duck, were seen. Black ducks and teal weremost common, and Charley shot eight of them. On the banks of the more orless dry water-holes grows an annual leguminous plant, which shoots upinto a simple stem, often to the height of twelve feet; its neck and rootare covered with a spongy tissue; its leaves are pinnate, a foot or morein length, with small leaflets; it bears mottled yellow flowers, inaxillary racemes; and long rough, articulate pods, containing small, bright, olive-green seeds. I first saw this plant at Limestone, nearMoreton Bay, and afterwards at the water-holes of Comet River. It wasextremely abundant in the bed of the Burdekin, and was last seen on thewest side of the gulf of Carpentaria; I could, however, easilydistinguish three species of this plant. [They belong probably to thetwo genera, Aeschynomene and Sesbania. ]

Last evening, clouds gathered in the west, but cleared off after sunset;the night again cloudy, the forenoon equally so; in the afternoon theclouds were dissipated by a north-east wind. 

March 24. --We travelled about nine miles N. 60 degrees W. Along theriver; a small creek joined from the westward. At night we had a heavythunder-storm from the S. W. 

March 25. --Weather very hot; clouds formed during the afternoon. Wecontinued our journey along the river to lat. 21 degrees 3 minutes; theriver winds considerably. We passed several hills at the latter part ofthe stage. I ascended one of them, on the right bank of the river, andobtained an extensive view of the country, which has a very uniformcharacter. There were ridges and low ranges to the westward, one of whichstretched from N. By W. Far to the westward. The hill on which I stoodwas composed of limestone rock; it was flat-topped, with steep slopes ateach end. 

In lat. About 21 degrees 6 minutes, we crossed a large creek, denselylined with dropping tea trees, coming from the westward. It was here wefirst met with Careya arborea (Roxb. ), a small tree from fifteen totwenty feet high, with elliptical leaves of soft texture, four incheslong, and two in breadth; its fruit was about two inches long, containedmany seeds, and resembled that of the Guava. Its leaves, however, hadneither the vernation nor the pellucid dots of Myrtaceous trees. At thejunction of the creek, a great number of small Corypha palms weregrowing, and my companions observed the dead stems of some very highones, whose tops had been cut off by the natives, probably to obtain theyoung shoot. We passed hills of baked sandstone, before reaching thecreek, and afterwards crossed a fine sandy flat, with poplar-gum. Theriver has a broad bed, at times dividing into several channels, linedwith stately Melaleucas and flooded-gum, and again uniting into one deepchannel, with long reaches of water surrounded by Polygonums, andovergrown with blue Nymphaeas, Damasoniums, and Utricularias, andinhabited by large flights of ducks. Rock occasionally enters into thebed of the river. The collateral lines of water-holes are rarelyinterrupted, and the ridges appear to be open on both sides of the river. 

March 26. --We travelled along the river to lat. 20 degrees 53 minutes 42seconds. Its course is almost due north. Yesterday, being out duckshooting, we came suddenly upon a camp of natives, who were not a littlefrightened by the report of our guns: they followed our tracks, however, with wailing cries, and afterwards all of them sat down on the rockybanks of the river, when we returned to our camp. To-day we passed theplace of their encampment with our whole train, and it was remarkablethat they neither heard nor saw us until we were close to them, though wehad seen them from a great distance. All the young ones ran away. Dismounting from my horse, I walked up to an old man who had remained, and who was soon after rejoined by another man. We had a longunintelligible conversation, for neither Brown nor Charley could make outa single word of their language. They were much surprised by thedifferent appearance of Charley's black skin and my own. Phillips wishedto exchange his jacket for one of their opossum cloaks, so I desired himto put it on the ground, and then taking the cloak and placing it nearthe jacket, I pointed to Phillips, and, taking both articles up, handedthe cloak to Phillips and the jacket to our old friend, who perfectlyunderstood my meaning. After some time he expressed a wish to have thecloak back, and to keep the jacket, with which we had dressed him; but Igave him to understand that he might have his cloak, provided he returnedthe jacket; which arrangement satisfied him. A basket (dilli), which Iexamined, was made of a species of grass which, according to Charley, isfound only on the sea coast. 

We saw a Tabiroo (Mycteria) and a rifle bird. The morning was cloudy, butvery hot. Numerous heavy cumuli formed during the afternoon. 

March 27. --We travelled to lat. 20 degrees 47 minutes 34 seconds. Thecountry along the river is undulating and hilly, and openly timbered. Therock is of sandstone, and the ground is covered with quartz pebbles. Inlat. About 20 degrees 49 minutes, the Suttor is joined by a river aslarge as itself, coming from the S. W. By W. , and which changes the courseof the Suttor to the N. E. Just before the junction, the large bed of theSuttor contracts into one deep channel, filled in its whole extent by afine sheet of water, on which Charley shot a pelican. I mention thissingular contraction, because a similar peculiarity was observed to occurat almost every junction of considerable channels, as that of the Suttorand Burdekin, and of the Lynd and the Mitchell. I named the river, whichhere joins the Suttor, after Mr. Cape, the obliging commander of theShamrock steamer. The bed of the united rivers is very broad, withseveral channels separated by high sandy bergues. The country back fromthe river is formed by flats alternating with undulations, and is lightlytimbered with silver-leaved Ironbark, rusty gum, Moreton Bay ash, andwater box. The trees are generally stunted, and unfit for building; butthe drooping tea trees and the flooded-gum will supply sufficient timberfor such a purpose. 

At our camp, at the bed of the river, granite crops out, and the sandssparkle with leaflets of gold-coloured mica. The morning was clear andhot; the afternoon cloudy; a thunder-storm to the north-east. We haveobserved nothing of the sea-breeze of the Mackenzie and of Peak Range, along the Suttor; but a light breeze generally sets in about nine o'clockP. M. 

Charley met with a flock of twenty emus, and hunted down one of them. 

March 28. --We travelled down the river to latitude 20 degrees 41 minutes35 seconds. The country was improving, beautifully grassed, openlytimbered, flat, or ridgy, or hilly; the ridges were covered with pebbles, the hills rocky. The rocks were baked sandstone, decomposed granite, anda dark, very hard conglomerate: the latter cropped out in the bed of theriver where we encamped. Pebbles of felspathic porphyry were found in theriver's bed. At some old camping places of the natives, we found theseed-vessels of Pandanus, a plant which I had never seen far from the seacoast; and also the empty shells of the seeds of a Cycas. Mr. Calvert, John Murphy, and Brown, whom I had sent to collect marjoram, told me, attheir return, that they had seen whole groves of Pandanus trees; andbrought home the seed-vessel of a new Proteaceous tree. I went to examinethe locality, and found, on a sandy and rather rotten soil, the Pandanusabundant, growing from sixteen to twenty feet high, either with a simplestem and crown, or with a few branches at the top. The Proteaceous treewas small, from twelve to fifteen feet high, of stunted and irregularhabit, with dark, fissured bark, and large medullary rays in its redwood: its leaves were of a silvery colour, about two inches and a halflong, and three-quarters broad; its seed-vessels woody and orbicular, like the single seed-vessels of the Banksia conchifera; the seeds weresurrounded by a broad transparent membrane. This tree, which I afterwardsfound every where in the neighbourhood of the gulf of Carpentaria, was inblossom from the middle of May to that of June. The poplar-gum, thebloodwood, the melaleuca of Mt. Stewart, the Moreton Bay ash, the littleSevern tree, and a second species of the same genus with smooth leaves, were growing on the same soil. The grasses were very various, particularly in the hollows: and the fine bearded grass of the Isaacsgrew from nine to twelve feet in height. Charley brought me a branch of aCassia with a thyrse of showy yellow blossoms, which he said he hadplucked from a shrub about fifteen feet high. 

We encamped about two miles from the foot of a mountain bearing aboutN. E. From us; I called it Mount McConnel, after Fred. McConnel, Esq. , whohad most kindly contributed to my expedition. The Suttor winds round itswestern base, and, at four or five miles beyond it, in a northerlydirection, and in latitude 20 degrees 37 minutes 13 seconds joins ariver, the bed of which, at the junction, is fully a mile broad. Narrowand uninterrupted belts of small trees were growing within the bed of thelatter, and separated broad masses of sand, through which a stream tenyards broad and from two to three feet deep, was meandering; but which attimes swells into large sheets of water, occasionally occupying the wholewidth of the river. Charley reported that he had seen some black swans, and large flights of ducks and pelicans. This was the most northern pointat which the black swan was observed on our expedition. 

CHAPTER VII

THE BURDEKIN--TRANSITION FROM THE DEPOSITORY TO THE PRIMITIVEROCKS--THACKER'S RANGE--WILD FIGS--GEOLOGICAL REMARKS--THE CLARKE--THEPERRY. 

As this place afforded every convenience for killing and curing anotherbullock, we remained here for that purpose from the 29th March to the 2ndof April. The weather was favourable for our operations, and I took twosets of lunar observations, the first of which gave me longitude 146degrees 1 minutes, and the second, 145 degrees 58 minutes. The morningswere generally either cloudless, or with small cumuli, which increased asthe day advanced, but disappeared at sunset; the wind was, as far as Icould judge, northerly, north-easterly, and easterly. 

April 2. --The Suttor was reported by Charley to be joined by so manygullies and small creeks, running into it from the high lands, whichwould render travelling along its banks extremely difficult, that Ipassed to the east side of Mount McConnel, and reached by that route thejunction of the Suttor with the newly discovered river, which I calledthe Burdekin, in acknowledgment of the liberal assistance which Ireceived from Mrs. Burdekin of Sidney, in the outfit of my expedition. The course of this river is to the east by south; and I thought that itwould most probably enter the sea in the neighbourhood of Cape Upstart. Flood marks, from fifteen to eighteen feet above the banks, showed thatan immense body of water occasionally sweeps down its wide channel. 

I did not ascend Mount McConnel, but it seemed to be composed of aspecies of domite. On the subordinate hills I observed sienite. The bedof the river furnished quite a collection of primitive rocks: there werepebbles of quartz, white, red, and grey; of granite; of sienite; offelspathic porphyry, hornblende, and quartz-porphyry; and of slate-rock. 

The morning was cloudless. In the afternoon, heavy cumuli, whichdissolved towards sunset; a strong wind from the north and north by east. 

A very conspicuous hill, bearing E. N. E. From the junction of the rivers, received the name of Mount Graham, after R. Graham, Esq. , who had mostliberally contributed to my expedition. 

Mr. Gilbert found a large calabash attached to its dry vine, which hadbeen carried down by the waters. Several other very interestingcucurbitaceous fruits, and large reeds, were observed among the rubbishwhich had accumulated round the trees during the flood. 

April 3. --We travelled up the Burdekin, in a north-north-west direction, to latitude 20 degrees 31 minutes 20 seconds. The country was hilly andmountainous; the soil was stony; and the banks of the river wereintersected by deep gullies and creeks. The forest vegetation was thesame as that on the lower Suttor. Among the patches of brush which areparticularly found at the junction of the larger creeks with the river, we observed a large fig-tree, from fifty to sixty feet high, with a richshady foliage; and covered with bunches of fruit. The figs were of thesize of a small apple, of an agreeable flavour when ripe, but were fullof small flies and ants. These trees were numerous, and their situationwas readily detected by the paths of the natives leading to them: a proofthat the fruit forms one of their favourite articles of food. Thedrooping tea trees, which had increased both in number and size, grew incompany with an arborescent Calistemon, along the water's edge; and aspecies of Eucalyptus, somewhat resembling Angophora intermedia, wasdiscovered at this spot: it occurs frequently to the northward, and iscommon round the gulf of Carpentaria. The small Acacia tree of ExpeditionRange was frequently seen in the forest, and was covered with anamber-coloured gum, that was eatable, but tasteless: Hakea lorea (R. Br. ), and Grevillea ceratophylla (R. Br. ); the Ebenaceous tree, and thatwith guava-like fruit (lareya), were all numerous. The bed of the riverwas covered with the leguminous annual I noticed at the Suttor; it grewhere so high and thick that my companions were unable to see me, thoughriding only a few yards from them. 

Rock frequently crops out in the bed of the river, and in theneighbouring hills. Several hills at the right bank were formed by a kindof thermantide of a whitish grey, or red colour, and which might bescratched easily with a penknife. Other conical hills or short ranges, with irregular rugged crests, were composed of granite of many varieties, red and white, fine grained without hornblende, or containing the lattersubstance, and changing into sienite; and, at one place, it seemed as ifit had broken through Psammite. I observed quartzite in severallocalities, and a hard pudding-stone extending for a considerabledistance. We were, no doubt, on the transition from the depository to theprimitive rocks; and a detailed examination of this interesting part ofthe country would be very instructive to the geologist, as to therelative age and position of the rocks. 

A small fish, with yellow and dark longitudinal lines, and probablybelonging to the Cyprinidae, was caught. Wind prevailed from thenorthward: the forenoon was cloudless; heavy cumuli in the afternoon. 

We travelled at first on the right side of the river; but its banksbecame so mountainous and steep, and the gullies so deep, that we werecompelled to cross it at a place where it was very deep, and where ourhorses and cattle had to swim. Many of our things got wet, and we weredelayed by stopping to dry them. 

April 4. --We moved our camp to latitude 20 degrees 24 minutes 12 seconds, a distance of about nine miles N. W. By N. We passed several graniticpeaks and ranges; one of which I ascended, and enjoyed an extensive view. The character of the country changed very little: open narrow-leavedIronbark forest on a granitic sand, full of brilliant leaflets of mica. Some deep creeks came from the eastward. To the west and north-westnothing was to be seen but ridges; but high imposing ranges rise to thenorth and north-east. At one spot, large masses of calcareous spar werescattered over the ground; they were probably derived from a vein in thegranite. 

Three black ducks, (Anas Novae Hollandiae) were shot. Tracks of nativedogs were numerous; and a bitch came fearlessly down to the river, at ashort distance from our camp. Our kangaroo dog ran at her, and both fellinto the water, which enabled the bitch to escape. 

April 5. --We re-crossed the river, which was not very deep, and travelledabout nine miles N. 75 degrees W. The river flows parallel to a highmountain range, at about three or four miles from its left bank. I namedthis after Mr. Robey, another friendly contributor to my outfit. A largecreek very probably carries the waters from this range to the Burdekin, in latitude 20 degrees 23 minutes. The country was very ridgy and hilly;and we found it exceedingly difficult to proceed along the river. Weobserved the poplar-gum again in the open forest, and a fine droopingloranthus growing on it. Pandanus was also very frequent, in clustersfrom three to eight trees. The clustered fig-tree gave us an ample supplyof fruit, which, however, was not perfectly mellow. 

Veins of calcareous spar and of quartz were again observed. I ascended alofty hill, situated about a mile and a half to the west of ourencampment, and found it composed of felspathic porphyry, with a greyishpaste containing small crystals of felspar; but, in the bed of the river, the same rock was of a greenish colour, and contained a great number ofpebbles of various rocks, giving it the aspect of a conglomerate; butrecognisable by its crystals of felspar, and from its being connectedwith the rock of the hill. From the top of the hill, which is wooded witha silver-leaved Ironbark, I saw a very mountainous country to the N. N. W. And northward, formed into detached ranges and isolated peaks, some ofwhich were apparently very high; but to the north-west and west no rangeswere visible. 

A thunder-storm threatened on the 4th, but we had only some lightshowers: the morning of the 5th was very hot, and the afternoon rainy. Wind from north and north-east. Nights clear. 

April 6. --We travelled about ten miles N. 35 degrees W. Over a ridgy, openly timbered, stony and sandy country, and crossed several sandycreeks, in which a species of Melaleuca, and another of Tristania weregrowing. No part of the country that we had yet seen, resembled thenorthern parts of New England so much as this. The rock was almostexclusively granitic isolated blocks; detached heaps, and low ridgescomposed of it were frequently met with in the open forest. We passed twosmall hillocks of milkwhite quartz; fragments of this rock, as well as ofcalcareous spar, were often observed scattered over the ground. The riverhere made a large bend to the northward, still keeping parallel toRobey's Range, or a spur of it; and, when it again turned to thewestward, another fine high range was visible to the north by east andnorth-east of it; which I named "Porter's Range, " in acknowledgment ofthe kindness of another of the contributors to my expedition. Itslatitude is about 20 degrees 14 minutes. 

April 7. --Travelled about ten miles N. 70 degrees W. The country becamemore level, more open, and better grassed; the gullies were fartherapart, and headed generally in fine hollows. Two large creeks joined theriver from the westward; and a still larger one came from the northward, and which probably carries off the water from the country round a finepeak, and a long razorback mountain which we saw in that direction. North-west of Porter's Range, and between it and the razorback, were twosmall peaks. The timber is of the same kind, but larger. The poplar-gumwas more frequent, and we always found patches of fine grass near it;even when all the surrounding Ironbark bark forest was burnt. The largeclustered fig-trees were not numerous along the river; we perhaps passedfrom three to five in the course of a day's journey; though young ones, without fruit, were often seen. 

Heavy clouds gathered during the afternoon of the 6th, and it rainedthroughout the night; the wind was from N. And N. E. In the morning of the7th some drops of rain fell, but the weather cleared up during the day;wind easterly. The moon changed this day, and we experienced a heavythunder-storm during the afternoon. 

April 8. --We travelled about nine miles N. 70 degrees W. , to latitude 20degrees 9 minutes 11 seconds. The river made a bend to the southward, andthen, at a sharp angle, turned again to the north-west. At this angle alarge creek joined it from the south; another instance of creeks joininglarger channels, coming in a direction almost opposite to their course. Two other creeks joined the Burdekin during this stage; one from thesouth-west, and another from the north. The grass was particularly richat these junctions. The river became considerably narrower, but still hada fine stream. Thunder-storms had probably fallen higher up its course, causing a fresh; for its waters, hitherto clear, had become turbid. Narrow patches of brush were occasionally met with along its banks, and Inoticed several brush trees, common in other parts of the country. Besides the clustered fig, and another species with rough leaves andsmall downy purple fruit, there were a species of Celtis; the MeliaAzederach (White Cedar); a species of Phyllanthus, (a shrub from six toten feet high); an Asclepiadaceous climber, with long terete twincapsules; and several Cucurbitaceae, one with oblong fruit about an inchlong, another with a round fruit half an inch in diameter, red and white, resembling a gooseberry; a third was of an oblong form, two inches and ahalf long and one broad; and a fourth was of the size and form of anorange, and of a beautiful scarlet colour: the two last had anexcessively bitter taste. The night and morning were cloudy, with asoutherly wind, but it cleared up at eleven o'clock. Cumuli in theafternoon, with wind from the south-east. 

From our camp we saw a range of hills, bearing between N. 5 degrees W. And N. 10 degrees W. ; they were about three miles distant. I called them"Thacker's Range, " in acknowledgment of the support I receivedfrom--Thacker, Esq. , of Sidney. 

April 9. --We travelled about nine miles W. By N. , and made our latitude20 degrees 8 minutes 26 seconds. The western end of Thacker's Range boreN. E. Two large creeks joined the river from the south and south-west. Thecountry was openly timbered; the Moreton Bay ash grew along the bergue ofthe river, where a species of Grewia seemed its inseparable companion. The flooded-gum occupied the hollows and slopes of the river banks, whichwere covered with a high stiff grass to the water's edge, and the streamwas fringed with a thicket of drooping tea trees, which werecomparatively small, and much bent by the force of floods, the probablefrequency of which may account for the reduced size of the tree. Theridges were covered with rusty Gum and narrow-leaved Ironbark. AnErythrina and the Acacia of Expedition Range were plentiful. The grasswas rich and of various species. The granite rock still prevailed. Afelspathic rock cropped out near the second creek, where I met with adark rock, composed of felspar and horneblende (Diorite. ) Our camp waspitched at the foot of a series of small conical hills, composed ofporphyry. A larger range to the southward of it was also porphyritic, very hard, as if penetrated by quartz, and containing small crystals offlesh-coloured felspar. Sienite cropped out on the flats between thesetwo ranges. I commanded a most extensive view from the higher range. Highand singularly crenelated ranges were seen to the south-west; detachedpeaks and hills to the westward; short ranges and peaks to the north; andconsiderable ranges between north and north-east. A river was observed tojoin the Burdekin from the ranges to the south-west. 

Numerous kangaroos were seen bounding over the rocky slopes to the grassyglens below. A stunted silver-leaved Ironbark covered the hills. 

April 10. --The night was very cold, particularly towards morning, and thedew heavy; the morning was calm; a breeze from the south-east set in atnine o'clock a. M. ; cumuli formed about eleven o'clock, and became veryheavy during the afternoon. 

The country over which we travelled about eight miles N. By W. , was oneof the finest we had seen. It was very open, with some plains, slightlyundulating or rising into ridges, beautifully grassed and with soundground. We crossed the river I had seen the preceding day from the hill, and found it running. Two large creeks, one from the right and the otherfrom the left, also joined the Burdekin. I observed Pegmatite of a whitecolour, and hornblende Porphyry and Diorite. A shrubby Clerodendron andan arborescent Bursaria, covered with white blossoms, adorned the forest. The latitude was 20 degrees 0 minutes 36 seconds. 

April 11. --We continued our journey up the river, in a W. N. W. Direction, for about ten miles. The first part of our journey lay through a mostbeautiful country. The hollows along the river were covered with a densesward of various grasses, and the forest was open as far as the eye couldreach. Farther on, however, we occasionally met with patches of Vitexscrub, and crossed some stony ridges. A small river joined from thenorth-east, at about a mile and a half from the last camp, and also twolarge creeks from the south-west. I ascended the hills opposite our camp, and looked over an immense and apparently flat country, out of whichsmall peaks and short ranges rose. The hills on which I stood werecomposed of Pegmatite, with patches of white Mica in large leaflets. During the journey we found granite changing into gneiss, diorite, andquartz rock. 

On the rocky crest of the hill, I gathered the pretty red and black seedsof a leguminous climbing shrub (Abrus precatorius). Phonolithic orbasaltic pebbles made me suppose that we were near to a change ofcountry. Our latitude was 19 degrees 58 minutes 11 seconds. 

April 12. --We had scarcely travelled a mile and a half, when we had tocross a large creek, which increased in size higher up. Box-tree flatsand open Vitex scrub extended along its banks, and the latter, accordingto Mr. Roper's account, changed into dense Bricklow scrub. At thejunction of the creek and the river, we came on a dyke of basalt, theflat summit of which was so rough that we were compelled to travel alongthe flats of the creek, which for a long distance ran parallel to theBurdekin. The soil on the basalt was so shallow that it sustained only ascanty vegetation of grass and some few scattered narrow-leaved Ironbarktrees. We crossed this dyke, however, and at about three miles descendedfrom it into a fine narrow-leaved Ironbark flat, extending along theriver, in which another large creek from the south-west joined theBurdekin. The flat was bounded by hills of limestone, cropping out inlarge blocks, with visible stratification, but without fossils. Havingpassed the third creek in the course of this day's journey, we encampedon the commencement of another basaltic dyke. The bed of the creek wasfull of blocks of Sienite, of hornblende Porphyry, of greenish Pegmatite, and of cellular Basalt. The river here formed a large sheet of water;large masses of a white Sienite protruded out of it, opposite thejunction of the creek. The opposite bank exhibited a very perfect andinstructive geological section of variously bent and lifted strata oflimestone, which was afterwards found to contain innumerable fossils, particularly corals and a few bivalve shells. The Rev. W. B. Clarke, ofParamatta, kindly undertook to examine the fossils brought from thislocality. One he determined to be an undescribed species of Cyathophyllum, and has done me the honour to give my name to it [Refer Note 1 at end ofchapter]. The others belonged principally to the following genera, viz. , Asterias, Caryophyllea, and Madrepora. The right bank of the river roseinto steep cliffs of basalt, under which the clustered fig tree, with itsdense foliage, formed a fine shady bower. The basaltic dyke was about amile and a half broad, and I followed it about five miles up the river. Its summit was flat, rough, and rocky; at the distance of four miles fromour camp it receded a little from the river, and there limestone wasobserved, crowded with fossils like that on the opposite side of theriver. Two miles farther, the bed of the river was formed by a felspathicrock, with beautiful dendrites. A small island, with a chain of lagoonson one side, and with the river on the other, was also composed of thisrock, in contact with, and covered by, basalt in several places. Therewere small falls and rapids in several parts of the river. A beatenfoot-path of the natives, and many fire-places, showed that this part ofit was much frequented by them. Wallabies were very numerous between thecliffs of the felspathic rock; and the fine fig trees along the banks ofthe river were covered with ripe fruit. The river made a wide sweep roundthe left side of a large limestone hill, whilst a chain of deep basalticwater-holes continued on its right. The basalt ceased to the westward ofthe limestone hill, and was succeeded by considerable flats of Ironbark, Moreton Bay ash, and Bloodwood. The Capparis still exhibited a few showyflowers. I examined the country thus far on the 12th April, after thecamp had been formed; on returning, I took with me a large supply of ripefigs, of which we partook freely, and which caused several of us tosuffer severely from indigestion, though we had frequently eaten smallquantities of them without inconvenience. 

April 13. --We avoided the field of basalt by moving up the creek we lastcrossed, about four miles, and by crossing over to the flats of the riverwhere the basalt terminated. These flats, however, were again interruptedby a basaltic dyke, over which we were compelled to travel, as the steepbanks of the river were on one side, and black bare rocks, formingsometimes regular walls with a dense scrub between them, prevented usfrom turning to the other. After descending from the basalt, we crossed agood-sized creek from the south-west, and travelled over a fine opencountry to lat. 19 degrees 49 minutes 41 seconds. 

Two hills were close to the left side of the Burdekin, which, at theirbase, were joined by a large running creek from the N. N. W. From thelimestone hill of yesterday, no other hill was visible to the westward, though ranges and isolated hills lay to the north and north-east, and ahigh blue mountain to the south-west. 

Some days ago I found, for the first time, Spathodea alternifolia (R. Br. ), which we continued to meet with throughout the remainder of ourjourney. I saw but one flower of it, but its falcate seed-vessels, oftenmore than a foot long, were very numerous. Pandanus spiralis wasfrequent. The box (Eucalyptus), on the flats along the creek, the soil ofwhich is probably formed of the detritus of basaltic rock, had alanceolate glossy leaf, uniting the character of the box with glossyorbicular leaves growing generally on the whinstone soil of the northernparts of the colony, and of the box with long lanceolate leaves whichprefers stiff flats on the tributary creeks of the Hunter. A Bottle-treewith a Platanus leaf (Sterculia?) grew in the scrub on the field ofbasalt, and was in full blossom. A pretty species of Commelyna, on theflats, a cucurbitaceous plant with quinquepalmate leaves and large whiteblossoms, grew along the river, the approaches of which were renderedalmost inaccessible by a stiff high grass. Charley brought me the longflower-stalk of Xanthorrhaea from some ridges, which were, doubtless, composed of sandstone. 

Two kangaroos were seen; they were of middle size, and of a yellowishgrey colour, and seemed to live principally about the basaltic ridges. 

The cooee of natives had been heard only once during our journey alongthe banks of the Burdekin; and the traces of their former presence hadnot been very frequently observed. Large lagoons full of fish or musselsform a greater attraction to the natives than a stream too shallow forlarge fish, and, from its shifting sands, incapable of forming largepermanent holes. Wherever we met with scrub with a good supply of water, we were sure of finding numerous tracks of the natives, as game is somuch more abundant where a dense vegetation affords shelter from itsenemies. 

April 14. --Last night, at seven o'clock, a strong breeze set in from thenorthward, and continued for about an hour, when it became perfectlycalm. If this was the same breeze which we had observed at the Mackenzieat eight o'clock, and which set in earlier and earlier, as we travelledalong the Isaacs and Suttor (though it was less regular in these places)until we felt it at about six o'clock, we were now most evidentlyreceding from the eastern coast. 

We travelled in a N. 60 degrees W. Direction to lat. 19 degrees 45minutes 36 seconds. A basaltic ridge, similar to those we had passed, extended in an almost straight line from south-east to north-west; it wascovered with a scanty vegetation, with a few small narrow-leaved Ironbarktrees and Erythrinas; the river now approached it, now left it in widesweeps enclosing fine narrow-leaved Ironbark flats. To the south-westside of this ridge or dyke, the soil is basaltic, with box-trees and openVitex scrub. The sharp conical hills of the white ant, constructed of redclay, were very numerous. A very perfect bower of the bower-bird was seenin a patch of scrub trees. 

In a gully, a loose violet coloured sandstone cropped out, over which thebasalt had most evidently spread. Farther on, the ridge enlarged andformed small hillocks, with bare rock cropping out at their tops;--a formof surface peculiar to the basaltic or whinstone country of this colony. 

Charley shot the sheldrake of Port Essington, (Tadorna Rajah). Thesingular hissing or grinding note of the bower bird was heard all alongthe river; the fruit of the fig trees growing near, which seemed tosupply it with its principal food during this part of the year. 

April 15. --One of our bullocks had gone back on our tracks, and therebyprevented our starting so early as usual. We travelled in a N. 40 degreesW. Direction to latitude 19 degrees 41 minutes 25 seconds. The basalticcountry continued, and apparently extended a great distance from theriver. The flats along the latter were less extensive. Sandstone croppedout in deep gullies, and in the bed of the river; it was naturally softand coarse, but where it rose into hillocks near basalt, it changed intoa fine baked sandstone, resembling quartzite, which, when in contact withthe igneous rock, looked like burnt bricks. Near our camp, a dyke or wallof the aspect of a flinty red conglomerate, crossed the river fromsouth-west to north-east. I believe that this rock belongs to theporphyries of Glendon, and of the upper Gloucester. We continued to feelthe breeze, or rather a puff of wind, between 7 and 8 o'clock at night;it was often very strong and cold, and prevented the mosquitoes frommolesting us. 

April 16. --We proceeded north by west to latitude 19 degrees 32 minutes, and crossed several gullies coming from the basaltic ridges: these, however, receded far from the river, and large box and Ironbark flatstook their place for about three miles, when the ridges re-appeared. Between four and five miles from the bar of red rock above mentioned, afine large creek joined the Burdekin from the westward. The box andIronbark forest was interrupted by slight rises of limestone full ofcorals; and by a higher hill of baked sandstone, at the foot of which alimestone hill was covered with a patch of Vitex scrub. The strata of thelimestone seemed to dip to the southward. 

The opposite banks of the river were ridgy, but openly timbered, and thisfine country, with its well grassed flats, and its open ridges, seemed toextend very far on both sides. Messrs. Gilbert and Roper went to the topof the hill, and saw ranges trending from west to north, with thatcrenelated outline which I had before seen and mentioned: theydistinguished a large valley, and the smoke of several fires of thenatives along the range. A large lagoon was at the western foot of thehill on which they were. A large creek was seen, by Brown, to join theBurdekin from the north-east, at a short mile from our encampment. Abaked sandstone and pudding-stone of a white colour projected into theriver at the place, which not only exhibited the transition from one rockinto the other, but it showed the action of igneous rocks on both, andgave a clue to the nature of the red rock I described yesterday. In thethicket which covered the rock, I observed Pomaderris of Moreton Bay. Indecreasing our latitude, both Mr. Gilbert and myself were inclined tothink that, whenever a bird or a plant disappeared, it was owing to thatcircumstance. In this, however, we were frequently mistaken: trees andherbaceous plants disappeared with the change of soil, and the decreaseof moisture, and the birds kept to a certain vegetation: and, as soon aswe came to similar localities, familiar forms of plants and birdsre-appeared. Almost all the scrub-trees of the Condamine and Kent'sLagoon were still to be seen at the Burdekin; and the isolated watersnear grassy flats were visited by swarms of little finches, which Mr. Gilbert had observed at Port Essington, and which, in all probability, belonged to the whole extent of country between that place and the regionof the tropics. This slight change of vegetation, and particularly of theinland Flora, from south to north, is no doubt connected with theuniformity of the soil and climate: and the immense difference whichexists between the eastern and western coast, has led men of science andof observation, not without good reason, to infer that this continent wasoriginally divided into two large islands, or into an archipelago, whichhave been united by their progressive, and, perhaps, still continued, elevation. As an exception, however, to this remark, a very sudden changeof the Flora was observed, when we entered into the basin of the gulf ofCarpentaria, after leaving the eastern waters, although the Flora of thenorth-west coast and Port Essington, was little different from that ofthe gulf. 

April 17. --We travelled about nine miles N. 40 degrees W. On our way wepassed a hill of baked sandstone, and several gullies. About five milesfrom our last camp, a large creek joined the river; beyond that creek, the country was, without exception, open, and rather of a more undulatingcharacter; the flats were somewhat rotten: the river became narrower, butwas still running strong; and numerous ducks sported on its shady pools. 

April 18. --Last night we had a very cold north-easterly wind, and, duringthe day, some few drops of drizzling rain. We travelled about N. By W. Tolatitude 19 degrees 18 minutes 16 seconds. After passing some gullies, wecame into a more broken and hilly country; the river formed here a largeanabranch. The Ironbark trees, which timbered the extensive flat alongthe river, became much finer; but the soil was rotten: the poplar-gumgrew on the stiff soil of the hollows. About six miles from our lastcamp, we came to ranges of high hills of a conical form, and with roundedtops, striking from west to east, and then entered a narrow valley, bounded on each side by rocky hills. Mr. Roper observed a rugged countryto the northward, and a fine high range to the south-east. The wholecountry from the large flat to our camp, was composed of felspathicporphyry, containing crystals of felspar, and accidentally of quartz, ina paste varying in colour and hardness. In the bed of the river, I stillfound pebbles of pegmatite, granite, quartz, and basalt; indicating thata country of varied character was before us. 

The stream wound its way from one side of the broad sandy bed to theother; and those parts where it flowed, were generally very steep, andcovered with a dense vegetation, whilst, on the opposite side, the bankssloped gently into the broad sands. Among the shrubs and grasses, a downyAbutelon was easily distinguished by its large bright yellow blossoms. 

My Blackfellows procured several messes of ducks; and Brown brought me apiece of indurated clay with impressions of water-plants. 

April 19. --Continuing our journey in a north-west direction, we passedover some very rocky hills, composed of indurated clay, and thin strataof sandstone, and pudding-stone. By moving along the foot of a range ofhigh hills, we avoided all those deep gullies which intersected the banksof the river, and travelled with ease through a flat, well grassedIronbark forest. The hills were covered, as usual, with stuntedsilver-leaved Ironbark. A large creek came from the range, and enteredthe river. A good section on its right bank exposed to view the strata ofindurated clay and sandstone; and I was induced to believe that coalmight be found below them. As we were passing over the flat between thecreck and the river, we saw a native busily occupied in burning thegrass, and eagerly watching its progress: the operation attracted severalcrows, ready to seize the insects and lizards which might be driven fromtheir hiding places by the fire. Mr. Calvert, Brown, and Charley, rodenearly up to the man before he was aware of their approach; when he tookto his heels, and fled in the greatest consternation. 

Upon reaching the river, at about eight miles from our last camp, wefound that it was joined by another river of almost the same size as theBurdekin: it had a stream, and came from the northward, whilst the courseof the Burdekin at this place was from the west to east. From thejunction a long range trended to the north-east, and moderate rangesbounded the valley of the river from the northward; another rangeextended along the left side of the Burdekin above the junction; andbasaltic ridges, which had broken through the sandstone, approached onits right. The cucurbitaceous plant with palmate leaves, bore a fruit ofthe size of a large orange, of a fine scarlet colour when ripe; its rindis exceedingly bitter, but the seeds are eaten by birds. Mr. Phillipsfound a flesh-coloured drupaceous oblong fruit, about half an inch long, with a very glutinous pericarp, containing a slightly compressed roughstone: in taste it resembled the fruit of Loranthus, and the birds, particularly the coekatoos, appeared very fond of it. We all ate a greatquantity of them, without the slightest injury. It grew on a small tree, and had a persistent calyx. 

April 20. --We travelled in a N. 80 degrees W. Course to latitude 19degrees 9 minutes 88 seconds. Rocky ranges frequently approached theriver, and deep and intricate gullies descended from them to the latter. Our progress was consequently very difficult, and we were compelled toascend a very high hill to avoid its slopes towards the river, which weretoo steep for us to cross. As a recompense, however, for the difficultyof the ascent, I had the pleasure of finding some very interesting plantson its summit; particularly a small Acacia with verticillate leaves, which Dr. Binoe, the surgeon of H. M. S. Beagle, had found on thenorth-west coast; and two other Acacias equally new to me, and which wereafterwards found to extend to the heads of the South Alligator River. From this hill we had a magnificent view of the country before us: it wasenclosed on all sides by high mountain ranges, of which one in particularovertopped the rest. Porphyry was observed on several spots; induratedclay frequently; and, on the top of the hill below which we encamped, Ifound quartz porphyry, and at the foot a psammite? which I had metseveral times associated with talc-schiste. 

April 21. --We continued our journey in a S. 50 degrees W. Course tolatitude 19 degrees 13 minutes. The country became still moremountainous; we passed, notwithstanding, many large well grassed flats, on which the timber grew to a greater size than we had observed it at thelower part of the river. The poplar-gum was very frequent in the hollow, and low stiff flats extended parallel to the river. The prevailing rockwas talc-schiste, alternating with layers of psammite. On the hills andin the creeks, I frequently observed conglomerate, with many pieces ofquartz. 

The drooping Hakea of Kent's Lagoon (Hakea lorea, R. Br. ; Grevillealorea, R. Br. Prodr. Nov. Holl. I. P. 380) was in blossom; and on therocky slopes I found a new species of Hakea, having linear lanceolateleaves with axillary fascicules of small brownish flowers: it was anarborescent shrub, from three to six feet high; and is nearly allied toH. Arborescens (R. Br. Prodr. P. 386). 

A high imposing range was visible to the northward. 

April 22. --We travelled about nine miles west, making our latitude 19degrees 12 minutes. Ranges ran parallel to the river at differentdistances: we left a very fine one to the south-west and south, fromwhich the large creek we passed about two miles from our last camp, probably descends. Three miles farther, a river as large or even largerthan the Burdekin, joins the latter from the westward and south-west--the Burdekin coming down from the north-west. I was doubtful which of thetwo rivers I ought to follow; but finding, after a close examination, that the north-west branch was running, whilst the south-west onecontained only large, long, but unconnected reaches of water, Idetermined upon following the north-west branch. I called the south-westbranch the "Clarke, " in compliment to the Rev. W. B. Clarke of Paramatta, who has been, and is still, most arduously labouring to elucidate themeteorology and the geology of this part of the world. About three milesabove the junction, a creek of considerable size joined the Burdekin fromthe northward. Wherever the ridges approached the banks of the river, gullies which were scrubby at their heads, became numerous. After havingencamped, I rode over to the "Clarke, " to examine the interveningcountry. The flat along the Burdekin was about two miles and a halfbroad, and was skirted by silver-leaved Ironbark ridges. In approachingthe Clarke, we came to a low basaltic range, which bounded its fine broadopenly timbered valley to the northward. The bed of the river was formedby talc-schiste, in strata, the strike of which was from north by west tosouth by east, standing almost perpendicular, with a slight dip to theeastward. The stream was perpendicular on the line of striking. Thepebbles in its bed were mostly basaltic, baked sandstone, conglomerate, quartz, sienite, and porphyry. I had observed the valley of this riverfrom a high hill near our last camp, and had distinguished manyheadlands, which I now think were the bluff terminations of lateralbasaltic ranges. The valley was bounded on its southern side by a longlow range. 

The blue mountain parrot was very frequent near our camp. 

I have mentioned a small round eatable tuber, which I found in the basketof a native gin on the 2nd January. I here found it to be the large endof the tap root of a Potamogeton, or a plant nearly allied to that genus;I found it with another interesting water-plant, with foliated spikes ofblue flowers, in a small water-hole near our last camp. 

April 23. --We travelled about north-west to latitude 19 degrees 4 minutes41 seconds, over a succession of fine flats; one or two of which werealmost exclusively timbered with poplar-gum, which always indicated asound stiff soil. These flats were separated by shallow gullies, and someCasuarina creeks, which come probably from the dividing ridges of the tworivers. Ridges and ranges were seen on both sides, at differentdistances. The Casuarina became more frequent along the banks of theriver. It was rather remarkable that the Moreton Bay ash, which is soabundant along the Burdekin, was altogether wanting at the Clarke. Several lagoons were observed at the foot of the ridges; and near them wesaw two flocks of the harlequin pigeon (Peristera histrionica). Talc-schiste cropped out in one of the deep creeks. Whilst travelling onthe Burdekin, with the exception of some ducks and a few kangaroos, wehad seen but very little game; but yesterday, when riding to the Clarke, two flocks of kangaroos passed me: a proof that the country is not sodestitute of game as I had thought. The waters are inhabited by fourvarieties of fish; one was probably a Gristes, about eight inches long, and from one and a half to two inches broad, of a lanceolate shape, withbright yellow spots all over the body; a second smaller than Gristes, with dark stripes; a third about a foot long, and three inches broad, belonging to the Percidae; and a fourth, a small fish, which seemed to beallied to the Cyprinidae. Larger fish exist, probably, in the deep rockybasins of water which we occasionally passed; but we never succeeded incatching any; nor did we hear any of the splashing, which was soincessant during the night at the Mackenzie. The shell and bones of theturtle indicated its presence in the shady ponds fringed by drooping teatrees. Large holes in the banks immediately above the water, wereprobably inhabited by water rats or lizards. A common carpet snake waskilled. Whenever we passed through open Vitex scrub, with its stiff loamysoil, we were sure of meeting a great number of the conical constructionsof the white ant: they were from one to three feet high, very narrow, andtapering to a sharp point. 

April 24. --To-day we travelled along the river over an open country, intersected by some gullies; the course of the river was, for about fourmiles, from north to south, and, at that distance from our camp, wasjoined by a river coming from the northward, which I now take the libertyof naming the "Perry, " after Captain Perry, Deputy Surveyor-General, whohas most kindly mapped my route from the rough plans sketched during thejourney. The Burdekin here comes from the westward, and made a large bendround several mountains, composed of quartz porphyry, with asub-crystalline felspathic paste. The latitude was 19 degrees 1 minutes(Unclear:)18. 

April 25. --We travelled almost due west, about nine miles along theriver, our latitude being 19 degrees 1 minutes 3 seconds. Our route laythrough a fine well grassed country; the grass being very dense: at adistance from the river, I observed box flats, and poplar-gum flats; thelatter are probably swampy during the rainy season. A good sized creekjoined the Burdekin; a range of high hills extended along its left side, and its right became equally hilly as we approached our camping place. After establishing our camp, and making the necessary preparations, wekilled one of our little steers, and found it in excellent condition. Thegraziers will judge by this simple fact, how well the country is adaptedfor pastoral pursuits; particularly when it is remembered that we werecontinually on the march, and had frequently to pass over very rockyranges, which made our cattle footsore; and that the season was not themost favourable for the grass, which, although plentiful, was very dry. The steer gave us 120 lbs. Of dried beef. 

In this place I observed and calculated three sets of lunar observations;one gave longitude 144 degrees 4 minutes, and the other longitude 144degrees 14 minutes. As usual, we greased our harness, although notwithout considerable discussion, as to whether it would not be moreadvisable to eat the fat than to apply it to the leather; we alsorepaired our packs and pack-saddles, and put every thing in travellingorder. 

On the 29th April we started from our killing camp, and travelled aboutseven miles N. 70 degrees W. ; making our latitude 18 degrees 59 minutes. The ranges now approached the banks of the river, and retarded ourprogress very much. 

April 30. --In consequence of Charley's statement, that the banks of theriver in advance were so steep and rocky that it would be impossible forus to pass, I left the river side, and crossed over the ranges, and had avery heavy stage for my bullocks; which I regretted the more, as Mr. Calvert and Brown, who returned to our last camp for a sword, had foundthe route by the river quite practicable. The ranges were composed of aPsammite, which was frequently baked, probably by neighbouring out-burstsof igneous rock. Several familiar forms of plants were discovered; also anew Eucalyptus, with a glaucous suborbicular subcordate leaf, and thebark of the rusty gum: a stunted or middle-sized tree, which grew ingreat abundance on the ranges. We passed a fine large but dry Casuarinacreek, coming from the westward, with a broad sandy bed. A large tree, with dark green broad lanceolate stinging leaves, grew on its banks; itresembled the nettle tree, but belonged to neither of the two speciesgrowing in the bushes of the east coast. 

Our last day's travelling had not advanced us more than five miles in astraight line, and we had not made any northing, our latitude being again18 degrees 59 minutes; but we had left the mountains behind us, and hadtravelled, during the latter part of the stage, over well grassed, openlytimbered flats. The ranges on the left side of the river extended severalmiles farther, but gradually sunk into a level country. 

[Note 1: The following description of the fossiliferous limestone of theBurdekin, was communicated to me by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, F. G. S. 

This rock consists of a semi-crystalline, greyish-brown marble, very likesome varieties of Wenlock limestone. 

The most conspicuous fossil is a coral, which appears to belong tothe family of Cyathophyllidae. The genus is perhaps new; but this thewant of specimens with which to compare it, does not allow me themeans of verifying. It may, however, be classed provisionally asCyathophyllum, to which in many respects it bears a great resemblance;and although it is somewhat contrary to the present rules ofclassification to assign a specific name from a person, yet, inorder to do honour to my friend on account of his skill, diligence, andzeal as a naturalist, as well as a traveller, and as this is the firstfossil coral brought away by the first explorer of the region in whichits habitat is found, I venture to name it C. Leichhardti. 

The description may be given as follows:

Cells concavely cylindrical, not dichotomous (thus distinguished fromCaryophyllia), grouped but separate, laterally if at all proliferous. 

Corallum beautifully stellular, formed by 30-35 slightly spirally-curvingor regular radiating lamellae, which meet in a central point or overlapon a latitudinal axial line, and are divided by rectangular or outwardlyconvex and upwardly oblique dissepiments, which become, occasionally, indistinct or obsolete near the centre, thus not assuming the usualcharacteristic of Cyathophyllum, but rather one of Strombodes. 

Surface longitudinally striated, the cellular structure being hiddenin calcareous spar; the striae formed by the coalescing lamellae, which, at the extremities, seem to be occasionally denticulated, owing tothe matrix interrupting their passage to the edge. This resembles whattakes place in some Astraeidae. 

The interior has more the features of Acervularia than Cyathophyllum;but there are patches of broken transverse septa in the rock whichexhibit the features of the latter. 

Associated with this is a branching coral, a fragment of which, ina small angle of one of the surfaces of the stone, exhibits the charactersof Favosites. There are also traces of casts of Spirifers, one of which isnear to S. Pisum of the Wenlock rocks. (Silur. Syst. Pl. Xiii. F. 9). 

The description here given is deduced from the natural appearancesunder the lens, and not from artificial or regular sections. Butthe specimen admits of a partial substitute for this; for the surfaceis worn down and roughly polished, as is the case with all the exposedsurfaces of ancient limestones in Australia; the result probably of theacidulous properties of rain water, or of the atmosphere, which, in atropical climate, where violent showers alternate with great drought, iscapable of producing various sensible changes in rocks in a long seriesof ages. Many rocks of limestone in New South Wales, even harder than theBurdekin marble, are actually grooved in short parallel furrows, overwide surfaces, and along their sides, by some similar agency. ]

CHAPTER VIII

BROWN AND CHARLEY QUARREL--NIGHT WATCH--ROUTINE OF OUR DAILY LIFE, ANDHABITS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE PARTY--MOUNT LANG--STREAMS OF LAVA--A HORSEBREAKS HIS LEG, IS KILLED AND EATEN--NATIVE TRIBE--MR. ROPER'SACCIDENT--WHITSUNDAY--BIG ANT HILL CREEK--DEPRIVED OF WATER FOR FIFTYHOURS--FRIENDLY NATIVES--SEPARATION CREEK--THE LYND--PSYCHOLOGICALEFFECTS OF A SOJOURN IN THE WILDERNESS--NATIVE CAMP--SALT EXHAUSTED. 

May 1. --We travelled west by north, to latitude 18 degrees 55 minutes 41seconds, over almost a dead flat, which was only interrupted by a fineCasuarina creek, with a broad sandy bed, coming from thesouth-south-west. The soil was stiff, and the forest in which the Boxtree prevailed, was very open. A species of Acacia, with narrow bluntphyllodia, about an inch long, with spinous stipules; Hakea lorea, andthe Grevillea mimosoides (R. Br. ), with very long linear leaves, werefrequent. Towards the end of the journey, slight ridges, composed offlint rock, rose on our left; and the country became more undulating. Mr. Roper saw extensive ranges about fifteen miles distant; shortly beforeentering the camp, we passed a singularly broken country, in which thewaters rushing down from a slightly inclined table land, had hollowed outlarge broad gullies in a sandy loam and iron ochre, which was full ofquartz pebbles. The heavier masses had resisted the action of the waters, and remained like little peaks and islands, when the softer materialsaround them had been washed away. We met with grass lately burnt, andsome still burning, which indicated the presence of natives. It wasgenerally very warm during the hours of travelling, between eight andtwelve o'clock, but the bracing air of the nights and morningsstrengthened us for the day's labour; the weather altogether was lovely, and it was a pleasure to travel along such a fine stream of water. Easterly and north-easterly breezes still prevailed, though I expectedthat the direction of the winds would change as we passed the centre ofYork Peninsula. 

Our two black companions, who until now had been likebrothers--entertaining each other by the relation of their adventures, toa late hour of the night; singing, chatting, laughing, and almost cryingtogether; making common cause against me; Brown even following Charleyinto his banishment--quarrelled yesterday, about a mere trifle, soviolently that it will be some time before they become friends again. When Mr. Calvert and Brown returned yesterday to the camp, they remarkedthat they had not seen the waterfall, of which Charley had spoken whilstat our last camp; upon which Charley insinuated that they had not seenit, because they had galloped their horses past it. This accusation ofgalloping their horses irritated Brown, who was very fond and proud ofhis horse; and a serious quarrel of a rather ridiculous character ensued. Keeping myself entirely neutral, I soon found that I derived the greatestadvantage from their animosity to each other, as each tried to outdo theother in readiness to serve me. To-day, Charley, who was usually the lastto rise in the morning, roused even me, and brought the horses before ourbreakfast was ready. Brown's fondness for spinning a yarn will soon, however, induce him to put an end to this feud with his companion andcountryman. In the early part of our journey, one or other of our partykept a regular night-watch, as well to guard us from any night attack ofthe natives, as to look after our bullocks; but, latterly, thisprudential measure, or rather its regularity, has been much neglected. Mr. Roper's watch was handed from one to another in alphabetical rotationat given intervals, but no one thought of actually watching; it was, infact, considered to be a mere matter of form. I did not check this, because there was nothing apparently to apprehend from the natives, whoalways evinced terror in meeting us; and all our communications with themhave been accidental and never sought by them. On that point, therefore, I was not apprehensive; and, as to the bullocks, they were now accustomedto feed at large, and we seldom had any difficulty in recovering them inthe morning. I shall here particularise the routine of one of our days, which will serve as an example of all the rest. I usually rise when Ihear the merry laugh of the laughing-jackass (Dacelo gigantea), which, from its regularity, has not been unaptly named the settlers' clock; aloud cooee then roused my companions, --Brown to make tea, Mr. Calvert toseason the stew with salt and marjoram, and myself and the others towash, and to prepare our breakfast, which, for the party, consists of twopounds and a-half of meat, stewed over night; and to each a quart pot oftea. Mr. Calvert then gives to each his portion, and, by the time thisimportant duty is performed, Charley generally arrives with the horses, which are then prepared for their day's duty. After breakfast, Charleygoes with John Murphy to fetch the bullocks, which are generally broughtin a little after seven o'clock a. M. The work of loading follows, butthis requires very little time now, our stock being much reduced; and, atabout a quarter to eight o'clock, we move on, and continue travellingfour hours, and, if possible, select a spot for our camp. The Burdekin, which has befriended us so much by its direct course and constant stream, already for more than two degrees of latitude and two of longitude, hasnot always furnished us with the most convenient camps for procuringwater. The banks generally formed steep slopes descending into a line ofhollows parallel to the river, and thickly covered with a high stiffgrass; and then another steep bank covered with a thicket of droopingtea-trees, rose at the water's edge; and, if the descent into the bed ofthe river was more easy, the stream frequently was at the opposite side, and we had to walk several hundred yards over a broad sheet of loosesand, which filled our mocassins, when going to wash. At present, theriver is narrower, and I have chosen my camp twice on its dry sandy bed, under the shade of Casuarinas and Melaleucas, the stream being therecomparatively easy of access, and not ten yards off. Many unpleasantremarks had been made by my companions at my choice of camping places;but, although I suffered as much inconvenience as they did, I bore itcheerfully, feeling thankful to Providence for the pure stream of waterwith which we were supplied every night. I had naturally a greatantipathy against comfort-hunting and gourmandizing, particularly on anexpedition like ours; on which we started with the full expectation ofsuffering much privation, but which an Almighty Protector had not onlyallowed us to escape hitherto, but had even supplied us frequently withan abundance--in proof of which we all got stronger and improved inhealth, although the continued riding had rather weakened our legs. Thisantipathy I expressed, often perhaps too harshly, which causeddiscontent; but, on these occasions, my patience was sorely tried. I may, however, complete the picture of the day: as soon as the camp is pitched, and the horses and bullocks unloaded, we have all our alloted duties; tomake the fire falls to my share; Brown's duty is to fetch water for tea;and Mr. Calvert weighs out a pound and a-half of flour for a fat cake, which is enjoyed more than any other meal; the large teapot being empty, Mr. Calvert weighs out two and a-half pounds of dry meat to be stewed forour late dinner; and, during the afternoon, every one follows his ownpursuits, such as washing and mending clothes, repairing saddles, pack-saddles, and packs; my occupation is to write my log, and lay downmy route, or make an excursion in the vicinity of the camp to botanize, etc. Or ride out reconnoitring. My companions also write down theirremarks, and wander about gathering seeds, or looking for curiouspebbles. Mr. Gilbert takes his gun to shoot birds. A loud cooee againunites us towards sunset round our table cloth; and, whilst enjoying ourmeals, the subject of the day's journey, the past, the present, and thefuture, by turns engage our attention, or furnish matter for conversationand remark, according to the respective humour of the parties. Manycircumstances have conspired to make me strangely taciturn, and I am nowscarcely pleased even with the chatting humour of my youngest companion, whose spirits, instead of flagging, have become more buoyant and livelythan ever. I consider it, however, my invariable duty to give everyinformation I can, whenever my companions inquire or show a desire tolearn, and I am happy to find that they are desirous of making themselvesfamiliar with the objects of nature by which they are surrounded, and ofunderstanding their mutual relations. Mr. Roper is of a more silentdisposition; Mr. Calvert likes to speak, and has a good stock of "smalltalk, " with which he often enlivens our dinners; he is in that respect anexcellent companion, being full of jokes and stories, which, though oldand sometimes quaint, are always pure, and serve the more to exhilaratethe party. Mr. Gilbert has travelled much, and consequently has a richstore of impressions de voyage: his conversation is generally verypleasing and instructive, in describing the character of countries he hasseen, and the manners and customs of the people he has known. He is wellinformed in Australian Ornithology. As night approaches, we retire to ourbeds. The two Blackfellows and myself spread out each our own under thecanopy of heaven, whilst Messrs. Roper, Calvert, Gilbert, Murphy, andPhillips, have their tents. Mr. Calvert entertains Roper with hisconversation; John amuses Gilbert; Brown tunes up his corroborri songs, in which Charley, until their late quarrel, generally joined. Brown singswell, and his melodious plaintive voice lulls me to sleep, when otherwiseI am not disposed. Mr. Phillips is rather singular in his habits; heerects his tent generally at a distance from the rest, under a shadytree, or in a green bower of shrubs, where he makes himself ascomfortable as the place will allow, by spreading branches and grassunder his couch, and covering his tent with them, to keep it shady andcool, and even planting lilies in blossom (Crinum) before his tent, toenjoy their sight during the short time of our stay. As the nightadvances, the Blackfellows' songs die away; the chatting tongue of Murphyceases, after having lulled Mr. Gilbert to sleep; and at last even Mr. Calvert is silent, as Roper's short answers became few and far between. The neighing of the tethered horse, the distant tinkling of the bell, orthe occasional cry of night birds, alone interrupt the silence of ourcamp. The fire, which was bright as long as the corroborri songster keptit stirred, gradually gets dull, and smoulders slowly under the large potin which our meat is simmering; and the bright constellations of heavenpass unheeded over the heads of the dreaming wanderers of the wilderness, until the summons of the laughing jackass recalls them to the business ofthe coming day. 

May 2. --We travelled in a N. W. Direction to lat. 18 degrees 50 minutes 11seconds; at first over the box flats, alternating with an undulating opencountry. About three miles before making our camp, we passed severalsmall plains at the foot of what appeared to be basaltic ridges, and cameto the dry channel of a river, with reeds and occasional water-holes, andlined with fine flooded-gum trees and Casuarinas, but without thedropping tea trees and the Moreton Bay ash, the latter of which seemed tobe the prerogative of the Burdekin. At its left side a basaltic ridgerose, covered with thick scrub, and at its base extended a small plain, with black soil strewed with quartz pebbles. The river came, as well as Icould judge, from the W. N. W. Mr. Roper and Brown caught a kangaroo, butthey had a dangerous ride after it, and the poor brute, when hardpressed, showed fight, and endeavoured to lay hold of Mr. Roper. 

In one of the creeks I observed pegmatite; pebbles of talc-schiste and ofwhite quartz covered the bed of the river. 

May 3. --We had to travel for a considerable distance in the bed of theriver, for the hills approached close to its banks, and numerous deepgullies intercepted their slopes. When, however, the ridges receded, wepassed several fine sound flats. The forest was open everywhere, and thegrass was good, though old. After travelling about five miles, we saw ahill to the north-east, and, when we came almost abreast of it, the riverturned to the eastward, and a wild field of broken basaltic lava renderedit impossible for us to follow its banks. The black rough masses of rockwere covered with thick scrub, in which I observed numerous bottle treeswith the platanus leaf. Keeping to the westward of the scrub, I followeda creek which farther on divided in a chain of ponds, into which thewaters of the field of basalt, as well as of the basaltic ridges to thewestward of it, collected. These ridges were perfectly level at theirsummits, and were connected with a table land which extended far to thewest. At their foot sienite, quartz rock, and leptinite, were observed. After turning round the field of lava to the eastward, we entered into alarge flat, with patches of narrow-leaved tea tree, with reedy swamps andfine flooded-gum trees, and made our camp at a strong running brook, without trees, but densely surrounded with reeds, ferns, and pothos. Thisstream formed the outlet of some fine lagoons, which extended along thesteep slopes of the basaltic table land. I crossed the creek and its flatto the opposite hills. The flat was one level sheet or floor of basalt, here and there covered with a very shallow soil, but sometimes bare, though clothed with a fair supply of grass and with scattered flooded-gumtrees. At the foot of the eastern hills, however, deep holes existed in awater-course, with black blocks of basalt heaped over each other, onwhich the fig tree with its dark green foliage formed a shady bower, mostdelightful during the heat of the day. The hills were composed of alamellar granite, approaching the stratified appearance of gneiss, butthe leaflets of mica, instead of forming continuous layers, werescattered. The east side of the narrow watercourse was of primitive rock, the west side basaltic. Having passed over the hills, I made the river attheir east side. Its banks were open for access as far as the primitiverock extended, but another field of lava commenced higher up, andrendered any progress with our cattle impossible. 

A native low shrubby Mulberry was found in this scrub, the fruit of whichwas good to eat, but of very small size. 

From the top of the hills I enjoyed a most beautiful view of the valleyof the river, with its large lagoons covered with Nymphaeas andDamasoniums. On one of the lagoons, Charley shot a Parra gallinacea, abird which Mr. Gilbert had observed only at Port Essington. A well beatenpath of the natives showed that they were numerous in this part of thecountry: we saw many of their camping places during the stage; and thefires of their camps were numerous; we saw a party of them, but they weretoo frightened to allow us to approach. Our latitude was 18 degrees 44minutes 48 seconds. Our course was about N. N. W. 

May 4. --We ascended the basaltic ridges, and reaching the table land, found it perfectly level, openly timbered, well grassed, but occasionallystony, by which our poor foot-sore bullocks suffered severely. About fivemiles north-west by west from our camp, we discovered an extensive valleywith large lagoons and lakes, and a most luxuriant vegetation, bounded byblue distant ranges, and forming the most picturesque landscape we hadyet met with. A chain of lagoons connected by a reedy brook followed theoutlines of the table land, along the foot of its steep slopes. Wedescended by a tolerably gentle slope into the valley, and encamped nearthe reedy brook, which must be the same as that on which, lower down, ourlast camp was formed. Water, grass, hills, mountains, plains, forestland; all the elements of a fine pasturing country, were here united. 

During one of the last stages, we discovered a leguminous tree, with thedark fissured bark of the Ironbark, but with large bipinnate leaves, theleaflets oblong, an inch in length; the pods broad and thin, and two orthree inches long: this tree is common all over the northern part of thecontinent, and was found growing abundantly around Victoria, theprincipal settlement of Port Essington. 

Mr. Roper and Brown, upon an excursion after ducks, which were verynumerous on the lagoons, met with Blackfellows, who were willing toaccost Brown, but could not bear the sudden sight of a white face. Intrying to cross the valley, my course was intercepted every way by deepreedy and sedgy lagoons, which rendered my progress impossible. I saw, however, that this valley was also floored with a sheet of lava hollowedout into numerous deep basins, in which the water collected and formedthe lagoons. 

May 5. --I went with Charley to reconnoitre the upper part of the reedybrook, with a view to find a passage over the table land to the westward;at the same time I sent Mr. Roper and Brown to trace the river throughthe lagoons, and to examine whether there was any connection betweenthem. I followed the base of the basaltic table land, along which thebrook came down, and, after a two miles' ride on its banks, through oaktrees, low fern trees, and several bush trees, found that it came down avalley deeply cut into the table land. The floor of the valley was ofbasaltic rock, and its steep slopes were covered with boulders of thesame formation. The water ran in two distinct beds through the fissures, hollows, and caves of the rock. As our horses could not travel over thesharp edges of the rock without injuring their feet, we ascended thetable land, and rode to the northward about four miles, and then came onplains, in which we distinguished a meandering band of green verdure, which proved to be the same brook we had left, or one of its head waters. We followed it through a series of plains, from one of which a bluemountain was visible to the north-west. I called it "Mount Lang, " afterDr. Lang, the distinguished historiographer of New South Wales. Smoke wasseen to the westward. At the right side of the brook, a stream of lavabounded the plains, and was, as usual, covered with dense scrub. Box, with occasional patches of narrow-leaved tea trees, grew along theplains. The forest was very open, and principally consisted ofnarrow-leaved Ironbark; the grass in the forest and on the plains, was ofthe best description. Finer stations for the squatter cannot exist. 

May 6. --Following the brook about four miles farther, I came to itssource at a gentle slope of basalt. Plains stretched along both sides ofits course, and even beyond it. Luxuriant reeds, Plothos, and severaldeep green trees, crowded round its head. Kangaroos, which aboundedparticularly along the scrub, had formed numerous paths through the highgrass to the water's edge. I now directed my course to the W. N. W. , butsoon found myself checked by a dyke or wall of basaltic lava, composed ofboulders and tabular blocks heaped over each other in wild confusion, andcovered by scrub; it stretched from N. W. To S. E. I travelled round itsedge to the southward, after having made a vain attempt to cross it. Theoutlines of the stream ran out in low heads into the flat table land, andthere we met occasionally with springs and chains of water-holes whichunited lower down into a water-course, which, after following alternatelythe outline of the scrub, and turning into the stream of lava, becamelost among its loose rocks. The lava was very cellular; the basalt of thetable land solid. The whole appearance of this interesting localityshowed that the stream of lava was of much more recent date than the rockof the table land, and that the latter was probably formed under water, whilst the cellular scorified lava was poured out into the open air. Thestream of lava enlarged so much, and descended into so broad a valley, that I considered it to be the head of the Burdekin. I walked across it, in order to ascertain the presence of water, but found nothing but deepdry hollows surrounded with drooping tea trees, and the black basalticrocks covered with wild bottle-tree scrub. It joined the valley oflagoons very much like the valley of the reedy brook, and seemed to unitewith the latter, and to expand all over the large basin. Numerousheadlands protruded from the table land into the valley of lagoons, between the stream of lava and reedy brook. Many of them were composed ofquartzite and pegmatite [Graphic granite, composed of quartz andlaminated felspar. --ED. ], the detritus of which formed sandy slopes verydifferent from the black and loamy soil of the table land and its plains. Several isolated hills and short ridges rise out of the basaltic floor ofthe valley of lagoons; they are composed of a different rock; and if itmay be allowed me to judge by the colour and by analogy, I should saythat they were pegmatite and quartzite. It would, therefore, appear thatthe valley of lagoons is connected with three streams of lava; onefollowing down the river to the southward, a second coming down thevalley of Reedy Brook from W. N. W. , and the third coming from the N. W. Thecourse of the Burdekin has no connection with this valley, but runsapparently along its eastern side, and divides the primitive rocks fromthe streams of lava; for I had not observed any lava on its left bank. 

In returning to our camp, we saw a great number of women and children, who ran away upon seeing us, screaming loudly, which attracted some youngmen to the spot, who were much bolder and approached us. I dismounted andwalked up within five yards of them, when I stopped short from a mutualdisinclination for too close quarters, as they were armed with spears andwaddies. They made signs for me to take off my hat, and to give themsomething; but, having nothing with me, I made a sign that I would makethem a present upon returning to the camp. They appeared to be in no wayunfriendly, and directed us how to avoid the water. When I reached thecamp, I found that the Blackfellows had been there already, and had beenrather urgent to enter it, probably in consequence of the small number ofmy companions then present, who, however, managed to keep them in goodhumour by replying to their inquiries respecting our nature andintentions; among which one of the most singular was, whether thebullocks were not our gins. This occurred last night; in the morning theyreturned again in great numbers, and climbed the trees on the other sideof the brook to observe what was doing within the camp. It now becamenecessary to show them our superiority; which we attempted to do byshooting at a kite, numbers of which were perched on the neighbouringtrees; our shots, however, unfortunately missed, and the natives answeredthe discharge of the gun with a shout of laughter. At this time, however, Mr. Roper, Charley, and myself returned from our excursion, when theybecame quiet. I threw a tin canister over to them, and they returned me ashower of roasted Nymphaea fruit. It seems that the seed-vessels ofNymphaea and its rhizoma form the principal food of the natives; theseeds contain much starch and oil, and are extremely nourishing. I thengave them some pieces of dried meat, intimating by signs that it must begrilled; soon afterwards they retired. Mr. Roper came in with sadtidings; in riding up the steep bank of the river, his horse, unable toget a footing among the loose rocks, had fallen back and broken itsthigh. I immediately resolved upon going to the place where the accidenthad happened, and proposed to my companions, that we should try to makethe best of the meat, as the animal was young and healthy, and the supplywould greatly assist in saving our bullocks to the end of our longjourney; and they declared themselves willing at all events to give afair trial to the horse-flesh. Our bullocks were foot-sore and requiredrest. We, therefore, shot the horse, skinned and quartered it the samenight; and ate its liver and kidneys, which were quite as good as thoseof a bullock. 

May 7. --We cut the meat in slices, and dried it; and though there wassome prejudice against it, it would have been very difficult to havedetected any difference between it and beef; particularly if the animalshad been in the same condition. 

May 8. --As I found it necessary to follow the right bank of the river, inorder to get out of this intricate country, I sent Mr. Gilbert andCharley to trace the river through the valley of lagoons. Havingaccomplished their object, they informed me that the river had noconnexion with the lagoons of the large valley, but that several verylarge ones were even on its left bank; and that all tree vegetationdisappeared from its banks where it passed through a part of the valleyof lagoons. 

May 9. --As my bullocks were still extremely foot-sore, it was necessarythat we should travel only by short stages until they recovered;consequently, the day's journey did not exceed five miles in a N. N. E. Direction; and, with the exception of some ridges, upon excellenttravelling ground, along the left bank of the river. The latter formed, as I have already stated, the line of separation, first, between basaltand granite, and afterwards between basalt and a quartzose rock (probablybaked Psammite). The country was beautifully open and well grassed; theriver forming a simple channel, without trees, well filled with water andflowing between chains of lakes and lagoons on either side; one of whichwas covered with flocks of ducks and pelicans, resembling islands ofwhite lilies. 

Beyond the almost treeless flats round the lagoons, Casuarinas andCallistemon re-appeared along the river. 

We saw some Blackfellows in the distance, who immediately withdrew as weapproached them; but the tribe, which we had met at Reedy Brook, came tothe other side of the river, and had much to say; we did not, however, take any notice of them, until we had unloaded our bullocks and finishedour luncheon, when I went down to them, and gave them a horn of one ofour slaughtered bullocks. Roper had saved the mane of his horse, andthrew it over to them, but it seemed to frighten them very much. Weinquired by signs as to the course of the river, and we understood bytheir answers, that it came a long way from the northward. At Reedy Brookthe natives had given my companions to understand that the brook had itssource not very far off to the W. N. W. , by pointing at their heads, thenat the brook, and then in the direction mentioned. I was thereforeinclined to trust to their information about the river's source. Theythrew some yam-roots over to us, the plant of which we were not able toascertain: and after that they retired. 

May 10. --This morning they came again, and, when our bullocks were loadedand we were about to start, I went down to them and took a sort of leave. We had scarcely proceeded half a mile, when we missed the tinkling of ourbell, and found that Charley had forgotten to put it on the horse's neck, and had left it behind. Mr. Calvert and Brown, therefore, returned tolook for it, and, upon reaching the place where the camp had been made, saw the natives examining and beating every part of it; at the approachof the horsemen, however, they retired to the other side of the river;but when they turned their horses' heads, after having found the bell, the natives followed them, and threw three spears after them--whether itwas out of mere wantonness, or with hostile intentions, I do not know, though I was inclined to believe the first. It was, nevertheless, awarning to us not to repose too much confidence in them. Mr. Roper metto-day with a severe accident, which nearly cost him his life. It was avery common practice to make our horses stop by catching them by thetails; as he tried to do this with his horse, which was not yetaccustomed to him, the animal struck out at him, and kicked him with bothfeet on the chest. Roper happily recovered after some faintness, butcomplained for several days afterwards of external pain. We travelledthis day about four miles and a half N. N. E. Along the river side, following a well-beaten path of the natives. 

The river was again confined in its own valley, with quartzose rocks(Psammite) on one side, and the falls of the basaltic table land on theother. Basalt was, however, observed here about on several spots at theleft bank, and quartz porphyry composed the ridges near our lastencampment. The river divided here into a great number of anabranches, but all confined in the same valley, and united by intermediate channels. The bed of it had again become sandy, with small pebbles of pegmatite andquartz. Casuarinas were plentiful on its banks; the poplar-gum, and theMoreton Bay ash on the adjacent flats; Tristania, with pubescent leavesround some lagoons; narrow-leaved Ironbark, and poplar-gum grew on thehills; and rich grass every where. 

The night was clear, but the morning foggy, and the dew very heavy. Thewind was from the northward, and, as usual, very strong after sunset. 

May 11. --We travelled four miles to the E. N. E. The anabranches of theriver continued; the ranges of quartz porphyry approached several timesclose to the river. Oak trees and drooping Melaleucas grew abundantly inits bed, and along the banks. Higher up we crossed fine flats withlagoons and lakes covered as usual with Nymphaeas. We encamped inlatitude 18 degrees 32 minutes 37 seconds, after passing a Casuarinacreek, with high banks and a sandy bed. This creek separated the tableland from a broken low range of hills, composed of a coarse-grainedsandstone. The banks of the river here seemed to have been swept away; abroad sheet of sand, covered with fine drooping tea trees, was slightlyfurrowed by a narrow stream of water, which seemed for the greater partfiltering through the sands; chains of water-holes at its left side, fringed with Casuarinas, appeared to be anabranches of the river, and tobe connected with the main stream during the rainy season. 

I have to mention that a species of Sciadophyllum, nearly allied to Sc. Lucidum, (Don. Iii. P. 390, ) was found in the lava scrub of the valley oflagoons: it was a small tree with large digitate leaves, each of themcomposed of from eleven to thirteen oblong acuminate, glabrous leaflets, which were about five inches long; and it attracted the attention of mycompanions as much by its ornamental foliage as its numerous terminalracemes of bright scarlet coloured flowers. 

After having celebrated Whit-Sunday with a double allowance of fat cakeand sweetened tea, I started with Charley to reconnoitre the country tothe westward. Our friendly stream not only turned to the north, butafterwards to north-east and east-north-east; and though I had notsucceeded in leaving it from Reedy Brook--not having been able to crossthe lava streams of the basaltic table land--I now concluded, from thenature of the pebbles, and sands of the creek which we had crossed last, that the basalts and lavas had ceased, and that a passage to the westwardwould be practicable. 

I followed the Casuarina Creek up to its head, and called it "BigAnt-hill Creek, " in consequence of numerous gigantic strangely buttressedstructures of the white ant, which I had never seen of such a form, andof so large a size. 

The general course of the creek was north-north-west: for the first tenmiles it was without water, but its middle and upper course was wellprovided with fine reedy holes, the constant supply of water in which wasindicated by Nymphaeas, and other aquatic plants. At its left side nearthe junction I observed, as before mentioned, a coarse grained sandstone, and, at less than a mile higher up, I found flint rock; and, wherever Iexamined afterwards, the rocks proved to be coarse grained granite andpegmatite, the decomposition of which formed a sandy soil on the slopes, and clayey flats along the creek. The latter, however, were very limited. The ant-hills were intimately connected with the rock, as the antsderived their materials for building from the minute particles of clayamong the sand. The primitive rock was cut with deep gullies and ravines, and several tributary creeks joined Big Ant-hill Creek from the primitiveside. The basaltic table land, which extended all along the right side ofthe creek, formed steep slopes into its valley, and were generally toppedwith loose basaltic boulders. The table land was highest near the creek, and its drainage was not towards the creek, but to the south-west, intothe valley of lagoons. White quartz rock was observed in a few places onthe right side of the creek, where the primitive rock seemed to encroachinto the territory of the basalt; and felspathic porphyry formed probablya dyke in the pegmatite, but was most evidently broken by the basalt. Where the upper part of the creek formed a shallow watercourse, andturned altogether into the primitive formation, a plain came down fromthe west-north-west with a shallow watercourse, which continued theseparation of the two formations; the right side of the plain beingbasaltic, the soil of the Box and Ironbark forest loamy, with sharppieces of the rock; the left side being sandy, and covered with a verypleasing poplar gum forest, in which the grotesque ant-hills wereexceedingly numerous. About two miles higher up the plain, separated intoseveral distinct plains, the largest of which was from twelve to fifteenmiles long, and from two to three miles broad, and came from Mount Lang;another plain came from an isolated razorback hill, and a third continuedon the line of contact of the basaltic and primitive rocks. The upperparts of the small creeks, which come down in these plains, were full ofwater, and had their source generally between heaps of bare basalticrocks, surrounded by rich grass, and a scanty scrub of Pittosporum, ofthe native mulberry, of the fig-tree, and of several vines, withPolypodiums, Osmundas, and Caladiums growing between them. 

Several other hills and mountains rose on the table land, generally withopen plains at their base. The greater part, however, was open forest, principally of narrow-leaved Ironbark and Box, and occasionallypoplar-gum. 

One locality was particularly striking: a great number of rocky basinswithin the basalt, and surrounded by its black blocks, formed evidentlyso many lagoons during the wet season, as sedges and Polygonums--alwaysinhabitants of constantly moist places--grew abundantly in most of them. These basins were situated between low basaltic rises, along which narrowflats frequently extended. The flooded gum-trees were fine and numerous, and made me frequently believe that I was approaching a creek. I rode, however, over eighteen miles of country to the westward without observingthe slightest watercourse. Long flats bounded by slight undulationsextended some to the northward, and others to the westward; but theirinclination was imperceptible. I passed some hills and plains; andascending one of the hills, I obtained a fine view. To the west by southI saw other isolated mountains: the country to the westward was notbroken by any elevation; a fine long range was visible to the north-west. 

It was now 3 o'clock P. M. , and my Blackfellows had left me, as usual; myhorse was foot-sore, and neither the poor animal nor myself had tastedwater for the last thirty-six hours. Under these circumstances, though Iardently desired to push on to the north-west ranges, I thought itprudent to return; and after a short rest to my horse, during which Ichewed some dry pieces of beef, I rode on my way back until 9 o'clock, and then encamped. The coldness of the night reminded me too strongly ofthe pleasures of the fire and the heavy dew which had fallen, though acomfort to my horse, rendered it difficult to light one; by dint ofpatience, however, I succeeded, and then stretched myself, hungry andthirsty as I was, by the side of a large Ironbark log; whilst my horse, which I had hobbled and tethered, drooped his head over me, littleinclined either to feed or move. I started early in the morning of the14th, and passed between Mount Lang and Razorback Hill. At the foot ofthe latter I met a small creek, which I followed through a long series ofplains until I came on my old track, not very far from Big Ant-hillCreek. At the sight of water, which we had been without full fifty hours, my horse and I rushed simultaneously into it, and we drank, and drank, and drank again, before I could induce myself to light a fire and makesome tea, which was always found to be much more wholesome, and to allaythirst sooner than the water alone. 

Near the large water-hole at which I halted, was an old camping place ofthe natives, and the remnants of many a hut lay scattered round two largeflooded gum trees. The smoke of the natives fires was seen in everydirection. This part of the country is doubtless well supplied withwater-holes: but as they are unconnected with a watercourse, thetraveller, unless by accident, has little chance of finding them. 

In returning along Ant-hill Creek, I passed a few native men sittingbefore their gunyas; they were not a hundred yards from me, yet theyremained silent and motionless, like the black stumps of the trees aroundthem, until the strange apparition passed by. At sunset, just as I wastaking the saddle from my horse, I heard a cooee, and not considering itprudent to encamp in the vicinity of the natives, I began to tighten upthe girths again; but, at the same time, answered the cooee, and soonafter I saw Master Charley and his wearied horse descending from theopposite range. He had not had anything to eat since the morning of thepreceding day, and was therefore exceedingly pleased to meet me. He hadnot been able to follow me, in consequence of the foot-soreness of hishorse, but he had succeeded in finding a small spring at the foot ofMount Lang, near which the natives had often and recently encamped. 

May 15. --We returned to our camp. The natives [These natives are probablythe same as, or are connected with, the tribe that frequent RockinghamBay, who have always been noticed for their friendly bearing incommunications with ships visiting that place. Rockingham Bay is situateddue east from the position of Dr. Leichhardt's party. --Note by Capt. King. ] had visited my companions, and behaved very amicably towards them, making them not only presents of spears and wommalas, but supplying themwith seed-vessels of Nymphaea, and its mealy roasted stems and tubers, which they were in the habit of pounding into a substance much resemblingmashed potatoes. They took leave of my companions to go to the sea-coast, pointing to the east and east by south, whither they were going to fetchshells, particularly the nautilus, of which they make various ornaments. 

May 16 and 17. --We moved our camp about twenty miles N. N. W. To latitude18 degrees 16 minutes 37 seconds, to one of the head brooks of BigAnt-hill Creek. We travelled the whole distance over the basaltictable-laud without any impediment. The natives approached our camp, butretired without any communication. 

I had not found any westerly waters on my ride of the 13th, but had seena range to the north-west, and that was the goal of a new exploration. Aswe had been fortunate enough to find water at the contact of theprimitive and basaltic formation, I wished to follow the same line ofcontact as long as it would not carry us much out of our course. Wecrossed, in a northerly direction, several granitic ranges which ran outinto the table land, and were separated from each other by very largeswamps, at the time mostly dry, and covered with a short withered swampgrass, but bearing the marks of frequent inundations. The bed of theseswamps was perfectly level, and formed by an uninterrupted sheet ofbasalt. Chains of water-holes between the ranges, which I hoped wouldlead me to creeks, were lost in the level of these swamps; indeed, thesegranitic ranges were remarkably destitute of watercourses. The coarseelements of the decomposed rock, principally pegmatite, had formeduniform slopes, in which even heavy showers of rain were readilyabsorbed; but rounded blocks of rock, sometimes curiously piled, protruded from the granitic sands. Pandanus spiralis fringed thescattered water-holes; and Grevillea chrysodendron, (R. Br. ) formed awreath, of pale silver-colour, round the swamps, but grew on sandy soil. White cranes, the ibis, geese, native companions, and plovers, were verynumerous; and the large ant-hills scattered through the forest at thefoot of the hills, looked like so many wigwams. 

From one of the ranges I had another view of the north-west range, and westarted for it, leaving the primitive country behind us. A cold, southerly wind set in on the morning of the 18th, which made Brown andmyself shiver, and I most gladly availed myself of a flannel shirt, whilst Brown covered himself with his blanket. We rode about five hoursover an undulating forest land, interrupted by one or two plains, and forthe greater part exceedingly stony. We came at last to fresh burnt grass, and observed recent marks of the stone tomahawk of the natives; and, having passed a stony slope, with irregular low stony ridges, we saw anoak-tree creek before us, on the opposite side of which rose the graniticrange for which we had directed our course. This creek also ran on theline of contact of primitive and basaltic rocks; the primitive side wascut by gullies and ravines, whilst the basalt formed a steepuninterrupted slope, though covered with boulders which had been carrieddown even into the sandy bed of the creek, where they were intermingledwith those of granite and pegmatite. I called this creek "SeparationCreek, " in allusion to its geological relations: at the point where wemet it, it turned to the north and north-west, which made me believe thatit was a westerly water; but in this I was mistaken. 

We had some slight showers of drizzling rain during the afternoon. Thewind veered towards evening to the northward, and the night was clear. 

We saw several kangaroos, and their tracks to the water showed that theywere numerous. One of them, which we saw in the creek, was of a lightgrey colour, with rich fur and a white tail. 

May 19. --We returned to the camp. A cold easterly wind continued duringthe day; low rainy clouds in the morning formed into heavy cumuli duringthe afternoon. 

My geological observations lead me to the conclusion, that an immensevalley between granitic ranges has here been filled by a more modernbasaltic eruption, which (supposing that Mount Lang is basaltic in thecentre of elevation) rose in peaks and isolated hills, but formed ingeneral a level table land. The basalt has been again broken by stillmore recent fissures, through which streams of lava have risen andexpanded over the neighbouring rock. 

May 20. --We moved our camp about eighteen miles N. N. W. , to SeparationCreek, the latitude of which was 18 degrees 2 minutes 22 seconds. 

John Murphy found Grevillea chrysodendron in blossom, the rich orangecolour of which excited general admiration. The stringy-bark tree, andTristania, were growing on the sandy soil, and the latter nearwatercourses. Several native bustards (Otis Novae Hollandiae, GOULD. )were shot, and I found their stomachs full of the seeds of Grewia, whichabounded in the open patches of forest ground. In crossing a plain weobserved, under the shade of a patch of narrow-leaved tea trees, fourbowers of the bowerbird, close together, as if one habitation was notsufficient for the wanton bird to sport in; and on the dry swamps Imentioned above, small companies of native companions were walking aroundus at some distance, but rose with their sonorous cu-r-r-r-ring cry, whenever Brown tried to approach them. [The natives of Argyle call thecry of the native companion, Ku-ru-duc Ku-ru-duc; the natives ofPort Essington call the bird Ororr. --NOTE BY CAPT. KING]

May 21. --I went with Brown to reconnoitre the course of the creek, and toascertain whether it flowed to the westward. We soon found, however, thatit turned to the north and north-east, and that it was still an easternwater. As far as I followed it down, it formed the separation between theprimitive rocks and the basalt, but received several creeks from thewestward. In riding along we heard the cooees of natives, and passedseveral large camping places near the large water-holes of the creek. ABlackfellow emerged suddenly from the creek, holding a Casuarina branchin his hand, and pointing to the westward. We made a sign that we weregoing down the creek, and that we had no intention of hurting him; thepoor fellow, however, was so frightened that he groaned and crouched downin the grass. Wishing not to increase his alarm, we rode on. I followedup one of the largest tributary creeks coming from the westward towardsits head; it was lined with Casuarinas and flooded-gum trees, likeSeparation Creek, and came from an entirely granitic country, ridges andranges, with some high hills, bounding its valley on both sides; it soondivided, however, into branches, and as one turned too much to the northand the other to the south, I kept between them to the westward, andpassed over a hilly, broken, granitic country. Large blocks of granitecrested the summits of the hills, and their slopes were covered withAcacia thickets, and arborescent Hakeas and Grevilleas. A dwarf Acacia, with rhomboid downy phyllodia, an inch long, grew between the rocks. Thenatives were busy on the hills, cutting out opossums and honey. We heardtheir calls and the cries of their children. As we descended into anothervalley, the whole slope was on fire; we passed through it, however, withlittle difficulty. We crossed ridges after ridges, passed from one littlecreek and watercourse to another, all of which turned to the northward. At last, heartily tired, and almost despairing of attaining the object ofour search, viz. , a western water, we came into a valley which went downto the south-west; and, following it down, found that it joined a largerone which went to the westward. A broad creek, with the drooping tea treeand a sandy bed, gave us the promise of soon finding water; and, following the tracks of numerous kangaroos and native dogs, we came to asmall pool. After passing over very rocky granitic hills, we came into amore open country; the banks of the creek became reedy, and water wasmore abundant, and at last a fine pool, surrounded by a rich belt ofreeds, was before us. Brown was fortunate enough to shoot two ducks; and, as the sun was setting behind a neighbouring hill, we made our camp forthe night. 

May 22. --We returned to our companions, and by taking a W. N. W. Course, weavoided all the ranges and gullies that we had crossed yesterday. At thewesterly creek I found a rose-coloured Sterculia, with large campanulateblossoms and tomentose seed-vessels: the tree had lost all its foliage. Ihad met with this species on the rocky ranges of Moreton Bay (at MountBrisbane), but there it was a low shrub, whereas in this place, and allround the gulf of Carpentaria, it formed a middle sized tree withspreading branches. A new Hakea, with long thin terete leaves (differentfrom H. Lorea) and Grevillea chrysodendron, grew along the creek. Grevillea ceratophylla (R. Br. ) and another Grevillea, with a compoundterminal thyrsus, and long lanceolate falcate leaves, grew on the slopes, in company with a Xylomelum, with smooth and smaller seed-vessels thanthose of X. Pyriforme. The rocky ridges were occupied by thestringy-bark, fine Cypress-pine trees, the stunted silver-leavedIronbark, a Eucalyptus, with very scanty foliage, orange-colouredblossoms, seed-vessels longitudinally ribbed, and as large as the egg ofa fowl; its butt was covered with a lamellar bark, but the upper part andthe branches were white and smooth; also by another Eucalyptus, with ascaly butt like the Moreton Bay ash, but with smooth upper trunk andcordate ovate leaves, which was also new to me; we called it theApple-gum. We frequently met with the grass tree (Xanthorrhaea. )

May 23. --We moved our camp to the westerly creek I had found the daybefore, which with several others formed the heads of a river, flowing tothe N. W. I called this river the "Lynd, " after R. Lynd, Esq. , a gentlemanto whom I am under the greatest obligation, for his unmeasured liberalityand kindness enabled me to devote my time exclusively to the pursuits ofscience and exploration. 

The nights had been as usual very cold, and the dew very heavy. Theprevailing breeze was from the east, veering towards evening to thenorth-east; during the morning a cold south-east wind. The rock wasprimitive, granite and pegmatite in several varities, with a fewexceptions of anagenitic formation. Near the place of our firstencampment on the Lynd, in lat. 17 degrees 58 minutes, I observed asienite, to which the distribution of the hornblende in layers had giventhe stratified appearance of gneiss. Another rock was composed of felsparand large leaflets of white mica, or of quartz and white mica. The veinswhich traversed these rocks were all of quartz, which, within thepegmatite, enlarged into big masses and hills, particularly wherebasaltic rock was near. Mr. Gilbert and Charley went down the creek tofind water and a practicable road, in case the country should provemountainous and rocky. I had a view from a small peak near our camp; thecountry was full of ridges, but openly timbered, and I saw a low range tothe northward, trending from east to west. 

May 24. --It was the Queen's birth-day, and we celebrated it with what--asour only remaining luxury--we were accustomed to call a fat cake, made offour pounds of flour and some suet, which we had saved for the expresspurpose, and with a pot of sugared tea. We had for several months beenwithout sugar, with the exception of about ten pounds, which was reservedfor cases of illness and for festivals. So necessary does it appear tohuman nature to interrupt the monotony of life by marked days, on whichwe indulge in recollections of the past, or in meditations on the future, that we all enjoyed those days as much, and even more, than whensurrounded with all the blessings of civilized society; although I amfree to admit, that fat-cake and sugared tea in prospectu might induce usto watch with more eagerness for the approach of these days of feasting. There were, besides, several other facts interesting to the psychologist, which exhibited the influence of our solitary life, and the unity of ourpurpose, on our minds. During the early part of our journey, I had beencarried back in my dreams to scenes of recent date, and into the societyof men with whom I had lived shortly before starting on my expedition. AsI proceeded on my journey, events of earlier date returned into my mind, with all the fantastic associations of a dream; and scenes of England, France, and Italy passed successively. Then came the recollections of myUniversity life, of my parents and the members of my family; and, atlast, the days of boyhood and of school--at one time as a boy afraid ofthe look of the master, and now with the independent feelings of the man, communicating to, and discussing with him the progress of my journey, thecourses of the rivers I had found, and the possible advantages of mydiscoveries. At the latter part of the journey, I had, as it were, retraced the whole course of my life, and I was now, in my dreams, almostinvariably in Sydney, canvassing for support, and imagining that, although I had left my camp, yet that I should return with new resourcesto carry us through the remainder of our journey. It was very remarkable, that all my companions were almost invariably anticipating the end of ourjourney, dreaming that they reached the sea-coast, and met with ships, orthat they were in Port Essington and enjoying the pleasures of civilizedlife; whilst I, on awaking, found my party and my interests on the placewhere I had left them in my dreams. During the leisure moments of theday, or at the commencement of night, when seated at my fire, all mythoughts seemed riveted to the progress and success of my journey, and tothe new objects we had met with during the day. I had then to compelmyself to think of absent friends and past times, and the thought thatthey supposed me dead or unsuccessful in my enterprize, brought me backimmediately to my favourite object. Much, indeed the greater portion, ofmy journey had been occupied in long reconnoitring rides; and he who isthus occupied is in a continued state of excitement, now buoyant withhope, as he urges on his horse towards some distant range or bluemountain, or as he follows the favourable bend of a river; now alldespairing and miserable, as he approaches the foot of the range withoutfinding water from which he could start again with renewed strength, oras the river turns in an unfavourable direction, and slips out of hiscourse. Evening approaches; the sun has sunk below the horizon for sometime, but still he strains his eye through the gloom for the dark verdureof a creek, or strives to follow the arrow-like flight of a pigeon, theflapping of whose wings has filled him with a sudden hope, from which herelapses again into a still greater sadness; with a sickened heart hedrops his head to a broken and interrupted rest, whilst his horse isstanding hobbled at his side, unwilling from excessive thirst to feed onthe dry grass. How often have I found myself in these different states ofthe brightest hope and the deepest misery, riding along, thirsty, almostlifeless and ready to drop from my saddle with fatigue; the poor horsetired like his rider, footsore, stumbling over every stone, runningheedlessly against the trees, and wounding my knees! But suddenly, thenote of Grallina Australis, the call of cockatoos, or the croaking offrogs, is heard, and hopes are bright again; water is certainly at hand;the spur is applied to the flank of the tired beast, which alreadypartakes in his rider's anticipations, and quickens his pace--and alagoon, a creek, or a river, is before him. The horse is soon unsaddled, hobbled, and well washed; a fire is made, the teapot is put to the fire, the meat is dressed, the enjoyment of the poor reconnoiterer is perfect, and a prayer of thankfulness to the Almighty God who protects thewanderer on his journey, bursts from his grateful lips. 

May 25. --We travelled about eight miles down the Lynd. The country wasvery mountainous; granitic and pegmatite ranges bounded the valley onboth sides. 

May 26. --We continued our journey over the most mountainous and rockycountry we had ever passed. The ranges formed the banks of the riveritself, and even entered its bed, which gradually enlarged and wasfrequently formed by several channels fringed with large drooping teatrees. At the end of the stage, basalt was found to have broken throughthe granite. 

May 27. --The river turned more to the northward, and, joined by manygullies, wound its way between wild and rocky, though low ranges. At aplace where it left a range of rugged little peaks, basalt re-appeared atits banks, and extended for some distance, now filling flats with itsrough and cellular blocks and pebbles, and again forming small hillocksof black bare rock. As soon, however, as the river had fairly left thebasaltic formation, fine large flats of a light sandy soil succeeded onboth sides; on which Pandanus spiralis grew in great abundance, and to alarger size than we had seen before. The bed of the river became verybroad, and was covered with sands, shingle, and pebbles of the rocks ofits upper course. I passed through a broad rocky gap of a range tendingfrom east to west, and, at about two miles beyond and to the north-westof it, we encamped, in lat. 17 degrees 54 minutes 40 seconds. 

In passing this gap, on a previous reconnoitring ride with Brown, I metwith several natives with their wives and children, encamped at the northentrance of it. When they saw us, the men poised their spears, and shooktheir waddis to frighten us, but when, notwithstanding their menaces, weapproached them, they left all their goods, and with their weapons onlyhurried up the rocks with wonderful agility. Three koolimans (vessels ofstringy bark) were full of honey water, from one of which I took a heartydraught, and left a brass button for payment. Dillis, fish spears, aroasted bandicoot, a species of potatoe, wax, a bundle of tea-tree barkwith dry shavings; several flints fastened with human hair to the ends ofsticks, and which are used as knives to cut their skin and food; aspindle to make strings of opossum wool; and several other smallutensils, were in their camp. One of my Blackfellows found a finerock-crystal [Note at end of para. ] in one of their bags, when we passedthe place next day with our bullocks. The poor people had evidently notyet ventured to return. The natives we had formerly met, had generallywatched our movements from a distance, and had returned to their camp assoon as we had fairly left it; but these seemed too much frightened; andI should not be surprised to find that the mountainous nature of theircountry had given them a greater share of superstition. 

[Note: This shows how far the custom extends throughout the continent, ofconsidering the rock-crystal as sacred; whether it be that it has beentransmitted from tribe to tribe, or that the native was everywhereinclined to pick up a shining stone, and to consider it endowed withpeculiar virtues. From the absence of brilliant ores, or precious stones, in the bags and dillis of the natives, I concluded, that neither preciousstones nor brilliant metallic substances existed in the country wherethey lived. Those with whom we came in contact, generally admired ourgold and silver chains and watches very much, but had nothing to show inreturn except broken shells from the sea-coast]

Among the new and interesting scrubs and trees which we met with atalmost every step, I shall only mention a small Grevillea, from one totwo feet in height, with pubescent pinnatifid leaves, and a simple orcompound thyrsus of scarlet flowers; Cochlospermum gossypium, the nativecotton tree of Port Essington, whose bright showy yellow blossoms andlarge capsules full of silky cotton, attracted our attention; its leavesare deciduous, and the trees were entirely leafless; a fine species ofCalytrix on the rocks, and two of Loranthus on the drooping tea tree, thedrooping foliage of which one of them imitated, whilst the other belongedto the group I mentioned as found at the Suttor, with its flowersinserted on a leafy bract. 

Exocarpus latifolius is so different from E. Cupressiformis, in itsfoliage and aspect, that I did not suspect their near relation, until Ifound blossom and fruit: the ripe kernel as well as its yellow succulentleaf-stalk have a very agreeable taste; a leguminous shrub, about five orsix feet high, with purple blossoms gathered into terminal oblong heads;this would be an ornament to our gardens. Along the river we discovered alarge tree, about forty or fifty feet in height, with rather singularlydisposed horizontal branches and rich dark green foliage; its leaves wereoblong acute, and frequently a foot long; its flowers formed dense heads, which grew into a fleshy body marked with the arcoles of every flower. Itis either Sarcocephalus or Zuccarinia, or nearly allied to them. The treehas never been seen on easterly waters, but it was the invariablecompanion of all the larger freshwater rivers round the gulf. A finespecies of Gomphrena was found in the sandy bed of the river. A speciesof Terminalia, a fine shady tree, with spreading branches and broadelliptical leaves, grew along the sandy creeks; and another smaller onewith Samara fruit preferred the rocky slopes. Both of these, and a thirdspecies growing on the west side of the gulph, which I shall have tomention hereafter, supplied us with fine eatable gum, and a fourthspecies, with smooth leaves, had an eatable fruit of a purple colour. 

The view I obtained from one of the hills near our yesterday's camp wasvery characteristic. The country was broken by low ranges of variousextent, formed by exceedingly rocky hills and peaks, which lifted theirrugged crests above the open forest that covered their slopes. Heaps ofrocks with clusters of trees, particularly the smooth-leaved fig tree, the rose-coloured Sterculia, Exocarpus latifolius, were scattered overthe slopes, or grew on the summits, to which they gave the resemblance ofthe lifted crest of an irritated cockatoo, particularly when hugefantastic blocks were striking out between the vegetation. As wetravelled along, ranges of hills of this character appeared one afteranother; to which wallums and wallabies fled for security as we scaredthem from the river's side; the rose-breasted cockatoo (Cocatua Eos, GOULD. ) visited the patches of fresh burnt grass, in large flocks;bustards were numerous on the small flats between basaltic hillocks, where they fed on the ripe fruit of Grewia. 

On the evening of the 27th May, we killed one of our bullocks, which hadsuffered more than any of the others by the journey, in consequence ofhis having carried our ammunition, which had decreased comparativelylittle, and the great weight of which had raised large lumps on his ribs, which had formed into ulcers. We were very disagreeably disappointed innot finding sufficient fat to fry the liver, which was our favouritedish; even the fat of the marrow had disappeared and had left a waterytissue, which, when grilled for some time, turned into a yellowsubstance, having the taste of the fried yolk of an egg. We dried ourmeat on the 28th, 29th, and 30th. I took a set of lunar sights, andcalculated my longitude 143 degrees 30 minutes. 

May 31. --We had scarcely left, our camp, when swarms of crows and kites(Milvus isiurus) took possession of it, after having given us a fairfight during the previous days, whilst we were drying the meat. Theirboldness was indeed remarkable, and if the natives had as much, we shouldsoon have had to quit our camp. Proceeding, we travelled over a brokenand very stony country, with a stiff soil, but mixed with so much sandthat even the Severn tree grew well. There was another small tree, thebranches of which were thickly covered with bright green leaves; it hadround inferior fruit, about half an inch in diameter, which was full ofseeds: when ripe, it was slightly pulpy and acidulous, and reminded me ofthe taste of the coarse German rye bread. In consequence of thisresemblance, we called this little tree the Bread tree of the Lynd. I atehandfulls of this fruit without the slightest inconvenience. A species ofPittosporum, and several Acacias, Pandanus, and the leguminous Ironbark, were scattered through an open forest of Ironbark and lanceolate box. Iobserved here a very ornamental little tree, with drooping branches andlinear lanceolate drooping leaves three inches long; it very muchresembled a species of Capparis that I had seen at the Isaacs. Itsblossoms are very small, and the calyx and corolla have each fivedivisions; the stamens are opposite the petals; it bore a fruit like asmall apple, with a hard outside, but pulpy and many seeded within, likeCapparis; the calyx was attached to the base of the fruit. 

The rock was still granitic, with small outbreaks of basalt; the leafletsof white mica were visible everywhere in the soil and in the largeant-hills, whose building materials were derived from the decomposedfelspar. The bed of the river was frequently rocky, and very broad, withlow banks and no water. The highest flood-marks we observed were from sixto eight feet above the level of the bed; these marks were on the trunksof Casuarinas, Melaleucas, and flooded-gum, which grew along the channel. The country in general had a winterly appearance; and the grass round thecamp was dry, but I observed the fine grass of the Isaacs, and manyvarieties which grow on the Suttor and Burdekin, which will yield anexcellent feed in the proper season; and, even at the present, neitherour bullocks nor horses were starving. 

The part of the country in which we were, possesses great interest in ameteorological point of view. In the centre of the York Peninsula, between the east coast and the gulf, and on the slopes to the latter, asmight be expected, the northerly and easterly winds which set in soregularly after sunset, as well along the Burdekin as on the basaltictable land, failed, and were succeeded here by slight westerly andeasterly breezes, without any great and decided movement in theatmosphere; and westerly winds, which had formerly been of rareoccurrence, became more frequent and stronger. The days, from thestillness of the air, were very hot; but at night the dews were heavy, and it was very cold. Charley asserted that he had seen ice at our lastcamp. 

The black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus Banksii) has been much morefrequently observed of late. 

We used the last of our salt at the last camp; and what we should dowithout it, was a question of considerable interest. As I had never takensalt with me in my reconnoitring expeditions, and had never felt the wantof it with dried beef, either grilled or raw, I recommended my companionsto eat their meat in the same state; and, in fact, good dry beef, withoutany farther preparation, was much relished by all of us: for, whengrilled, it became ashy and burnt, particularly when without fat; and, ifstewed, although it yielded a good broth, it became tough and tasteless. The meat of the last bullock was very hard and juiceless, and somethingwas to be done to soften it, and make it palatable: as we had no fat, wefrequently steamed it with water, but this rendered it tough, withoutfacilitating in the least the mastication; and its fibres, enteringbetween our teeth, rendered them exceedingly tender, and caused us muchpain. After a week's trial, and several experiments, we returned to ourformer practice of stewing it, and in a very short time relished it asmuch without salt, as we had formerly done with it. 

CHAPTER IX

THE STARRY HEAVENS--SUBSTITUTE FOR COFFEE--SAWFISH--TWO-STORIED GUNYASOF THE NATIVES--THE MITCHELL--MURPHY'S PONY POISONED--GREENTREE-ANT--NEW BEVERAGE--CROCODILE--AUDACITY OF KITES--NATIVES NOTFRIENDLY--THE CAMP ATTACKED AT NIGHT BY THEM--MESSRS. ROPER AND CALVERTWOUNDED, AND MR. GILBERT KILLED. 

June 1. --Mr. Gilbert and Charley made an excursion down the river lastnight, to look for water, but, as they did not return in the morning, andas water had been found, after they left, about four miles lower down, westarted to meet them. Observing a swarm of white cranes circling in theair, and taking their flight down the river, I concluded that we shouldmeet with a good supply of water lower down, and, therefore, passed thenearest water-hole; but, the country and the bed of the river beingexceedingly rocky, our progress was very slow. After proceeding abouteight miles, we came to the junction of a river from the south-west withthe Lynd; and encamped at some small pools of water in latitude 17degrees 45 minutes 40 seconds: having travelled, during the last twostages, in a west-north-west direction. 

June 2. --When we left our camp this morning, Mr. Gilbert and Charleyreturned from their ride; they had come on our tracks last night, but, surrounded as they were by rocky hills and gullies, had been compelled toencamp. We travelled about seven miles and a half, and crossed three goodsized creeks, joining the Lynd from the north east. The river dividedseveral times into anabranches, flowing round, and insulating rocky hillsand ridges. It was much better supplied with water, and contained severallarge reedy lagoons. An elegant Acacia, about thirty or thirty-five feethigh, grew on its small flats: it had large drooping glaucous bipinnateleaves, long broad pods, and oval seeds, half black, and half bright red. 

June 3. --We continued our journey down the river, about seven or eightmiles. The first three miles were very tolerable, over limited box-flatsnear the river. As we approached the ranges again, the supply of waterincreased; and we passed one large poel, in particular, with many ducksand spoonbills on it. But the ranges approached the banks of the river onboth sides, and formed either precipitous walls, or flats so exceedinglyrocky, that it was out of the question to follow it. We, therefore, ascended the hills and mountains, and with our foot-sore cattle passedover beds of sharp shingles of porphyry. We crept like snails over theserocky hills, and through their gullies filled with boulders and shingles, until I found it necessary to halt, and allow my poor beasts to recover. During the afternoon, I examined the country in advance, and found thatthe mountains extended five miles farther, and were as rocky as those wehad already passed. But, after that, they receded from the river, and thecountry became comparatively level. To this place I brought forward myparty on the 4th June, and again descended into the valley of the river, and encamped near a fine pool of water in its sandy bed, in latitude 17degrees 34 minutes 17 seconds. Here, last night, I met a family ofnatives who had just commenced their supper; but, seeing us, they ranaway and left their things, without even making an attempt to frightenus. Upon examining their camp, I found their koolimans, (vessels to keepwater) full of bee bread, of which I partook, leaving for payment somespare nose rings of our bullocks. In their dillies I found the fleshyroots of a bean, which grows in a sandy soil, and has solitary yellowblossoms; the tuber of a vine, which has palmate leaves; a bitter potato, probably belonging to a water-plant; a fine specimen of rock-crystal; anda large cymbium (a sea shell), besides other trifles common to almost allthe natives we had seen. Their koolimans were very large, almost likesmall boats, and were made of the inner layer of the bark of thestringy-bark tree. There was no animal food in the camp. 

The whole extent of the mountainous country passed in our two laststages, was of porphyry, with crystals of quartz and felspar in a greypaste; on both sides of it, the rock was granite and pegmatite; and, atthe north-west side of the gorge, I observed talc-schist in the bed ofthe river. 

The vegetation of the forest, and along the river, did not vary; but, onthe mountains, the silver-leaved Ironbark prevailed. 

The general course of the Lynd, from my last latitude to that of the 4thJune, was north-west. 

Sleeping in the open air at night, with a bright sky studded with itsstars above us, we were naturally led to observe more closely the hourlychanges of the heavens; and my companions became curious to know thenames of those brilliant constellations, with which nightly observationhad now, perhaps for the first time, made them familiar. We had reached alatitude which allowed us not only to see the brightest stars of thesouthern, but, also of the northern hemisphere, and I shall never forgetthe intense pleasure I experienced, and that evinced by my companions, when I first called them, about 4 o'clock in the morning, to see UrsaMajor. The starry heaven is one of those great features of nature, whichenter unconsciously into the composition of our souls. The absence of thestars gives us painful longings, the nature of which we frequently do notunderstand, but which we call home sickness:--and their suddenre-appearance touches us like magic, and fills us with delight. Every newmoon also was hailed with an almost superstitious devotion, and myBlackfellows vied with each other to discover its thin crescent, andwould be almost angry with me when I strained my duller eyes in vain tocatch a glimpse of its faint light in the brilliant sky which succeedsthe setting of the sun. The questions: where were we at the last newmoon? how far have we travelled since? and where shall we be at thenext?--were invariably discussed amongst us; calculations were made as tothe time that would be required to bring us to the end of our journey, and there was no lack of advice offered as to what should, and ought tobe done. 

At several of our last camps the cry of the goat suckers, and the hootingof owls, were heard the whole night; and immediately after sunset, thechirping of several kinds of crickets was generally heard, the sound ofwhich was frequently so metallic, as to be mistaken for the tinkling ofour bell. At Separation Creek, we first met with the ring-tailed opossum;and, on the table land, often heard its somewhat wailing cry. 

June 5. --We travelled, in a direct line, about nine miles west by north, down the river, although the distance along its banks was much greater;for it made a large bend at first to the northward, and afterwards, beingturned by a fine conspicuous short range, to the westward. I named theRange after W. Kirchner, Esq. , another of the supporters of myexpedition. The river was here, in some places, fully half a mile broad, and formed channels covered with low shrubs, among which a myrtle wasfrequent. Between the ranges, the river became narrower: and, before itreached Kirchner's Range, a large creek joined it from the eastward; andanother from the southward, after it had passed the range. The flatsincreased on both side of the river, and were openly timbered with boxand narrow-leaved Ironbark. The rock near our yesterday's camp wastalc-schist. Farther down sienite was observed, which contained so muchhornblende as to change occasionally into hornblende rock, with scatteredcrystals of quartz. Granite and pegmatite were round some lagoons nearthe creek from the southward. The clustered fig tree of the Burdekin, became again more frequent; but Sarcocephalus was the characteristic treeof the river. The Acacia of Expedition Range and of the upper Lynd, grewto a comparatively large size in the open forest. We observed a cottontree (Cochlospermum), covered with large yellow blossoms, though entirelyleafless; and we could not help thinking how great an ornament this plantwould be to the gardens of the colony. 

As the water-holes became larger, water-fowl became more plentiful; andBrown succeeded in shooting several wood-ducks and a Malacorhyncusmembranaceus. The bean of the Mackenzie was very abundant in the sandybed of the river; we roasted and ate some of its fruit; it was, however, too heavy, and produced indigestion: Mr. Phillips pounded them, and theymade an excellent substitute for coffee, which I preferred to our tea, which, at that time, was not very remarkable for its strength. 

June 6. --We travelled about nine miles west by north to latitude 17degrees 30 minutes 47 seconds. The first part of the stage was over anundulating country timbered with box and Ironbark; but the latter partwas hilly and mountainous: the mountains were so rocky, where theyentered the bed of the river, that we were obliged to leave its banks, and travel over a very difficult country. 

On the small flats, the apple-gum grew with a few scattered Moreton Bayash trees; on the bergues of the river we found the white cedar (Meliaazedarach), Clerodendron; an asclepiadaceous shrub with large triangularseed-vessels; and, on the hills, the blood-wood and stringy-bark. Therock, as far as I examined it, was of porphyry of great hardness, andcomposing hills of an almost conical form. 

June 7. --The same difficult country not only continued, but ratherincreased. Charley told me last night, on his return from a walk, that hehad found sandstone. To-day we travelled over porphyries like those ofthe last stage: but, about four miles from the last camp, steep sandstonerocks with excavations appeared on our left, at some distance from theriver, from which they were separated by porphyry; but, farther on, theyapproached the river on both sides, and formed steep slopes, whichcompelled us to travel along the bed of the river itself. Two largecreeks joined the river from the southward, one of which was running, andalso made the river run until the stream lost itself in the sandy bed. Atthe end of the stage, however, the stream re-appeared, and we were fairlyon the fourth flowing river of the expedition: for the Condamine, although not constantly, was raised by rains, and showed the origin ofits supply, by the muddy nature of its waters; the Dawson commencedrunning where we left it; and the Burdekin, with several of itstributaries, was running as far as we followed it. The waters of theDawson, the Burdekin, and the Lynd, were very clear, and received theirconstant supply from springs. 

We passed a camp of natives, who vere very much alarmed at the report ofa gun, which Mr. Gilbert happened to fire when very near them; this hedid in his anxiety to procure a pair of Geophaps plumifera, for hiscollection. These pretty little pigeons had been first observed by Brownin the course of our yesterday's stage, who shot two of them, but theywere too much mutilated to make good specimens. We frequently saw themafterwards, but never more than two, four, or six together, running withgreat rapidity and with elevated crest over the ground, and preferringthe shady rocks along the sandy bed of the river. I tried several methodsto render the potatoes, which we had found in the camps of the natives, eatable; but neither roasting nor boiling destroyed their sickeningbitterness. At last, I pounded and washed them, and procured theirstarch, which was entirely tasteless, but thickened rapidly in hot water, like arrow-root; and was very agreeable to eat, wanting only the additionof sugar to make it delicious; at least so we fancied. 

June 8. --We travelled about nine miles west-north-west. The country wasin general open, with soft ground on the more extensive flats; althoughsandstone ranges approached the river in many places. Four good-sizedcreeks entered the river from the southward. The sandstone, or psammite, was composed of large grains of quartz mixed with clay of a whitish redor yellow colour; it frequently formed steep cliffs and craggy ruggedlittle peaks. 

The stringy-bark grew to a fine size on the hills, and would yield, together with Ironbark and the drooping tea-tree, the necessary timberfor building. A new species of Melaleuca and also of Boronia were found, when entering upon the sandstone formation. 

The wind for the last few days has been westerly; cumuli forming duringthe day, dissolved towards sunset; the days were very hot, the nightsmild and dry. It was evident that we had descended considerably into thebasin of the gulf. 

June 9. --We travelled about ten miles north-west. Box-tree flats, of moreor less extent, were intercepted by abrupt barren craggy hills composedof sandstone, which seemed to rest on layers of argillaceous rock. Thelatter was generally observed at the foot of the hills and in the bed ofthe river; it had in most places been worn by the action of water. Thestringy-bark became even numerous on the flats, in consequence of themore sandy nature of the soil: but the hills were scrubby, and Mr. Gilbert reported that he had even seen the Bricklow. The grass of theIsaacs grew from twelve to fifteen feet high, in the hollows near theriver, which was, as usual, fringed with Sarcocephalus; a species ofTerminalia; the drooping tea-tree; and with an Acacia which perfumed theair with the fragrant odours of its flowers. We gathered some blossoms ofthe drooping tea-tree, which were full of honey, and, when soaked, imparted a very agreeable sweetness to the water. We frequently observedgreat quantities of washed blossoms of this tree in the deserted camps ofthe natives; showing that they were as fond of the honey in the blossomsof the tea-tree, as the natives of the east coast are of that of theseveral species of Banksia. 

June 10. --We travelled about five miles north-north-west to latitude 17degrees 9 minutes 17 seconds. The flats, the rugged hills, and the river, maintained the same character. Creeks, probably of no great extent, joined the Lynd from the south side of all the hills we passed bothyesterday and to-day. 

The weather was very fine, although exceedingly hot during the day; butthe nights were mild, and without dew. An easterly and south-easterlywind blew during the whole day, moderated a little at sunset, and againfreshened up after it; but the latter part of the night, and for an hourand a half after sunrise, was calm. I was induced to think that this windoriginated from the current of cold air flowing from the table-land ofthe Burdekin down to the gulf, as the easterly winds west of New Englanddo, and as the westerly winds of Sydney during July and August, which aresupposed to be equally connected with the table-land of New England andof Bathurst. The westerly winds occurring at the upper Lynd, do notmilitate against such a supposition, as they might well belong to anupper current coming from the sea. 

Two new fishes were caught; both were very small; the onemalacopterygious, and resembling the pike, would remain at timesmotionless at the bottom, or dart at its prey; the other belonged to theperches, and had an oblong compressed body, and three dark stripesperpendicular to its length; this would hover through the water, andnibble at the bait. Silurus and Gristes were also caught. 

Brown rendered himself very useful to us in shooting ducks, which werevery numerous on the water-holes; and he succeeded several times inkilling six, eight, or ten, at oneshot; particularly the Leptotarsis, GOULD, (whistling duck) which habitually crowd close together on thewater. Native companions were also numerous, but these birds and theblack cockatoos were the most wary of any that we met. Whilst travellingwith our bullocks through the high grass, we started daily a great numberof wallabies; two of which were taken by Charley and John Murphy, assisted by our kangaroo dog. Brown, who had gone to the lower part ofthe long pool of water near our encampment, to get a shot at somesheldrakes (Tadorna Raja), returned in a great hurry, and told me that hehad seen a very large and most curious fish dead, and at the water'sedge. Messrs. Gilbert and Calvert went to fetch it, and I was greatlysurprised to find it a sawfish (Pristis), which I thought livedexclusively in salt water. It was between three and four feet in length, and only recently, perhaps a few days, dead. It had very probably come upthe river during a flood, for the water-hole in which the creature hadbeen detained, had no connection with the tiny stream, which hardlyresisted the absorbing power of the sands. Another question was, whatcould have been the cause of its death? as the water seemed well tenantedwith small fish. We supposed that it had pursued its prey into shallowwater, and had leaped on the dry land, in its efforts to regain the deepwater. Charley also found and brought me the large scales of the fish ofthe Mackenzie, and the head-bones of a large guard-fish. 

June 11. --We travelled about eight miles due north. The bed of the riverwas very broad; and an almost uninterrupted flat, timbered with box andapple-gum, extended along its banks. We were delighted with the mostexquisite fragrance of several species of Acacia in blossom. 

June 12. --We travelled about nine miles N. N. W. To lat. 16 degrees 55minutes. The flats were again interrupted by sandstone ranges. One largecreek, and several smaller ones joined the river. 

June 13. --We accomplished nine miles to-day in a N. N. W. Direction. Thecountry was partly rocky; the rock was a coarse conglomerate of brokenpieces of quartz, either white or coloured with oxide of iron; it greatlyresembled the rock of the Wybong hills on the upper Hunter, and wasequally worn and excavated. The flats were limited, and timbered withapple-gum, box, and blood-wood, where the sand was mixed with a greatershare of clay; and with stringy-bark on the sandy rocky soil; also withflooded-gum, in the densely grassed hollows along the river. The Severntree, the Acacia of Expedition Range, and the little bread tree, werefrequent along the banks of the river. A species of Stravadium attractedour attention by its loose racemes of crimson coloured flowers, and oflarge three or four ribbed monospermous fruit; it was a small tree, withbright green foliage, and was the almost constant companion of thepermanent water-holes. As its foliage and the manner of its growthresemble the mangrove, we called it the Mangrove Myrtle. 

Brown shot fifteen ducks, mostly Leptotarsis Eytoni, GOULD. ; and Charleya bustard (Otis Australasianus), which saved two messes of our meat. 

The river was joined by a large creek from the south-west, and by severalsmall ones; we passed a very fine lagoon, at scarcely three miles fromour last camp. 

June 14. --We travelled nine miles north by west, to lat. 16 degrees 38minutes. The box-tree flats were very extensive, and scattered over withsmall groves of the Acacia of Expedition Range. The narrow-leavedIronbark had disappeared with the primitive rocks; the moment sandstonecommenced, stringy-bark took its place. We passed some lagoons, crossed agood sized creek from the south-west, and saw a small lake in thedistance. At the latter part of the stage the country became moreundulating. The edges of the stiff shallows were densely covered with thesharp pointed structures of the white ants, about two or three feet high. They were quite as frequent at the upper part of the river, where Iomitted to mention them. We saw a very interesting camping place of thenatives, containing several two-storied gunyas, which were constructed inthe following manner: four large forked sticks were rammed into theground, supporting cross poles placed in their forks, over which bark wasspread sufficiently strong and spacious for a man to lie upon; othersheets of stringy-bark were bent over the platform, and formed an archedroof, which would keep out any wet. At one side of these constructions, the remains of a large fire were observed, with many mussel-shellsscattered about. All along the Lynd we had found the gunyas of thenatives made of large sheets of stringy-bark, not however supported byforked poles, but bent, and both ends of the sheet stuck into the ground;Mr. Gilbert thought the two-storied gunyas were burial places; but we metwith them so frequently afterwards, during our journey round the gulf, and it was frequently so evident that they had been recently inhabited, that no doubt remained of their being habitations of the living, andconstructed to avoid sleeping on the ground during the wet season. 

June 15. --We travelled about nine miles and a half down the river, over acountry like that of yesterday, the tree vegetation was, however, morescanty, the forest still more open, the groves of Acacia larger. Brownreturned with two sheldrakes (Tadorna Raja), four black ducks (Anas NovaeHollandiae), four teals (Querquedula castanea); and brought the good newsthat the Lynd joined a river coming from the south-east, with a rapidstream to the westward. 

June 16. --We left the Lynd, along which we had journeyed from lat. 17degrees 58 minutes to lat. 16 degrees 30 minutes, and travelled abouttwelve miles W. N. W. , when we encamped at the west side of a very longlagoon Though I did not see the junction of the two rivers myself, Mr. Roper, Brown, and Charley, informed me, that the Lynd became very narrow, and its banks well confined, before joining the new river; which I tookthe liberty of naming after Sir Thomas Mitchell, the talentedSurveyor-General of New South Wales; they also stated that the Lynd waswell filled by a fine sheet of water. The bed of the Mitchell was verybroad, sandy, and quite bare of vegetation; showing the more frequentrecurrence of floods. A small stream meandered through the sheet of sand, and from time to time expanded into large water-holes: the river was alsomuch more tortuous in its course than the Lynd, which for long distancesgenerally kept the same course. The Mitchell came from the eastward, andtook its course to the west-north-west. At the sudden bends of the river, the bergue was interrupted by gullies, and occasionally by deep creeks, which seemed, however, only to have a short course, and to be the outletsof the waters collecting on the flats and stiff plains at some distancefrom the river. The bergue was covered with fine bloodwood trees, stringy-bark and box. At a greater distance from the river, the treesbecame scanty and scattered, and, still farther, small plains extended, clothed but sparingly with a wiry grass. These plains were bounded by anopen forest of the Acacia of Expedition Range. This little tree gave us agood supply of a light amber-coloured wholesome gum, which we sometimesate in its natural state, or after it had been dissolved by boiling. Towards the end of the day's stage, we came to several very fine lagoons;one of which was several miles long, and apparently parallel to theriver: it was exceedingly deep, and covered with the broad leaves ofVillarsia and Nymphaea, and well stocked with numerous large fish, whichbetrayed their presence by an incessant splashing during the early partof the night. John Murphy caught the small striped perch of the Lynd; andanother small perch-like fish, with a broad anal fin, which had alreadyexcited our admiration at the Lynd, by the beauty of its colours, and bythe singularity of its movements. Charley saw the Silurus and theguardfish, and caught several of the broad-scaled fish of the Mackenzie;one of which, a most beautiful specimen, has been preserved and sent toMr. Gould. 

When we left our last camp at the Lynd, John Murphy's pony was missing. Charley went to look for it, and did not join us before we had arrived atour camp, after an unusually long and fatiguing stage. He brought us themelancholy news that he had found the poor beast on the sands of theLynd, with its body blown up, and bleeding from the nostrils. It hadeither been bitten by a snake; or had eaten some noxious herb, which hadfortunately been avoided by the other horses. Accidents of this kind werewell calculated to impress us with the conviction of our dependence onProvidence, which had hitherto been so kind and merciful. 

As all our meat was consumed, I was compelled to stop, in order to killone of our little steers. It proved to be very fat, and allowed us oncemore to indulge in our favourite dish of fried liver. Although we weremost willing to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, andto revive our own ambitious feelings at the memory of the deeds of ourillustrious heroes, we had nothing left but the saturated rags of oursugar bags; which, however, we had kept for the purpose, and which we nowboiled up with our tea: our last flour was consumed three weeks ago; andthe enjoyment of fat cake, therefore, was not to be thought of. Shouldany of my readers think these ideas and likings ridiculous and foolish, they may find plenty of analogous facts by entering the habitations ofthe poor, where I have not only witnessed, but enjoyed, similar treats ofsugared tea and buttered bread. 

In crossing one of the creeks we found a species of Acacia [Ingamoniliformis, D. C. Prod. Vol. II. P. 440, where it is describedas having been found at Timor. ], with articulate pods and large brownseeds; it was a small tree with spreading branches, and a dark green shadyfoliage: it occurred afterwards on all the creeks and water-holes until wereached our destination. 

It was at the lower part of the Lynd that we first saw the green-treeant; which seemed to live in small societies in rude nests between thegreen leaves of shady trees. The passer by, when touching one of thesenests, would be instantaneously covered with them, and would soon beaware of their presence by the painful bites they are able, andapparently most ready, to inflict. 

June 19. --We travelled about eight miles N. 50 degrees W. Lat. 16 degrees22 minutes 16 seconds and again encamped at a very deep lagoon, coverednear its edges with Villarsias, but without Nymphaeas. The soil of theflat round the lagoon, was very stiff and suitable for making bricks. Thecountry along the Mitchell was an immense uninterrupted flat with a veryclayey soil, on which the following plants were frequent: viz. Grevillea, Cerotaphylla, and Mimosoides, a Melaleuca with broad lanceolate leaves, Spathodea and a Balfouria, R. Br. 

Whilst walking down by the lagoon, I found a great quantity of ripeGrewia seeds, and, on eating many of them, it struck me, that theirslightly acidulous taste, if imparted to water, would make a very gooddrink; I therefore gathered as many as I could, and boiled them for aboutan hour; the beverage which they produced was at all events the best wehad tasted on our expedition: and my companions were busy the wholeafternoon in gathering and boiling the seeds. 

Charley and Brown, who had gone to the river, returned at a late hour, when they told us that they had seen the tracks of a large animal on thesands of the river, which they judged to be about the size of a big dog, trailing a long tail like a snake. Charley said, that when Brown firedhis gun, a deep noise like the bellowing of a bull was heard; whichfrightened both so much that they immediately decamped. This was thefirst time that we became aware of the existence of the crocodile in thewaters of the gulf. 

June 20. --We travelled about ten miles north-west, and avoided thegullies by keeping at a distance from the river. Plains covered with highdry grass alternated with an open forest; in which we observed Spathodea, Bauhinia, a Balfouria, groves of Cochlospermum gossypium, and severalother trees, which I had seen in the scrubs of Comet River; among whichwas the arborescent Cassia with long pods. A Bauhinia, different from thetwo species I had previously seen, was covered with red blossoms, which, where the tree abounded, gave quite a purple hue to the country. Thestringy-bark, the bloodwood, the apple-gum, the box, and the flooded-gum, grew along the bergue of the river. 

We passed some fine lagoons at the latter end of the stage. The banks ofthe river were so steep, that the access to its water was difficult; itsstream, deep and apparently slow, occupied about half the bed, which wasperhaps one hundred and eighty, or two hundred yards broad. The soil wasvery sandy, and three deep channels parallel to the river were overgrownwith high stiff grass. A pretty yellow Ipomoea formed dense festoonsbetween the trees that fringed the waters. The unripe seeds ofCochlospermum, when crushed, gave a fine yellow colour, shaded into anorange hue. 

Large flocks of Peristera histrionica (the Harlequin pigeon) were lyingon the patches of burnt grass on the plains, they feed on the brown seedsof a grass, which annoyed us very much by getting into our stockings, trowsers, and blankets. The rose-breasted cockatoo, Mr. Gilbert'sPlatycercus of Darling Downs, and the Betshiregah (Melopsittacusundulatus, GOULD. ) were very numerous, and it is probable that the plainsround the gulf are their principal home, whence they migrate to thesouthward. The white and black cockatoos were also very numerous. 

John Murphy caught four perches, one of which weighed two pounds. Thepurple ant of the east coast has disappeared, and a similar one withbrick-coloured head and thorax, but by no means so voracious, has takenits place. 

The flooded-gum and the bloodwood were in blossom: this usually takesplace, at Moreton Bay, in November and December. This different state ofvegetation to the northward and southward, may perhaps account for theperiodical migration of several kinds of birds. 

June 21. --A shower of rain fell, but cleared up at midnight. We travellednine miles north-west to lat. 16 degrees 9 minutes 41 seconds, over acountry very much like that of the two preceding stages, and past severalfine lagoons, richly adorned by the large showy flowers of a whiteNymphaea, the seed-vessels of which some families of natives were busilygathering: after having blossomed on the surface of the water, theseed-vessel grows larger and heavier, and sinks slowly to the bottom, where it rots until its seeds become free, and are either eaten by fishesand waterfowl, or form new plants. The natives had consequently to divefor the ripe seed-vessels; and we observed them constantly disappearingand reappearing on the surface of the water. They did not see us until wewere close to them, when they hurried out of the water, snatched up someweapons and ran off, leaving their harvest of Nymphaea seeds behind. Brown had visited another lagoon, where he had seen an old man and twogins; the former endeavoured to frighten him by setting the grass onfire, but, when he saw that Brown still approached, he retired into theforest. We took a net full of seeds, and I left them a large piece ofiron as payment. On returning to the camp, we boiled the seeds, afterremoving the capsule; but as some of the numerous partitions hadremained, the water was rendered slightly bitter. This experiment havingfailed, the boiled seeds were then (Unclear:)tied with a little fat, which rendered them very palatable and remarkably satisfying. The bestway of cooking them was that adopted by the natives, who roast the wholeseed-vessel. I then made another trial to obtain the starch from thebitter potatoes, in which I succeeded; but the soup for eight people, made with the starch of sixteen potatoes, was rather thin. 

We were encamped at a small creek, scarcely a mile from the river, fromwhich John Murphy and Brown brought the leaves of the first palm trees wehad seen on the waters of the gulf. They belonged to the genus Corypha;some of them were very thick and high. 

The mornings and evenings were very beautiful, and are surpassed by noclimate that I have ever lived in. It was delightful to watch the fadingand changing tints of the western sky after sunset, and to contemplate, in the refreshing coolness of advancing night, the stars as theysuccessively appeared, and entered on their nightly course. The state ofour health showed how congenial the climate was to the humanconstitution; for, without the comforts which the civilized man thinksessentially necessary to life; without flour, without salt and miserablyclothed, we were yet all in health; although at times suffering much fromweakness and fatigue. At night we stretched ourselves on the ground, almost as naked as the natives, and though most of my companions stillused their tents, it was amply proved afterwards that the want of thisluxury was attended with no ill consequences. 

We heard some subdued cooees, not very far from our camp, which I thoughtmight originate from natives returning late from their excursions, andwhose attention had been attracted by our fires. I discharged a gun tomake them aware of our presence; after which we heard no more of them. 

June 22. --We travelled about twelve miles N. W. 6 degrees W. To lat. 16degrees 3 minutes 11 seconds, and encamped at a swamp or sedgy lagoon, without any apparent outlet; near which a great number of eagles, kites, and crows were feasting on the remains of a black Ibis. We passed a verylong lagoon, and, in the latter part of our stage, the country had muchimproved, both in the increased extent of its forest land, and in thedensity and richness of its grass. 

June. 23. --We travelled eight or nine miles in a W. N. W. Direction tolatitude 16 degrees 0 minutes 26 seconds, over many Bauhinia plains withthe Bauhinias in full blossom. The stiff soil of these plains was hereand there marked by very regular pentagonal, hexagonal, and heptagonalcracks, and, as these cracks retain the moisture of occasional rainsbetter than the intervening space, they were fringed with young grass, which showed these mathematical figures very distinctly. We passed agreat number of dry swamps or swampy water-holes; sometimes howevercontaining a little water. They were surrounded by the Mangrove myrtle(Stravadium), which was mentioned as growing at the lower Lynd. Thebottom of the dry swamps was covered with a couch grass, which, like allthe other grasses, was partly withered. 

Bustards were numerous, and the Harlequin pigeon was seen in largeflocks. Wallabies abounded both in the high grass of the broken countrynear the river, and in the brush. Mr. Roper shot one, the hind quartersof which weighed 15 1/2 lbs. : it was of a light grey colour, and was likethose we had seen at Separation Creek. Charley and Brown got seventeenducks, on one of the sedgy lagoons. 

I visited the bed of the river: its banks were covered with a rather openvine brush. Palm trees became numerous, and grew forty or fifty feethigh, with a thick trunk swelling in the middle, and tapering upwards anddownwards. Sarcocephalus, the clustered fig-tree, and the droopingtea-tree, were also present as usual. The bed of the river, an immensesheet of sand, was full a mile and a half broad, but the stream itselfdid not exceed thirty yards in width. 

During the night we had again a few drops of rain. 

June 24. --We continued our journey about nine miles west by north tolatitude 15 degrees 59 minutes 30 seconds, over a rather broken countryalternating with Bauhinia plains and a well-grassed forest. The banks ofa large lagoon, on which several palm trees grew, were covered with heapsof mussel-shells. Swarms of sheldrakes were perching in the trees, and, as we approached, they rose with a loud noise, flying up and down thelagoon, and circling in the air around us. A chain of water-holes, fringed with Mangrove myrtle, changed, farther to the westward, into acreek, which had no connection with the river, but was probably one ofthe heads of the Nassau. We crossed it, and encamped on a water-holecovered with Nymphaeas, about a mile from the river, whose brushy bankswould have prevented us from approaching it, had we wished to do so. 

Though the easterly winds still prevailed, a slight north-west breeze wasvery distinctly felt, from about 11 o'clock a. M. 

June 25. --We travelled about ten miles N. N. W. To latitude 15 degrees 51minutes 26 seconds, but did not follow the river, which made largewindings to the northward. It was very broad where Brown saw it last, and, by his account, the brush was almost entirely composed of palmtrees. He saw a little boat with a fine Cymbium shell floating on thewater. Our road led us over a well grassed forest land, and severalcreeks, which, although rising near the river, appeared to have nocommunication with it. Some plains of considerable size were between theriver and our line of march; they were well grassed, but full ofmelon-holes, and rose slightly towards the river, forming a remarkablewater-shed, perhaps, between the Nassau and the Mitchell. As weapproached the river, we entered into a flat covered with stunted box, and intersected by numerous irregular water-courses. The box wassucceeded by a Phyllanthus scrub, through which we pushed, and then cameto a broad creek, filled with fine water, but not running, although highwater-marks on the drooping tea-trees proved that it was occasionallyflooded. We did not understand, nor could we ascertain, in what relationthis singular country and the creek stood to the river, of which nothingwas to be seen from the right bank of the creek. 

The scrub, and the high grass along the creek, were swarming with whiteflanked wallabies, three of which Brown and Charley succeeded inshooting; and these, with a common grey kangaroo caught by Spring, andfive ducks shot by Brown, provided our larder with a fine supply of game. 

When I first came on the Lynd, I supposed that it flowed eitherindependently to the head of the gulf, or that it was the tributary of ariver which collected the waters of the York Peninsula, and carried themin a south-west or south-south-west course to the head of the gulf ofCarpentaria. Such a course would have corresponded to that of theBurdekin at the eastern side, and the supposition was tolerably warrantedby the peculiar conformation of the gulf. I expected, therefore, at everystage down the Lynd, at every bend to the westward, that it would keepthat course. But, having passed the latitude of the head of the gulf, aswell as those of the Van Diemen and the Staaten rivers, the Lynd stillflowed to the north-west; and then, when it joined the Mitchell, Iimagined that the new river would prove to be the Nassau; but, when itpassed the latitude of that river, I conjectured that it would join thesea at the large embouchure in the old charts, in latitude 15 degrees 5minutes--the "Water Plaets" of the Dutch navigators. To follow itfarther, therefore, would have been merely to satisfy my curiosity, andan unpardonable waste of time. Besides, the number of my bullocks wasdecreasing, and prudence urged the necessity of proceeding, without anyfarther delay, towards the goal of my journey. I determined therefore toleave the Mitchell at this place, and to approach the sea-coast--so nearat least, as not to risk an easy progress--and to pass round the bottomof the gulf. 

June 26. --We travelled, accordingly, about seven miles almost due west, the latitude of our new camp being 15 degrees 52 minutes 38 seconds. Onour way we passed some very fine long water-holes; some of which weresurrounded with reeds, and others covered with the white species ofNymphaea; groves of Pandanus spiralis occupied their banks. Some fineplains, full of melon-holes, but well grassed, separated from each otherby belts of forest-land, in which the Pandanus was also very frequent, were crossed during the day. 

June 27. --We travelled eight miles W. S. W. Over a succession of plainsseparated by belts of forest, consisting of bloodwood, box, apple-gum, and rusty-gum. Some plains were scattered over with Bauhinias. The holesalong the plains are probably filled with water during the rainy season;dead shells of Paludina were extremely numerous, and we found even theshield of a turtle in one of them. At the end of the stage, we skirtedsome dense scrub, and encamped at one of the lagoons parallel to a drycreek, which must belong to the Nassau, as its latitude was 15 degrees 55minutes 8 seconds. The lagoon was covered with small white Nymphaeas, Damasoniums, and yellow Utricularias; and on its banks were heaps ofmussel-shells. The smoke of natives' fires were seen on the plains, inevery direction; but we saw no natives. Brown approached very near to aflock of Harlequin pigeons, and shot twenty-two of them. A young greykangaroo was also taken. 

The kites were so bold that one of them snatched the skinned specimen ofa new species of honey-sucker out of Mr. Gilbert's tin case; and, when wewere eating our meals, they perched around us on the branches ofoverhanging trees, and pounced down even upon our plates, although heldin our hands, to rob us of our dinners;--not quite so bad, perhaps, asthe Harpies in the Aeneid, but sufficiently so to be a very great nuisanceto us. 

Yesterday and to-day we experienced a cold dry southerly wind, whichlasted till about 11 o'clock A. M. , when it veered to the south-west, butat night returned again, and rendered the air very cold, and dry, whichwas very evident from the total absence of dew. The forenoon was veryclear; cumuli and cirrho-cumuli gathered during the afternoon. The sky ofthe sunset was beautifully coloured. After sunset, the clouds clearedoff, but, as the night advanced, gradually collected again. 

A circumstance occurred to-day which gave me much concern, as it showedthat the natives of this part were not so amicably disposed towards us asthose we had hitherto met:--whilst Charley and Brown were in search ofgame in the vicinity of our camp, they observed a native sneaking up toour bullocks, evidently with the intention of driving them towards aparty of his black companions, who with poised spears were waiting toreceive them. Upon detecting this manoeuvre, Charley and his companionhurried forward to prevent their being driven away, when the native gavethe alarm, and all took to their heels, with the exception of a lamefellow, who endeavoured to persuade his friends to stand fight. Charley, however, fired his gun, which had the intended effect of frighteningthem; for they deserted their camp, which was three hundred yards fromours, in a great hurry, leaving, among other articles, a small net fullof potatoes, which Charley afterwards picked up. The gins had previouslyretired; a proof that mischief was intended. 

June 28. --We crossed the creek, near which we had encamped, and travelledabout nine miles wost, over most beautifully varied country of plains, offorest land, and chains of lagoons. We crossed a large creek or river, which I believed to be the main branch of the Nassau. It was wellsupplied with water-holes, but there was no stream. Loose clayeysandstone cropped out in its bed, and also in the gullies which joinedit. A small myrtle tree with smooth bark, and a leafless tree resemblingthe Casuarina, grew plentifully on its banks. We saw smoke rising-inevery direction, which showed how thickly the country was inhabited. Nearthe lagoons we frequently noticed bare spots of a circular form, abouttwelve or fifteen feet in diameter, round each of which was a belt often, twelve, or more fire places, separated from each other by only a fewfeet. It seems that the natives usually sit within the circle of fires;but it is difficult to know whether it belonged to a family, or whethereach fire had an independent proprietor. Along the Lynd and Mitchell, thenatives made their fires generally in heaps of stones, which served asovens for cooking their victuals. Bones of kangaroos and wallabies, andheaps of mussel-shells, were commonly seen in their camps; but fish boneswere very rarely observed. It was very different, however, when wetravelled round the head, and along the western side, of the gulf; forfish seemed there to form the principal food of the natives. 

At the end of our stage, we came to a chain of shallow lagoons, whichwere slightly connected by a hollow. Many of them were dry; and fearingthat, if we proceeded much farther, we should not find water, I encampedon one of them, containing a shallow pool; it was surrounded by a narrowbelt of small tea trees, with stiff broad lanceolate leaves. As the wateroccupied only the lower part of this basin, I deposited our luggage inthe upper part. Mr. Roper and Mr. Calvert made their tent within the beltof trees, with its opening towards the packs; whilst Mr. Gilbert andMurphy constructed theirs amongst the little trees, with its entrancefrom the camp. Mr. Phillips's was, as usual, far from the others, and atthe opposite side of the water. Our fire place was made outside of thetrees, on the banks. Brown had shot six Leptotarsis Eytoni, (whistlingducks) and four teals, which gave us a good dinner; during which, theprincipal topic of conversation was our probable distance from the seacoast, as it was here that we first found broken sea shells, of the genusCytherea. After dinner, Messrs. Roper and Calvert retired to their tent, and Mr. Gilbert, John, and Brown, were platting palm leaves to make ahat, and I stood musing near their fire place, looking at their work, andoccasionally joining in their conversation. Mr. Gilbert wascongratulating himself upon having succeeded in learning to plat; and, when he had nearly completed a yard, he retired with John to their tent. This was about 7 o'clock; and I stretched myself upon the ground asusual, at a little distance from the fire, and fell into a dose, fromwhich I was suddenly roused by a loud noise, and a call for help fromCalvert and Roper. Natives had suddenly attacked us. They had doubtlesswatched our movements during the afternoon, and marked the position ofthe different tents; and, as soon as it was dark, sneaked upon us, andthrew a shower of spears at the tents of Calvert, Roper, and Gilbert, anda few at that of Phillips, and also one or two towards the fire. Charleyand Brown called for caps, which I hastened to find, and, as soon as theywere provided, they discharged their guns into the crowd of the natives, who instantly fled, leaving Roper and Calvert pierced with severalspears, and severely beaten by their waddies. Several of these spearswere barbed, and could not be extracted without difficulty. I had toforce one through the arm of Roper, to break off the barb; and to cutanother out of the groin of Mr. Calvert. John Murphy had succeeded ingetting out of the tent, and concealing himself behind a tree, whence hefired at the natives, and severely wounded one of them, before Brown haddischarged his gun. Not seeing Mr. Gilbert, I asked for him, when Charleytold me that our unfortunate companion was no more! He had come out ofhis tent with his gun, shot, and powder, and handed them to him, when heinstantly dropped down dead. Upon receiving this afflicting intelligence, I hastened to the spot, and found Charley's account too true. He waslying on the ground at a little distance from our fire, and, uponexamining him, I soon found, to my sorrow, that every sign of life haddisappeared. The body was, however, still warm, and I opened the veins ofboth arms, as well as the temporal artery, but in vain; the stream oflife had stopped, and he was numbered with the dead. 

As soon as we recovered from the panic into which we were thrown by thisfatal event, every precaution was taken to prevent another surprise; wewatched through the night, and extinguished our fires to conceal ourindividual position from the natives. 

A strong wind blew from the southward, which made the night airdistressingly cold; it seemed as if the wind blew through our bodies. Under all the circumstances that had happened, we passed an anxiousnight, in a state of most painful suspense as to the fate of our stillsurviving companions. Mr. Roper had received two or three spear wounds inthe scalp of his head; one spear had passed through his left arm, anotherinto his cheek below the jugal bone, and penetrated the orbit, andinjured the optic nerve, and another in his loins, besides a heavy blowon the shoulder. Mr. Calvert had received several severe blows from awaddi; one on the nose which had crushed the nasal bones; one on theelbow, and another on the back of his hand; besides which, a barbed spearhad entered his groin; and another into his knee. As may be readilyimagined, both suffered great pain, and were scarcely able to move. Thespear that terminated poor Gilbert's existence, had entered the chest, between the clavicle and the neck; but made so small a wound, that, forsome time, I was unable to detect it. From the direction of the wound, hehad probably received the spear when stooping to leave his tent. 

The dawning of the next morning, the 29th, was gladly welcomed, and Iproceeded to examine and dress the wounds of my companions, morecarefully than I had been able to do in the darkness of the night. 

Very early in the morning we heard the cooees of the natiyes, who seemedwailing, as if one of their number was either killed or severely wounded:for we found stains of blood on their tracks. They disappeared, however, very soon, for, on reconnoitring about the place, I saw nothing of them. I interred the body of our ill-fated companion in the afternoon, and readthe funeral service of the English Church over him. A large fire wasafterwards made over the grave, to prevent the natives from detecting anddisinterring the body. Our cattle and horses fortunately had not beenmolested. 

The cold wind from the southward continued the whole day; at night itfell calm, and continued so until the morning of the 30th June, when astrong easterly wind set in, which afterwards veered round to the northand north-west. 

Calvert and Roper recovered wonderfully, considering the severe injuriesthey had received; and the wounds, which I feared as being the mostdangerous, promised with care and patience to do well. As it washazardous to remain long at the place, for the natives might return ingreater numbers, and repeat their attack, as well on ourselves as thecattle, I determined to proceed, or at least to try if my woundedcompanions could endure to be removed on horseback. In a case like this, where the lives of the whole party were concerned, it was out of thequestion to attend only to the individual feelings and wishes of thepatients; I felt for their position to the fullest extent that it waspossible for one to feel towards his fellow creatures so situated; but Ihad equal claims on my attention. I had to look exclusively to the stateof their wounds, and to the consequences of the daily journey on theirconstitutions; to judge if we could proceed or ought to stop; and I hadreason to expect, or at least was sanguine enough to hope, that althoughthe temporary feelings of acute pain might make them discontented with myarrangements, sober reflection at the end of our journey would inducethem to do me justice. 

The constant attention which they required, and the increased work whichfell to the share of our reduced number, had scarcely allowed me time toreflect upon the melancholy accident which had befallen us, and theill-timed death of our unfortunate companion. All our energies wereroused, we found ourselves in danger, and, as was absolutely necessary, we strained every nerve to extricate ourselves from it: but I was wellaware, that the more coolly we went to work, the better we shouldsucceed. 

CHAPTER X

INDICATIONS OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE SEA--NATIVES MUCH MORENUMEROUS--THE SEA; THE GULF OF CARPENTARIA--THE STAATEN--A NATIVEINTRUDES INTO THE CAMP--THE VAN DIEMEN--THE GILBERT--SINGULAR NATIVEHUTS--CARON RIVER--FRIENDLY NATIVES--THE YAPPAR--MR. CALVERTRECOVERED--MODE OF ENCAMPMENT--SWARMS OF FLIES--ABUNDANCE OFSALT--NATIVES FRIENDLY, AND MORE INTELLIGENT. 

July 1. --We left the camp where Mr. Gilbert was killed, and travelled inall about fourteen miles south-west, to lat. 16 degrees 6 minutes. Wepassed an extensive box-tree flat, and, at four miles, reached a chain ofwater-holes; but, during the next ten miles, we did not meet theslightest indication of water. Box-tree flats of various sizes wereseparated by long tracts of undulating country, covered with broad-leavedtea-trees, Grevillea ceratophylla, and G. Mimosoides, and with the newspecies of Grevillea, with broad lanceolate leaves. We had to skirtseveral impassable thickets and scrubs of tea-tree, in one of whichPandanus abounded. At last, just as the sun was setting, and we werepreparing to encamp in the open forest without water, we came to a creekwith fine water-holes covered with Villarsias. Charley shot a nativecompanion; a Fabirou was seen crossing our camp. My wounded companionsgot on uncommonly well, notwithstanding the long stage, and I now had allreason to hope, that their wounds would not form any impediment to theprogress of our journey. 

July 2. --We travelled ten miles south-west over a country exactly likethat of yesterday; and encamped at a shallow water-hole in a creek, whichheaded in a tea-tree thicket, a grove of Pandanus being on its northside, and a small box-flat to the southward. Though the country was thenvery dry, it is very probably impassable during the rainy season. Thetea-tree thickets seemed liable to a general inundation, and many shallowwater-holes and melon-holes were scattered everywhere about the flats. The flats and elevations of the surface were studded with turretedant-hills, either forming single sharp cones from three to five feethigh, and scarcely a foot broad at their base, or united into a row, orseveral rows touching each other, and forming piles of most remarkableappearance. The directions of the rows seemed to be the same over largetracts of country, and to depend upon the direction of the prevailingwinds. I found Verticordia, a good sized tree, and a Melaleuca withclustered orange blossoms and smooth bark, which I mentioned as growingon the supposed Nassau. 

July 3. --We followed the tea-tree creek about four miles lower down, andencamped near some fine rocky water-holes, in which I discovered a yellowVillarsia, resembling in its leaves Villarsia inundata, R. Br. 

Our day's journey was a short one in consequence of our having started solate. The delay was caused by Charley having captured an emu, a flock ofwhich he met when fetching the horses. By holding branches before him, hewas enabled to approach so close to them, that he shot one dead with acharge of dust shot. It was a welcome prize, and repaid us for the delay. To our wounded friends the delay itself was a welcome one. 

The mussel-shells of these water-holes appeared to be narrower andcomparatively longer than those we had previously seen. Pandanus was, asusual, very frequent; but a middle sized shady wide spreading tree, resembling the elm in the colour and form of its leaves, attracted ourattention, and excited much interest. Its younger branches were ratherdrooping, its fruit was an oblong yellow plum, an inch long and half aninch in diameter, with a rather rough kernel. When ripe, the pericarp isvery mealy and agreeable to eat, and would be wholesome, if it were notso extraordinarily astringent. We called this tree the "Nonda, " from itsresemblance to a tree so called by the natives in the Moreton Baydistrict. I found the fruit in the dilli of the natives on the 21st June, and afterwards most abundantly in the stomach of the emu. The tree wasvery common in the belt of forest along the creek. 

The wind, during the last two days, was southerly, south-westerly, andwesterly, freshening up during the afternoon. The forenoon was very hot:the night clear, and rather cool towards morning. I observed manyshooting stars during the two last nights. 

July 4. --We travelled seven miles in a south-west direction, to lat. 16degrees 15 minutes 11 seconds, over an entirely flat country, coveredwith a very open forest of box, of bloodwood, and of the stiff-leavedMelaleuca, with the arborescent Grevillea already mentioned, and with aspecies of Terminalia with winged fruit. In the more sandy tracts ofbloodwood forest, grew the Nonda, the Pandanus, and the apple-gum. Theshallow creek was surrounded by a scrub of various myrtaceous trees, particularly Melaleucas. The creek afterwards divided into water-holes, fringed with Stravadium, which, however, lower down gave way to densebelts of Polygonum. The water was evidently slightly brackish; the firstactual sign of the vicinity of the sea. A young emu was killed with theassistance of Spring; and a sheldrake was shot by Brown. Nativecompanions were very numerous, and were heard after sunset, all round ourcamp. The stomach of the emu was full of a small plant resemblingchickweed, which grew round the water-holes. 

The smoke of the natives' fires was seen to the south and south-west. 

July 5. --We travelled over full twenty miles of country, although thedistance from camp to camp, in a straight line, did not exceed fourteen, in a south by west direction; the latitude of our new camp was 16 degrees27 minutes 26 seconds. After passing several miles of tea-tree forest, intermixed with box, and alternating with belts of grassy forest land, with bloodwood and Nonda, we entered upon a series of plains increasingin size, and extending to the westward as far as the eye could reach, andseparated from each other by narrow strips of forest; they werewell-grassed, but the grasses were stiff. Tea-tree hollows extended alongthe outskirts of the plains. In one of them, we saw Salicornia for thefirst time, which led us to believe that the salt water was close athand. Having crossed the plains, we came to broad sheets of sand, overgrown with low shrubby tea-trees, and a species of Hakea, whichalways grows in the vicinity of salt water. The sands were encrusted withsalt, and here and there strewed with heaps of Cytherea shells. Beyondthe sands, we saw a dense green line of mangrove trees extending along asalt water creek, which we headed, and in which Brown speared the firstsalt water mullet. We then came to a fine salt water river, whose bankswere covered with an open well grassed forest; interrupted only by flatscrubby sandy creeks, into which the tide entered through narrowchannels, and which are probably entirely inundated by the spring tides. Not finding any fresh water along the river I went up one of the creeks, and found fresh water-holes, not in its bed, but parallel to it, scarcelya mile from the river. When crossing the plains, the whole horizonappeared to be studded with smoke from the various fires of the natives;and when we approached the river, we noticed many well beaten footpathsof the natives, who are found generally in greater numbers and strongertribes near the sea coast, where the supply of food is always moreabundant and certain. 

The first sight of the salt water of the gulf was hailed by all withfeelings of indescribable pleasure, and by none more than by myself;although tinctured with regret at not having succeeded in bringing mywhole party to the end of what I was sanguine enough to think the mostdifficult part of my journey. We had now discovered a line ofcommunication by land between the eastern coast of Australia, and thegulf of Carpentaria: we had travelled along never failing, and, for thegreater part, running waters: and over an excellent country, available, almost in its whole extent, for pastoral purposes. The length of time wehad been in the wilderness, had evidently made the greater portion of mycompanions distrustful of my abilities to lead them through the journey;and, in their melancholy conversations, the desponding expression, "Weshall never come to Port Essington, " was too often overheard by me to bepleasant. My readers will, therefore, readily understand why Brown'sjoyous exclamation of "Salt Water!" was received by a loud hurrah fromthe whole party; and why all the pains, and fatigues, and privations wehad endured, were, for the moment, forgotten, almost as completely as ifwe had arrived at the end of the journey. 

July 6. --remained in camp the whole of this day, to rest the pooranimals, which had been much fatigued by our last long stage. Charleyshot a duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus); and he, Brown, and JohnMurphy, went to the salt water to angle. My expectations, however, ofcatching fish in the salt water, and of drying them, were sadlydisappointed. The whole amount of their day's work was, a small Silurus, one mullet, and some small guard-fish. 

The weather continued fine, the forenoon usually very hot, but the airwas cooled in the afternoon by a south-west breeze; the nights were clearand rather cold. 

When I left Moreton Bay, I had taken a spare set of horse-shoes with mefor every horse. They were shod at our leaving the Downs, but they soonlost their shoes; and, as our stages were short, and the ground soft, Idid not think it necessary to shoe them again. In travelling along theBurdekin, however, and the upper Lynd, they became very foot-sore; butstill there was a sufficient change of good country to allow them torecover; I had been frequently inclined to throw the spare shoes away, but they had as often been retained, under the impression that they mightbe useful, when we came to the gulf, to barter with the natives for food, particularly for fish. Finding, however, that the natives were hostile, and scarcely wishing to have any farther intercourse with them, I decidedupon leaving the horse-shoes, and several other cumbersome articlesbehind; and they were consequently thrown, with two spare gun barrels, into the water-hole at which we were encamped. The natives will probablyfind them, when the holes dry up; and, if preserved, they will be alasting testimonial of our visit. 

July 7. --Charley told me that he had followed the river up to itstermination. I consequently kept a little more to the left, in order tohead it, and travelled two or three miles through a fine bloodwood andNonda forest, the verdant appearance of which was much increased by theleguminous Ironbark, which grew here in great perfection. Two emus hadjust made their breakfast on some Nonda fruit when we started them, andCharley and Brown, assisted by Spring, succeeded in killing one of them. 

We soon came to a salt-water river, with a broad sandy bed, perfectlyfree of vegetation, although its banks were fringed with droopingtea-trees. The tide being low, we were enabled to ford it. Whilstcrossing it, a flock of black-winged pelicans stood gravely looking atus. The latitude of the ford, which was two miles and a half south fromour last camp, would be 16 degrees 30 minutes, which corresponds withthat of the Staaten, marked at the outline of the coast. A well grassedopen forest extended along both sides of the river; and, at its left, large deep Nymphaea lagoons were parallel to it. South of the Staaten, wetravelled over a forest country, similar to that of former stages, andwhich might be aptly distinguished by the name of Grevillea Forest; asGr. Mimosoides (R. Br. ) is its characteristic feature; though a ratherstunted stiff-leaved tea-tree was more numerous. Some slight rises werecovered with thickets of the Acacia of Expedition Range. The last six orseven miles of our stage were over an immense box-flat. We passed manyspots lately burnt by the natives, and saw the smoke of their fires inevery direction. We encamped on a good sized creek, on which grew thearticulate podded Acacia, the Mangrove Myrtle (Stravadium), and thedrooping tea-tree. As soon as we had pitched our tents, we cut up thehind quarters of the emu into slices for drying; but we had to guard itby turns, whip in hand, from a host of square-tailed kites (Milvusisiurus). 

John Murphy and Charley, whilst riding round the camp to ascertain ifnatives were in the neighbourhood, came on one of their camps occupiedchiefly by women, and a few old men, who immediately ran off, but set thegrass on fire as they went, to prevent the approach of the horsemen; andleft behind them their waddies, spears, and a good supply of potatoes. Atdusk, when Charley brought in the horses, two of which we tethered nearthe camp, the form of a native glided like a ghost into our camp, andwalked directly up to the fire. John, who saw him first, called out, "aBlackfellow! look there! a Blackfellow!" and every gun was ready. But thestranger was unarmed, and evidently unconscious of his position; for, when he saw himself suddenly surrounded by the horses and ourselves, henimbly climbed a tree to its very summit, where he stood between some drybranches like a strange phantom or a statue. We called to him, and madesigns for him to descend, but he not only remained silent, butmotionless, notwithstanding all the signs and noise we made. We thendischarged a gun, but it had not the intended effect of inducing him tospeak or stir. At last I desired Charley to ascend the neighbouring tree, to show him that we could easily get at him if necessary. This plan wasmore successful; for no sooner were Charley's intentions perceived, thanour friend gave the most evident proof of his being neither deaf nordumb, by calling out most lustily. He pooh'd, he birrrred, he spat, andcooeed; in fact, he did everything to make the silent forest re-echo withthe wild sounds of his alarm; our horses, which were standing under thetree, became frightened, and those which were loose ran away. We weremuch afraid that his cooees would bring the whole tribe to hisassistance, and every one eagerly proffered his advice. Charley wished toshoot him, "or, " said he, "you will all be killed; I do not care formyself, but I care for your being killed and buried. " Others wished toremove from the spot, and so give him an opportunity of escaping. I was, of course, horrified at the idea of shooting a poor fellow, whose onlycrime, if so it might be called, was in having mistaken our fire for thatof his own tribe: so I went to our own fire, which was at a shortdistance, where he could see me distinctly, and then made signs for himto descend and go away. He then began to be a little more quiet, and totalk; but soon hallooed again, and threw sticks at myself, at mycompanions, and at the horses. We now retired about eight yards, to allowhim to escape, which we had not done before, because I feared he mightimagine we were afraid of his incantations, for he sang most lamentablecorrobories, and cried like a child; frequently exclaiming, "Mareka!Mareka!!" This word is probably identical with Marega; the name given bythe Malays to the natives of the north coast, which is also called bythem "Marega. " [Capt. King's Intertropical Survey of Australia, vol. I. P. 135. ] After continuing his lamentations for some time, but ofwhich we took no notice, they gradually ceased; and, in a few minutes, aslight rustling noise was heard, and he was gone: doubtless delighted athaving escaped from the hands of the pale-faced anthropophagi. 

July 8. --This morning the whole tribe, well armed, watched us from adistance; but they allowed us quietly to load our bullocks, and depart, without offering us the least annoyance. Their companion will, no doubt, leave a dreadful account of the adventures of last night to his blackposterity. 

We travelled about twelve miles south by west to latitude 16 degrees 47minutes; at first over an almost uninterrupted box-flat, full ofmelon-holes, and with many small holes in the ground, which caused ourhorses and cattle to stumble at almost every step. The dry melon-holeswere covered with dead Paludinas, with shells of a large crab, and of thefresh water turtle. At about seven miles, we passed a strip of Blackwoodforest, with many Nonda trees; and crossed a small creek. The latter partof the stage was again over a large box-flat, intersected by shallowgrassy depressions, timbered with flooded-gum. We saw on the risingground some open scrub, with scattered Bauhinias and Cochlospermums. Ourencampment was at a creek on the south side of a slight rise, withBauhinia trees, and near good water-holes. The creek, like all the otherswe had passed, flowed to the westward. 

Near our camp we examined three holes, full six feet deep, and four feetin diameter, communicating with each other at their bottom. They wereabout three feet apart, and appeared to have been dug with sharp sticks. I have not the slightest idea for what purpose they were intended. Theywere most certainly not dug to obtain roots; and it seemed unlikely forwells; for the water, even in this unusually dry season, was veryabundant. 

The white ant-hills, which are built in rows, had, during this stage, adirection from north by west to south by east, and, as I have beforementioned a conjecture that the little builders would expose thenarrowest side of their habitation to the weather side, the prevailingwinds would be from the north. 

July 9. --We travelled thirteen or fourteen miles south by west tolatitude 17 degrees 0 minutes 13 seconds, at first crossing a box-flat, and after that a succession of greater or smaller plains, separated by avery open Grevillea forest. These plains were well grassed, or partlycovered with a species of Euphorbia, which was eaten by our horses andcattle; and also with the long trailings of the native melon; the fruitof which tastes very tolerably, after the bitter skin has been removed;but when too ripe, the fruit is either insipid or nauseous. The bustardseems to feed almost exclusively on them, for the stomach of one, whichBrown shot, was full of them. 

The apple-gum, which we had missed for some time, again made itsappearance, accompanied by another white gum, with long narrow leaves. Aswe approached the creek, at which we afterwards encamped, the vegetationbecame richer, and the melon-holes enlarged into dry water-holes, whichwere frequently shaded by the Acacia with articulate pods (Ingamoniliformis). The two species of Terminalia, of the upper Lynd, werenumerous; and a small green looking tree, which we found growing denselyalong the creek, had wood of a brown colour, which smelt like raspberryjam; and, upon burning it, the ashes produced a very strong lye, which Iused in dressing the wounds of my companions. This tree was found ingreat abundance on all the rivers and creeks round the gulf, within thereach of salt water; and when crossing Arnheim Land, though lessfrequently. 

Sandstone cropped out in the banks of the creek, and formed thereservoirs in its bed. 

Last night, and the night before, we experienced a very cold wind fromthe southward. 

The laughing Jackass (Dacelo cervina, GOULD) of this part of the country, is of a different species from that of the eastern coast, is of a smallersize, and speaks a different language; but the noise is by no means soridiculous as that of Dac. Gigantea: he is heard before sunrise, andimmediately after sunset, like his representative of the eastern coast. The latter was observed as far as the upper Lynd, where the new one madehis appearance. 

We crossed a bush fire, which had been lighted just before we came to thecreek, but we did not see the incendiaries. In the morning of the 10thJuly, however, they had discovered our tracks, and followed them untilthey came in sight of the camp; but retired as soon as they saw us: andwhen they met Charley returning with the bullocks, they ran away. Afterhalf-an-hour's travelling towards the south-west, we came to the VanDiemen, which is marked in Arrowsmith's map in latitude 17 degrees. Itwas about seventy or eighty yards broad, with steep banks and a finesandy bed, containing detached pools of water surrounded by Polygonum, and extremely boggy. My horse stuck in the mud, and it was with greatdifficulty that I extricated him. 

As our meal bags were empty, and no sign of game appeared, I decided uponselecting a good open camping place, for the purpose of killing our lastlittle steer. The country was a fine open grassy forest land, in whichthe apple-gum prevailed, and with many swampy grassy lagoons covered withwhite, blue, and pink Nymphaeas. The box tree grew in their immediateneighbourhood. 

In the bed of the Van Diemen we saw some well constructed huts of thenatives; they were made of branches arched over in the form of abird-cage, and thatched with grass and the bark of the drooping tea-tree. The place where we encamped had been frequently used by the natives forthe same purpose. Our attention was particularly attracted by a largeheap of chaff, from which the natives appeared to have taken the seeds. This grass was, however, very different from the panicum, of the seeds ofwhich the natives of the Gwyder River make a sort of bread; and whichthere forms the principal food of the little Betshiregah (Melopsittacusundulatus, GOULD). 

The night was calm, clear, and cold. 

The kites became most daring and impudent. Yesterday, I cleaned the fatgizzard of a bustard to grill it on the embers, and the idea of the fatdainty bit made my mouth water. But alas! whilst holding it in my hand, akite pounced down and carried it off, pursued by a dozen of his comrades, eager to seize the booty. 

We killed our little steer in the afternoon of the 10th, and the next daywe cut the meat into slices, and hung it out on a kangaroo net: the windwas high, the sun warm, and our meat dried most perfectly. Whilst we werein the midst of our work, some natives made their appearance. I held outa branch as a sign of peace, when they ventured up to hold a parley, though evidently with great suspicion. They were rather small, and thetall ones were slim and lightly built. They examined Brown's hat, andexpressed a great desire to keep it. In order to make them a present, Iwent to the tents to fetch some broken pieces of iron; and whilst I wasaway, Brown, wishing to surprise them, mounted his horse, and commencedtrotting, which frightened them so much, that they ran away, and did notcome again. One of them had a singular weapon, neatly made, andconsisting of a long wooden handle, with a sharp piece of iron fixed inat the end, like a lancet. The iron most probably had been obtained fromthe Malays who annually visit the gulf for trepang. Some of their spearswere barbed. 

July 12. --The meat had dried so well, that I started this morning; havingcompleted the operation of drying in rather more than a day. It was, ofcourse, necessary to spread the meat out for several days, to prevent itsbecoming mildewed. This was done every day after arriving at ourcamping-place. 

Our killing camp was about five miles south-west from the Van Diemen; andwe travelled in the same direction about eight miles farther, through amost beautiful country, consisting of an open forest timbered with thebox-tree, apple-gum, and white-gum; it was well grassed, and abundantlysupplied with water. We crossed a small river with a course west bynorth; it had a broad sandy bed, numerous pools of water, and steepbanks: the latter were covered with Sarcocephalus and drooping tea-trees. I called it the "Gilbert, " after my unfortunate companion. Five milesfarther, we came to a fine creek, at which we encamped. Its water-holeswere surrounded by the Nelumbiums of the Mackenzie, and by a fine yellowIpomoea, with larger flowers than that described as growing at theMitchell. We gathered a considerable quantity of Nelumbium seeds, whichwere very palatable, and, when roasted and pounded, made a most excellentsubstitute for coffee. 

July 13. --Our horses had enjoyed the green feed round the lagoons nearour killing camp, so much, that they returned to it during the night, andcaused a delay until noon, when we resumed our journey. The first part ofthe stage was over fine well-watered forest land. We crossed two creeks, with good water-holes, in one of which was a fishing weir. The country tothe south of the last creek changed to a succession of plains of varioussizes, extending mostly to the westward, and very open undulationsscattered over with rather stunted trees of Grevillea mimosoides, G. Ceratophylla, Terminalia, Bauhinia, and Balfouria? an apocynaceous tree. And again we passed over box and apple-gum flats, which, by their richverdure, refreshed the eye tired with the uniform yellow colour of thedry grass, in which the whole country was clothed. We saw the bush firesof the natives every where around us; and many large tracts which hadbeen recently burnt. The sun was getting very low, and my patients werevery tired, and yet no water was to be seen. Cumuli, which had beengradually collecting from one o'clock in the afternoon, cast theirshadows over the forest, and deceived the eye into the belief that thedesired creek was before us. At last, however, to our infinitesatisfaction, we entered into a scrub, formed of low stunted irregularlybranched tea-trees, where we found a shallow water-course, whichgradually enlarged into deep holes, which were dry, with the exception ofone which contained just a sufficient supply of muddy water to form astepping-stone for the next stage. Our latitude was 17 degrees 19 minutes36 seconds. 

July 14. --We travelled about eleven miles S. S. W. To latitude 17 degrees28 minutes 11 seconds, over an immense box-flat, interrupted only by someplains and by two tea-tree creeks; the tea-trees were stunted and scrubbylike those of our last stage. At the second creek we passed an oldcamping place of the natives, where we observed a hedge of dry branches, and, parallel to it, and probably to the leeward, was a row of fireplaces. It seemed that the natives sat and lay between the fires and therow of branches. There were, besides, three huts of the form of abee-hive, closely thatched with straw and tea-tree bark. Their onlyopening was so small, that a man could scarcely creep through it; theywere four or five feet high, and from eight to ten feet in diameter. [A hut of this description, but of smaller dimensions, is described byCapt. King, at the North Goulburn Island. --King's Voyage, vol. I. P. 72. ]One of the huts was storied, like those I noticed on the banks of theLynd. It would appear that the natives make use of these tents during thewet and cold season, but encamp in the open air in fine weather. 

A brown wallabi and a bustard were shot, which enabled us to save some ofour meat. We encamped at a fine long water-hole, in the bed of a scrubbycreek. 

July 15. --Mr. Roper's illness increased so much that he could not evenmove his legs, and we were obliged to carry him from one place toanother; I therefore, stopt here two days, to allow him to recover alittle. 

July 17. --We travelled about ten miles south 55 degrees west over analmost uninterrupted box and Melaleuca flat, free from melon-holes andgrassy swamps, but full of holes, into which our horses and bullocks sankat every step, which sadly incommoded our wounded companions. 

About two miles and a half from our camp, we came to the Caron River(Corners Inlet), which deserved rather the name of a large creek. Itssandy and occasionally rocky bed, was dry; but parallel lines of Nymphaealagoons extended on both sides. The drooping tea-tree was, as usual, verybeautiful. We skirted a tea-tree scrub, without a watercourse, about twomiles and a half south of the "Caron, " and passed some undulations, withGrevillea forest. To the south-west of these undulations, we came to achain of lagoons; from which several white cranes and a flight of theblack Ibis rose. Brown shot one of the latter, which, when picked andcleaned for cooking, weighed three pounds and a half; it was very fat, and proved to be excellent eating. Cytherea shells were again found, which showed that the salt water was not very far off. 

Charley gave a characteristic description of this country, when hereturned from a ride in search of game: "It is a miserable country!nothing to shoot at, nothing to look at, but box trees and anthills. " Thebox-forest was, however, very open and the grass was good; and thesquatter would probably form a very different opinion of its merits. Whenwe were preparing to start in the morning some natives came to look atus; but they kept within the scrub, and at a respectable distance. 

July 18. --We travelled south-west by west, over a succession of plains, and of undulating Grevillea forest, which changed into tea-tree thickets, and stunted tea-tree scrubs, on a sandy soil with Salicornia, Binoe'sTrichinium, and several other salt plants. At about five miles from thecamp, we came to salt-water inlets, densely surrounded by mangroves, andwith sandy flats extending along their banks, encrusted with salt. Charley rode through the dry mangrove scrub, and came on a sandy beachwith the broad Ocean before him. We had a long way to go to the east andS. S. E. To get out of the reach of the brackish water, and came at last tograssy swamps, with a good supply of fresh water. We encamped in lat. 17degrees 41 minutes 52 seconds; about ten miles south by west from ourlast camp. Charley was remarkably lucky to-day, in catching an emu, andshooting six teals, a brown wallabi of the Mitchell, and a kangaroo witha broad nail at the end of its tail. Brown also shot a sheldrake and aMalacorhynchus membranaceus. During the time that we were travelling tothe southward, we had a north-east wind during the forenoon, which in theafternoon veered round to the east and south. Such a change, in alocality like ours, was very remarkable; because, in the neighbourhood ofthe sea, it was natural to expect a sea breeze, instead of which, however, the breeze was off the land. The cause can only be attributed toa peculiar formation of the country south and south-east of the gulf. 

July 19. --We travelled seven miles and a half due south, through asuccession of stunted tea-tree thickets and tea-tree forests, in whichthe little bread-tree of the Lynd was common. We passed two creeks withrocky beds, the one with salt water, and the other fresh. The natives hadbeen digging here, either for shells or roots. We came to a fine riverwith salt water about two hundred and fifty or three hundred yards broad, with low banks fringed with stunted mangroves. The well beaten foot-pathand the numerous fire-places of the natives, proved how populous thecountry must be. In following a foot-path, we came to some large lagoons, but containing very little water; the natives had been digging in the dryparts, perhaps for the roots of Nymphaea. We encamped at one of them inlat. 17 degrees 49 minutes. 

The country along the river was an open box-forest. Natives cooeed aroundus; and we saw a man and his gin, and farther on two others busilyoccupied in burning the grass. When Charley came to the lagoon he saw ablack boy, who immediately retreated out of sight. Two straw-neckedIbises and seven ducks were shot. Mr. Roper had suffered much by the longrides of the last stages; but his health was improving, notwithstanding. The Nonda tree had disappeared north of the Van Diemen, and the emu herefeeds on the fruit of the little Severn tree, which is so excessivelybitter, as to impart its quality to the meat, and even to the gizzard andthe very marrow. 

As we approached the salt water, the various species of Eucalyptus, withthe exception of the box, disappeared, and various species of tea-tree(Melaleuca) took their place; they grew even on the sands withincrustations of salt, and gave way only to the mangroves, which werebathed by the brine itself. 

We now commenced collecting the gum of the broad-leaved Terminalia of theupper Lynd, and boiled it for Mr. Roper, who liked it very much. 

We recognised one of the kites (Milvus isiurus), which had followed usfrom our last killing camp, down to the head of the gulf. 

July 20. --This morning, the bullocks had strayed farther than usual, and, whilst we were waiting for them, some natives came to the rocks oppositeour camp; and one of them beckoned me to come over to him. They had beenobserving our camp last night, for some time after the rising of themoon, and I had caused Brown to discharge his gun, in order to drive themaway. They did not, however, trouble us then any farther, but encamped ata neighbouring lagoon; showing evidently that they expected no harm fromus. When the bold fellow invited me to come over to him, I hesitated atfirst, as they might have disturbed us when loading our bullocks; but, asthe animals did not appear, I took my reconnoitring bag with some ironnose rings, and made Brown follow me at some distance with the doublebarrelled gun, and went over to them. After much hesitation, four of themapproached me. I made them presents, which gained their confidence, andthey began to examine and admire my dress, my watch, etc. It was singularthat the natives were always most struck with our hats. We made themunderstand where we came from and whither we were going, and it seemedthat they understood us better than we could understand them. When thebullocks arrived, we returned to our camp, accompanied by the natives, who had lost all fear after the tokens of friendship they had received:and when we started, they joined our train and guided us on theirfoot-path (Yareka) along the salt water creek (Yappar. ) They very muchadmired our horses and bullocks, and particularly our kangaroo dog. Theyexpressed their admiration by a peculiar smacking or clacking with theirtongue or lips. The fine river changed very soon into a salt water creek, coming from south by west. We passed some very beautiful rocky lagoonsunder the abrupt terminations of low sandstone hills, which were openlytimbered at the top, but surrounded by thickets of the little Severntree. The box-tree grew on the flats which separated the ridges from thecreek, with the small bread-tree, the bloodwood and pandanus. As theMangrove disappeared, the drooping tea-tree took its place. Several rockybars crossed the "Yappar, " which seemed to be the name by which thenatives called it; but only one was broad enough to allow us to crosssafely with our horses and bullocks. Here our black friends took theirleave of us; they seemed very desirous of showing us their whole country, and of introducing us to their tribe, which was probably very numerous. After crossing the creek in lat. 17 degrees 54 minutes or 55 minutes, andlongit. 140 degrees 45 minutes approx. , we travelled due west, and cameat once into an undulating hilly country. The hills were composed ofiron-sandstone; their summits were generally very openly timbered withapple-gum and a new white-barked tree; but their bases were covered withthickets of the little Severn tree. The intervening flats bore either abox-tree with a short trunk branching off immediately above the ground;or a middle-sized tea-tree, with a lanceolate leaf, or thickets ofstunted tea-tree. We travelled full thirteen miles without water, or anydecided water-course. We passed several dry water-holes shaded by thebroad-leaved Terminalia; and saw many Acacias twenty-five and thirty feetin height, with a slender trunk, and an elegant drooping foliage: it verymuch resembled the Acacia of Expedition Range; but the drooping habit andmore distant leaflets of its bipinnate leaves, showed at once theirdifference. We had travelled five hours and a half, and Mr. Roper rode upto me several times, to complain of his inability to go any farther. Iencouraged him, however, and at sunset, we reached a creek, but it wasdry; and, although we travelled until dark along its winding course, andsaw many deep holes on its flats, and although fresh burnings showed thatthe natives had been there, yet no water was to be found, and we wereobliged to encamp without it. We, therefore, hobbled and tethered all thehorses, and watched the bullocks. Charley followed the creek for somedistance in search of water, but returned without finding any. 

July 21. --When Charley was riding after our hobbled horses, he came, atabout two miles N. E. , from our camp, to another watercourse, with wellfilled rocky water-holes. When he brought this welcome intelligence, weimmediately loaded our bullocks, and moved to these water-holes; on whichit appeared some natives had encamped very lately. The country around wasbroken and scrubby; but in general it was well-grassed, with a soundsoil. Our latitude was 17 degrees 52 minutes 53 seconds. 

The wind, during the last two days, was from the southward in theforenoon, and from the westward in the afternoon. The nights were calmand clear, but very cold. 

Mr. Calvert had happily recovered so much as to be able to resume hisduties; and, notwithstanding the fatigues of the last long stage, Mr. Roper had slightly improved. 

July 22. --Last night was beautifully clear and calm, until midnight, whena cold south wind set in, which made us all shiver with cold. I had notfelt it so much since the night of Mr. Gilbert's death, nor since we leftthe upper Lynd and the table land of the Burdekin. The wind was equallystrong in the morning from the south-east, and veered in the course ofthe day to the south and south-west. 

We travelled about eight miles and a half W. N. W. To lat. 17 degrees 50minutes 28 seconds, at first passing over a scrubby country, whichchanged into box flats when we approached the waterless creek, at whichwe encamped on the night of the 20th. To the westward of this creek, boxflats alternated with tea-tree thickets; and opened at last into a largeplain, which we crossed at its southern termination, where it was threemiles broad; it appeared boundless to the northward. Plains of the samecharacter had been dimly seen through the open forest to the northward, for some time before we came to the one we crossed. This was not coveredwith the stiff grass, nor the dry wind-grass of the plains north of theStaaten; but it bore a fine crop of tender grasses, which rendered theminfinitely more valuable for the pasture of horses and cattle. At thewest side of the plain, we found a chain of fine long lagoons, surroundedby Polygonum, and apparently well stocked with fish. 

Charley and Brown caught an emu, with the assistance of the dog, whichbecame every day more valuable to us. 

Since Mr. Gilbert's death, the arrangements of our camp have beenchanged. I now select an entirely open space, sufficiently distant fromany scrub or thicket, even if we have to go a considerable distance forwater. Our pack-saddles are piled in two parallel lines close together, facing that side from which a covered attack of the natives might beexpected. We sleep behind this kind of bulwark, which of itself wouldhave been a sufficient barrier against the spears of the natives. Tiredas we generally are, we retire early to our couch; Charley usually takesthe first watch, from half-past six to nine o'clock; Brown, Calvert, andPhillips follow in rotation; whilst I take that portion of the night mostfavourable for taking the altitude. John Murphy has his watch from fiveto six. We generally tethered three horses, and kept one bridled; and, with these arrangements, we slept as securely and soundly as ever; for Ifelt sure that we had nothing to fear, as long as our tinklingbell-horse, and perhaps a second horse, was moving near us. The nativesconsidered our animals to be large dogs, and had frequently asked whetherthey would bite (which I affirmed, of course); so that they themselvesfurnished us with a protection, which otherwise I should not have thoughtof inventing. 

July 23. --When Charley returned this morning with the horses, he told me, that a fine broad salt-water river was again before us. I kept, therefore, at once to the southward, and feared that I should have to gofar in that direction before being able to ford it. After travellingabout two miles, we came in sight of it. It was broad and deep, with lowrocky banks. Salicornia grew along the small gullies into which the tideflowed; some struggling stunted mangroves were on the opposite side; andthe plains along the right side of the river were occupied by a scantyvegetation, consisting of Phyllanthus shrubs, scattered box, and theraspberry-jam trees. We had travelled, however, more than a mile on itsbank, when we came to a broad rocky barrier or dam extending across theriver, over which a small stream of brackish water rippled, and, by meansof this, we crossed without difficulty. I now steered again north-west bywest, and passed at first some fine shady lagoons, and for the next sixmiles, over an immense plain, apparently unlimited to the north andnorth-east. At its west side we again found Polygonum lagoons, which wereswarming with ducks, (particularly Malacorhynchus membranaceus), and teal(Querquedula). Box, raspberry-jam trees, and Acacia, (Inga moniliformis, D. C. ) formed a shady grove round these lagoons, which continued towardsthe south-east. Their latitude was 17 degrees 49 minutes 35 seconds. Smoke was visible in every part of the horizon. Charley, Brown, and John, shot fourteen ducks, and increased this number towards evening toforty-six ducks, five recurvirostris, one small red-shank, and twospoon-bills: the latter were particularly fat, and, when ready for thespit, weighed better than three pounds; the black ducks weighed a poundand three-quarters. The Malacorhynchus was small, but in good condition, and the fat seemed to accumulate particularly in the skin of the neck. 

The south wind, as usual, visited us again last night, and made itexceedingly cold. This intense cold is probably owing to the largeplains, over which the wind passes. We were never so much troubled byswarms of flies, as during the last two days; it was impossible to getrid of them by any means. 

July 24. --We travelled about six miles north-west to latitude 17 degrees48 minutes, and crossed several plains separated by belts of open forest, and came to a fine salt-water river; the banks were steep but not high, and stunted mangroves grew on the water's edge: the raspberry-jam treecovered the approaches to the river. Salicornia and Binoe's Trichiniumgrew round the dry ponds, and along the small water-courses, into whichthe tide flowed. We found a good crossing place at a fishery of thenatives; who--to judge by the number of their tracks through the softmud, and by the two large camps on both sides of the river, which werecovered with fish-bones--must be very numerous. We continued our journeyfor about a mile and a half from the river, and came to some grassyfresh-water lagoons, although the Salicornias at first made me think theywere brackish. 

Shortly after starting this morning, we saw a brood of thirteen emus, onthe plain which we were about to cross. John, Charley, and the dogpursued them, and killed the old one; which, however, severely woundedpoor Spring in the neck. When we came up to them with the train, thetwelve young ones had returned in search of their mother; upon whichBrown gave chase with Spring, and killed two. This was the greatest sportwe ever had had on our journey. Upon making our camp, we cut part oftheir meat into slices, and dried it on green hide ropes; the bones, heads, and necks were stewed: formerly, we threw the heads, gizzards, andfeet away, but necessity had taught us economy; and, upon trial, the feetof young emus was found to be as good and tender as cow-heel. I collectedsome salt on the dry salt ponds, and added it to our stew; but mycompanions scarcely cared for it, and almost preferred the soup withoutit. The addition, however, rendered the soup far more savoury, at leastto my palate. 

July 25. --We travelled N. 60 degrees W. And, at two miles, reached asalt-water creek, which we crossed at a fishing place of the natives. Soon afterwards we came on other shallow half dry salt-water creeks, thedry parts of which were covered with thick incrustations of salt, some ofwhich we collected. Our bullocks were very seriously bogged in crossingone of them. After passing this intricate meshwork of boggy channels, weentered upon an immense plain, with patches of forest appearing here andthere in the distance. It was well grassed, but its sandy patches werecovered with Salicornia. This plant abounded particularly where the plainsloped into the system of salt-water creeks; the approaches of which werescattered over with the raspberry-jam tree. A west-north-west and westcourse led me constantly to salt water; and we saw a large expanse of itin the distance, which Charley, to whose superior sight all deference waspaid, considered to be the sea. I passed some low stunted forest, inwhich a small tree was observed, with stiff pinnate leaves and a roundfruit of the size of a small apple, with a rough stone, and a verynauseous rind, at least in its unripe state. To the westward of this beltof forest, we crossed extensive marshes covered with tender, though drygrass, and surrounded by low Ironstone ridges, openly timbered withstunted silver-leaved Ironbark, several white gums, and Hakea lorea, R. Br. In full blossom. We had not seen the latter for a long time, althoughGrevillea mimosoides, with which it was generally associated, had beenour constant companion. 

Beyond the ridges, we came again on salt-water creeks, and saw sheets ofsand, which looked like the sea from the distance. I turned to the southand even south-east; and, finding no water, we were compelled to encampwithout it, after a very long and fatiguing stage. Whilst we wereoccupied in tethering and hobbling our horses, and eating our supper, Charley, whose watch it was, allowed the bullocks to stray in search ofwater, and the next morning he was so long absent whilst looking forthem, that my exhausted companions became impatient; and I thought itadvisable to send them back to our last camp with as many pack-horses aswe could muster, myself remaining alone to guard the rest of ourproperty. They found three of the bullocks on the plain, in the mostwretched condition, and met Charley returning with four others, which hadmade an immense round along all the salt-water creeks. My companions, however, were fortunate enough to find a fresh water lagoon about threemiles west of our last camp. John and Charley returned after moon-rise, with three pack-horses, and arrived at my camp at a quarter to seven inthe morning. I had been in a state of the most anxious suspense about thefate of our bullocks, and was deeply thankful to the Almighty when Iheard that they were all safe. I had suffered much from thirst, havingbeen forty-eight hours without water, and which had been increased by arun of two miles after my horse, which attempted to follow the others;and also from a severe pain in the head, produced by the impatientbrute's jumping with its hobbled forefeet on my forehead, as I was lyingasleep with the bridle in my hand; but, after drinking three quarts ofcold tea which John had brought with him, I soon recovered, and assistedto load our horses with the remainder of our luggage, when we returned tojoin our companions. The weather was very hot during the day, but a coolbreeze moved over the plains, and the night, as usual, was very cold. 

Yesterday morning, John and Brown rode down to a hollow to look forwater, whilst we were waiting for the bullocks. At their return, theystated that they had come to two salt-water creeks, all full of salt, ofwhich they brought several lumps. I started immediately with Mr. Calvertand Brown, and, sure enough! I found the broad bed of a creek one mass ofthe purest and whitest salt. Lumps of it had crystallized round stems ofgrasses which the wind had blown into the water. A little higher up thecreek, a large pool of water was full of these lumps, and in less thanten minutes we collected more than sufficient to supply us for the restof the journey. Ship loads of pure salt could have been collected here ina very short time, requiring nothing but drying and housing, until itcould be removed. Its appearance was quite new and wonderful to me, whohad been so busily employed in scraping the incrustations full of mudfrom the dry beds of the creeks. 

Yesterday, Brown shot a black-winged pelican; the pectoral muscles andthe extremities of which proved good eating; but the inside and the fatwere of a nauseously fishy taste. Charley shot a bustard, and John ablack ibis. The smoke of the Black-fellows' fires was seen to thesouthward. The fresh grass of recent burnings extended over all theplains, and even near our waterle encampment, where its bright verduremade us believe that we approached a fresh water swamp. 

July 27. --I stopped at this camp to allow our cattle to recover fromtheir fatigue; intending afterwards to proceed up the river until I cameinto the zone of fresh water, which we had left, and then to continue mycourse to the west and north-west. During our stay in this place, Mr. Calvert found a piece of pack canvass, rolled round some utensils of thenatives. 

July 28. --We travelled about ten miles south by east; but were sooncompelled by the salt-water creeks to leave the river, which seemed tocome from south-south-east. We crossed several mangrove creeks, one ofwhich contained a weir formed by many rows of dry sticks. These creekswere too boggy to be forded in any part where the tide reached, and wehad to follow them up for several miles, until their beds divided intolagoons. Here the drooping tea-tree re-appeared, which I considered toindicate the presence of fresh water, at least for a part of the year. Ifound them, however, at times, on salt-water rivers, not on the level ofthe salt water, but high on the banks within the reach of the freshesduring the rainy season. In turning again towards the river, we crossed alarge plain, from which pillars of smoke were seen rising above the greenbelt of raspberry-jam trees which covered the approaches to the river. After passing some forest of Moreton Bay ash, bloodwood, clustered box, Acacia (Inga moniliformis), and a few Bauhinias, we came to anothersalt-water creek, with a sandy bed and deposits of fine salt. Very narrowflats extended along both sides of the creek, and rose by water-tornslopes into large treeless plains. The slopes were, as usual, coveredwith raspberry-jam trees. I saw smoke to the south-ward, and, onproceeding towards it, we came to a fine lagoon of fresh water in the bedof the creek. 

July 29. --We travelled about five miles and a half south-south-east upthe creek, and encamped in latitude 18 degrees 2 minutes. The characterof the country was the same. When about two miles from our last camp, wecame upon a tribe of natives fishing in a water-hole, near which aconsiderable quantity of large and small fish was heaped. The men made atremendous noise, which frightened our bullocks, and hastened to theplace where their gins were. The latter, among whom was a remarkably tallone, decamped at our approach. A fine shell of Dolium was in their camp, which we passed through. After we had passed by, the natives followed us;upon which I returned towards them, and hung a nose ring on the branch ofa small tree. This sign of friendly disposition on my side, emboldenedthem to approach me and demand a parley. I, therefore, dismounted, and, accompanied by Charley, divided some empty tin canisters among them, withwhich they seemed highly satisfied. They were altogether fine men. Threeor four old men with grey beards were amongst them; and they introduced ayoung handsome lad to me, with a net on his head and a quill through hisnose, calling him "Yappar. " He was probably a youth of the Yappar tribewho had been sent forward as a messenger to inform them of our havingpassed that country. Seeing my watch, they pointed to the sun; andappeared to be well acquainted with the use of my gun. 

Further up the creek, we again saw some storied gunyas of the natives. 

July 30. --We travelled about ten miles west by south, over an immenseplain, with here and there a solitary tree, or a small patch of forest. It was full of melon-holes, and much resembled the plains of theCondamine. Salicornia and Binoe's Trichinium were wanting. At the westside of the plain, a green belt of forest stretched from north to south. Before we entered into it, and into the valley of the creek, along whichit extended, we passed some open forest of stunted silver-leavedIronbark. On the slopes of the plains we met, as usual, the raspberry-jamtree thickets, and on the flats and hollows along the creek, theclustered box; whilst, on the banks of the creek, grew the broad-leavedTerminalia and Acacia (Inga moniliformis). Following the creek up abouthalf a mile, we found a fine rocky water-hole. The rock was a clayeyIronstone. 

When entering upon the plain in the morning, we saw two emus on a patchof burnt grass. Brown and Charley gave chase to them; but Brown's horsestumbled and threw him, and unfortunately broke the stock of the doublebarrelled fowling piece, and bent the barrels. Spring took hold of theemu, which dragged him to the lagoon we had left, pursued by Charley onfoot. The emu plunged into the water, and, having given Spring andCharley a good ducking, made its escape, notwithstanding its laceratedthigh. Three harlequin pigeons, and six rose-breasted cockatoos (CocatuaEos, GOULD. ), were shot on the plains. 

The weather was delightful; a fine breeze from the east cooled the air. 

July 31. --We made about ten miles due west, the latitude of our campbeing 18 degrees 6 minutes 42 seconds. After passing some Ironstoneridges, covered with stunted silver-leaved Ironbark, we entered upon alarge plain, from which we saw some low ranges to the south, and smoke tothe W. 20 degrees S. I followed this course about seven miles; but thesmoke was still very distant, and, perceiving a belt of forest to thewestward, I took that direction, passed the head of a small creek whichwent to the southward, crossed some box forest and Ironbark ridges, andcame into an open country, with alternating plains and ridges, which, even at the present season, was very pretty, and must, when clothed inthe garments of Spring, be very beautiful. The creek which we had met atthe east side of the forest, had swept round the ridges, and was nowagain before us, pursuing a north-west course. A fine plain extendedalong it, on which I observed Acacia Farnesiana of Darling Downs, thegrass of the Isaacs, and several grasses of the Suttor. The holes of thecreek were shaded by large Terminalias, and by a white gum, with slightlydrooping foliage of a pleasing green colour. We followed the creek down, and soon came again to Ironstone ridges. 

I had sent Charley forward to look for water, and, when he joined usagain, he told me that there was a water-hole, but that natives, for thegreater part gins, were encamped on it. I could not help takingpossession of it, as there were none besides, to our knowledge; and ourbullocks and horses were fatigued by a long stage. I, therefore, rode upto it alone; the gins had decamped, but a little urchin remained, who wasprobably asleep when his mother went. He cried bitterly, as he made hisway through the high grass, probably in search for his mother. Thinkingit prudent to tie an iron ring to his neck, that his parents might see wewere peaceably inclined, I caught the little fellow, who threw his stickat me, and defended himself most manfully when I laid hold of him. Havingdismissed him with an angry slap on his fat little posteriors, he walkedaway crying, but keeping hold of the iron ring: his mother came down fromthe ridge to meet him, laughing loud, and cheering with jokes. 

I observed ironstone pebbles, and large pieces of a fine grained flaggysandstone on the first plains we crossed; the sandstone was excellent tosharpen our knives. 

CHAPTER XI

SYSTEMATIC GRASS BURNINGS OF THE NATIVES--NATIVE CARVING--AUDACITY OF THENATIVES OVERAWED--THE ALBERT, OR MAET SUYKER--NATIVE MODE OF MAKING SUREOF A DEAD EMU--BULLOCK BOGGED; OBLIGED TO KILL IT--NATIVE DEVICE FORTAKING EMUS--BEAMES'S BROOK--THE NICHOLSON--RECONNOITRE BY NIGHT--SMITH'SCREEK--THE MARLOW. 

August 1. --We travelled about seven miles west by north. Silver-leavedIronbark ridges, of a dreary aspect, and covered with small shining browniron pebbles, alternating with small plains and box-flats, extendedgenerally to the northward. Some of the hills were open at their summits, timbered with apple-gum, and covered with white ant-hills; their baseswere surrounded with thickets of the Severn tree. We encamped at a fineNymphaea lagoon, in the rich shade of a white drooping gum tree. A largebut dry creek was near us to the westward. The grass was excellent. 

August 2. --We travelled twelve miles west-north-west, over a finebox-flat, crossed a good sized creek, about five miles from the camp, and, to the westward of it, passed over seven miles of Ironbark ridges. We descended from them into the valley of a creek fringed with thewhite-gum tree, and followed it down for about three miles before wefound water. We encamped at a good water-hole, at the foot of the ridges, in latitude 18 degrees 0 minutes 42 seconds. Brown and Charley, who hadgone two miles lower down, told me that they had found salt-water, anddeposits of very fine salt. Many lagoons were on the flats, surrounded byPolygonums, and frequented by ducks, spoonbills, and various aquaticbirds. They had shot, however, only one teal and a spoonbill. Intravelling down the creek, we frequently started wallabies. Geophapsplumifera was very frequent on the Ironbark ridges. A cormorant withwhite breast and belly, and the rose cockatoo were shot; the formertasted as well as a duck. Brown collected a good quantity of the gum ofTerminalia, and the seeds of the river bean, which made an excellentcoffee. The native bee was very abundant. 

The natives seemed to have burned the grass systematically along everywatercourse, and round every water-hole, in order to have them surroundedwith young grass as soon as the rain sets in. These burnings were notconnected with camping places, where the fire is liable to spread fromthe fire-places, and would clear the neighbouring ground. Long strips oflately burnt grass were frequently observed extending for many milesalong the creeks. The banks of small isolated water-holes in the forest, were equally attended to, although water had not been in either for aconsiderable time. It is no doubt connected with a systematic managementof their runs, to attract game to particular spots, in the same way thatstockholders burn parts of theirs in proper seasons; at least those whoare not influenced by the erroneous notion, that burning the grassinjures the richness and density of the natural turf. The natives, however, frequently burn the high and stiff grass, particularly alongshady creeks, with the intention of driving the concealed game out of it;and we have frequently seen them watching anxiously, even for lizards, when other game was wanting. 

August 3. --We travelled, for the first two miles, N. 60 degrees W. Overscrubby ironstone ridges, and then entered upon a fine plain, from whichsmoke was seen to the west and north-west. I chose the latter direction, and passed over ironstone ridges covered with stunted silver-leavedIronbark; and a species of Terminalia, a small tree, with long spathulateglaucous leaves, slightly winged seed-vessels, and with an abundance offine transparent eatable gum; of which John and Brown gathered a greatquantity. Some of the ridges were openly timbered with a rather stuntedwhite-gum tree, and were well grassed; but the grass was wiry and stiff. At the end of our stage, about sixteen miles distant from our last camp, we crossed some rusty-gum forest; and encamped at a fine water-hole inthe bed of a rocky creek, shaded by the white drooping gum, which seemedto have taken the place of the flooded gum. Groves of Pandanus spiralisgrew along the creek, which ran to the north by east. All the smallwatercourses we passed, inclined to the eastward. Charley found the shellof a Cytherea on an old camping-place of the natives, which indicated ourapproach to the salt water. 

A native had carved a representation of the foot of an emu in the bark ofa gum-tree; and he had performed it with all the exactness of a goodobserver. It was the first specimen of the fine arts we had witnessed inour journey. 

August 4. --We travelled about ten miles west-north-west, over scrubbyridges, plains, and box-flats. In a patch of rusty-gum forest we foundAcacia equisetifolia, and the dwarf Grevillea of the upper Lynd inblossom; the thyrsi of scarlet flowers of the latter were particularlybeautiful. As we entered into the plains, Binoe's Trichinium andSalicornia re-appeared. 

I steered towards the smoke of a Blackfellow's fire, which we saw risingon the plains; the fire was attended to by a gin. Charley went forward toexamine a belt of trees visible in the distance; and John Murphy followeda hollow in the plain, and succeeded in finding a fine lagoon, about halfa mile long, partly rocky and partly muddy, surrounded by Polygonums, andfields of Salicornia. A few gum trees, and raspberry-jam trees grewstraggling around it; but no dry timber was to be found, and we had tomake a fire with a broken down half dried raspberry-jam tree. Our meatbags were now empty, and it was necessary to kill another bullock, although the spot was by no means favourable for the purpose. Nativeswere around us, and we saw them climbing the neighbouring trees toobserve our proceedings. When Charley joined us, he stated that a finebroad salt-water river was scarcely a quarter of a mile from the lagoon;that he had seen a tribe of natives fishing, who had been polite enoughto make a sign that the water was not drinkable, when he stooped down totaste it, but that freshwater was to be found in the direction of thelagoon, at which we were encamped. No time was to be lost, and, as theafternoon had advanced, we commenced operations immediately. Though thebullock was young, and in excellent working condition, the incessanttravelling round the gulf had taken nearly all the fat out of him, andthere was scarcely enough left to fry his liver. At sunset, we saw thenatives approaching our camp, with loud vociferations, swinging theirspears, and poising and putting them into their wommalas. We immediatelysaddled and mounted two of our horses, and discharged a pistol. Thelatter stopped their noise at once; and some cowered down to the ground. John and Charley rode slowly towards them; at first they tried to face, and then to surround the horsemen; but John and Charley separated, andthreatened to cut them off from the river. As soon as they saw theirsupposed danger, they ran to the river, plunged in, and crossed it. Wewere very watchful during the night, but were not disturbed. Nextmorning, natives passed at some distance, but showed no inclination tomolest us. 

August 5. --We cut our meat into slices, and, although we were reduced innumber, we had become so expert, that we had finished a full sizedbullock by half past eleven, A. M. The process occupied four of us aboutfour hours and a half; John and Brown were employed in putting it out onthe kangaroo net to dry. The strong sea breeze dried it beautifully; butit attracted much moisture again in the night, and was very moist when wepacked it into the bags at starting. 

The sea breeze set in on the 4th at 11 o'clock, became very strong duringthe afternoon, lessened at sunset, and died away about 9 o'clock, P. M. When it became thick and foggy. This was the case on the 5th, 6th, and7th, and was very regular. 

August 6. --We left the large lagoon, which, as I was prevented frommaking an observation, I supposed to be in latitude 17 degrees 47 minutesv. 48 minutes, and followed the winding course of the river up tolatitude 17 degrees 57 minutes. The river, I am inclined to think, is theAlbert of Captain Stokes, and the Maet Suyker of the Dutch Navigators, and its general course is from south-south-west, to north-north-east. Plains, forest country, open scrub frequently broken by gullies, alternated with each other. Several large and deep basins parallel to theriver, were dry. The rough-leaved fig tree, the white cedar, and astiff-leaved Ipomoea with pink blossoms, grew on its sandy banks; andsome low straggling mangroves at the water's edge. The day was faradvanced, and I became very anxious about our moist meat; and feared thatwe should have to encamp without water. We saw burnt grass every where, and logs were even still burning; and fresh water could not be very faroff, but yet we were unable to detect it. At last, I observed some trees, of a fresher appearance than usual, beyond a small rise; and, riding upto it, found a small water-hole surrounded by Polygonums: on examination, it was found to contain only a very small quantity of water, yet whatremained was good. Charley, who returned afterwards, said that he hadbeen before at this water-hole, and had found a tribe of natives encampedon it, one of whom lifted his spear against him, but his courage forsookhim upon observing Charley still riding towards him, when he and thewhole camp took to their heels, leaving a good supply of Convolvulusroots, and of Terminalia gum behind them. We found shells of Cymbium andCytherea, an enormous waddie, which could have been wielded only by apowerful arm, nets and various instruments for fishing, in their desertedcamp. 

August 7. --I thought it advisable to stop here, and give our meat a fairdrying. The natives were not seen again. Charley and John took a ride toprocure some game, and came to a salt-water creek, which joined the riverabout three miles from our camp; the river flowed in a very windingcourse from the eastward. They found some good fresh water-holes, at thehead of the salt-water. 

August 8. --We travelled about seven miles E. S. E. Over plains and Ironbarkridges. The approaches of the creek, broken by watercourses and gullies, were covered with thickets of raspberry-jam trees. The rock cropped outfrequently in the creek, which was said to be very rocky lower down. Thesalt-water Hibiscus, a species of Paritium, Adr. Juss. (Hibiscustiliaceus? Linn. D. C. Prodr. I. P. 454) grew round the water-holes. Wefound the same little tree at the salt-water rivers on the west coast ofthe gulf, and at Port Essington. I had formerly seen it at the sea coastof Moreton Bay; its bark is tough and fibrous, and the heart-wood isbrown with a velvety lustre. 

August 9. --When Charley returned with the horses, he told us, that, whenhe was sitting down to drink at a water-hole about three miles up thecreek, ten emus came to the other side of the water; keeping himselfquiet, he took a careful aim, and shot one dead; then mounting his horseimmediately, he pursued the others, and approaching them very near, succeeded in shooting another. He broke the wings of both and concealedthem under water. It is a singular custom of the natives, that ofbreaking the wings upon killing an emu; as the wings could only slightlyassist the animal in making its escape, should it revive. But inconversation with Brown as to the possibility of one of the emus havingescaped, he said very seriously: "Blackfellow knows better than whitefellow; he never leaves the emu without breaking a wing. Blackfellowskilled an emu once, and went off intending to call their friends to helpthem to eat, and when they came back, they looked about, looked about, but there was no emu; the emu was gone--therefore the Blackfellows alwaysbroke the wings of the emus they killed afterwards. " This was, however, very probably one of Brown's yarns, made up for the occasion. 

I sent Mr. Calvert and Charley to fetch the game, whilst we loaded thebullocks, and by the time they returned, we were ready to start. The emuswere fine large birds, but not fat; this season seemed to be unfavourablefor them. When we came out into the plain, we saw the smoke of thenatives to the southward, and I steered for it, supposing that they wereeither near the river, or at all events not far from fresh water. Aftertwo miles travelling, we crossed another creek with fine Polygonumwater-holes, and, emerging from it into a second plain, we saw a flock ofemus in the distance. Chase was given to them, and with the assistance ofSpring, one was caught. Loaded with three emus, we travelled over asuccession of plains, separated by narrow belts of timber, mostly of-box, bloodwood, and tea-tree. The plains were broken by irregular melon-holes, which rendered our progress slow and fatiguing. We came to Ironbarkridges, and to the very spot where the natives had been burning thegrass, but no watercourse, nor lagoon was seen. Brown rode farther to thesouthward, and observed the tracks of the natives in that direction, butfound nothing but box-tree flats. I sent Charley forward to the westward, and followed slowly in the same direction; night overtook us, when wewere crossing a large plain, but Charley had lighted a large fire, whichguided us, and made us believe that he had found water. He was indeed atthe steep banks of the river Albert, but it was still salt. We hobbledand tethered all the horses, and watched the bullocks. Fortunately we hadprovided ourselves with some water, which allowed half a pint to everyman, so that we felt the inconvenience of a waterless camp less thanformerly. Besides, we had fresh meat, which made a great difference inour desire for water. It was a beautiful night, and even the dew waswanting, which had been such a hindrance to drying our meat during theprevious nights. During my watch, I seated myself on one of theprominences of the steep banks, and watched the loud splashings ofnumerous large fish which momentarily disturbed the tranquillity of themirror-like surface of the water. Brown had found a bar across the river, and, on examination it proved perfectly dry during low water, and allowedus to cross, after having brought our bullocks and horses down the steepbanks, which, however, was not effected without great difficulty. We hadmost fortunately hit the very spot where such a crossing was possible. Brown saw a great number of fine fish in the river, which he called"Taylors. " The natives had been here frequently: the grass had beenrecently burnt, and fish bones indicated this as one of their habitualcamping places. We could not, however, discover where they quenched theirthirst. I sent Charley forward in a north-west direction to look forwater. When we came out into the plains which stretched along both sidesof the river as far as the eye could reach, we saw smoke very near us onthe right. I went towards it, until I found that it rose on the oppositeside of the river we had just crossed; Brown, however, detected a pool ofslightly brackish water in a deep creek at a short distance from itsjunction with the river. It was too boggy for our cattle to approach, butit allowed us to quench our own thirst. We now re-entered the plains, andfollowed the track of Charley, who soon returned with the pleasingintelligence that he had found some fine water-holes. These were in thebed of a creek, surrounded by a band of forest composed of box, raspberry-jam trees, and the broad-leaved Terminalia, the fruit of whichwas eaten by the black cockatoo. The slopes of the water-holes were steepand boggy, and one of our bullocks was so exhausted that he slipped onthe steep banks, rolled into the water, and got so severely bogged, thatwe were compelled to kill him, after trying everything in our power toextricate him. On the 12th August we cut him up. The night, however, wasvery foggy with heavy dew, which prevented the meat from drying. Themiserably exhausted state of the animal had rendered the meat very flabbyand moist, and it not only dried badly, but was liable to taint and toget fly-blown. 

August 13. --We had a fine sea-breeze from the northward, which dried theoutside of the meat well enough, but not the inside, so that it became inmany parts so putrid that I had to throw them away, although we saved agood deal by splitting the puffed pieces, and exposing the inside to theair. 

The natives had surrounded the water-hole on which we encamped with abarricade or hedge of dry sticks, leaving only one opening to allow theemus to approach the water. Near this the natives probably keptthemselves concealed and waited for the emus; which in these parts wereremarkably numerous. On the 11th, John, Charley, and Brown, rode downthree birds, and, on the 14th, they obtained four more, two of which werekilled by John Murphy, who rode the fleetest horse and was the lightestweight. The possibility of riding emus down, clearly showed in whatexcellent condition our horses were. Even our bullocks althoughfoot-weary upon arriving at the camp, recovered wonderfully, and playedabout like young steers in the grassy shady bed of the creek, liftingtheir tails, scratching the ground with their fore feet, and shakingtheir horns at us, as if to say, we'll have a run before you catch us. 

The latitude of these water-holes was 18 degrees 4 minutes 27 seconds, and they were about nine miles from the crossing place of the river, which I calculated to be in longitude 139 degrees 20 minutes (appr. ). Theplains were covered with flocks of small white cockatoos, (Cocatuasanguinea, GOULD. ) which Mr. Gilbert had mentioned as having been foundin Port Essington: their cry was rather plaintive, and less unmelodiousthan the scream of the large cockatoo; nor were they so shy and wary, particularly when approaching the water. 

August 15. --Our beasts were so heavily laden with the meat of twobullocks, that I found it rather difficult to carry the additional meatof the emus. We, however, divided every emu into four parts--the chest, the rump, and the two thighs--and suspended each of the latter to one ofthe four hooks of a packsaddle; the remaining parts were carried on ourhorses. 

We travelled about eight miles north-north-west, over a succession ofplains, interrupted by some watercourses, and a good sized creek. At theend of the day's stage, we found a small pool of water in a little creekwhich we had followed down. According to Charley's account, salt-waterexisted a mile lower down. Though our arrival at the camp was very late, we set immediately to work, and cut up the four emus, which I put onropes and branches to dry. Fortunately, a cold dry south-east wind setin, which very much assisted us in the operation of drying. The seabreeze was strong, as usual, during the day; clouds gathered verysuddenly about 11 o'clock, P. M. To the southward and south-east, androse very quickly with a strong south-east wind; they passed as quicklyas they came; when the wind ceased. Another mass of clouds formed, androse quite as suddenly, and, having passed, the sky became quite clear, and a cold strong wind set in from the south-east, which lasted for thenext two days, and rendered the nights of the 16th and 17th August cold, dry, and dewless. 

We had forgotten to drive our bullocks to the water, which they hadpassed not five yards off, and in sight of which they had been unloaded;the poor brutes, however, had not the instinct to find it, and theystrayed back. Charley started after them the same night, and went at onceto our old camp, supposing that the bullocks had taken that direction;but they had not done so; they had wandered about seven miles from thecamp, without having found water. 

August 16. --We travelled about twelve miles west-north-west, first overplains, but afterwards, and for the greater part of the stage, overopenly timbered well-grassed box-flats, which seemed to bound the plainsto the southward; they were drained by no watercourse, but contained manymelon-holes. I changed my westerly course a little more to the northward, and again crossed a succession of plains, separated by hollows. Thesehollows were covered with thickets of small trees, principallyraspberry-jam trees; and contained many dry water-holes, either inregular chains or scattered. They, no doubt, formed the heads of creeks;as we invariably came on decided watercourses whenever we followedhollows of this character down to the northward. After sunset, we came toa dry creek, and were compelled to encamp without water. We took care, however, to watch our bullocks, and hobble and tether our horses, whichenabled us to start early in the morning of the 17th, when we followedthe creek about seven miles north-east, and there found some very finewater-holes within its bed, in latitude 17 degrees 51 minutes, at whichwe encamped, to allow our cattle to recover; for they had had very littlewater during the two last days. Smoke was seen to the north-west, north, and north-east. Charley shot two more emus, and I felt the loss of ourbullock very much, as it became difficult to carry the additional meat, which, however, was too valuable to be wasted or thrown away. Although wehad followed the creek for seven miles, we did not find it joined by anyof those hollows we had crossed the day before; and it would appear thatthe intervening plains extended far to the north-ward, and that thehollows and creeks converged only very gradually towards each other. 

August 18. --Last night we were busily employed in cutting up and dryingour two emus, in which operation we were favoured by a slight breeze fromthe south-east. As we had no fat nor emu oil to fry the meat with, Iallowed a sufficient quantity of meat to be left on the bones, which madeit worth while to grill them; and we enjoyed a most beautiful moonlightnight over a well grilled emu bone with so much satisfaction, that afrequenter of the Restaurants of the Palais Royal would have beendoubtful whether to pity or envy us. 

We travelled to the north-west, because, whenever I kept a westerlycourse, I had almost always to follow creeks down to the northward toobtain water; and, notwithstanding a north-west course, had, on previousoccasions, generally brought us to salt-water. 

For the first three miles, we passed several plains, and crossed a creekin which we recognised a Casuarina, which tree we had not seen since weleft the Mitchell. We then came to a river from thirty to forty yardsbroad, and apparently very deep; the water was very soft, but notbrackish, although affected by the tide, which caused it to rise abouttwo feet. A narrow belt of brush, with drooping tea-trees, the Coryphapalm, the Pandanus, and Sarcocephalus, grew along the water's edge. Thebox, the broad-leaved Terminalia, and the Inga moniliformis (articulatepodded Acacia), covered the gullies which came down from the plains, andthe flats along the river. We proceeded four or five miles up the river, in a south-west direction, in order to find a crossing place. Largeplains occupied both sides, on which numerous patches of grass had beenlately burnt; which indicated the presence of natives. Fish were veryplentiful, and Charley said he had seen a crocodile. The plains and banksof the river were well grassed, and adapted for cattle and horses. Weencamped in latitude 17 degrees 57 minutes. [This cannot possibly be17 degrees 57 minutes--it is about 17 degrees 52 minutes--(Note byMr. Arrowsmith. )]

August 19. --The river was joined by a running creek from south-south-west, which we had to follow up about five miles, where it formed a verynarrow channel between thickets of palm trees, drooping tea-trees, Sarcocephalus, and particularly Pandanus, which crowded round thetiny stream. We again travelled north-west, over several plains, separated by belts of timber, and, at the end of about five miles, cameto a fine brook, whose pure limpid waters flowed rapidly in its deep butrather narrow channel, over a bed of rich green long-leaved water plants. Magnificent tea-trees, Casuarinas, and Terminalias, gave a refreshingshade, and Pandanus and Corypha palms added to the beauty of the spot. 

The plains were well-grassed, but full of melon-holes. I observed on thema few small trees, belonging to the Sapindaceae, with pinnate and ratherdrooping leaves, with a light grey bark, exuding a good eatable gum. 

I called the brook "Beames's Brook, " in acknowledgment of the liberalsupport I received from Walter Beames, Esq. Of Sydney. 

We again enjoyed here the young shoots of the Corypha palm. 

August 20. --We crossed Beames's brook without difficulty, and travelledabout two miles north-west, over a plain, when we came to a river with abroad sandy bed and steep banks, overgrown with large drooping tea-trees. Its stream was five or six yards broad and very shallow. Parallel linesof deep lagoons covered with Nymphaeas and Villarsias were on its westside. The bergue between the river and the lagoons was covered withbloodwood and leguminous Ironbark; and fine box flats were beyond thelagoons. 

I called this river the "Nicholson, " after Dr. William Alleyne Nicholson, of Bristol, whose generous friendship had not only enabled me to devotemy time to the study of the natural sciences, but to come out toAustralia. The longitude of the Nicholson was 138 degrees 55 minutes(approx. )

After passing the box flats along-the river, we entered into a countrycovered with thickets and scrub, rarely interrupted by small patches ofopen forest, and travelled about fourteen miles north-west from theriver, when the setting sun compelled us to encamp, without having beenable to find water. Just on entering the scrub, we saw four emus walkinggravely through a thicket of the little Severn tree, picking its bitterfruit, and throwing occasionally a wondering but distrustful glance atour approaching train. Charley and Brown, accompanied by Spring, gavechase to them, and killed one, which was in most excellent condition. When we came to the camp, we secured the horses, and watched thebullocks, as was usual on such occasions, and fried and enjoyed our freshmeat as well as we could. To satisfy my companions I determined toreconnoitre the country in advance by moonlight; and allowed them toreturn to the lagoons of the Nicholson, should I not have returned by 10o'clock next morning. Accordingly, I started with Charley when the moonwas high enough to give me a fair view of the country, and followed thestar Vega as it declined to the westward. As we advanced, the countryimproved and became more open. It was about midnight when Charley, inpassing a patch of thick scrub, noticed a slight watercourse, whichincreased rapidly into large water-holes. These were dry, and coveredwith withered grass, but, on resuming our westerly course, we came in avery short time to a creek with a succession of rocky basins. It wasunaccountable how these deep holes could have become so soon dry, asevery one of them must have been full immediately after the rainy season. After following the creek for about two hours, Charley remarked that thecracked mud of one of the large water-holes was moist, and, on diggingabout a foot deep, a supply of water collected, abundantly sufficient forourselves and for our horses. The channel divided several times, andCharley examined one branch, and I took the other. Thus separated from mycompanion, I caught the cheerful glance of a fire before me, and, as Iapproached, a great number of them became visible, belonging to a camp ofthe natives. Though I wished to ascertain whether they were encamped neara water-hole, or near wells, several of which we had observed higher upthe creek, I thought it prudent, unarmed as I was, to wait for Charley. Icooeed, which disturbed the dogs of the camp; but the cold wind blew sostrong from the east, that I feared Charley would either not hear mycooee, or I not his. The discharge of his gun, however, showed me wherehe was, and we were soon together again. We passed the camp; the firessparkled most comfortably in the cold night. We examined the creek, butsaw neither natives nor water. Two miles lower down, however, we came tofine water-holes with a good supply. We stopt here for an hour, to make apot of tea, and to allow our horses to feed. We had followed the creek sofar to the north-east and east, that we were, according to mycalculation, about ten miles N. N. E. From our camp. Trusting in Charley'salmost instinctive powers, I allowed him to take the lead, but he, beingdrowsy in consequence of a sleepless night, kept too much to the right, and missed our tracks. As the appointed time for my return had elapsed, and I was sure that my companions had gone back, I changed my course togo at once to the lagoons of the Nicholson; and came on the tracks of thereturning party, which we followed to the lagoons, where my companionshad already safely arrived. We had been on the saddle from 10 o'clock atnight, to 6 o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, and, with theexception of one hour, had ridden the whole time through the most drearyand scrubby country, and were, of course, extremely fatigued. Mostannoying, however, was the idea that all our fatigues had been to nopurpose, except to show to my companions that I was right in mysupposition, that a good day's journey parallel to the coast wouldinvariably bring us to water. 

August 22. --We travelled about eighteen miles N. N. W. , to thosewater-holes we had found on our reconnoitring ride. Their latitude was 17degrees 39 minutes. The country was so very scrubby and difficult, thatwe travelled from morning until long after sunset before we reached theplace. The long journey had both tired and galled our bullocks andhorses, and our packs had been torn into pieces by the scrub. Thisinduced me to stay a day at this creek (which I called Moonlight Creek, as it had been found and explored during moonlight), to allow some restboth to my bullocks and myself, whom the long riding had much exhausted, and also to re-arrange our packs. 

The composition of the scrub depended on the nature of the soil. Thenarrow-leaved tea-tree, in shrubs from five to seven feet high, and thebroad-leaved tea-tree from twenty to twenty-five feet high, grew on asandy loam, with many ant-hills between them; the little Severn tree andthe glaucous Terminalia preferred the light sandy soil with smallironstone pebbles, on which the ant-hills were rare, or entirely wanting;the raspberry-jam tree crowded round water-holes, which were frequentlyrocky; and the bloodwood, the leguminous Iron-bark, the box, andapple-gum, formed patches of open forest. 

We collected a great quantity of Terminalia gum, and prepared it indifferent ways to render it more palatable. The natives, whose tracks wesaw everywhere in the scrub, with frequent marks where they had collectedgum--seemed to roast it. It dissolved with difficulty in water: added togelatine soup, it was a great improvement; a little ginger, which Johnhad still kept, and a little salt, would improve it very much. But itacted as a good lenient purgative on all of us. 

We found the days, when travelling in the scrub, excessively hot, for thesurrounding vegetation prevented us from feeling the sea-breeze; verycold easterly and south-easterly winds prevailed during the night. 

August 24. --Mr. Calvert and Brown, whom I had sent to reconnoitre thecountry, returned with the sad intelligence that they had found no water. They had crossed a great number of creeks of different sizes, with finerocky water-holes, which seemed all to rise in scrubby ironstone hills, and had a course from S. W. To N. E. And E. N. E. ; but towards theirheads they were dry, and lower down they contained salt water. The twoexplorers had unfortunately forgotten their bag of provisions, and wereconsequently compelled to return before they could accomplish theirobject. As I anticipated a very long stage, and perhaps a camp withoutwater, I had some wallabi skins softened and tied over our quart potsfilled with water, which enabled us to carry about eight quarts with us. 

August 25. --We accordingly started early, and travelled for several milesthrough a pretty open broad-leaved tea-tree forest, formed by small treesfrom twenty to thirty feet high. This changed, however, into dense scrub, which we could only avoid by keeping more to the westward, in whichdirection the tea-tree forest seemed to extend to a great distance. Herewe passed several tea-tree swamps, dry at this time, level, like a table, and covered with small trees, and surrounded by a belt of fine box-treesand drooping water-gum trees. In order to come to a watercourse, I againcrossed the thick scrub which covered the undulations of iron-stone tothe northward, and came to a fine rocky creek, which Brown recognised asone of those he had seen, but which contained only salt water lower down. We consequently continued our journey to the north-west, through tea-treeforest, and over some very large tea-tree swamps, and came at last to acreek and to a small river, along which we travelled until darknesscompelled us to encamp. It had fine water-holes, and was densely shadedwith drooping tea-trees; but the holes were dry, with some few exceptionsof small wells of the natives. The latitude of our camp was 17 degrees 25minutes. 

We had seen a great number of pigeons and white cockatoos, and we weresure that a greater supply of water was near, as many patches of burntgrass showed that the natives had been here very lately. Next morning, the 26th, when Charley returned with the horses, he told us that we hadpassed a fine lagoon, not a mile and a half off, at the left bank of theriver, which the night had prevented us from seeing, and which the horseshad found when returning on their tracks. We moved our camp to thislagoon, which was covered with Villarsia leaves, and contained a reddishwater coloured by very minute floating bodies of that colour. The nativeshad surrounded it with dry sticks, leaving an opening on one side, forthe purpose of taking emus, as before described. These birds were verynumerous, and lived exclusively on the fruit of the little Severn tree, which was excessively bitter and imparted its quality to the meat;Charley and Brown, assisted by the dog, killed one of them. A cockatoowas shot, which in form and colours resembled the large white cockatoo, but was rather smaller, and the feathers of the breast were tipped withred. We saw the bones of a Jew fish, and a broken shell of Cymbium, in anold camp of the natives near the lagoon. 

The apple-gum, the box, and the Moreton Bay ash composed a very openwell-grassed forest, between the lagoon and the river; the latter had anE. N. E. And almost easterly course. I called this river or large creek, "Smith's Creek, " after Mr. Smith, a gentleman who had shown us thegreatest kindness and attention when we were staying at Darling Downs. 

Our journey round the head of the gulf had shown that the "Plains ofPromise" of Capt. Stokes extended from Big Plain River to the Nicholson, and that they extended farthest to the southward, along two large saltwater rivers in the apex of the gulf, the more westerly of which was nodoubt the Albert of Capt. Stokes, and the Maet Suyker of the Dutchnavigators. These plains were bounded to the southward by box-flats, anddrained by numerous creeks, which in their lower course were tolerablysupplied with water. The most interesting fact, and which had alreadybeen observed by Capt. Stokes, was the moderate temperature of this partof the country. If my readers compare my observations on the weather fromlat. 15 degrees 55 minutes at the east coast, to lat. 17 degrees 39minutes on the west coast of the gulf, they will be struck by the generalcomplaint of "cold nights. " If they compare the direction of the winds, they will find that at the east coast the southerly andsouth-south-westerly winds were very cold, and that they became southerlyand south-easterly at the apex, and turned still more to the eastward, atthe west coast. In comparing these directions of the wind, I was led tothe conclusion, that the large plains were the origin and the cause ofthese winds. 

The bracing nature of the winds and of the cold nights, had a verybeneficial influence on our bodies; we were all well, with the exceptionof Mr. Roper, who still suffered from the wound in his loins, and from adistressing diarrhoea. I am not aware of the season in which Capt. Stokesexplored this part of the country; but it must not be forgotten, that thesame causes which would produce cold winds in the winter, might be thecause of hot winds in the summer. 

August 27. --We travelled about seventeen miles N. N. W. To lat. 17degrees 11 minutes 9 seconds, through an uninterrupted scrub andbroad-leaved tea-tree forest. Half way we crossed a broad watercourse, with long tracks of burnt grass. The Pandanus and the bloodwood grew onits limited flats. At the end of our stage, we came to a rockywatercourse, which we followed down, and in which a native dog betrayedto us a deep pool of water, covered with Villarsia leaves, and surroundedby Polygonums. Many of the dry water-holes we had passed were surroundedby emu traps; the tracks of these birds were exceedingly numerous, Agrove of Pandanus was near the water on the sandy banks of the creek. 

August 28. --We travelled about eleven miles N. N. W. To lat. 17 degrees 2minutes 12 seconds, through the bleakest scrubby country we had ever met:nothing but tea-tree scrub, and that not even cheered by the occasionalappearance of a gum tree, or of the blood-wood. After ten miles, we cameto a salt water creek, rocky, with detached pools of water and depositsof salt. Following it up, we came to a well beaten foot-path of thenatives, which brought us in a short time to a good supply of drinkable, though very brackish water. The sandstone hills before us and to thenorthward, were covered with low shrubs and the broad-leaved tea-tree, with wiry and stiff grasses, and looked very unpropitious. The rock wascomposed of quartz pebbles of different colours, imbedded in a red clayeypaste. 

We have commenced to carry with us not only our quart pots, but also ourtwo gallon pot full of water. 

August 29. --We travelled to lat. 16 degrees 58 minutes 27 seconds long. 138 degrees 25 minutes; a distance of about eight miles N. N. W. And N. W. Over a more open country, with occasional patches of thick scrub. Wecrossed several watercourses and creeks; and came to a small river whichflowed to the N. By E. And which I called the "Marlow, " after Capt. Marlow of the Royal Engineers, who had kindly assisted me in the outfitof my expedition. We went down the river about two or three miles, andcame to a plentiful supply of water, which was indicated, a long timebefore we arrived at it, by the call of the red-breasted cockatoos, noticed a few days since; but which was probably only a variety of thecommon species. 

A low shrubby Acacia with sigmoid phyllodia was frequent on the hills. Alittle fly-catcher (Givagone brevirostris?) charmed us with its prettynote at our last camps. Bronze-winged pigeons were very numerous, and Isaw a pair of Geophaps plumifera rising from under a shady rock, as I wasriding down a rocky creek. Two black ducks and three cockatoos were shot;the long reaches of water down the river were covered with water-fowl, and Charley and Brown were so desirous of procuring some messes of blackducks, that they did their best to persuade me to stop; but, beinganxious to escape from this scrubby country, I did not yield to theirsolicitations. 

The crops of the large cockatoos were filled with the young red shoots ofthe Haemodorum, which were almost as pungent as chillis, but morearomatic; the plant abounded on the sandy soil. The small cockatoo of theplains, which we saw again in great numbers, seems to feed on a whiteroot and on the honey of the whole seed-vessel, or the flower-bud, of thedrooping tea-tree. 

The first part of the night was clear, but it became foggy and cloudyafter midnight. In the morning, the dew was dropping from the trees, butthe grass and our things were not at all wet. 

August 30. --We travelled about ten miles N. 60 degrees W. Over a scrubbythough a little more open country, full of enormous massive ant-hills, surpassing even those of Big Ant-Hill Creek, in height and circumference, and came, at the distance of eight miles from our camp, to a low scrub onsandy soil with shallow watercourses. Salicornia grew in abundance; andemu tracks were very frequent. Coming on a broad foot-path of thenatives, I followed it to the south-west, and came to some fine freshwater-holes in the bed of a creek, surrounded by high drooping tea trees, which were in blossom and covered with swarms of white cockatoos. Thesewater-holes were in lat. 16 degrees 55 degrees, and situated to thesouth-west of some low scrubby hills. We encamped in a grove of Pandanus. The natives had just left, and the tea-tree bark was still smoking fromthe fire which had spread from their camp. 

Large flights of the small white cockatoo came to the water. Theflying-fox visited the blossoms of the tea-tree at night, and made anincessant screeching noise. Charley shot one of them, which was very fat, particularly between the shoulders and on the rump, and proved to be mostdelicate eating. 

August 31. --It rained the whole day; in consequence of which I gave mycattle a rest. The rain came from the westward, but continued with asoutherly wind; it ceased with wind from the S. E. And E. S. E. Lightningwas observed to the south-west. We erected our tents for the first timesince Mr. Gilbert's death; using tarpaulings and blankets for thepurpose. Our shots amused themselves by shooting Blue Mountainers for thepot; and a strange mess was made of cockatoo, Blue Mountainers, an eaglehawk, and dried emu. I served out our last gelatine for Sunday luncheon;it was as good as when we started: the heat had, however, frequentlysoftened it, and made it stick to the bag and to the things with which itwas covered. 

The fire places of the natives were here arranged in a straight line, andsheltered from the cold wind by dry branches: they were circular, thecircumference was slightly raised, and the centre depressed and filledwith pebbles, which the natives heat to cook their victuals. 

The bell which one of our horses carried, was unaccountably broken at ourlast camp; and it was quite a misery to hear its dull jarring sound, instead of the former cheerful tinkling. One of our horses had separatedfrom the rest, and had gone so far up the creek, that Charley did notreturn with it until very late in the afternoon of the 1st September, which compelled us to stop at our camp. 

CHAPTER XII

HEAPS OF OYSTER-SHELLS--FALSE ALARM OF A NATIVE IN THE CAMP--TURNER'SCREEK--WENTWORTH'S CREEK--JOURNALS LOST; FOUND AGAIN--THE VANALPHEN--IMPORTANCE OF TEA--CHOICE OF BULLOCKS FOR AN EXPEDITION--CHOICEOF A DOG--THE CALVERT--THE ABEL TASMAN--GLUCKING BIRD AGAIN--DISCOVER AMODE OF USING THE FRUIT OF THE PANDANUS--SEVEN EMU RIVER--CROCODILE--THEROBINSON--SHOAL OF PORPOISES--NATIVE METHOD OF PREPARING THE FRUIT OF THEPANDANUS AND CYCAS FOR FOOD--MR. ROPER CONVALESCENT--WEAR AND TEAR OFCLOTHES--SUCCEED IN DRESSING THE SEEDS OF STERCULIA--THEMACARTHUR--FRIENDLY PARLEY WITH CIRCUMCISED NATIVES--STORE OF TEAEXHAUSTED--MEDICAL PROPERTY OF THE GREVILLEA DISCOVERED. 

Sept. 2. --We travelled N. W. By W. And came, after passing some of theusual tea-tree scrub, to an undulating country, with scattered shrubs ofthe salt water tea-tree, which grew particularly on the sandy heads ofsalt water creeks. Salicornia was another sure indication of salt water;and, after about seven or eight miles, our course was intercepted by abroad salt-water creek. Its bed, however, was sandy, and the watershallow, which enabled us to cross it a little higher up, withoutdifficulty. We turned again to the N. W. By W. , steering for one of thenumerous smokes of the natives' fires which were visible in everydirection. We soon came, however, to broad sands with deep impressions ofthe tracks of emus, wallabies, and natives; and to sandy depressionssloping towards narrow salt-water creeks densely fringed with Mangroves. A large river was no doubt before us. To get out of this difficultmeshwork of salt-waters, I turned to the south-west, and continued inthis direction until the sands, Mangrove creeks, and Salicornias, disappeared, and we were again fairly in the scrubs, which however wefound more open, and frequently interspersed with bloodwood and Pandanus. I sent Charley and Brown in different directions to look for water, and asmall pool with brackish ferruginous nasty water was found, which made avery miserable tea, and affected our bowels. In the Mangrove creeks wefound Telescopium, Pleurotoma; and heaps of oyster-shells, for the firsttime on our journey. Arcas were frequent, but no Cythereas. The mussels(Unios) of the slightly brackish water were small, but plentiful. 

It was on this stage that we first met with a leafless species ofBossiaea, from three to five feet high, with compressed stem, andbranches of the habit of Bossiaea scolopendrium, with yellow blossoms, and smooth many-seeded pods little more than an inch long. This shrub wasone of the principal components of all the scrubs we passed from thisplace to Limmen Bight, and was also found, though less frequently, towards the centre of Arnheim's Land. 

The day was exceedingly hot, though cloudy; the wind from the east: thenight cool, without wind. 

When Brown and Charley rejoined us, the former appeared so much alarmedand agitated, that I thought they had met some natives, and had receivedsome injury, although they said they had not. My imagination was workingon the possibility of an attack of the natives, and I consequently laidmyself down without taking my boots and trowsers off, to be ready at amoment's notice, and rose several times in the course of the night to seethat the watches were strictly kept. In the morning watch, John Murphyroused me by saying that he saw a native: I felt certain now that anattack was about to be made upon us. I, therefore, immediately gave thealarm, and every one had his gun ready, when it was discovered that ourown Brown was the man whom John had mistaken for a strange native. He hadleft his couch without being observed, and, when he returned, it was toodark to recognize him; he was, however, very near losing his life, or atleast being shot at, for his wild yells "tis me! tis me!" which heuttered when he became aware of his dangerous position, were notunderstood, but only increased our belief that they were the war-cry ofattacking natives. 

The creek, on a water-hole of which we encamped in lat. 16 degrees 54minutes 50 seconds, was doubtless one of the heads of the broadsalt-water creek we crossed, and which I called "Turner's Creek, " afterCowper Turner, Esq. Of Sydney:

Sept. 3. --We travelled about nine miles west by north, through an opentea-tree forest skirting the heads of those scrubby creeks which wentdown to the salt water, the dark mangrove line of which we had seenyesterday. But we crossed four good sized dry creeks, lined with droopingtea-trees and white-gum trees. Their banks and flats were covered withgroves of Pandanus, whose stately crowns were adorned with red-fruitedcones: the seed-vessels contained in their stringy texture a rich mellowpear-like substance, which however was hot, and made our lips and tonguesvery sore. We encamped on some water-holes, with excellent water, in afifth creek, which lower down contained some fine reaches of brackishwater covered with wild geese (Anseranas melanoleuca, GOULD. ) and blackducks. As Charley was watching some geese, an emu walked up to him, whichhe shot; he succeeded besides in getting two geese, which were in mostexcellent condition, and weighed better than five pounds each. 

A well beaten foot-path of the natives led up a broad salt-water creek, to the northward of the creek on which we were encamped, and which joinedit lower down. Charley, when going after the horses, saw a camping placeof the natives with spears and the usual utensils: but the inhabitantshad either not yet returned from their hunting and fishing excursions, orhad left it, frightened by the frequent discharge of our guns. 

Sept. 4. --We travelled about eleven miles west by north. The first threemiles and a half led us through scrub; we forded a salt-water creek aboutthirty yards broad, and then, for the next four miles, proceeded througha scrubby country, and came to a second salt-water creek as broad as thefirst, but containing only pools of water. The scrub now opened, and thelast four miles lay through a fine box-flat, bounded by long hollowssurrounded with drooping tea-trees and the white water-gum, the brightfoliage of which formed a most agreeable contrast with the dull green ofthe scrubs and the box-trees. After crossing a small sandy creek, alongwhich grew a few Sarcocephalus, we came to a large creek lined withdrooping tea-trees and Sarcocephalus, and encamped on a fine pool ofwater, within its deep bed. I named this creek after W. C. Wentworth, Esq. M. C. Who had kindly contributed to the outfit of my expedition. 

At early dawn, a flight of wild geese filed in long line over our camp, the flapping of their wings was heavy, but short, and the note theyemitted resembled that of the common goose, but was some-what shriller. In the box-flat we started a flock of emus, and Spring caught a fine malebird. It would have been highly amusing for a looker on to observe howremarkably eager we were to pluck the feathers from its rump, and cut theskin, to see how thick the fat was, and whether it was a rich yellow, oronly flesh-coloured. We had, indeed, a most extraordinary desire foranything fat; and we soon found where to look for it. In the emu itaccumulates all over the skin, but particularly on the rump, and betweenthe shoulders, and round the sternal plate. To obtain the oil, we skinnedthose parts, and suspended them before a slow fire, and caught the oil inour frying pan; this was of a light yellowish colour, tasteless, andalmost free from scent. Several times, when suffering from excessivefatigue, I rubbed it into the skin all over the body, and its slightlyexciting properties proved very beneficial. It has always been consideredby the white inhabitants of the bush, a good anti-rheumatic. 

The sea breeze from the northward still continued during the day; thenights were clear and dewy, but ceased to be so cold. 

I found a piece of granite and a fragment of fortification agate in thesandy bed of the creek. 

Sept. 5. --We travelled about ten miles west by north, to lat. 16 degrees48 minutes 22 seconds. Having passed a rather open forest of bloodwood, apple-gum, and leguminous Ironbark, with isolated patches of scrub, andsome dry teat-ree swamps with heaps of calcined mussel-shells, we came toa thick stringy-bark forest, on a sandy soil, with a hard sandstonecropping out frequently. This opened into the flats of a sandy Pandanuscreek, which we crossed; and, three miles farther, we came to anotherbroad creek with salt water. Its bed was rocky, and we forded it easily. I followed one of its branches for several miles, and found, afterpassing its salt-water pools, a small pool of fresh water in its rockysandy bed, near which I observed an old camping place of the natives. Iwas considerably in advance of my train, and the dog was with me. As Iwas examining the pool of water and the numerous tracks round it, an emucame walking along the shady bed of the creek; I immediately mounted myhorse and pursued it with the dog, and caught it after a very short run;to prevent its wounding the dog, I dismounted to kill it, when my horsebecame frightened, broke loose, and ran away. I returned with the emu tothe water, and when the train arrived, I sent Charley after the horse, whilst I walked about two miles further up the creek to find a bettersupply of water. Not succeeding, however, I returned and encamped at thesmall pool, which we enlarged with the spade, and obtained a sufficientsupply of very good water. Charley returned with the horse, but mysaddlebags, my journals and a calabash were lost. I was in great anxiety, and blamed myself severely for having committed such an act ofimprudence. Charley went, however, a second time on foot, and succeededin finding everything but the calabash, which was a great loss to ourdog. 

In the camping place of the natives, I found a large round stone ofporphyry, upon which the natives were accustomed to break theseed-vessels of Pandanus. I could discover no indications of this rock inthe creek, not even the smallest pebble; and I am consequently inclinedto think that this stone was brought by the natives from a considerabledistance to the south-west. But, from the broken pieces of granite of ourlast camp, it became evident that a rocky primitive country, like that ofthe upper Lynd, could not be very distant. Even the vegetation agreedwell with that of the same locality; as the dwarf Grevillea, G. Chrysodendrum, and the falcate Grevillea of the upper Lynd, were hereagain observed. The tea-trees along the banks of the creek, as far as thesalt-water extended, were leafless and dead. This may be accounted for bya succession of dry years in which usual freshes have not taken place;and by the supposition that the drooping tea-tree cannot live on waterentirely salt. 

Sept. 6. --We travelled twelve miles north-west, through Pandanus andbloodwood forest, alternating with scrub, stringy-bark forest, andtea-tree thickets; and, in the latter part of the stage, throughbroad-leaved tea-tree forest. We encamped at a fine river, with a bedthree hundred yards broad from bank to bank, but with a narrow channel ofrunning water. This channel was fringed with the water Pandanus, which wefirst observed at Beames's Brook; the sandy bed was covered with droopingtea-trees and Grevillea chrysodendrum. Charley shot a bustard, thestomach of which was filled with seeds of Grewia, with small yellowseeds, and some beetles. On this stage, we again passed some of thoseremarkable dry tea-tree swamps--surrounded with heaps of very largemussel shells--evidently showing that they had been a long time underwater, though they were now overgrown with small tea-trees, perhaps fiveor six years old; and which proved, like the drooping tea-trees on thebanks of the creek, that the last few years had been exceedingly dry. Isupposed the river to be the Van Alphen of the Dutch navigators, as itslatitude, where I crossed it, was about 16 degrees 41 minutes, and itslongitude I calculated to be 137 degrees 48 minutes. 

Sept. 7. --We travelled about nine miles N. N. W. To latitude 16 degrees35 minutes; the first part of the stage was scrubby, the latter partundulating with a fine open stringy-bark forest. The trees were tall, butrarely more than a foot in diameter. Here we met with hard bakedsandstone, of a whitish grey colour. About seven miles from our camp, wesaw a low blue range to the westward; and, soon after, passed a sandyPandanus creek, with scrubby broken banks: this was joined by a second, and both together entered a broad tea-tree creek, coming from thesouth-west, in which we found a fine pool of water covered with white andyellow Villarsias and yellow Utricularias. 

The rose-coloured Sterculia, and a smooth broad-leaved Terminalia, wereobserved on the sandy flats of the creek; and a small fan-leaved palm(Livistona humilis, R. Br. ), a small insignificant trunkless plant, growing between sandstone rocks, was here first observed. A tallerspecies of this palm, as we subsequently found, formed large tracts offorest on the Cobourg Peninsula, and near the Alligator rivers. 

As our tea bag was getting very low, and as I was afraid that we shouldhave to go a long time without this most useful article, I thought itadvisable to make a more saving arrangement. We had, consequently, a potof good tea at luncheon, when we arrived at our camp tired and exhausted, and most in want of an exciting and refreshing beverage. The tea-leavesremaining in the pot, were saved and boiled up for supper, allowing apint to each person. In the morning, we had our soup, and drank water adlibitum. Tea is unquestionably one of the most important provisions ofsuch an expedition: sugar is of very little consequence, and I believethat one does even better without it. We have not felt the slightestinconvenience from the want of flour; and we were a long time withoutsalt. The want of the latter, however, made us costive, and, when webegan to use it again, almost every one of us had a slight attack ofdiarrhoea. 

Our horses were still in excellent condition, and even improving; and ourfive bullocks also kept in good working order, although the oldest ofthem rather lagged behind. In choosing bullocks for such a journey, oneshould be particularly careful to choose young powerful beasts, aboutfive or six years old, and not too heavy. All our old and heavy bullocksproved to be bad travellers; only one had borne the journey until now, and he was only preserved by great care and attention. During summer, theground is so hot, and frequently so rotten, that even the feet of a dogsink deep. This heat, should there be a want of water during a longstage, and perhaps a run after game in addition, would inevitably kill asoft dog. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance to have a goodtraveller, with hard feet: a cross of the kangaroo dog with thebloodhound would be, perhaps, the best. He should be light, and satisfiedwith little food in case of scarcity; although the dried tripe of ourbullocks gave ample and good food to one dog. It is necessary to carrywater for them; and to a little calabash, which we obtained from thenatives of the Isaacs, we have been frequently indebted for the life ofSpring. 

Sept. 8. --We travelled about ten miles north-west by west, to latitude 16degrees (Unclear:)81 minutes. The first and last parts of the stage werescrubby, or covered with a dense underwood of several species of Acacia, Grevillea chrysodendrum and a species of Pultenaea with leaflesscompressed stem. The intervening part of our journey was through astringy-bark forest, with sandy, and frequently rotten soil, on sandstoneridges or undulations. Some patches of stiffer soil were covered with boxor with straggling apple-gum and bloodwood. In the scrub, I againobserved Fusanus with pinnate leaves. Several good sized dry sandy creekswere surrounded with Pandanus. We saw a low range in form of ahorse-shoe, to the westward; and a higher one beyond it in the distance. We encamped at a small river, which had just ceased running, butcontained in its bed two chains of small deep ponds full of perches, andshaded with Pandanus and drooping tea-trees, which grew to a large sizeall over the bed between the two ponds. I named this river the "Calvert, "in acknowledgment of the good services of Mr. Calvert during ourexpedition, and which I feel much pleasure in recording. We saw two emus, and Brown killed one of them, with the assistance of the dog, whichreceived a severe cut in the neck from the sharp claw of the bird. 

The whole country round the gulf was well-grassed, particularly before wecrossed the Nicholson; and on the plains and approaches to the rivers andcreeks. The large water-holes were frequently surrounded with a denseturf of Fimbristylis (a small sedge), which our horses liked to feedupon. Some stiff grasses made their appearance when we approached thesea-coast, as well on the plains as in the forest. The well-knownkangaroo grass (Anthisteria) forms still one of the principal componentsof the pasture. The scrubby country had a good supply of a tuftywind-grass; and, although the feed was dry during this part of the year, our horses and cattle did exceedingly well, as I have already mentioned. Both took an occasional bite of some Acacias, of Grevillea chrysodendrum, and of several other shrubs. Cattle driven over the country we havepassed, by short stages, and during the proper season, would even fattenon the road. 

When we approached the water-hole on which we were going to encamp, Johnobserved a fine large Iguana in the water, which was so strikinglycoloured that he thought it different from those we had previously seen. 

Xyris, Philydrum, a species of Xerotes, and an aromatic spreading herb, grew in great abundance round the water. I found a great quantity of thelatter in the stomach of the emu. A species of Crotolaria, two or threefeet high, with simple woolly oblong or oblongo-lanceolate leaves, andwith a beautiful green blossom of the form and size of that of Kennedyarubicunda, grew in the bed of the river. Great numbers of large brightyellow hornets, with some black marks across the abdomen, visited thewater. Flies were exceedingly troublesome: but the mosquitoes annoyed usvery rarely, and only where water was very abundant. The nights have beenvery dewy, but not cold. The wind in the morning from the south-east, veering round to the northward during the day. 

Sept. 9. --We travelled north-west by north, and for several miles, through a scrubby stringy-bark forest, when we came to steep sandstoneridges, composed of a hard flaggy horizontally stratified rock. Higherranges were seen to the W. N. W. And west; and I found myself fairly caughtbetween rocky hills when I least expected them, but hoped to enter upon acountry corresponding in its character with the low coast marked down inthe map, in this latitude. I turned to the northward, and found apracticable path between the hills, and came, after crossing a smallsandy creek to a fine salt-water river, as broad as any we had seen. Highhills were at its left bank; and, as we followed it up in a direction S. 60 degrees W. , the right became more broken, and the vegetation richer. Avery conspicuous foot-path led us through heaps of cockle shells to afishing station of the natives, where they seemed to have a permanentcamp; the huts being erected in a substantial manner with poles, andthatched with grass and the leaves of Pandanus; there were extensive fireplaces containing heaps of pebbles; and an abundance of fish bones. Theweir was, as usual, formed with dry sticks, across a shallow part of theriver. A spring of fresh water was below the camp at the edge of highwater. As the tide was high, and an abundant supply of fresh water wasfound in a creek which joined the river a few hundred yards from thefishery, we encamped on the creek, in lat. 16 degrees 28 minutes 57seconds, lon. 137 degrees 23 minutes. I consider this river to be the"Abel Tasman" of the Dutch navigators: and that it is probably joined bythe Calvert. Its flats were well-grassed, and very openly timbered withbloodwood, stringy-bark, leguminous Ironbark, then in blossom, and alarge tree with white smooth bark, spreading branches, and pinnateleaves. The salt water Hibiscus (Paritium) and Acacia (Ingamoniliformis), were also in blossom. 

Charley, Brown, and John, went to spear some fish, but the tide was out, the water shallow, and the fish were gone. Charley saw here, for thefirst time, the Torres Straits pigeon (Carpophaga luctuosa, GOULD. )

The little creek, at which we were encamped, had formed its channelthrough sandstone rock; and its narrow bed, containing a ferruginouswater supplied by springs, was crowded with high reeds, and shaded withvarious trees of a dense green foliage. Frogs croaked, and cricketschirped, the whole night; and the call of goat-suckers, and the hootingof owls, were heard in every direction; large fish were splashing in thewater; wallabies were bleating as they came down to the creek, and sawour horses; and mosquitoes by their loud humming prevented our sleeping. This noise of animal life during the night formed an agreeable contrastto the dead silence which we had observed at almost all our camps aroundthe gulf, with the exception of the one occupied on the 1st September, and of that at the Marlow, where the flying-fox was the merry reveller ofnight. 

Sept. 10. --We were again too late for low tide, to cross at the fisheryof the natives, and consequently travelled about two miles and a halfhigher up, passing in our way three other fisheries; where we crossed theriver, the bed was very wide, and covered with shrubs, shingle, andblocks of sandstone; but its rapid stream of fresh water was only aboutfifteen or twenty yards broad, and three feet deep. At the left side ofthe river, we saw four or five fine Cycas palms, from eight to ten feethigh, and the stem from six to nine inches in diameter. High rockysandstone ridges extended on the same side, in a direction parallel tothe river, and at the distance of two or three miles. They were coveredwith scrub, open box, and stringy-bark forest; and the wallabi andkangaroo tracks going down to the river, were very numerous. Theappearance of the Cypress pine, which formed groups within thestringy-bark forest, and particularly on the rises and sandy slopes, wasof a most striking character. A new species of Grevillea, and also ofCalythrix, were found in blossom. Beyond the ridges, the stringy-barkforest was obstructed by the leguminous shrub with broad stem (Bossiaea). Several Pandanus creeks went down to the north-east; and the secondcontained a little water. After travelling about twelve miles to thenorth-west by north, we encamped at a fine creek with large pools ofwater, in lat. 16 degrees 21 minutes. During the night, we heard thewell-known note of what we called the "Glucking bird, " when we first metwith it, in the Cypress pine country, at the early part of ourexpedition. Its re-appearance with the Cypress pine corroborated mysupposition, that the bird lived on the seeds of that tree. 

Sept. 11. --We travelled about twelve miles north by west, over a countryin which scrub, stringy-bark forest, and Cypress pine thicketsalternated. We passed some patches of broad-leaved tea-tree forest. Theraspberry-jam tree became again more frequent. About a mile from thecamp, we crossed a small creek with water; and at seven miles further, another, but it was dry; and, at the end of the stage we came to a finesandy creek with large pools. Seeing that the natives had encamped herefrequently, and some very lately, by the heaps of broken Pandanus fruit, I did not hesitate to pitch our tents; but, on examining the water, I wasgreatly disappointed in finding it so brackish that the horses and cattlewould not drink it. I, therefore, started with Charley in search ofbetter, and, in the upper part of the creek, we found some largewater-holes just dried up: but, on digging, they yielded an ample supplyof good water. On this little excursion, we were fortunate enough, by theaid of Spring, to kill two emus; but the poor dog again received somedeep scratches. 

The camps of the natives were, as usual, distinguished by heaps of shellsof Cytherea, oysters, fresh-water mussels, and fish bones. Thefresh-water mussel was small, and of a yellowish colour. 

We had some few drops of rain at about half-past 11 o'clock, A. M, Sept. 12. --The horses, though hobbled, had strayed so far in search ofwater, that we had to wait for them until 1 o'clock. We started, however, but, after travelling a short distance, finding the day far advanced, andour chance of finding water very doubtful, I determined to return to thewater-hole which we had dug yesterday; about two miles and a half west bysouth. The flats of the creek were well-grassed; large drooping tea-treeswith groves of Pandanus grew on the hollows near the creek, and tea-treethickets farther off. 

I frequently tasted the fine-looking fruit of the Pandanus, but was everytime severely punished with sore lips and a blistered tongue; and thefirst time that I ate it, I was attacked by a violent diarrhoea. I couldnot make out how the natives neutralized the noxious properties of thefruit; which, from the large heaps in their camps, seemed to form nosmall portion of their food. The fruit appeared either to have beensoaked, or roasted and broken, to obtain the kernels; for which purposewe invariably found large flat stones and pebbles to pound them with. Isupposed that they washed out the sweet mealy matter contained betweenthe stringy fibres, and that they drank the liquid, as they do with thehoney; and that their large koolimans which we had occasionally seen, were used for the purpose. I, consequently, gathered some very ripefruit, scraped the soft part with a knife, and washed it until all thesweet substance was out, and then boiled it; by which process it lostalmost all its sharpness, had a very pleasant taste, and, taken inmoderate quantities, did not affect the bowels. The fruit should be soripe as to be ready to drop from the tree. 

Sept. 13. --We travelled about ten miles N. 50 degrees W. , through asuccession of tea-tree and Cypress pine thickets of the worstdescription, interrupted by three creeks, the first dry, the second withpools of brackish water, and the third with chains of Nymphaea pondswithin and parallel to its bed. We came at last to the steep banks of asalt-water creek densely covered with Cypress pine scrub, and followed itfor several miles up to its head, when two kites betrayed to us a finelagoon, surrounded with Polygonums and good pasture. The natives wereeither able to drink very brackish water, or they carried the necessarysupply of fresh water to these Pandanus groves, at which they hadevidently remained a long time to gather the fruit. 

Sept. 14. --We travelled three or four miles north-west, through atea-tree forest, when the country opened, and a broad salt-water riverintercepted our course. It came from W. S. W. , and went to E. N. E. Weproceeded eight or ten miles along its banks before we came to freshwater. In its immediate neighbourhood, the country was beautifullygrassed, and openly timbered with bloodwood, stringy-bark, the leguminousIronbark, and the white-barked tree of the Abel Tasman. Over the shortspace of eight miles we saw at least one hundred emus, in flocks ofthree, five, ten, and even more, at a time: they had been attracted hereby the young herbage. We killed seven of them, but they were not fat, andnone seemed more than a year old. The extraordinary success induced me tocall this river, the "Seven Emu River. "

By following a track of the natives, I found a fine well in the bed ofthe river, under the banks; the water was almost perfectly fresh; andthat of the river was only slightly brackish. A fishing weir crossed thestream, where it was about twenty yards broad, and from two to three feetdeep. We were occupied to a late hour of the night in cutting up ouremus. I had intended to stop the next day, but, as our camp in the bed ofthe river was surrounded by a thick underwood; as the dew was very heavy, the water brackish, and the young feed dangerous for our cattle, whichhad fed so long on dry grass, I thought it prudent to continue myjourney. The longitude of this river, according to my daily distances, was 137 degrees 5 minutes. 

Sept. 15. --We travelled about fifteen miles N. 25 degrees W. , passing forthe first eight miles over a very fine available country, but withoutmeeting with water, or even with a watercourse. Beyond that, however, thecountry became more undulating, and we crossed, for about four miles, amost wretched sandstone scrub. Here we saw some natives, but they avoidedus. The scrub opened upon fine box flats, with numerous shallowwatercourses; farther on, they were interrupted by scrubby or thicklytimbered elevations, on which we met with some Cycas palms from thirty tofifty feet high, thick at the butt, and tapering gradually towards thecrown. At one of the shallow creeks, which suddenly became rocky, andprobably formed falls and rapids in the wet season, we struck upon a wellbeaten foot-path of the natives, which led us through Cypress pinethickets, and over open lawns to a creek, whose right bank was coveredwith Cycas groves of the most strikingly picturesque appearance; and hereI observed that the Cycas, although it generally has a simple stem, frequently grew with two or three arms. The foot-path went up the creek:lower down, I found broad, deep, but dry water-holes; and, still lower, Salicornia indicated the approach to the salt water. The foot-pathconducted us from one Zamia grove to another, which alternated with fineforest composed principally of white-gum, the fresh green foliage ofwhich was extremely pleasing to the eye. I observed some large wells, tenor twelve feet deep, and eight or ten in diameter, which the natives haddug near the Zamia groves, but they were without the slightest indicationof moisture. I continued to follow the path for five miles, until I cameto a broad-leaved tea-tree forest. The sun was then low, and mycompanions far behind: I, therefore, returned to ascertain the cause oftheir delay; and found that our old bullock had refused to carry hispack, and it had been put on a horse; but that, even then, the poor beastwas scarcely able to crawl before us. His weakness had been occasioned bya diarrhoea brought on by the green feed and the brackish water at SevenEmu River; and I congratulated myself on not having remained therelonger, as probably all my bullocks would have been equally affected. Weencamped without water, hobbled our horses, and watched the bullocks, which were all very tired and little inclined to feed during the greaterpart of the night. 

Our emu meat became tainted, in consequence of the heat and the longstage. 

Sept. 16. --We continued our course N. 25 degrees W. And, at the end oftwo miles, came to another foot-path of the natives, which I requestedCharley to follow. We passed through tea-tree forest, and a succession ofCycas groves, and came out into plains, and to the heads of sandy creekswith tea-tree shrubs and Salicornia. We were just turning to thewestward, expecting to find a large salt-water river before us, when weheard Charley's gun, the signal of his having found water. He soon afterjoined us, and guided us on the foot-path, three miles south-west, to alarge well, near a much frequented camping place of the natives, underthe banks of a magnificent salt-water river. Its banks were covered witha close forest of Cycas palms. The well was formed by the natives, whohad raised a wall of clay, by which they caught the fresh water whichsparingly oozed out of a layer of clay very little above the mark of highwater. 

We unloaded our bullocks: but, having watered our horses, we found thatthe supply of the well was not even sufficient for them, and that it wasfilling very slowly. The poor bullocks had, therefore, to wait until thewater could again collect. We had fairly to defend it against our horses, which eagerly pressed towards the water, or stood anxiously waiting onthe steep slopes, like cats and dogs round a dog's meat cart, now andthen uttering a neigh of discontent. When Charley first discovered thewell, he saw a crocodile leaning its long head over the clay wall, enjoying a drink of fresh water. 

The river or creek at which we encamped, and which I called "CycasCreek, " at two miles lower down, entered a still larger river coming fromthe westward, which I called the "Robinson, " in acknowledgment of theliberal support which I received from J. P. Robinson, Esq. , in the outfitof my expedition. Charley saw a shoal of porpoises in it when he wentdown the river to fetch the horses. Wishing to ascertain how far the saltwater extended, and whether any fresh water lagoons were near us, I tookCharley, and followed a foot-path of the natives which led up CycasCreek, and passed a succession of Cycas groves, of tea-tree forest withbloodwood and white-gum, and some Cypress pine thickets. After sevenmiles, the salt water ceased, and a ledge of rock separated it from afine pool of slightly brackish water, on which some natives wereencamped, but they left the place directly we made our appearance. Icrossed, and found on the left side a fine rocky lagoon, above the levelof the water in the creek. After paying a visit to the deserted camp, wereturned to our companions, made our dinner on tainted emu meat, reloadedour bullocks and horses, and travelled by moonlight up to the lagoon. About three miles before we reached it, we were obliged to leave our oldbullock, as he refused to walk any farther: but Mr. Calvert and Brownbrought him next morning to the camp. 

As we passed the Cycas groves, some of the dry fruit was found and tastedby several of my companions, upon whom it acted like a strong emetic, resembling in this particular the fruit of Zamia spiralis, (R. Br. ) ofNew South Wales. The natives, at this season, seemed to live principallyon the seeds of Pandanus spiralis, (R. Br. ) and Cycas; but both evidentlyrequired much preparation to destroy their deleterious properties. At thedeserted camp of the natives, which I visited yesterday, I saw half acone of the Pandanus covered up in hot ashes, large vessels (koolimans)filled with water in which roasted seed-vessels were soaking;seed-vessels which had been soaked, were roasting on the coals, and largequantities of them broken on stones, and deprived of their seeds. Thisseems to show that, in preparing the fruit, when ripe, for use, it isfirst baked in hot ashes, then soaked in water to obtain the sweetsubstance contained between its fibres, after which it is put on thecoals and roasted to render it brittle when it is broken to obtain thekernels. 

I also observed that seeds of Cycas were cut into very thin slices, aboutthe size of a shilling, and these were spread out carefully on the groundto dry, after which, (as I saw in another camp a few days later) itseemed that the dry slices are put for several days in water, and, aftera good soaking, are closely tied up in tea-tree bark to undergo apeculiar process of fermentation. 

The Cycas disappeared where the fresh water commenced; and it seemed tobe confined to the sandy soil near the salt water. 

Sept. 17. --I stopped at Cycas Creek, to allow our old bullock to recover, as it was easier for us to drive him than to carry his meat, heavilyladen as our other bullocks were. 

The emu meat became so tainted that it affected our bowels, and I hadconsequently to reserve it for the dog. As the nutritious qualities ofour meat decreased, I had increased the daily allowance from five poundsto seven; allowing two pounds and a half for breakfast, the same quantityfor luncheon, and two pounds for dinner. Mr. Roper had slowly recovered, but sufficiently to mount his horse without assistance. 

We were sadly distressed for want of clothing. The few shirts which wehad taken with us, became so worn and threadbare, that the slightesttension would tear them. To find materials for mending the body, we hadto cut off the sleeves, and, when these were used, pieces were taken fromthe lower part of the shirt to mend the upper. Our trowsers becameequally patched: and the want of soap prevented us from washing themclean. We had, however, saved our shoes so well, by wearing mocassinswhile travelling along the eastern coast, that every one was wellprovided, particularly after the death of Mr. Gilbert, whose stock ofclothes I divided among my companions. 

Sept. 18. --I went with Charley to reconnoitre the country between Cycascreek and the Robinson. A foot-path led us from one to the other, passingthrough a series of Cycas groves, box and tea-tree forest, and thicketsof tea-tree and Cypress pine. The latter covered long tracts near theRobinson, and frequently attained a large size. 

The river was about two hundred yards broad, with sleep banks intersectedby deep gullies. Two tea-tree creeks, which entered it at the point whereour examination stopped, contained fresh water in the upper part of theirshort courses. We crossed the river by a rocky bar, and, below it, wasanother, on which the natives had erected a rude wall of stone, forcatching fish. The upper bar was not covered even by the tide; but, aboveit, the water although very bitter, was not salt. We found here thecarcase of a crocodile; and the skull of another was found near our campat Cycas Creek. After crossing the river, we followed down its left bankto the lower ford, in order to find some fresh water, and at last came toa small tea-tree gully with two pools of water, near which some nativeswere encamped; there were, however, only two very old men in the camp atthe time, who, on seeing us, began to chaunt their incantations. We weretoo anxious to examine the water to stand upon ceremony, and, when theysaw us approach, they retired across the river to their friends, who wereprobably occupied at no great distance in collecting the seeds ofPandanus and Cycas. In the camp, we observed Cycas seeds sliced anddrying on the ground; and some Pandanus seeds soaking in large vessels;emu bones were lying in the ashes, and the feet of the emu were rolled upand concealed between the tea-tree bark of the hut. A small packetcontained red ochre to colour their bodies, and larger packets containedsoaked Cycas seeds, which seemed to be undergoing fermentation. They wereof a mealy substance, and harmless; but had a musty taste and smell, resembling that of the common German cheese. There was also a very largestone tomahawk made of greenstone; and some fans of emu feathers. 

In returning, we chased and shot an emu. 

Sept. 19. --We moved our camp to the water-holes at the left bank of theRobinson, about six miles and a half west by north, from the head of thesalt-water in Cycas Creek. The longitude of the Robinson is, according tomy reckoning, 136 degrees 43 minutes. On our way we again met thenatives, men, women, and children, who ran away screaming loudly. Ivisited their camp again, and found that they had been there to fetch theemu feet; but had left all the other things behind. I went with Brown toexamine the country before us. The first three or four miles lay throughan open well-grassed forest and over some small plains, on which we gavean unsuccessful chase to three emus. The Cycas disappeared as we recededfrom the river. We passed a small scrubby creek, and a long tract ofstringy-bark forest, mixed with bloodwood and Pandanus, and patches ofCypress pine. Here we again observed the gum-tree with orange blossomsand large ribbed seed-vessels, which we found at the upper Lynd, and hadcalled Melaleuca gum. Sterculia was frequent, and we collected a greatquantity of its ripe seeds. We passed several dry swamps, surrounded withtea-tree thickets, and heaps of fresh water mussel shells. A richiron-stone rock cropped out frequently; its surface had the appearance ofhaving been netted. 

In a tract of broad-leaved tea-tree forest, we came to a watercourse, which led us to a fine creek surrounded with Pandanus and droopingtea-trees, and containing a chain of deep water-holes in its bed. Itscourse was from west to east. 

Sept. 20. --We removed our camp to the creek I had found last night, aboutnine miles north-west from the Robinson. On our way, we saw two flocks ofemus, and Spring caught one of the birds. According to Charley, who is anative of Bathurst, the emus of this part of the country are much smallerthan those of his country, which frequently yield from two to threegallons of oil; but very few of the gulf emus contained fat enough to frytheir own liver; and their skin was as dry as that of the native dog. Asimilar difference has been observed in the bustard, which, at the gulf, rarely weighed more than three pounds and a half; whereas individuals oftwenty and twenty-eight pounds weight have been shot to the southward. 

I succeeded here in cooking the seeds of Sterculia, which had recentlybeen gathered; first by separating them from their prickly husks, androasting them slightly, and then pounding and boiling them for a shorttime. They produced not only a good beverage with an agreeable flavour, but ate well and appeared to be very nourishing. They contained a greatquantity of oil. 

Brown caught an Agama, of a light yellowish colour, about a foot long. 

The nights had been generally cloudy, with the exception of the last, which was clear with heavy dew. The days were very hot before the settingin of the sea breeze, which now generally took place at half past eleven. But the refreshing breeze was little felt in the close stringy-barkforest, which, with the dust rising under our bullocks' feet, renderedthe heat almost suffocating. 

Sept. 21. --Our journey to-day was in a N. 50 degrees W. Direction forabout eleven miles, through stringy-bark forest, in which the Melaleucaand the Cypress pine were either scattered, or formed small patches offorest. We then crossed a shallow sandy creek surrounded with thickets ofCypress pine; passed some broad-leaved tea-tree forest, and came to afine open country timbered with tea-tree, and, farther on, with box andwhite gum. After fifteen miles, our course was intercepted by the largestsalt-water river we had yet seen, and we turned at once to the W. S. W. Inorder to head it. Deep hollows surrounded by tea-trees, but quite dry, extended parallel to the river. We observed several islands in the river;and it was joined by some deep creeks filled with salt water at theirlower parts, but dry higher up. The whole country was equally open andwell grassed. The leguminous Ironbark, the white-barked tree of the AbelTasman, the fig tree, and Sterculia in fruit, grew in the forest; and thewhite water-gum in the hollows, the drooping tea-tree at the level of thefreshes, and a species of salt-water Casuarina below it. 

I called this river the "Macarthur, " in acknowledgment of the liberalsupport my expedition received from Messrs. James and William Macarthurof Cambden. 

When we were passing through the stringy-bark forest, about four or fivemiles from the camp of the 20th, we heard the calls of some nativesbehind us, and I stopped our train to ascertain what they wanted: theywere soon perceived running after us, and, when they were sufficientlynear, I dismounted and advanced slowly to have a parley, and was met byan old man with three or four young fellows behind him. As soon as he sawthat I intended to make him a present, he prepared one in return; andwhen I gave him some rings and buckles, he presented me with some of theornaments he wore on his person. As our confidence in each other was thusestablished, some of my companions and several others of the natives cameup, and we exchanged presents in a very amicable manner. They were allwell made, good looking men; and one young man, whose body was colouredred, was even handsome, although his expression was somewhat wild andexcited. All of them seemed to have been circumcised. Charley told meafterwards, that, at my first approach, some of them held theirbommerangs ready to throw, but I do not think that it was more than asimple attitude of defence, in case I should have proved the aggressor. On my inquiring about water, they pointed in the direction which we weregoing, and seemed to say, "It is far, but it is large; Baco! Baco!Umara!" they frequently repeated with emphasis. John also told me that anold man had made signs of a large water, but not fit to drink, and wasvery anxious for us to change our course, Mr. Roper had understood thesame. But, as long as we were ignorant what was before us, the pantomimeand words of the natives enabled us to form but very vague and hopelessguesses. It was easy to understand them, when we knew the reality. Thesenatives must have had some intercourse with white men, or Malays, forthey knew the use of a knife, and valued it so highly, that one of themoffered a gin for one. They appeared equally acquainted with the use ofour fire-arms. No doubt they had seen the Malays, and probably some hadaccompanied them to the islands; as it is a common custom of the Malaysto take natives home with them, that they may become friendly to themwhen fishing for trepang at this part of the gulf. 

As the stage lengthened, our old bullock began to lag behind, and at lastlay down incapable of walking any farther. In the hope of finding water, I continued my journey until the decline of day compelled me to encamp. We watched our bullocks as usual during the night, and I was distressedto find that another of them, a young but heavy beast, had suffered somuch, that I feared he would soon have to be slaughtered, and the numberof our pack bullocks be again reduced. 

Sept. 22. --I sent Mr. Calvert and Charley back to fetch the bullock, whilst we continued our journey up the river. The country maintained thesame character, being open and well-grassed. At the end of about sevenmiles, we came to a range of sandstone hills with horizontal strata, deeply fissured and worn by the waters and the atmosphere. A creek at thenorthern side of the range was dry; but, at its southern foot, there wasanother, which contained several small pools and two deep rocky basinswith an ample supply of water. Here, therefore, we encamped to wait forour old bullock, which I now resolved to kill; being well aware that hewould be a constant drawback to our progress. Wallabies were exceedinglynumerous, and their tracks as broad as the foot-paths of the natives. Ourlat. Was 16 degrees 5 minutes 26 seconds; long. According to reckoning, 136 degrees 10 minutes. 

Mr. Calvert and Charley had succeeded in driving our bullock to withinabout three miles of our camp, where he had again lain down. As soon asthe moon rose, I went with Charley to bring him on; but when we came tothe place where they had left him, he was gone. It was impossible evenfor Charley to track him in the uncertain moonlight; and, as the nightwas very cold and foggy along the flats and hollows of the river, we madea fire, to wait for daylight. By a most unfortunate accident, my hatcaught fire, and was consumed in an instant; it was a great loss to me insuch a climate, and under daily exposure to a most powerful sun. I had tomake shift with a small bag made of strong canvass, the long end of whichI turned over my face to shade it. When the sun rose, we resumed oursearch, and succeeded in finding the poor beast, after tracking him forsix miles across the country; he had evidently rambled in search ofwater, and had generally been attracted by shady hollows, in which anyone would have reasonably expected to find it. He had, however, beencompletely unsuccessful; the hollows appeared to have been dry for a verylong time; he travelled tolerably well to our camp, where he wasimmediately killed, skinned, quartered, and cut up. His meat was notquite so flaccid and watery as that of our last bullock; but it was by nomeans good. He was an old, and a heavy beast, and the experience we hadof him strongly corroborates my observations, that such beasts canneither bear the fatigues of a long journey, nor travel with a load, unless regularly well fed and watered. 

On this occasion we made a grand discovery, of which we afterwardsprofited greatly. A portion of the skin of the bullock was dried, and acertain quantity was added to our soup at night; which we soon found tobe not only a great improvement, but to be in itself much preferable tothe tasteless meat of our knocked-up bullocks. The stomach was also madeuse of on this occasion, as our useful dog, Spring, was well providedwith emu meat. We had our last pot of tea on the 22nd, and we were nowfairly put on dry beef and water. 

By a mere accident, we discovered a remarkable medicinal property of theglutinous secretion of the seed-vessels of a drooping Grevillea. JohnMurphy, having no pockets in his trowsers, put the seeds which he foundduring the stage into his bosom, close to the skin, where he had alreadydeposited a great number of Sterculia, and was much inconvenienced by thestarry prickles which surround the seeds. Afterwards, finding thedrooping Grevillea in fruit, he gathered some capsules and placed them asbefore stated. Upon arriving at the camp, he felt great pain; and, onexamining the place, he saw, to his greatest horror, that the whole ofthe skin of the epigastric region was coloured black, and raised into agreat number of painful blisters. Upon his showing it to me, I thoughtthat it was caused by the Sterculia prickles having irritated the skin, and rendered it more sensitive to the sharp properties of the exudationof the seed-vessels of Grevillea. Brown, however, merely touched the skinof his arm with the matter, when blisters immediately rose; showingclearly its properties. The discoloration of the skin was like theeffects of nitrate of silver. 

Sept. 24. --When Charley returned with the horses from a higher part ofthe river, he told us that he had seen so many wallabies and suchnumerous tracks of emus and crocodiles, that I sent John and Brown toprocure some game. They returned with only a red wallabi (Halmaturusagilis) and a spoonbill. According to their account, the river enlargedinto an immense sandy bed, like that of the Lynd, and was covered withtrees and shrubs, very much resembling those of that river. Its coursewas from the westward; and in that direction large plains extended. Theyhad seen three crocodiles, one of which lay in the shade of aSarcocephalus tree. The bean of the Mackenzie grew plentifully along theriver, and was covered with ripe seeds. In the morning of the 25th, Isent John and Brown to collect as many of them as they could, for coffee;whilst I and Charley went to reconnoitre the country for water. A W. N. W. Course brought us so much into sandstone ranges, gullies, and heads ofcreeks, that we turned to the northward, until we came again into theopen box and tea-tree forest, mixed with bloodwood and gum. About fourmiles from the camp, we found water-holes supplied by springs, and whichhad just been left by the natives, who were busy in burning the grassalong the ridges, and on the fine intervening flats. It was here that Iagain met with a species of Banksia, on the sandy flats immediately belowthe sandstone ranges, which was either a variety of B. Integrifolia, or aspecies very nearly allied to it. We found it afterwards all overArnheim's Land, especially on the table land and on the rocky heads ofthe South Alligator River, where it grew on sandy flats surrounding therocks, and particularly round sandy swamps. The Cypress-pine and Pandanuswere frequent, but Sterculia was rare. We remarked that the littlefinches generally anticipated us in the harvest of the ripe fruit of thelatter. About eight miles from the springs, after crossing a great numberof small dry sandy watercourses, we came to a fine creek with two largeNymphaea ponds. 

On our return, we ran down an emu, the stomach of which was full of thefruit of the little Severn tree. The meat of the whole body was soexceedingly bitter, that I could scarcely eat it. Brown and John hadreturned with a good supply of beans, and of the large eatable roots of aConvolvolus growing on the plains. The former allowed us again a pot ofcoffee at luncheon for the next three weeks. This coffee had at first arelaxing effect, but we soon became accustomed to it, and enjoyed it evento the grounds themselves. 

Sept. 26. --We removed our camp to the water-holes I had found the daybefore. We crossed the river at the head of the salt water, where theshallow stream of fresh water was about fifteen yards broad. Sandstoneridges were all round our last camp, and on the opposite side of theriver, where it was joined by a deep Pandanus creek. John Murphy told methat he shot a fish at the crossing place, which had the first ray of thedorsal fin very much prolonged, like one of the fresh-water fishes ofDarling Downs; they had been in such a hurry to roast it, that I had nochance of examining it. 

The day was exceedingly hot, particularly from 7 to 11 o'clock, when thestrong sea breeze set in from the north-east. 

Sept. 27. --I went with Brown to reconnoitre the country to thenorth-west. About a mile from the camp, we crossed a fine creek with achain of ponds and a tiny stream densely fringed with Pandanus. To thenorth-west of it, we rode through a succession of scrubby and openstringy-bark forest of tea-tree flats and thickets, and over long tractsof stringy-bark saplings which had been recently burned. The Melaleucagum was very frequent in the stringy-bark forest: the Cypress-pine formedeither small thickets or occurred scattered. Sterculia, which at the timewas particularly valuable to us, was rare. 

Red ironstone cropped out every where, and formed large shallow basins, surrounded by tea-tree thickets; like those swamps I have mentioned onseveral occasions. About eight miles from the camp, we crossed a goodsized waterless creek, with drooping tea-trees, and groves of Pandanus;and about three miles farther, came to a large creek with some very longwater-holes, which were all stocked with small fish. On our return, itbecame so dark that we missed our tracks; and, by keeping too much to theeastward, we came to a very wild rocky country, in which the largePandanus creek, as well as that on which we were encamped, changed theircharacter so much that we crossed without recognising them. We encampedout, and the next morning, the 28th, we changed our course to thesouthward, which brought us to a little hill we had passed two daysbefore, and which Brown immediately recognised: thus affording anotherinstance of the quickness of his eye, and of his wonderful memory forlocalities. We returned on our former bullock tracks to the camp; andhaving taken some breakfast, and loaded our bullocks, we immediatelystarted for the water-holes, which were situated about eleven miles tothe north-west, in lat. 15 degrees 47 minutes 23 seconds. 

Sept. 29. --I reconnoitered with Charley in a north by west course, andtravelled through a most wretched country. Cypress-pine thicketsalternated with scrubby stringy-bark forest, acacia and tea-treethickets, and with broad tea-tree forest. The Bossiaea with broadleafless stem, was one of the principal components of the scrub. Abouteight miles from our camp, we crossed a small creek with goodwater-holes; and at four miles and a half further, came to a river withseveral channels, separated by high and irregular bergues, with a sandybed containing large pools of water surrounded with water Pandanus anddrooping tea-trees. Acacia neurocarpa, and a species of Cassia, which wehad observed since leaving Seven Emu River, grew on the sands. Aftergiving our horses a short rest, during which we refreshed ourselves witha pot of Sterculia coffee, we returned towards our camp; but, wishing tofind a more open road, kept more to the eastward, and came sooner than Iexpected to Sterculia Creek: which name I had given to the creek on whichwe were encamped, in reference to the groves of Sterculias of bothspecies, rose-coloured as well as heterophylla, which grow on its banks. We followed it up for seven miles, when the setting sun, and our greatfatigue, induced us to stop. The creek changed its character everyquarter of a mile, forming now a broad sandy or pebbly bed, then a narrowchannel between steep banks; and again several channels, either with finewater-holes, or almost entirely filled up and over-grown with a scantyvegetation. On the banks, thickets alternated with scrubs and opencountry, and, lower down, the country became very fine and open. Early inthe morning of the 30th, we started again, and arrived at the camp aftera long ride, both hungry and tired. 

CHAPTER XIII

CAPE MARIA--OBLIGED TO LEAVE A PORTION OF OUR COLLECTION OF NATURALHISTORY--LIMMEN BIGHT RIVER--HABITS OF WATER BIRDS--NATIVE FISH TRAP--THEFOUR ARCHERS--THE WICKHAM--THE DOG DIES--IMMENSE NUMBER OF DUCKS ANDGEESE--THE ROPER--THREE HORSES DROWNED--OBLIGED TO LEAVE A PORTION OF MYBOTANICAL COLLECTION--MORE INTERCOURSE WITH FRIENLDY NATIVES, CIRCUMCISED--HODGSON'S CREEK--THE WILTON--ANOTHER HORSE DROWNED--ANXIETYABOUT OUR CATTLE--AN ATTACK ON THE CAMP FRUSTRATED--BOILS--BASALTAGAIN--INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF THE SEEDS OF AN ACACIA. 

Oct. 1. --The camp was moved forward to the river we had found on the29th, about thirteen miles north by west from our camp at SterculiaCreek. About a mile from the river, we passed a large swampy lagoon, round which the natives had burned the grass. Several flocks of whistlingducks (Leptotarsis Eytoni, GOULD) and many black Ibises were here. Weheard the call of the "Glucking bird" every night during the lastfortnight, particularly from about 2 to 5 o'clock a. M. I called thisriver the "Red Kangaroo River;" for, in approaching it, we first saw theRed Forester of Port Essington (Osphanter antilopinus, GOULD). Thelongitude, according to my reckoning, was 136 degrees. 

Oct. 2. --We travelled about eleven miles north by west, to lat. 15degrees 25 minutes 18 seconds, over an undulating country, if possibleeven worse than that of the last two stages. Low sandy rises were coveredwith stringy-bark trees and saplings, and the depressions were eitherthickly beset with different species of Acacia, of Pultanaea, of thebroad-stemmed Bossiaea, or formed shallow basins of red ironstone coveredand surrounded with tea-tree scrub. On the higher elevations, theCypress-pine thickets proved even worse than the scrub. We crossed onlyone sandy little creek, and came, at the end of the stage, to the head ofa small Pandanus creek, which improved rapidly, and, a little way down, contained fine Nymphaea ponds. Charley went still farther down, and, inan old camp of the natives, found Cythereas and the head of a crocodile. 

It was during this stage, and among the scrub and underwood of the sandyhills, that we first met with Grevillea pungens (R. Br. ), a shrub fromtwo to five feet high, with pale-green pinnatifid pungent leaves, andracemes of red flowers. Flagellaria indica, L. Was very abundant near thecreek; and our bullocks fed heartily upon it: particularly in this mostwretched country, where the grass was scanty and hard. 

Although the days were exceedingly hot, the air immediately before andafter sunrise was most agreeable. 

Oct. 3. --We travelled about six miles and a half north by west, over acountry equally scrubby as that of the preceding stage. The saplings hadbeen killed by a bush fire, and a hurricane, which must have swept overthe country some years ago, had broken and uprooted the larger trees, which lay all to the west and north-west. Since then, saplings had sprungup, and, with the remains of the old trees, formed a most imperviousscrubby thicket, through which we could move but very slowly. About amile from our camp, we crossed a salt-water creek nine or ten yardsbroad. There was some vine brush, with plenty of Flagellarias, growingalong its banks. A little farther, we crossed a freshwater creek, whichwas larger than the preceding. Both appeared to come from someconspicuous ranges, about six or eight miles to the westward. About fivemiles farther, we encamped on a sandy creek with fine pools of water. 

Oct. 4. --We were obliged to remain here, as the horses, not findingsufficient food in the neighbourhood of the camp, had strayed so farthrough the scrub, that they were not found before 2 o'clock in theafternoon, when it was too late to proceed. 

Oct. 5. --We continued our course north by west, through a similarwretched country, and, at the end of about six miles, came to some hills, on the north side of a broad sandy creek, from which we distinguished thewhite sands of the sea coast, and the white crest of breakers rollingtowards the land. In the bed of the creek as well as on its banks, theback bones of cuttle-fish were numerous. Charley and John went down tothe beach, and brought back several living salt-water shells. I proceededup the creek in a south-west direction, and came, at about three miles, to some pools of good water, with a tolerable supply of young feed. Therange we had seen yesterday, was still about eight or ten miles distant, tending from S. S. E. To N. N. W. ; it was steep and naked, and was composedof a white rock which proved to be a baked sandstone, nearly resemblingquartzite in its homogeneous texture. 

Oct. 6. --One of our bullocks had become so weak that he was unable tocarry his load; it was, therefore, put on one of our spare horses, whichwere still in excellent condition. I steered for one of the detachedmountains at the northern end of the range, and travelled about twelvemiles north-west, before we came to its foot. We had, however, to leaveour bullock on the way, as the difficult nature of the country anddiarrhoea together had completely exhausted him. Scrub and denseunderwood continued over a rather undulating country to the foot of therange, which was itself covered with open forest. We passed through a gapbetween the last two hills of the range, and Charley and Brown, whom Ihad sent forward in different directions, and who had both been on thehighest hill, stated that they had distinctly seen an island in the sea;which could be no other than that marked Cape Maria in Arrowsmith's map. They had also seen a large river to the northward, coming from the west;and clearly distinguished large sandy plains extending along it as far asthe eye could reach. At the west side of the range, we soon came to asmall salt-water creek with small sandy and sometimes boggy Salicorniaplains, surrounded with the scrubby salt-water tea-tree, which possessedan odour very much resembling that of a Blackfellow. We proceeded aboutsix miles to the southward, when the country became more open, with anabundance of fine young feed for our horses and cattle. The water wasslightly brackish, and, strange enough, it became more so the higher wewent up the creek. 

Whilst we were at our last camp, Charley met a long file of native womenreturning, with their dillies and baskets full of shell fish, to therange; near which, very probably, fresh water existed. We saw theirnumerous tracks, and a footpath leading to the river; and heard theircooees round our present camp, which may have interfered with one oftheir camping places. Our lat. Was 15 degrees 14 minutes. 

Oct. 7. --John and Charley went back to fetch the bullock, and, in themean time, I occupied myself in examining our packs, in order to dispensewith such things as were least necessary; for, with an additional weightof 130 pounds of dried meat and hide, our pack bullocks were overloaded, and it was now imperative upon me to travel as lightly as possible. ThusI parted with my paper for drying plants, with my specimens of wood, witha small collection of rocks, made by Mr. Gilbert, and with all theduplicates of our zoological specimens. Necessity alone, which compelledme to take this step, reconciled me to the loss. 

Our bullock came in during the afternoon, and was immediately killed, skinned, and quartered. 

Oct. 8. --We cut the meat into slices, and put them out to dry. 

Oct. 9. --I went with Brown to examine the country along the river, whichI called "Limmen Bight River;" from its disemboguing into Limmen Bight. Charley had been at the upper part of the creek on which we wereencamped, and found it running and fresh; which made me believe, thatthose pools of very brackish water we had previously seen, belonged to adifferent watercourse. I rode with Brown to the westward, over asuccession of ironstone ridges covered with stringy-bark scrub. Theseridges formed steep headlands into the broad flat valley of the river. Along the valley, bare sandy and boggy plains alternated with tea-treethickets and mangrove swamps, in one of which our horses got deeplybogged. After five miles we came on a large piece of salt water, which, according to Brown, was a tributary creek of the river. It flowed betweenlow banks fringed with tea-trees. We followed a foot-path of the natives, who seemed very numerous, which led towards another range west by south;and crossed several tea-tree creeks, Pandanus groves, and swamps full ofa high blady grass. We observed some springs, with but little waterhowever, though densely surrounded with ferns (Osmunda). After aboutseven miles, we were stopped by a fern swamp full of fine box-trees, witha thick jungle of high stiff grasses and ferns (Blechnum). A smallrunning creek formed its outlet, and contained a chain of deep pondscovered with Nymphaeas, and surrounded with Typha (bull-rush), theyoungest part of the leaves of which is very tolerable eating. Largeswarms of ducks (Leptotarsis Eytoni, GOULD), rose with their peculiarwhistling noise, at our approach. 

Oct. 10. --I moved my camp to the chain of lagoons, which we foundyesterday; and our horses and cattle enjoyed the fine feed. The largesthill of the range to the westward, bore south-west from our camp. Aspecies of Hibiscus with large pink flowers, but small insignificantleaves, and another small malvaceous shrub with white flowers grew roundthe camp. 

Oct. 11. --Last night we saw long flights of geese (Anseranas melanoleuca, GOULD) and swarms of ducks, passing our camp from west to east; whichmade us very naturally suppose that large lagoons of fresh water existedat the head of the fern swamp, of which our little Typha brook formed theoutlet. Brown and Charley were very desirous of getting some of thesegeese, and concocted a plan either to induce me to follow the brook up, or to stop me altogether. Not knowing their intentions, I sent Brownafter the cattle, and Charley to find a crossing place. They met, however, at those supposed lagoons, and amused themselves in shootinggeese, and (after having probably enjoyed an off-hand dinner of roastedgoose) they returned at 2 o'clock, complaining of course, that the cattlehad strayed very far. Though I had been very much annoyed by waiting solong, I was pleased in finding that they had shot four geese. In order, however, to show my sable companions that their secret manoeuvres onlytended to increase their own labour, I ordered the bullocks to be loadedimmediately they arrived, and proceeded to get out of this intricatecountry as soon as possible. We travelled west by north, over a tolerableopen country, leaving the salt-water plains to the right, and crossedseveral well beaten foot-paths, and a sort of play ground on which thenatives seem to have danced and crawled about, as it bore the impressionsof both hands and feet. After four miles, we came to a broad salt-watercreek, the high banks of which were covered with numerous heaps ofCytherea shells, which had lived in the mud of the creek. We followed itup about a mile, when it ended in a hollow coming from the range. Afterpassing this, our course was intercepted by another large creek, whichcompelled us to go to the south and even to south-east along the westernside of the range which we had seen from Typha brook. We followed it upabout two miles, and found some ponds of slightly brackish water, inwhich, however, Nymphaea grew, and several small freshwater fish lived;and near them the track of a crocodile was observed by Charley. Opencountry alternated with thick Acacia underwood along this creek, and itsgrass was still coarse and blady. Many gullies came down from the range;which was composed of baked sandstone, with not very distinctstratification, and irregularly broken blocks. At a lagoon which wepassed in the commencement of the stage, Brown shot three more geese;thus disclosing to us the haunts of those numerous flights we had seen. We roasted four of our geese for dinner, and they formed by far the mostdelicious dish our expedition had offered: the others were stewed for thenext breakfast; and they were equally good: though a whole night'sstewing might have robbed them of a little of their rich flavour. 

We had frequently observed the flight of waterfowl, at the commencementof night, and a little before dawn. At Cycas Creek, Spoonbills, Ibises, and Whistling ducks came at night fall to the fresh water, and left it inthe morning. The geese flew past at night from an open lagoon to thewestward, to more confined ponds at the head of the fern swamp to theeastward. It would appear that they prefer a sheltered situation for thenight, and large open sheets of water by day. 

The nights were usually dewy, in consequence of the moist sea breeze, which blew almost the whole day from east and E. N. E. , and set infrequently as early as 9 or 10 o'clock. The morning, from about 7 o'clocktill the sea breeze set in, was exceedingly hot; but, before sunrise, itwas most delightful; the myriads of flies which crowded round us duringthe day, and the mosquitoes which annoyed us after sunset, were thenbenumbed; and although the sun rose with the full intensity of its heat, it was not so inconvenient in the early morn as to induce us to look forshade. Not a breath was stirring; and the notes of the laughing jackassand some few small birds, alone showed that there were other beingsenjoying the beauty of this august solitude. 

Oct. 12. --We proceeded three or four miles up the creek, and found acrossing at a fishing place of the natives; in an old camping place nearthis fishery, I saw a long funnel-shaped fish trap, made of the flexiblestem of Flagellaria. Hence we travelled about north-west by west, towardsa fine mountain range, which yesterday bore W. N. W. After six miles ofundulating scrubby country, and broad-leaved tea-tree forest, we arrivedat a creek with a fine pool of water, which, notwithstanding itsNymphaeas, Charas, and Typhas, was slightly brackish and bitter. Limnaea, and two species of Melania, were found in it; the one species, with along sharp spire, had been found in a reedy brook, at the upper Burdekin. Limmen Bight river was not half a mile from our camp; and I now hopedthat we should soon be out of the system of salt-water creeks joining itfrom the southward. 

Our lat. Was 15 degrees 13 minutes (?) and longitude, according toreckoning, 135 degrees 30 minutes. We had left the stiff grasses of thecoast, and the pasture was fast improving. John Murphy shot the TorresStraits pigeon (Carpophaga luctuosa, GOULD) which we had once beforeobserved; but it was exceedingly shy and rare, and only seen in pairs. 

Oct. 13. --We travelled about sixteen miles to the southward, to lat. 15degrees 29 minutes 10 seconds, following the river, and heading severalsalt water creeks, which prolonged our journey very much. Stony hills andranges frequently approached the river, and rendered our travellingdifficult and fatiguing. They were composed of baked sandstone, and whiteand blue indurated clay, the strata of which dipped at a very small angleto the southward, and the strike from east to west. The flats between theranges, and along the river and creeks, were openly timbered and wellgrassed; and, at the head of a salt-water creek, we found deep ponds ofconstant water covered with Nymphaeas, and surrounded with Typhas anddrooping tea-trees. Towards the end of the stage, where the high rockyhills formed deep declivities into the river, we had to ascend them, andto travel along their summits. A good sized creek joined the river attheir southern slopes, which, though salt below, contained some goodpools of fresh water higher up. To the southward of this creek, therewere four very remarkable flat-topped cones of sandstone, which appearedlike a plateau cut into four detached masses. These I called the "FourArchers, " in honour of my excellent hosts Messrs. David, Charles, John, and Thomas Archer of Moreton Bay. From the eastern one, I enjoyed a fineview, and distinguished distant ranges broken by a gap to the southward, and detached long-stretched ridges to the westward. 

I went with Charley to examine the river, in order to find a fordingplace, in which we succeeded at about four miles south-west from ourcamp, in lat. 15 degrees 30 minutes 31 seconds; where a stony bar crossedthe salt water, leaving a small channel in which the tide formed ashallow stream. The bed of the river became very broad and sandy, coveredwith shrubs like those of the Lynd and most of the other rivers we hadpassed. 

Oct. 14. --We crossed the river, and travelled about ten miles north-west, over a succession of stony ridges, separated by fine open tea-tree andbox flats. Some fine shallow sandy watercourses, quite dry, went down tothe north by east. At the end of the stage, the uniform colour of thecountry was interrupted by the green line of a river-bed, so pleasing andso refreshing to the eye, with the rich verdure of its drooping tea-treesand myrtles, interspersed with the silver leaves of Acacia neurocarpa andGrevillea chrysodendron. The river was formed by two broad sandy beds, separated by a high bergue, and was full 700 yards from bank to bank. Itcontained large detached water-pools fringed with Pandanus, which werevery probably connected by a stream filtering through the sands, I calledit the "Wickham, " in honour of Captain Wickham, R. N. Of Moreton Bay, whohad recently commanded a survey of the north-west coast of New Holland, in H. M. S. Beagle. 

The red wallabi (Halmaturus agilis, GOULD) was very numerous along thegullies of the river: and we started a flock of red foresters (OsphranterAntilopinus, GOULD) out of a patch of scrub on the brow of a stony hill. Charley and Brown, accompanied by Spring, pursued them, and killed a fineyoung male. I had promised my companions that, whenever a kangaroo wascaught again, it should be roasted whole, whatever its size might be. Wehad consequently a roasted Red Forester for supper, and we never rolledourselves up in our blankets more satisfied with a repast. 

Brown found a Eugenia, with large white blossoms and large coriaceousoblong lanceolate shining leaves; it was a tree of thirty or forty feethigh, with a grey bark, and a good hard wood. It was growing at the upperpart of the creek on which we were encamped last night. Its fruit was twoinches in diameter, with longitudinal ribs, scarlet red, and very eatablewhen dropt from the tree, but when gathered on the tree, it had anaromatic pungency. This tree was very common along the well wateredcreeks of Arnheim's Land; particularly along the South Alligator River, and at Raffles Bay. Brown brought from the same locality a Melastoma, which, according to him, was a shrub, three or four feet high. 

Oct. 15. --We continued our journey in a north-west direction. The firstfive or six miles was over a succession of very lightly timberedbox-flats, alternating with small plains. They were bounded by scrubs andranges, which we crossed, and from the top of one obtained the view of aremarkable system of parallel ranges, all steep mountain walls of a whitecolour indicating the nature of their rock, and separated from each otherby perfectly level flats covered with broad leaved tea-tree forest. Attheir foot a richer tree vegetation existed, principally composed of theleguminous Ironbark, Blood-wood, and Pandanus. The darker verdure ofthese trees, which we also observed at the foot of the most distantrange, made us believe that a river was near it. After travelling aboutfive miles over a flat, we crossed a broad sandy creek, which we did notfollow, although beaten foot-paths of the natives led down it, as wefirmly believed that a river was before us. At five miles farther, wecame to the foot of the range, which rose suddenly from the levelcountry, and, although a small watercourse existed in the tea-tree flat, our anticipated river proved to be like the Dutchman's "Cape Fly-away. "In ascending the range, our poor bullocks suffered severely, and, when wereached the summit, they stood panting with their tongues hanging out oftheir mouths; I therefore halted a short time, to allow them to recover. The east slopes of all these ranges were steep, but to the north-westthey were very gentle, and covered with stringy-bark forest. A longsuccession of similar ranges was seen to the north-west. A smallwatercourse brought us to a creek containing large but dry water-holes. Finding that it turned to the eastward, round the range we had justcrossed, and that it almost disappeared in the scrubby tea-tree flats, weturned to the northward, passed several more ridges, and encamped longafter sunset, near a dry but promising creek, without water. Iimmediately sent Mr. Calvert and Charley down the creek, in search ofwater, and they returned, towards midnight, with the welcome intelligencethat they had found some fine pools. 

I had been absent during the latter part of the stage, and mostunfortunately our kangaroo dog had been left behind, whereby this mostvaluable animal was lost. He had been the means of our obtaining so much, and indeed the greatest part of our game, that his loss was severely feltby us. 

Our lat. Was 15 degrees 10 minutes. 

Oct. 16. --We travelled down to the water, about four miles north-eastalong the creek, which was covered with Cypress pine thickets, andtea-tree scrub. Mr. Calvert and Charley returned on our tracks toendeavour to recover our poor dog. They found him almost dead, --stretchedout in the deep cattle track, which he seemed not to have quitted, evento find a shady place. They brought him to the camp; and I put his wholebody, with the exception of his head, under water, and bled him; he livedsix hours longer, when he began to bark, as if raving, and to move hislegs slightly, as dogs do when dreaming. It seemed that he died ofinflammation of the brain. If we become naturally fond of animals whichshare with us the comforts of life, and become the cheerful companions ofour leisure hours, our attachment becomes still greater when they notonly share in our sufferings, but aid greatly to alleviate them. Thelittle world of animated beings, with which we moved on, was constantlybefore our eyes; and each individual the constant object of ourattention. We became so familiar with every one of them, that theslightest change in their walk, or in their looks was readily observed;and the state of their health anxiously interpreted. Every bullock, everyhorse, had its peculiar character, its well defined individuality, whichformed the frequent topic of our conversation, in which we all mostwillingly joined, because every one was equally interested. My readerswill, therefore, easily understand my deep distress when I saw myself, onrecent occasions, compelled to kill two of our favourite bullocks longbefore their time; and when our poor dog died, which we all had fondlyhoped to bring to the end of our journey. Brown had, either by accident, or influenced by an unconscious feeling of melancholy, fallen into thehabit of almost constantly whistling and humming the soldier's deathmarch, which had such a singularly depressing effect on my feelings, thatI was frequently constrained to request him to change his tune. 

Oct. 17. --We travelled about eighteen miles N. N. W. Over an undulatingcountry, in which Cypress-pine thickets alternated with scrubbystringy-bark forest, and some tea-tree flats. After seven miles, wecrossed a large dry creek, which went to the eastward; and, eight milesfurther, we entered upon a fine box-flat, with hills to the north andnorth-west. We followed a very promising Pandanus creek, in which thepresence of Typha (flag, or bulrush) and a new species of Sesbaniaindicated the recent presence of water. Mr. Roper having ascended one ofthe hills, and seen a green valley with a rich vegetation about threemiles to the northward, we in consequence left the creek, which turned tothe eastward; and, after passing several miles of most wretched scrub, came into an open country, with scattered groves of trees. As the sun wassetting, I resolved upon encamping in an open plain, although withoutwater, except what we carried in our large stew-pot. Charley, who hadbeen sent forward, had not yet joined us; I, therefore, ordered two gunsto be fired, to let him know where we were; he immediately answered usfrom a short distance, where he lighted up a cheerful fire. After sometime, during which misfortune and carelessness had played us the trick ofupsetting our waterpot, Charley arrived with the welcome news that he hadfound some water-holes in a small creek; we therefore, at moonrise, againsaddled our tired animals, and repaired thither. 

The day had been exceedingly hot; but the passing shadows of cumuli whichformed in the afternoon, occasionally afforded us a delightful relief. The sea breeze was strong, particularly towards evening; but the densescrub and forest kept it from us during the day. 

Oct. 18. --I stopped at the water-holes, to allow our cattle to recover. It was a lovely place. The country around us was very open, and agreeablydiversified by small clusters of the raspberry-jam tree. Salicornia andBinoe's Trichinium indicated the neighbourhood of salt water; but thegrass was good and mostly young. The creek was shaded by droopingtea-trees and the broad-leaved Terminalia, which also grew scattered overthe flats. The water-hole on which we were encamped was about four feetdeep, and contained a great number of guard-fish, which, in the morning, kept incessantly springing from the water. A small broad fish with sharpbelly, and a long ray behind the dorsal fin, was also caught. It washighly amusing to watch the swarms of little finches, of doves, andPtilotis, which came during the heat of the day to drink from our waterhole. Grallina australis, Crows, Kites, Bronze-winged and Harlequinpigeons, (Peristera histrionica, GOULD), the Rose cockatoo (Cocatua Eos), the Betshiregah (Melopsittacus undulatus), and Trichoglossus versicolor, GOULD, were also visitors to the water-hole, or were seen on the plains. The day was oppressively hot; and neither the drooping tea-trees, nor ourblankets, of which we had made a shade, afforded us much relief Cloudsgathered, however, in the afternoon, and we had a few drops of rain inthe course of the night and following morning. Charley and John had goneout on horseback to obtain some emus, with which the country seemed toabound; they returned, however, at night, without any emus, but broughtin about twenty-two whistling and black ducks, one goose and severalwaders, which they had obtained at a lagoon which was several miles inlength, and varied from 50 to 300 yards in breadth, covered withNymphaeas, and fringed with a dense vegetation; it was surrounded by finepasture. Never, as they described, had they seen so many ducks and geesetogether; when they rose, their numbers darkened the air, and their noisewas deafening. They had observed a wooden post, cut with an irontomahawk, rammed in the ground and propped with several large stones;which seemed to be the work either of white men or Malays. 

Oct. 19. --We travelled about four miles north 30 degrees west, overplains and an open undulating box and raspberry jam tree country, to thelagoon which my companions had discovered. They had not exaggerated theiraccount, neither of the beauty of the country, nor of the size of thelagoon, nor of the exuberance of animal life on it. It was indeed quite anovel spectacle to us to see such myriads of ducks and geese rise and flyup and down the lagoon, as we travelled along. Casuarinas, droopingtea-trees, the mangrove myrtle (Stravadium) and raspberry-jam trees, greweither on the flats, or formed open groves along the banks; andPolygonums covered the water's edge. When we came to the end of thelagoon, which was bounded on the left by a stony rise of flaggy Psammite, I observed a green belt of trees scarcely 300 yards to the northward; andon riding towards it, I found myself on the banks of a large fresh waterriver from 500 to 800 yards broad, with not very high banks, denselycovered with salt water Hibiscus (Paritium), with a small rubiaceous tree(Pavetta?), which filled the air with the jasmine-like fragrance of itsblossoms; with Flagellaria, water Pandanus, and a leguminous climber withbunches of large green blossoms (Mucuna?--D. C. Pr. ). The water wasslightly muddy, as if a fresh had come down the river; and the tide rosefull three feet. It was the river Mr. Roper had seen two days before, andI named it after him, as I had promised to do. The country along its leftbank was well-grassed and openly timbered with box; hills were on theopposite side. Its course was from north-west to south-east; but thisseemed to be rather local. Natives seemed to be numerous; for theirfoot-path along the lagoon was well beaten; we passed several of theirfisheries, and observed long fishtraps made of Flagellaria (rattan). Allthe cuts on various trees were made with an iron tomahawk. Natives, crows, and kites were always the indications of a good country. Charley, Brown, and John, who had been left at the lagoon to shoot waterfowl, returned with twenty ducks for luncheon, and went out again during theafternoon to procure more for dinner and breakfast. They succeeded inshooting thirty-one ducks and two geese; so that we had fifty-one ducksand two geese for the three meals; and they were all eaten, with theexception of a few bony remains, which some of the party carried to thenext camp. If we had had a hundred ducks, they would have been eatenquite as readily, if such an extravagant feast had been permitted. 

Oct. 20. --We travelled about ten miles N. 60 degrees W. Up the river; andI was fortunate enough to determine my latitude by an observation ofAlpheratz, which cloudy nights had prevented me from obtaining since the15th October: it was 14 degrees 47 minutes; my longitude, according toreckoning, was 135 degrees 10 minutes. The river continued equally broad, with a fine open box-tree country on its right, whilst a range of hillswith several bluff breaks extended along the left side, interruptedoccasionally by some openings of small creeks, and, in one place, by thevalley of a small river, which Brown saw joining it from the northward. 

We followed a broad foot-path of the natives, which cut the angles of theriver, and passed along several large lagoons at the foot of some lowsandstone ridges, that occasionally approached the river, which wasjoined by some brushy creeks, one of which was of a considerable size. The box-trees were of stunted growth, but the raspberry-jam trees werestill abundant and larger than usual. The grass was plentiful, but oldand dry. The lagoons were covered with ducks, geese, and pelicans; andnative companions were strutting about on the patches of fresh burntgrass. Brown pursued two emus, and caught one of them. Wallabies werenumerous; two bustards, and even a crocodile were seen. A small lizard ornewt was observed on the mud between high and low water marks. The greenant of the Lynd inhabited the shady trees of the brushy banks; and, inthe forest, brick coloured and black ants were numerous and troublesome. 

A strong easterly wind was blowing during the day, and no cumuli formed. 

Camps of the natives were frequent, and fresh burnings and freshmussel-shells showed that they had been lately at the lagoons. But, onthe river, the camps were older and not so numerous, and no burnings hadlately taken place. 

Oct. 21. --After waiting a very long time for our horses, Charley came andbrought the dismal tidings that three of the most vigorous of them weredrowned, at the junction of the creek with the river. Although the banksof the Roper were steep and muddy, the large creek we had passed wasscarcely two miles distant, and offered an easy approach to the water ona rocky bed. It remained, therefore, inexplicable to us how the accidentcould have happened. 

This disastrous event staggered me, and for a moment I turned almostgiddy; but there was no help. Unable to increase the load of my bullocks, I was obliged to leave that part of my botanical collection which hadbeen carried by one of the horses. The fruit of many a day's work wasconsigned to the fire; and tears were in my eyes when I saw one of themost interesting results of my expedition vanish into smoke. Mr. Gilbert's small collection of plants, which I had carefully retainedhitherto, shared the same fate. But they were of less value, as they weremostly in a bad state of preservation, from being too much crowded. Mycollection had the great advantage of being almost complete in blossoms, fruit, and seed, which I was enabled to ensure in consequence of the longduration of our expedition, and of the comparative uniformity of theAustralian Flora. 

I left the unfortunate place, and travelled about six miles up the river, which kept a W. N. W. Course. Open box-flats were bounded by ridges twoor three miles from the river. At the opposite side, ranges were seenwith some rocky bluff hills. Charley shot a bustard. 

Oct. 22. --We travelled about seven miles to the westward, when we came toa broad creek, which compelled us to go five miles to the southward inorder to cross it. The country was still a succession of box-flats alongthe river, with rocky barren ranges in the distance; the latter, however, approached so near the creek, that we found it difficult to pass along. About two miles and a-half from our last camp, we had to cross a runningCasuarina brook, which, though very small, was so boggy, that two of ourhorses were again in great danger of being lost. 

Last night we heard the calls of natives at the opposite side of theriver. As soon as they saw us, they crossed the river, and came prettyclose to us: the discharge of our guns, however, kept them at a distance. Several of our party, during their watches saw them moving with firesticks on the other side of the river. In the morning, three of them cameboldly up; so I went to them with some presents, and they became veryfriendly indeed. Presents were exchanged; and they invited us in the mostpressing manner to accompany them to their camp; and were evidentlydisappointed in finding that we could not swim. I gave them horse-nails, and they asked me to bend them into fish-hooks. They had doubtless seenor heard of white people before; but of our horses and bullocks they weremuch afraid, and asked me whether they could bite: they accompanied me, however, pretty near to the camp; but kept their arms round my waist, tobe sure of not being bitten. As we proceeded on our journey, theyfollowed us for a long distance, and offered Charley and Brown a gin, ifwe would go to their camp. They were circumcised, and two front teeth hadbeen knocked out; they had horizontal scars on their chests. 

A great number of flying-foxes (Pteropus) were in the river brush, andBrown shot three of them. 

The days were cloudless and very hot; the east wind was strong during theafternoon; the nights very cool and pleasant, but without dew. 

Oct. 23. --This morning, our sable friends came again to our camp; theymade their approach known by a slight whistling. We invited them to comenearer, and many new faces were introduced to us. Of three young people, one was called "Gnangball, " the other "Odall, " and a boy "Nmamball. "These three names were given to many others, and probably distinguishedthree different tribes or families. We gave them sheets of paper on whichthe figures of kangaroos, emus, and fish were drawn. When we were loadingour bullocks, a whole mob came up with great noise; and one of themdanced and jumped about with incessant vociferations, flourishing hiswommerah, crowned with a tuft of opossum's hair, like a Drum-major; I puta broken girth round his waist, which seemed to tranquillize himwonderfully. In drinking water out of my pot, I offered it to my friend;but he hesitated to follow my example, until he applied to an elderly, bearded, serious-looking man, who sipped of it, and then my friendventured to taste its contents. When we started on our journey theyfollowed us with many remarks for a very long way, until we came again tothe river; when their appetites probably compelled them to return totheir camp; but not before inviting us to accompany them thither, andgiving us to understand that they had plenty to eat. On leaving us, theypointed down the river, and repeated the word "Aroma!" "Aroma!"

About three miles to the westward of our camp, the water ceased, and thecreek formed a dry sandy bed, covered with Casuarinas; it was joined bytwo Pandanus creeks with steep deep channels, and well provided withwater-holes. I had to go down the creek four miles, in order to avoidsome steep rocky ranges; but we turned afterwards to the northward, andtravelled, over an open well-grassed country, to the river: it was, however, full of melon-holes and very stony. Ranges and high rocky ridgeswere seen in every direction. From one of them a pillar of smoke wasrising, like a signal fire. The extensive burnings, and the number of oursable visitors, showed that the country was well inhabited. About four orfive miles from the last creek, --which I shall call "Hodgson's Creek, " inhonour of Pemberton Hodgson, Esq. --the river divided into two almostequal branches, one coming from the northward, and the other fromnorth-west by west. I named the river from the northward the "Wilton, "after the Rev. Mr. Wilton of Newcastle, who kindly favoured myexpedition. Its latitude was about 14 degrees 45 minutes. 

About three miles above the junction of the Wilton with the Roper, weagain encamped on the steep banks of the latter, at a spot which Ithought would allow our horses and cattle to approach in safety. Oneunfortunate animal, however, slipped into the water, and every effort toget him out was made in vain. Its constant attempts to scramble up theboggy banks only tired it, and as night advanced, we had to wait untilthe tide rose again. I watched by him the whole night, and at high waterwe succeeded in getting him out of the water; but he began to plungeagain, and unfortunately broke the tether which had kept his forequartersup, and fell back into the river. At last I found a tolerable landingplace about fifty yards higher up; but, as I was swimming with him up toit, and trying to lead him clear of the stumps of trees, he becameentangled in the tether rope by which I guided him, rolled over, and wasimmediately drowned. This reduced our number of horses to nine. When theother horses were brought to the camp, another rushed into the water, butI swam with him at once to the good landing place, and we succeeded insaving him. 

I. Started late on the 24th Oct. And travelled over a country similar tothat of our late stages. About a mile up the river, a ledge of rockscrossed the bed, over which a considerable stream formed a small fall andrapids; above this was a fine sheet of water, overhung with shadytea-trees, Casuarinas, and Pandanus, which made this crossing placeextremely lovely. My grief at having lost an excellent horse which I hadridden for the greatest part of the journey, was increased by now knowingthat one mile more travelling would have saved him to me. The northernbanks of the river were at first open: but they soon became boundedeither by isolated, or chains of, rocky hills. These hills separated thevalley of the river from an open well grassed, but extremely stony backcountry; from which creeks carried the water down to the river, throughgaps and openings between the hills. To the northward of this backcountry, other ranges ran parallel to those along the river, fromnorthwest by west to south-east by east, and shorter ranges joined themoccasionally. The whole country was composed of sandstone and induratedclay, with very distinct stratification. The layers of clay were white, grey, or slate-coloured; with many shining leaflets of mica. 

The days were very hot; the east-breeze very strong during the afternoon, and particularly towards sunset; the nights were warm, clear, and withoutdew. 

Some sheldrakes and wallabies were seen, and a bustard was shot byCharley: large fish were splashing in the water. I gathered the largevine-bean, with green blossoms, which had thick pods containing from oneto five seeds. Its hard covering, by roasting, became very brittle; and Ipounded the cotyledons, and boiled them for several hours. This softenedthem, and made a sort of porridge, which, at all events, was verysatisfying. Judging by the appearance of large stones which werefrequently found, in the camps of the natives, still covered with themealy particles of some seed which had been pounded upon them, it wouldseem that the natives used the same bean; but I could not ascertain howthey were able to soften them. It did not make good coffee; and, whenboiled in an iron pot, the water became very dark. Our latitude was 14degrees 44 seconds. 

Oct. 25. --We travelled about seven miles northwest to lat. 14 degrees 39minutes, following the river in its various windings over more thantwelve miles. The country was well grassed, and openly timbered withwhite gum, box, and leguminous Ironbark; but occasionally broken by deepgullies, which were fringed with the articulate-podded Acacia (Ingamoniliformis), and the broad-leaved Terminalia. Several ranges with rockyslopes approached or bounded the river; and three remarkable bluff hills, two on its right, and one on its left side, formed characteristiclandmarks. Their summits were surrounded by perpendicular precipices, from the foot of which steep rocky, but uniform slopes went down to thelevel country. Thick high reeds covered the approaches of the river, andthe lower parts of the gullies; and noble Casuarinas rivalled thedrooping tea-tree in beauty. Grevillea pungens (R. Br. ) was observed onthe hills; it is, therefore, not particular to the coast scrub. A speciesof native tobacco, with smaller blossoms than that of the Hunter, andwith its radical leaves spreading close over the ground, was growing onthe open spaces round the water-holes. The river was well supplied withlong reaches of water connected by a small stream. 

In the morning, we had a pleasant westerly breeze, which veered to thenorth-west and northward; the regular sea breeze set in from thenortheast in the afternoon; the night was hot and sultry; but the weatherduring the day was cooler than that we experienced for the last week. 

The red wallabies were very numerous, particularly in the kind of junglealong the river. Sheldrakes and Ibises abounded at the water-holes. Charley shot two wallabies. 

Oct. 26. --We enjoyed most gratefully our two wallabies, which werestewed, and to which I had added some green hide to render the broth moresubstantial. This hide was almost five months old, and had served as acase to my botanical collection, which, unfortunately, I had beencompelled to leave behind. It required, however, a little longer stewingthan a fresh hide, and was rather tasteless. 

We accomplished about eight miles in a straight line to the westward, butwent over a much greater extent of ground; as I mistook a large thoughdry creek from the northward for the river, and followed it about fourmiles; when, finding my mistake, I crossed about four or five miles ofrich treeless plains, and reached the river again at the foot of a longhigh range to the westward. Other ranges appeared to the eastward andnorthward. As we approached the river, we passed some sandstone hillscovered with a dense scrub exactly like that of the sea coast south ofLimmen Bight. It was principally composed of several species of Acacia ofGrevillea chrysodendron (R. Br. ), and of the Bossiaea with broad stem. All along the outside of the scrub, we observed old camps of the natives;several of whom were seen crossing the plains. 

The bed of the river became excessively wild: the Pandanus channel wasstill full of water, and running; but the dry bed was full of rockywater-holes or chains of them, composed of, and scattered over withblocks of sandstone; and overgrown with most magnificent Casuarinas, withtea-trees and flooded-gum (or its representative). 

Large camps of the natives were full of the shells of lately roastedmussels (Unios), the posterior part of which appeared to be much broader, and more sinuated, than those we had hitherto seen. John and Charleyfound the head of an alligator; and the former caught the broad-scaledfish of the Mackenzie (Osteoglossum), which weighed four pounds. Themosquitoes, and a little black ant, were very annoying during the warmbut slightly dewy night. 

As we were slowly winding our way among the loose rocks, Brown's horsegot knocked up, and we were compelled to encamp. After the disasterswhich had lately befallen us, I became more alive to the chances to whichwe were exposed, even more so than after Mr. Gilbert's death; up to whichtime we had travelled more than a thousand miles, without any greatmisfortune. At the commencement of our journey, the cooee of mycompanions, who were driving the bullocks and horses after me, hadgenerally called me back to assist in re-loading one of our restivebeasts, or to mend a broken packsaddle, and to look for the scatteredstraps. This was certainly very disagreeable and fatiguing; but it wasrather in consequence of an exuberance of animal spirits, and did notinterfere with the hope of a prosperous progress: but, since leaving theSeven Emu River, these calls invariably acquainted me with the failingstrength of our poor brutes; and knowing only too well the state ofexhaustion in which they were, I was almost constantly expecting to bereminded of it, as I was riding along, which rendered me extremelynervous and restless. The death of our spare horses did not allow us anymore to relieve the others by alternate rests, and we became soon awareof their increasing weakness. This was considerably aggravated by thenecessity under which we were of keeping two horses tethered near thecamp, not only to facilitate the finding of the others in the morning, but to form a defence against a possible attack of the natives. 

Oct. 27. --We travelled about seven miles up the river, to lat. 14 degrees40 minutes in a W. S. W. Course: and to long. 134 degrees 16 minutes, according to my reckoning. The range still continued along the right bankof the river; and, at length, when it ceased, another range commenced atthe left bank. Here the aspect of the country changed very agreeably. Fine, well grassed plains of moderate size extended along the river, andbetween its numerous anabranches: for the river divided into severalPandanus channels, either running or with chains of water-holes. Theseplains were bounded by a range trending east and west, about two or threemiles from the left bank of the river. Smoke was seen beyond it. Mr. Roper met and spoke with three natives, who did not appear to be afraidof him. Another of our horses became knocked up, and compelled us toencamp very early in the day, and, as they were all much exhausted, Iallowed them to feed at large, without taking the usual precaution ofkeeping two tethered, in the event of being surprised by the natives. That this was intentionally taken advantage of seemed probable; for, after night-fall, at the commencement of Charley's watch, four nativessneaked up to the camp, and were preparing to throw their spears, whenthey were seen by Charley, who immediately gave the alarm. We got upinstantly, but they had disappeared, and no one but Charley saw anythingof them. I should have been inclined to consider it a hoax, had I notheard their distant cooees as late as 9 o'clock, when I silenced them bythe discharge of a gun. 

Oct. 28. --We travelled ten miles in a north-west direction, to lat. 14degrees 33 minutes. When we had followed the green belt of the river nearfour miles, Charley, who had been sent to shoot some ducks, returned, andreported that we were near the head of the river; and that he haddiscovered water bubbling out of the ground at the foot of a slight rise. We now followed the direction of some smoke which rose behind a largemountain; passing on our way, over an undulating country clothed with aforest of the broad-leaved tea-tree; and a scrubby flat with largemelon-holes fringed with raspberry-jam trees; and through a gap betweentwo high ranges, in which there was a small dry creek that turned to thenorth-east. From a large Polygonum water-hole which had recently becomedry, a swarm of whistling ducks rose, probably scared by our approach. Two bustards were also seen. About three miles farther, we came to agood-sized creek, up which we proceeded until we found a small pool ofwater, which, after some digging, gave us a good supply. Charley hadfound a fine pool about four miles higher up. 

At this time, I was suffering from a great irritability of the skin, andwas covered all over with a prickly heat; the slightest pressure orrubbing produced inflammation and boils, particularly about the knees:and Mr. Phillips suffered in the same way, at the arm and elbow. Mr. Gilbert had been subject to these boils when we were travelling at PeakRange, and along the Isaacs; but, since that time until now, none of theparty had been inconvenienced by them. 

Oct. 29. --We travelled about twelve miles N. N. W. , and followed the creekabout four miles, to allow our cattle and horses to drink freely at thewater-hole discovered by Charley the day before. We passed some plains, and through a broad-leaved tea-tree forest, and then skirted a thickscrub, which covered the approaches of a range. After seven milestravelling, we came to an immense flat lightly timbered with box andbroad-leaved tea-tree, and surrounded on every side, except the S. S. E. , by high ranges, protruding like headlands into the plain. Upon passingthem afterwards, I found them to form undulating chains of bakedsandstone hills. 

We crossed several small watercourses going to the north-east and east, and came to a considerable creek, near which basalt cropped out. This wasthe first igneous rock of more recent date, that we had met with sinceleaving Separation Creek, and the upper Lynd. Even my Blackfellowsrecognized at once the rock of Darling Downs; and we hailed it as theharbinger of western waters. The whole country up the creek had beenlately burned, which induced me to follow it towards its head, in hope offinding the place where the natives had procured water. The bed wasfilled with basaltic boulders, as were also its dry holes, from one ofwhich the Grallina australis rose, and for the first time deceived ourexpectations. In a wider part of the valley, I observed wells of thenatives dug in the creek, which we enlarged in the hope of their yieldinga sufficient supply of water; but in this we were mistaken, as barelyenough was obtained to quench our own thirst. Charley, however, in asearch up the creek, and after a long ramble, found a small pond and aspring in a narrow mountain gorge, to which he had been guided by abeaten track of Wallurus. Our horses and bullocks, which were crowdingimpatiently round the little hole we had dug, were immediately harnessed, and we proceeded about three miles in a north direction to the head of arocky valley, where our cattle were enabled at least to drink, but allthe grass had been consumed by a late bush fire. 

The Acacia of Expedition Range was plentiful in the large flat and at thewells of the natives, and formed a fine tree: its seeds, however, wereshed, and had been roasted by the late bush fire. Mr. Phillips (who wasalways desirous of discovering substitutes for coffee, and to whom weowed the use of the river-bean of the Mackenzie) collected these seeds, and pounded and boiled them, and gave me the fluid to taste, which Ifound so peculiarly bitter that I cautioned him against drinking it; hisnatural desire, however, for warm beverage, which had been increased by awhole day's travelling, induced him to swallow about a pint of it, whichmade him very sick, and produced violent vomiting and purging during thewhole afternoon and night. The little I had tasted acted on me as alenient purgative, but Mr. Calvert, who had taken rather more than I did, felt very sick. The gum of this Acacia was slightly acid, and veryharmless. 

Oct. 30. --We travelled about four miles to the N. W. And N. N. W. Along thesummit of rocky ranges, when a large valley bounded by high ranges to thenorth and north-west, burst upon us. We descended into it by a steep androcky basaltic slope, and followed a creek which held a very tortuouscourse to the south-west; we had travelled along it about seven miles, when Charley was attracted by a green belt of trees, and by the lateburnings of the natives, and discovered a running rivulet, coming fromthe N. N. W. It was fringed with Pandanus, Acacia (Inga monilifornis) andwith an arborescent Vitex, with ternate leaves. The flats were wellgrassed, and lightly timbered with box and white-gum. On the flat summitof the sandstone ranges, we observed the Melaleuca gum, the rusty gum, the mountain Acacia, and Persoonia falcata, (R. Br. ) The basaltic rockwas apparently confined to the upper part of the valley, where it hadbroken through the sandstone, which composed all the ranges round ourcamp, the latitude of which I observed to be 14 degrees 23 minutes 55seconds. At our last camp, I observed a Platycercus, of the size of theMoreton Bay Rosella, with blackfront, yellow shoulders, and sea-greenbody; the female had not the showy colours of the male, and the youngones were more speckled on the back. I believe it to be the PlatycercusBrownii, GOULD. A black and white Ptilotis, the only stuffed specimen ofwhich was taken by a kite almost out of Mr. Gilbert's hand, was veryfrequent at the wells of the natives. 

During the night, a great number of flying-foxes came to revel in thehoney of the blossoms of the gum trees. Charley shot three, and we made alate but welcome supper of them. They were not so fat as those we hadeaten before, and tasted a little strong; but, in messes made at night, it was always difficult to find out the cause of any particular taste, asMaster Brown wished to get as quickly as possible over his work, and wasnot over particular in cleaning them. Platycercus versicolor (the PortEssington Parrakeet) visited, in large flocks, the blossoms of the gumtrees, and was quite as noisy through the day, as the flying-fox wasduring the night. 

Oct. 31. --When we were going to start, Brown's old horse was absent, andafter much searching, the poor brute was found lying at the opposite sideof the creek, with its back down the slope, and unable to move. Wesucceeded in turning him, and helping him to rise, but he was so weak, asto be scarcely able to stand: indeed all our cattle were tired andfoot-sore, in consequence of several days travelling over rocky ranges, and required rest. I therefore determined on remaining here a day, as noplace could be better suited for their recovery. The grass was young andvarious, the water delightfully cool, and the scattered trees were largeand shady. Numerous birds frequented the water; a species of Ptilotis, with its cheerful and pleasing note, entertained us at daybreak, as theLeatherhead with its constantly changing call and whistling did duringthe day. Dacelo cervina, GOULD, (the small laughing Jackass) was notheard so frequently nor so regularly as its representative of the eastcoast. I found a species of fern (Taeniopsis) along the creek, and aspecies of Mimosa about three feet high had been observed on the plainsand the flats of the Roper. Charley and Brown went to shoot flying-foxes, and returned at luncheon with twelve; during the afternoon, they wentagain and brought in thirty more; having left about fifty hanging, wounded, on the trees. They had been at a large swamp and a pond, connected with the creek, in which Charley declared that he had seen astrange animal "with two horns, " and which had deterred him from goinginto the water. As Brown, on the following day, saw a crocodile in thesame pond, Charley's imagination had very probably added two horns to hiswonderful animal. 

CHAPTER XIV

INTERVIEW WITH A NATIVE--DISTRESSING HEAT--A HORSE STAKED: ITDIES--MYRIADS OF FLYING-FOXES--MAGNIFICENT VALLEY--FRIENDLY NATIVES--SHOTEXHAUSTED--INSTINCT OF BULLOCKS--SOUTH ALLIGATOR RIVER--FRIENDLY NATIVESWITH AN ENGLISH HANDKERCHIEF, AND ACQUAINTED WITH FIRE-ARMS--THEIRLANGUAGE--MIRAGE. 

Nov. 1. --We reached lat. 14 degrees 16 minutes 17 seconds, havingtravelled about nine miles north-west by north. A range composed of bakedsandstone, approached so close to the banks of "Flying-Fox Creek, " thatwe were obliged to cross the range; to the east-ward of which tea-treeflats extended, with many deep but dry water-holes, fringed with finedrooping tea-trees. The country farther on, was well grassed and lightlytimbered. Winding round isolated ranges on a N. N. W. Course, we came againon the Pandanus creek, which we followed. This creek was joined byseveral other sandy creeks, also by dry channels fringed with Pandanus, and by chains of water-holes, in which Typhas (bullrush) indicated theunderground moisture. Some long-stretched detached hills were seen to thenorthward, and a long range to the eastward, trending from south tonorth. The flat valley between them was scattered over with groves ofPandanus. A high stiff grass covered the approaches of the creeks, andlong tracts, which had been burnt some time ago, were now covered withdelightful verdure. This, with the dark green belt of trees which markedthe meanderings of several creeks, gave to this beautiful country theaspect of a large park. I was following one of the sandy creeks, when Mr. Calvert called my attention to a distant belt of Pandanus, which hesupposed to be a river; I sent Mr. Roper to examine it; and, when thedischarge of his rifle apprized us that he had met with water, wefollowed him. It was a broad creek, with a stream about three feet deep, and from seven to ten yards wide, with a firm and sandy bed; its bankswere shaded by large gum-trees, and Sarcocephalus; and thick reeds, and astiff blady grass fringed its waters. The frequent smoke which rose fromevery part of the valley, showed that it was well inhabited. Brown mettwo natives, with their gins and children, but they ran away as soon asthey saw him. At sunset, a great number of them had collected near ourcamp, and set fire to the grass, which illumined the sky, as it spread inevery direction. They tried to frighten us, by imitating a howling chorusof native dogs; but withdrew, when they saw it was of no avail; at allevents, they left us undisturbed during the night--except by one of theirdogs, which had been attracted probably by the scent of our flying-foxsupper. John and Charley had remained behind to shoot flying-foxes, andthey returned at sunset, with twenty-nine; which furnished us with a goodbreakfast and dinner. The night was clear, and a strong warm breeze setin at a quarter to nine, from the N. N. E. It was as full and steady asthose winds we had experienced at Peak Range, and at the Mackenzie. Although we had seen the heads of only one branch of the Roper, I feelconvinced that this creek, which was no doubt joined by that at which weencamped the day before, belonged equally to that river. 

Nov. 2. --We travelled about eight miles and a half north 30 degrees westalong the creek, cutting however one of its bends by crossing somebasaltic ridges with a flat summit; from which two almost parallel rangeswere seen to the westward, one near, and the other blue in the distance. To the northward, two mountains appeared, from which the creek seemed totake its principal rise. The creek wound between baked sandstone hills, and was alternately enlarging into Nymphaea ponds, and running in a smallstream over a pebbly or sandy bed. Pandanus, drooping tea-trees, Terminalias, Acacias, and Sarcocephalus gave it a rich green appearance. The apple-gum and Eugenia, with ribbed scarlet fruit, grew on the flats. Methorium Endl. Was found, in leaf and size resembling the hazel-nut; ithad showy red and white blossoms. The clustered fig-tree was abundantalong the creek; but its ripe fruits were rare at this time of the year. 

A small fish, a species of Gristes, about six inches long, was seen inthe Nymphaea ponds, but we could not induce it to bite. 

At 9 o'clock P. M. We felt again a strong warm breeze from north by east;but at 2 o'clock in the morning, a fine cool breeze, quite bracing andrefreshing, blew from the westward. 

A flight of wild geese came down the creek, at about 2 o'clock in themorning, which made me suppose that the creek was an outlet of some largelagoons, like those in the valley of the Burdekin. 

Nov. 3. --We continued our course up the creek, for nine or ten miles, tolat. 14 degrees 2 minutes 46 seconds. Its stream still continued; but thevalley became narrower, and the Pandanus and drooping tea-trees rarer. Ponds and water-holes extended along the foot of the ridges, in adirection parallel to the creek. The broad-leaved Terminalia was inblossom. Polyphragmon, which was first met with at the upper Lynd; Careyaarborea, Hakea arborescens, and Coniogeton arborescens, were observed. White cockatoos were numerous, but shy. A pale green horse-fly annoyed usas well as our horses. 

The ridges were not very high, and all were composed of baked sandstone;at the left side of the creek, near our camp, there was a chain ofconical hills. 

As we were travelling along, a native suddenly emerged from the banks ofthe creek, and, crossing our line of march, walked down to a Nymphaeapond, where he seemed inclined to hide himself until we had passed. Icooeed to him; at which he looked up, but seemed to be at a loss what todo or say. I then dismounted, and made signs to show my friendlydisposition: then he began to call out, but, seeing that I motioned awaymy companions with the horses and bullocks, as I moved towards him, andthat I held out presents to him, he became more assured of his safety, and allowed me to come near and put some brass buttons into his hand. Iunderstood him to ask whether we were following the creek, and I answered"Brrrrrr aroma aroma!!" pointing at the same time with a long sweep tothe northward. As, however, we were equally unintelligible to each other, and he did not appear to be very communicative, I mounted mycream-coloured horse, and left him staring at me in silence until I wasout of sight. We encamped at noon, under two wide-spreading Sarcocephalustrees, whose grateful shade offered us a shelter from the scorching sun. But, as the sun got low, the shades of the oval crown of the trees drewrapidly off, and we had to lean against the shady side of the butt toobtain relief from the heat, which had so enervating an effect upon usthat the slightest exertion was painful. After sunset, however, in thecomparative coolness of the evening, our animal spirits revived; and itwas only during that part of the day, and in the early morning beforesunrise, that I felt inclined to attend to any business that requiredmuch bodily exertion. It was a great enjoyment indeed to lie devoid ofany covering on our couch, and watch the fading tints of sunset. Theusual, and therefore expected, night breeze did not set in; but, abouthalf-past 10 o'clock P. M. , there was a slight stir in the atmosphere, accompanied with a sense of moisture, as if a distant thunder-storm hadoccurred, and interrupted the usual progress of the breeze. 

Nov. 4. --We travelled about seven miles, north-west by north, to lat. 13degrees 56 minutes 46 seconds. After following the creek about a mile, itturned so far to the westward that I left it, and with much difficultyascended the ranges to the northward: from their highest elevation, I sawthat a high range, trending from south-east to north-west, bounded thevalley of the creek I had left; another fine range was seen to theeastward. Following a gully, we descended into the valley of a creekflowing to the southward, and which probably joined the creek I had leftbelow the place of our last encampment. In the lower part of the gully, we came upon some fine Nymphaea ponds and springs surrounded by ferns. The whole valley, though narrow, was beautifully grassed. Trichodesma, Grewia, Crinum, and the trefoil of the Suttor, grew on the flats; theapple-gum, rusty-gum, the mountain Acacia and Fusanus, the last inblossom, grew on the ridges. 

The rock was a baked sandstone; in the pebbles of the creek I found theimpressions of bivalves (one ribbed like Cardium). 

Our bullocks had become so foot-sore, and were so oppressed by theexcessive heat, that it was with the greatest difficulty we could preventthem from rushing into the water with their loads. One of them--thatwhich carried the remainder of my botanical collection--watched hisopportunity, and plunged into a deep pond, where he was quietly swimmingabout and enjoying himself, whilst I was almost crying with vexation atseeing all my plants thoroughly soaked. 

Nov. 5. --We travelled in all about eleven miles N. 55 degrees W. Tolatitude 13 degrees 50 minutes. After following the creek, on which wehad encamped, to its head, we passed over a scrubby stringy-bark forest;and, whenever we came to watercourses going to the eastward, we turned tothe north-west and westward. We passed several sandstone hills and ridgesrising out of this sandy table land, and attempted to cross one of them, but our path was intercepted by precipices and chasms, forming aninsurmountable barrier to our cattle. We, therefore, followed awatercourse to the southward, winding between two ranges to the westwardand southward, and continued again to the north-west, which brought us toa tributary of the creek we had just left, and in which we found largewater-holes covered with Nymphaeas and Villarsias. 

The strata of the range which we ascended, dipped to the south-west; inwhich direction I saw a high range, probably the continuation of the oneI had observed at yesterday's stage along Roper's Creek. 

The Melaleuca-gum, the Cypress-pine, Fusanus and Banksia abounded in thestringy-bark forest, and along the creeks; and the flats round thewater-holes were covered with a dark green sedge, which, however, ourcattle did not relish so much as, from its inviting verdure, I hadanticipated would have been the case. The remains of fresh-water turtleswere frequently noticed in the camps of the natives; and Mr. Calvert hadseen one depicted with red ochre on the rocks. It is probable that thisanimal forms a considerable part of the food of the natives. John Murphyreported that he had seen a hut of the natives constructed of sheets ofstringy-bark, and spacious enough to receive our whole party; the hutswhich I had observed were also very spacious, but covered with tea-treebark. Smoke from the natives' fires was seen from the range in everydirection, and their burnings invariably led us to creeks. 

Charley shot a rock wallabi of a different species from any we hadpreviously seen: it was of a light grey colour; the tail was smooth, andits black tip was more bushy than in other species; there were two whitespots on the shoulder; it was smaller than those of Ruined Castle Creek, and the red wallabies of the Mitchell and of the shores of the gulf. Johnshot a large Iguana of remarkably bright colours, which were perhapsowing to a late desquamation of the skin. 

Nov. 6. --We travelled fourteen miles N. 30 degrees W. To latitude 13degrees 38 minutes 28 seconds, and encamped in a little creek, at thehead of which was a grassy drooping tea-tree swamp. We left all theeastern water-courses to the right, and followed several which went downto the southward, up to their heads. The country, with the exception ofthe ridges which bounded the narrow valleys of watercourses, was a sandylevel stringy-bark forest, interspersed with Melaleuca-gum and leguminousIronbark; saplings of which formed large tracts of a low open under-wood. We had passed a large but dry swamp, having no outlet, and surroundedwith Pandanus, when Brown called my attention to an opening in theforest, and to a certain dim appearance of the atmosphere peculiar toextensive plains and valleys. Travelling in that direction we soon foundourselves at the margin of the sandy table-land, from which we overlookeda large valley bounded by high ranges to the westward. We then followed avery rocky creek, in its various windings, in search of water; Grallinaaustralis called four times, and deceived us each time; and cockatoos, and pigeons, and finches, all proved false prophets. However, about fivemiles farther, we found a small pool, at which natives had very recentlyencamped, and, three miles farther, two fine water-holes fringed withPandanus. 

Our bullocks and horses were very foot-sore, and could scarcely move overthe rocky ground. 

The ridges at the head of this western creek were covered with anarborescent Capparis, the ripe fruit of which tasted very likestrawberries; but those which were not ripe were very pungent. Anotherlittle tree, belonging to the Hamelieae D. C. , with large white fragrantblossoms, and fruit about two inches long and one broad, with numerousseeds nestling in a pulpy substance, was very abundant. In its ripestate, the pulp turned black; I ate some of it, but although it proved tobe harmless, it was not good. The little bread-fruit of the upper Lynd, no doubt belonged to the same class of plants. 

I believe that all the creeks which we passed since leaving the Roper, still belonged to that river; and that the western creek and all thewestern waters we met, until reaching the South Alligator river, belongedto the system of the latter. The division of the eastern and westernwaters was, according to my reckoning, in longitude 133 degrees 35minutes. 

Nov. 7. --We followed the creek for about four or five miles, and haltedat a well-grassed spot with good water-holes, in order to kill one of ourbullocks, and allow the other two and the horses to recover. The poorbrute was fairly knocked up and incapable of going any farther, evenwithout a load. Some of my readers may wonder that our bullocks shouldsuffer so much when travelling through a country both well grassed andwell watered, and by such short stages; but they should consider theclimate in which we travelled, and the excessive heat to which we wereexposed. The rocky nature of the ground contributed no less to theirfoot-weariness and exhaustion. If I could have rested two or three daysout of seven, the animals would have had time to recover, and would havedone comparatively well. But, independent of the fatigues of travelling, the relaxing and enervating influence of the climate was as visible inour cattle as in ourselves. 

The apple-gum, a bloodwood, and the poplar-gum(?) grew round our camp;the grasses were tender, but formed distinct tufts; Crinum was plentiful. 

The night breeze set in at a quarter to 9 o'clock from north-east, ornorth by east, strong, full and warm; there was a slight moisture in theair before daybreak, which rendered our almost dry meat a little dampagain. 

We were occupied during the 8th Nov. In drying our meat, mending andwashing our things, and arranging the few loads which were left. 

Nov. 9. --We travelled down the creek in a south-west course, for aboutnine miles. Low sandstone ranges bounded its valley to the southward andsouth-east; stony ridges with stunted trees and Cypress-pine extended tothe north-west. The banks of the creek, which I called "Snowdrop'sCreek, " after the bullock we had killed, were grassy and open; it waswell provided with water. A pretty little Sida, a Convolvolus, andGrewia, were growing amongst the young grass. Mr. Calvert saw theLivistona palm. 

We felt a breeze from the eastward during the afternoon, as usual, andthe strong night breeze from north and north-east; but, in the morning, awind from north-west and west, which belonged probably to another systemof atmospherical movements. 

A swarm of whistling ducks (Leptotarsis Eytoni, GOULD. ) passed during thenight from down the creek to the eastward, which made me suppose thatSnowdrop's Creek was either joined by large creeks with water, or thatitself joined a larger river. The black Ibis was frequent at thewater-hole. 

Nov. 10. --We travelled about six miles and a half N. N. W. The creekturned so far to the westward and southward, that I left it, and crossedsome ridges, beyond which a very rocky creek going down to Snowdrop'sCreek, intercepted our course. Having crossed it with great difficulty, we travelled through a scrubby forest, and came to the heads of the samecreek, several of which were formed by swamps. Here the droopingtea-tree, growing in a sandy peat, attained a stately height. The sandyslopes around the swamps were covered with Banksia, the Melaleuca gum, and Pandanus, and a rich profusion of grasses and low sedges surroundedthe deep pools of spring water. These spots, which bore the marks ofbeing much visited by the natives, were like oases in the dry, dull, sandy forest, and formed delightful shady groves, pleasing to everysense. Kangaroos and various birds, particularly the white cockatoo, werenumerous; and the little bees came like flies on our hands, on my paper, and on our soup plates, and indicated abundance of honey; a small speciesof Cicada had risen from its slumbers, and was singing most cheerfully. One of our horses was seriously staked in the belly, by someunaccountable accident; I drew a seton through the large swelling, although, considering its exhausted state, I entertained but a slighthope of its recovery. 

Nov. 11. --We accomplished about ten miles in a direct line, but on a longand fatiguing circuitous course. Starting in a northerly direction, wepassed over some rocky ground, but soon entered into a sandy level, covered with scrubby, stringy-bark forest, intermixed with Melaleuca gum. At the distance of four miles I came to a rocky creek going to thewestward, which I followed. From one of the hills which bounded itsnarrow valley, I had a most disheartening, sickening view over atremendously rocky country. A high land, composed of horizontal strata ofsandstone, seemed to be literally hashed, leaving the remaining blocks infantastic figures of every shape; and a green vegetation, crowdingdeceitfully within their fissures and gullies, and covering half of thedifficulties which awaited us on our attempt to travel over it. Thecreek, in and along the bed of which we wound slowly down, was frequentlycovered with large loose boulders, between which our horses and cattleoften slipped. A precipice, and perpendicular rocks on both sides, compelled us to leave it; and following one of its tributary creeks toits head, to the northward, we came to another, which led us down to ariver running to the west by south. With the greatest difficulty we wentdown its steep slopes, and established our camp at a large water-hole inits bed. The longitude of the river was, according to my reckoning, 133degrees 6 minutes. 

A new species of rock pigeon (Petrophassa, GOULD. ) with a dark brownbody, primaries light brown without any white, and with the tail feathersrather worn, lived in pairs and small flocks like Geophaps, and flew outof the shade of overhanging rocks, or from the moist wells which thenatives had dug in the bed of the creek, around which they clustered likeflies round a drop of syrup. A fine shady Eucalyptus, with a shortbarrel, but large spreading branches, and with the grey bark of the box, grew between the rocks along the creek. 

Nov. 12. --We had been compelled to leave the injured horse behind, andupon going this morning with Charley to fetch it to the camp, we foundthe poor brute dead. On our return to the camp, we followed another creekto the northward, which also joined the river, about eight miles to theeastward of our camp. The river was densely covered with scrub, andalmost perpendicular cliffs bounded its valley on both sides. Myriads offlying-foxes were here suspended in thick clusters on the highest treesin the most shady and rather moist parts of the valley. They started aswe passed, and the flapping of their large membranous wings produced asound like that of a hail-storm. 

Nov. 13. --The two horses ridden by Charley and myself yesterday, hadsuffered so severely, that I had to allow them a day of rest to recover. In the mean time, I went with Charley and Brown to the spot where we hadseen the greatest number of flying-foxes, and, whilst I was examining theneighbouring trees, my companions shot sixty-seven, of which fifty-fivewere brought to our camp; which served for dinner, breakfast, andluncheon, each individual receiving eight. The flying-fox lived here on asmall, blue, oval stone-fruit, of an acid taste, with a bitter kernel; itgrew on a tree of moderate size. Very small specimens of the Seaforthiapalm were here observed for the first time; and the large scarlet fruitof Eugenia was found. 

During the night, we heard the first grumbling of thunder since manymonths. 

Nov. 14. --We travelled about twelve miles north by west. After crossingthe river, we followed a rocky creek to its head, and passed over tenmiles of level sandy country of stringy-bark forest, with Melalcuca gumand Banksia, interrupted only by a small Pandanus creek. At the end ofthe stage, we came to rocky creeks, one of which headed in a droopingtea-tree swamp, with rich vegetation, but without water. The creek, whichwe followed down for two miles, there changed its character, andmeandered through sandy, well-grassed flats, and contained some goodwater-holes, on which we encamped. John told me that he had found theripe fruit of Exocarpus cupressiformis; which I doubted very much, as Ihad not seen the slightest trace of it since we left the Dawson, althoughExocarpus latifolia was very frequent all over the sandy table-land. Butwe gathered and ate a great quantity of gibong (the ripe fruit ofPersoonia falcata), and some small yellow figs of the glossy-leavedfig-tree. I observed a Eucalyptus of rather stunted growth, with broad, almost oval leaves, and long, narrow seed-vessels. 

During the night, thunder clouds and lightning were seen in everydirection; and the whole atmosphere appeared to be in a state offermentation. Heavy showers poured down upon us; and our tarpaulings, which had been torn to pieces in travelling through the scrub, werescarcely sufficient to keep ourselves and our things dry. But in themorning of the 15th, all nature seemed refreshed; and my depressedspirits rose quickly, under the influence of that sweet breath ofvegetation, which is so remarkably experienced in Australia, where thenumerous Myrtle family, and even their dead leaves, contribute so largelyto the general fragrance. This day we travelled about six miles to the W. N. W. 

Our course, however, was for three miles to the northward, over a sandylevel forest, intercepted by several rocky creeks. The third which wecame to, I followed down to the westward, and came to a large creek, which soon joined a still larger one from the eastward. Both were wellprovided with water; and we encamped at a very large hole under a ledgeof rock across the bed of the creek; and which probably formed a finewaterfall during the rainy season. 

Thunder-storms formed to the southward and northward; but we had only afew drops of rain. It was remarkable to observe that those to thesouthward vered round to the south-west by west, whereas those to thenorthward veered round to the north-east and east. 

Nov. 16. --We travelled nine miles north-west by north; crossed numerousrocky creeks, and some undulating country; and had a most distressingpassage over exceedingly rocky ranges. At the end of the stage, we cameto a large Pandanus creek, which we followed until we found some finepools of water in its bed. My companions had, for several days past, gathered the unripe fruits of Coniogeton arborescens, Br. ; which, whenboiled, imparted an agreeable acidity to the water, and when thusprepared tasted tolerable well. When ripe, they became sweet and pulpy, like gooseberries, although their rind was not very thick. Thisresemblance induced us to call the tree "The little Gooseberry tree. " Atthe table land, and along the upper South Alligator River, it was a treefrom twenty-five to thirty feet high, with a fresh green shady foliage;but, at the Cobourg Peninsula, it dwindled into a low shrub. The fruitwas much esteemed there by the natives; for, although the tree was ofsmaller size, the fruit was equally large and fine. 

Nov. 17. --We travelled four or five miles through Banksia, andMelaleuca-gum forest, crossed several rocky creeks; and followed down thelargest of them; which in its whole extent was exceedingly rocky. Therock was generally in horizontal layers. There were many high falls inthe bed, which compelled me to leave the creek, and proceed on the risingground along its banks, when suddenly the extensive view of a magnificentvalley opened before us. We stood with our whole train on the brink of adeep precipice, of perhaps 1800 feet descent, which seemed to extend farto the eastward. A large river, joined by many tributary creeks comingfrom east, south-east, south-west and west, meandered through the valley;which was bounded by high, though less precipitous ranges to the westwardand south-west from our position; and other ranges rose to the northward. I went on foot to the mouth of the creek; but the precipice prevented mymoving any farther; another small creek was examined, but with the sameresult. We were compelled to move back, and thence to reconnoitre for afavourable descent. Fortunately the late thunder-storms had filled agreat number of small rocky basins in the bed of the creek; and, althoughthere was only a scanty supply of a stiff grass, our cattle had filledthemselves sufficiently the previous night to bear a day's privation. Inthe afternoon, Charley accompanied me on foot in a northerly direction(for no horse could move between the large loose sandstone blocks), andwe examined several gullies and watercourses, all of a wild and rockycharacter, and found it impossible to descend, in that direction, intothe valley. Charley shot a Wallooroo just as it was leaping, frightenedby our footsteps, out of its shady retreat to a pointed rock. Whilst onthis expedition, we observed a great number of grasshoppers, of a brightbrick colour dotted with blue: the posterior part of the corselet, andthe wings were blue; it was two inches long, and its antennae threequarters of an inch. 

Nov. 18. --We returned to the creek in which we had encamped on the 16th, and pitched our tents a little lower down, where some rich feed promisedour cattle a good treat. Immediately after luncheon, I started again withCharley down the creek, myself on horseback, but my companion on foot. Itsoon became very rocky, with gullies joining it from both sides; but, after two miles, it opened again into fine well-grassed lightly timberedflats, and terminated in a precipice, as the others had done. A greatnumber of tributary creeks joined it in its course, but all formedgullies and precipices. Many of these gullies were gently slopinghollows, filled with a rich black soil, and covered with an open brushvegetation at their upper part; but, lower down, large rocks protruded, until the narrow gully, with perpendicular walls, sunk rapidly into thedeep chasm, down which the boldest chamois hunter would not have dared todescend. I now determined to examine the country to the southward; and, as it was late and my horse very foot-sore, I remained for the night atthe next grassy flat, and sent Charley back to order my companions toremove the camp next morning as far down the creek as possible, in orderto facilitate the examination, which, on foot, in this climate, wasexceedingly exhausting. 

Nov. 19. --I appeased my craving hunger, which had been well tried fortwenty hours, on the small fruit of a species of Acmena which grew nearthe rocks that bounded the sandy flats, until my companions brought myshare of stewed green hide. We went about three miles farther down thecreek, and encamped in the dense shade of a wide spreading Rock box, atree which I mentioned a few days since. From this place I started withBrown in one direction, and Charley in another, to find a passage throughthe labyrinth of rocks. After a most fatiguing scramble up and down rockygullies, we again found ourselves at the brink of that beautiful valley, which lay before us like a promised land. We had now a more extensiveview of its eastern outline, and saw extending far to our right aperpendicular wall, cut by many narrow fissures, the outlet of as manygullies; the same wall continued to the left, but interrupted by a steepslope; to which we directed our steps, and after many windings succeededin finding it. It was indeed very steep. Its higher part was composed ofsandstone and conglomerate; but a coarse-grained granite, with muchquartz and felspar, but little mica and accidental hornblende, was below. The size of its elements had rendered it more liable to decomposition, and had probably been the cause of the formation of the slope. In thevalley, the creek murmured over a pebbly bed, and enlarged from time totime, into fine sheets of water. We rested ourselves in the shade of itsdrooping tea-trees; and, observing another slope about two miles farther, went to examine it, but finding that its sandstone crest was too steepfor our purpose, we returned to mark a line of road from the first slopeto our camp. For this purpose I had taken a tomahawk with me, wellknowing how little I could rely on Brown for finding his old tracks; but, with the tomahawk, he succeeded very well; for his quick eye discovered, from afar, the practicability of the road. We succeeded at last, and, after many windings, reached our camp, even quicker than we hadanticipated. Charley returned next morning, and reported that he hadfound a descent, but very far off. This "very far off" of Charley wasfull of meaning which I well understood. 

During the night we had a very heavy thunder-storm which filled our creekand made its numerous waterfalls roar. 

Nov. 20. --We proceeded on our tree-marked line to the slope, anddescending, arrived, after some difficulty, safe and sound in the valley. Our horses and cattle were, however, in a distressing condition. Thepassage along rocky creeks, between the loose blocks of which their feetwere constantly slipping, had rendered them very foot-sore, and hadcovered their legs with sores. The feed had latterly consisted either ofcoarse grasses, or a small sedge, which they did not like. But, in thevalley, all the tender grasses reappeared in the utmost profusion, onwhich horses and bullocks fed most greedily during the short rest Iallowed them after reaching the foot of the slope. The creek formed afine waterfall of very great height, like a silver belt between richgreen vegetation, behind which the bare mountain walls alone werevisible. I proceeded down the creek about three miles to the north-west, when it joined a larger creek from the south-west. Here one of our tworemaining bullocks refused to go any further; and as our meat bags wereempty, I decided upon stopping in this favourable spot to kill thebullock. 

Careya arborea, the broad-leaved Terminalia, Coniogeton arborescens, anumbrageous white-gum tree, and Pandanus, together with the luxuriantyoung grass, gave to the country a most pleasing aspect. But the latethunder-storm had rendered the ground very damp, and that with themawkish smell of our drying meat, soon made our camp very disagreeable. In the rocky gullies of the table land, we had observed a great number ofshrubs, amongst which a species of Pleurandra, a dwarf Calythrix, aprostrate woolly Grevillea, and a red Melaleuca, were the mostinteresting. Near the slope by which we entered the valley, a species ofAchras was found, but with a much smaller fruit than that of PortJackson. 

The melodious whistle of a bird was frequently heard in the most rockyand wretched spots of the table land. It raised its voice, a slow fullwhistle, by five or six successive half-notes; which was very pleasing, and frequently the only relief while passing through this most perplexingcountry. The bullock was killed in the afternoon of the 20th, and on the21st the meat was cut up and put out to dry; the afternoon was veryfavourable for this purpose; but, at night rain set in, and with thesultry weather rendered the meat very bad. The mornings were generallysultry and cloudy; during the afternoon the clouds cleared off with thesea-breeze: and towards sunset thunder-storms rose, and the nights wererainy, which prevented me from making observations to ascertain mylatitude. The longitude of the descent, was, according to reckoning, 132degrees 50 minutes. A little before sunset of the 21st four natives cameto our camp; they made us presents of red ochre, which they seemed tovalue highly, of a spear and a spear's head made of baked sandstone (GRESLUSTRE). In return I gave them a few nails; and as I was under thenecessity of parting with every thing heavy which was not of immediateuse for our support, I also gave them my geological hammer. One of thenatives was a tall, but slim man; the others were of smaller size, butall had a mild and pleasing expression of countenance. 

Large fish betrayed their presence in the deep water by splashing duringthe night: and Charley asserted that he had seen the tracks of acrocodile. Swarms of whistling ducks occupied the large ponds in thecreek: but our shot was all used, and the small iron-pebbles which wereused as a substitute, were not heavy enough to kill even a duck. Someballs, however, were still left, but these we kept for occasions ofurgent necessity. 

Nov. 22. --As our meat was not sufficiently dry for packing we remainedhere the whole of this day; but, at night, the heaviest thunder-storm weperhaps had ever experienced, poured down and again wetted it; wesucceeded, however, notwithstanding this interruption, in drying itwithout much taint; but its soft state enabled the maggots to nestle init; and the rain to which it had been exposed, rendered it very insipid. 

Poor Redmond, the last of our bullocks, came frequently to the spot wherehis late companion had been killed; but finding that he was gone, hereturned to his abundant feed, and when I loaded him to continue ourjourney down the river he was full and sleek. It was interesting toobserve how the bullocks on all previous occasions, almost invariablytook cognizance of the place where one of their number had been killed. They would visit it either during the night or the next day, walk roundthe spot, lift their tails, snuff the air with an occasional shake oftheir horns, and sometimes, set off in a gallop. 

Nov. 23. --We travelled about eight miles north-west over an equally finecountry. A high range of Pegmatite descended from the table land far intothe valley, from east to west; and an isolated peak was seen to the westof it at the left bank of the river. 

The Eugenia with scarlet fruit, and another species with rose-colouredfruit, of most exquisite taste--particularly when the seed was abortive, and the pericarp more developed--were abundant on the flats of the river;and Aemena?, with smaller fruit and thin acidulous rind, grew stragglingon the ridges. 

A thunder-storm from the north-east, compelled us to hasten into camp;and we had scarcely housed our luggage, when heavy rain set in andcontinued to fall during the first part of the night. 

Nov. 24. --We travelled about nine miles to the north-west, to lat. 13degrees 5 minutes 49 seconds, which a clear night enabled me to observeby a meridian altitude of Castor. We were, according to my latitude, andto my course, at the South Alligator River, about sixty miles from itsmouth, and about one hundred and forty miles from Port Essington. 

The river gradually increased in size, and its bed became densely fringedwith Pandanus; the hollows and flats were covered with groves of droopingtea-trees. Ridges of sandstone and conglomerate approached the river inseveral places, and at their base were seen some fine reedy and rushylagoons, teeming with water-fowl. A flock of black Ibises rose from amoist hollow; white and black cockatoos, were seen and heard frequently. At day-break, I was struck with the sweet song of Rhipidura flaviventris, GOULD. 

The natives cooeed from the other side of the river, probably toascertain whether we were friendly or hostile; but did not showthemselves any farther. They were Unio eaters to a great extent, judgingfrom the heaps of shells we saw along the river; the species of Unio onwhich they lived, was much smaller than that we had observed on theRoper. John and Charley saw a native in the bed of the river, busilyemployed in beating a species of bark, very probably to use its fibres tostrain honey. He did not interrupt his work, and either did not see them, or wished to ignore their presence. The horse flies began to be verytroublesome, but the mosquitoes fortunately did not annoy us, notwithstanding the neighbourhood of the river, and the late rains. Charley and Brown shot five geese, which gave us a good breakfast andluncheon. 

A strong breeze from the northward set in late every afternoon, since wehad descended into the valley of the South Alligator River. 

Nov. 25. --We travelled about seven miles and a half N. W. By W. , to lat. 13 degrees 0 minutes 56 seconds. I intended to follow the sandy bergue ofthe river, but a dense Pandanus brush soon compelled us to return, and tohead several grassy and sedgy swamps like those we passed on the laststage. Chains of small water-holes, and Nymphaea ponds, ran parallel tothe river; and very extensive swamps filled the intervals between ratherdensely wooded ironstone ridges, which seemed to be spurs of a more hillycountry, protruding into the valley of the river. Some of these swampswere dry, and had a sound bottom, allowing our cattle to pass withoutdifficulty. Others, however, were exceedingly boggy, and dangerous forboth horse and man; for Charley was almost suffocated in the mud, inattempting to procure a goose he had shot. The swamps narrowed towardsthe river, and formed large and frequently rocky water-holes, in a welldefined channel, which, however, became broad and deep where itcommunicated with the river, and which in many places rivalled it insize. A belt of drooping tea-trees surrounded the swamps, whilst theiroutlets were densely fringed with Pandanus. The Livistona palm andCochlospermum gossypium grew on the ridges; the tea-tree, thestringy-bark, the leguminous Ironbark and Eugenia were useful timber. Thewhole country was most magnificently grassed. 

A Porphyritic sienite cropped out at the head of the first swamp, about amile from our last camp. 

We had cut our rifle balls into slugs, with which Charley and Brown shotthree geese (Anseranus melanoleuca, GOULD). 

A low range was seen at the south-east end of the large swamp on which weencamped. 

Nov. 26. --We travelled about nine miles and a half N. N. W. To lat. 12degrees 51 minutes 56 seconds. After having once more seen the river, where it was joined by the broad outlet of a swamp, I turned to thenorthward, and passed over closely-wooded and scrubby ridges of ironstoneand conglomerate, with pebbles and pieces of quartz covering the ground. Livistona inermis, R. Br. Formed small groves; and Pandanus covered thehollows and banks of two small creeks with rocky water-holes going to thewestward. About six miles from our last camp, an immense plain openedbefore us, at the west side of which we recognized the green line of theriver. We crossed the plain to find water, but the approaches of theriver were formed by tea-tree hollows, and by thick vine brush, at theoutside of which noble bouquets of Bamboo and stately Corypha palmsattracted our attention. In skirting the brush, we came to a salt-watercreek (the first seen by us on the north-west coast), when we immediatelyreturned to the ridges, where we met with a well-beaten foot-path of thenatives, which led us along brush, teeming with wallabies, and throughundulating scrubby forest ground to another large plain. Here the noiseof clouds of water-fowl, probably rising at the approach of some natives, betrayed to us the presence of water. We encamped at the outskirts of theforest, at a great distance from the large but shallow pools, which hadbeen formed by the late thunder-showers. The water had received adisagreeable sour aluminous taste from the soil, and from the dung ofinnumerable geese, ducks, native companions, white cranes, and variousother water-fowl. The boggy nature of the ground prevented our horses andthe bullock from approaching it; and they consequently strayed very farin search of water. In the forest land, the Torres Straits pigeon(Carpophaga luctuosa, GOULD, ) was numerous. At sunset, Charley returnedto the camp, accompanied by a whole tribe of natives. They were armedwith small goose spears, and with flat wommalas; but, although they wereextremely noisy, they did not show the slightest hostile intention. Oneof them had a shawl and neckerchief of English manufacture: and anothercarried an iron tomahawk, which he said he got from north-west by north. They knew Pichenelumbo (Van Diemen's Gulf), and pointed to the north-westby north, when we asked for it. I made them various presents: and theygave us some of their ornaments and bunches of goose feathers in return, but showed the greatest reluctance in parting with their throwing sticks(wommalas. ) They were inclined to theft, and I had to mount Brown onhorseback to keep them out of our camp. 

Nov. 27. --The natives returned very early to our camp, and took thegreatest notice of what we were eating, but would not taste anything weoffered them. When Brown returned with our bullock, the beast rushed atthem, and pursued them for a great distance, almost goring one of theirnumber. 

We travelled about three miles and a half north-east, but had to gofairly over ten miles of ground. We followed the foot-path of the nativesfor about two miles, passing over some scrubby ridges into a series ofplains, which seemed to be boundless to the N. W. And N. N. W. A broad deepchannel of fresh water covered with Nymphaeas and fringed with Pandanus, intercepted our course; and I soon found that it formed the outlet of oneof those remarkable swamps which I have described on the precedingstages. We turned to the E. And E. S. E. Following its outline, in ordereither to find a crossing place, or to head it. The natives were verynumerous, and employing themselves either in fishing or burning the grasson the plains, or digging for roots. I saw here a noble fig-tree, underthe shade of which seemed to have been the camping place of the nativesfor the last century. It was growing at the place where we first came tothe broad outlet of the swamp. About two miles to the eastward, thisswamp extended beyond the reach of sight, and seemed to form the wholecountry, of the remarkable and picturesque character of which it will bedifficult to convey a correct idea to the reader. Its level bed wascomposed of a stiff bluish clay, without vegetation, mostly dry, andcracked by the heat of the sun; but its depressions were still moist, andtreacherously boggy; in many parts of this extensive level, rose isolatedpatches, or larger island-like groves of Pandanus intermixed withdrooping tea-trees, and interwoven with Ipomaeas, or long belts ofdrooping tea-trees, in the shade of which reaches of shallow water, surrounded by a rich sward of grasses of the most delicate verdure, hadremained. Thousands of ducks and geese occupied these pools, and thelatter fed as they waded through the grass. We travelled for a long timethrough groves of drooping tea-trees, which grew along the outline of theswamps, but using great caution in consequence of its boggy nature. Several times I wished to communicate with the natives who followed us, but, every time I turned my horse's head, they ran away; however, findingmy difficulties increased, whilst attempting to cross the swamp, Idismounted and walked up to one of them, and taking his hand, gave him asheet of paper, on which I wrote some words, giving him to understand, aswell as I could, that he had nothing to fear as long as he carried thepaper. By this means I induced him to walk with me, but considerably inadvance of my train, and especially of the bullock; he kept manfully nearme, and pointed out the sounder parts of the swamp, until we came to alarge pool, on which were a great number of geese, when he gave me tounderstand that he wished Brown to go and shoot them; for these natives, as well as those who visited us last night, were well acquainted with theeffects of fire arms. 

We encamped at this pool, and the natives flocked round us from everydirection. Boys of every age, lads, young men and old men too, came, every one armed with his bundle of goose spears, and his throwing stick. They observed, with curious eye, everything we did, and made longexplanations to each other of the various objects presented to theirgaze. Our eating, drinking, dress, skin, combing, boiling, our blankets, straps, horses, everything, in short, was new to them, and was earnestlydiscussed, particularly by one of the old men, who amused us with hisdrollery and good humour in trying to persuade each of us to give himsomething. They continually used the words "Perikot, Nokot, Mankiterre, Lumbo Lumbo, Nana Nana Nana, " all of which we did not understand tillafter our arrival at Port Essington, where we learned that they meant"Very good, no good, Malays very far. " Their intonation was extremelymelodious, some other words, the meaning of which we could not make out, were "Kelengeli, Kongurr, Verritimba, Vanganbarr, Nangemong, Maralikilla;" the accent being always on the first syllable of the word, and all the vowels short. 

Nov. 28. --Our good friends, the natives, were with us again very early inthe morning; they approached us in long file, incessantly repeating thewords above mentioned, Perikot, Nokot, etc. Which they seemed to considera kind of introduction. After having guided us over the remaining part ofthe swamp to the firm land, during which they gave us the most evidentproofs of their skill in spearing geese--they took their leave of us andreturned; when I again resumed my course to the northward. I understoodfrom the natives that a large lake, or deep water, existed at the head ofthe swamp, far to the east and north-east. We travelled about nine milesnorth by east, to lat. 12 degrees 38 minutes 41 seconds. 

A foot-path of the natives led us through an intricate tea-tree swamp, inwhich the rush of waters had uprooted the trees, and left them strewed inevery direction, which rendered the passage exceedingly difficult. In themiddle of the swamp we saw a fine camp of oven like huts, covered withtea-tree bark. After crossing some scrubby sandstone ridges, we came to asandy creek, up which we proceeded until we found a small water-hole, which had been filled by the late thunder-storms, where we encamped. 

The weather had been very favourable since we left the upper SouthAlligator River. It was evident from the appearance of the creek and theswamps, that the rains had been less abundant here. Cumuli formed hereregularly during the afternoon, with the setting in of the north-west seabreeze, but dispersed at sunset, and during the first part of the night. Thunder clouds were seen in the distance, but none reached us. The clearnights were generally dewy. 

The country was most beautifully grassed: and a new species of Crinum, and several leguminous plants, diversified with their pretty blossoms thepleasing green of the flats and the forest. 

Since the 23rd of November, not a night had passed without long files andphalanxes of geese taking their flight up and down the river, and theyoften passed so low, that the heavy flapping of their wings wasdistinctly heard. Whistling ducks, in close flocks, flew generally muchhigher, and with great rapidity. No part of the country we had passed, was so well provided with game as this; and of which we could have easilyobtained an abundance, had not our shot been all expended. The cacklingof geese, the quacking of ducks, the sonorous note of the nativecompanion, and the noises of black and white cockatoos, and a greatvariety of other birds, gave to the country, both night and day, anextraordinary appearance of animation. We started two large native dogs, from the small pool at which we encamped; a flock of kites indicated tome the presence of a larger pool which I chose for our use; and here weshould have been tolerably comfortable, but for a large green-eyedhorse-fly, which was extremely troublesome to us, and which scarcelyallowed our poor animals to feed. 

We had a heavy thunder-storm from the north-east, which, however, soonpassed off. 

Nov. 29. --We travelled about twelve miles to the northward to lat. 12degrees 26 minutes 41 seconds, over ironstone and baked sandstone ridges, densely wooded and often scrubby. The first part of the stage was morehilly, and intersected by a greater number of creeks, going down to westand north-west, than the latter part, which was a sandy, level forest ofstringy-bark and Melaleuca gum. The little gooseberry-tree (Coniogetonarborescens, D. C. ) the leguminous Ironbark, a smooth, broad-leavedTerminalia, Calythrix, and the apple-gum, were plentiful. Livistonainermis, R. Br. Grew from twenty to thirty feet high, with a very slenderstem and small crown, and formed large groves in the stringy-bark forest. A grass, well known at the Hunter by its scent resembling that of crushedants, was here scentless; a little plant, with large, white, tubular, sweet-scented flowers, grew sociably in the forest, and received the nameof "native primrose;" a species of Commelyna, and a prostrate malvaceousplant with red flowers, and a species of Oxystelma, contributed by theirbeauty and variety to render the country interesting. 

Nov. 30. --The lower part of the creek on which we were encamped wascovered with a thicket of Pandanus; but its upper part was surrounded bygroves of the Livistona palm. As our horses had been driven far from thecamp by the grey horse-fly and by a large brown fly with green eyes, which annoyed us particularly before sunset, and shortly after sunrise, we had to wait a long time for them, and employed ourselves, in themeanwhile, with cutting and eating the tops of Livistona. Many were inblossom, others were in fruit; the latter is an oblong little stone fruitof very bitter taste. Only the lowest part of the young shoots iseatable, the remainder being too bitter. I think they affected the bowelseven more than the shoots of the Corypha palm. 

We made a short Sunday stage through a fine forest, in which Livistonabecame more and more frequent. We crossed several creeks going to thewestward; the country became more hilly, and we followed a large creekwith a good supply of rainwater, until it turned too much to thewestward, when we encamped. The clear night enabled me to make mylatitude, by an observation of Castor, to be 12 degrees 21 minutes 49seconds. We had accomplished about five miles to the northward. 

We saw two emus, and Charley was fortunate enough to shoot one of them;it was the fattest we had met with round the gulf. During the clear, dewynight, flocks of geese and ducks passed from the west to the north-east, and I anticipated that the next stage would bring us again to largeswamps. The bed of the creek on which we encamped was composed ofgranitic rock. 

CHAPTER XV

JOY AT MEETING NATIVES SPEAKING SOME ENGLISH--THEY ARE VERYFRIENDLY--ALLAMURR--DISCERNMENT OF NATIVE SINCERITY--EAST ALLIGATORRIVER--CLOUDS OF DUST MISTAKEN FOR SMOKE--IMPATIENCE TO REACH THE END OFTHE JOURNEY--NATIVES STILL MORE INTELLIGENT--NYUALL--BUFFALOES; SOURCEFROM WHICH THEY SPRUNG--NATIVE GUIDES ENGAGED; BUT THEY DESERT US--MOUNTMORRIS BAY--RAFFLES BAY--LEAVE THE PACKHORSE AND BULLOCK BEHIND--BILLWHITE--ARRIVE AT PORT ESSINGTON--VOYAGE TO SYDNEY. 

Dec. 1. --We travelled about eleven or twelve miles to the northward, forthe greater part through forest land, large tracts of which were occupiedsolely by Livistona. A species of Acacia and stringy-bark saplings formeda thick underwood. The open lawns were adorned by various plants, amongstwhich we noticed a species of Drosera, with white and red blossoms? aMitrasacme; a narrow-leaved Ruellia, the white primrose, the redprostrate malvaceous plant, a low shrubby Pleurandra, and an orchideousplant--one of the few representatives of this family in the Australiantropics; the most interesting, however, was a prostrate Grevillea, withoblong smooth leaves, and with thyrsi of fine scarlet flowers; which Iconsider to be Grevillea Goodii, R. Br. 

We crossed two small creeks, and, at the end of three miles, we came to aPandanus brook, the murmuring of whose waters over a rocky pebbly bed washeard by us at a considerable distance. A broad foot-path of the nativesled along its banks, probably to large lagoons, of which it might be theoutlet. The country became flatter, more densely wooded, and gentlysloping to the northward, when we entered a tea-tree hollow, throughwhich the mirage indicated the presence of an immense plain, which we allmistook for the Ocean. We crossed over it to a belt of trees, which Ithought to be its northern boundary. The part of the plain next to theforest-land was composed of a loose black soil, with excellent grass;farther on it was a cold clay, either covered with a stiff, dry grass, apparently laid down by the rush of water, or forming flats bare ofvegetation, which seemed to have been occasionally washed by the tide. Finding that the belt of trees was a thicket of mangroves along asalt-water creek, I returned to some shallow lagoons near the forest, thewater of which was drinkable, though brackish and aluminous. To thewestward of the plains, we saw no other limit than two very distanthills, which I took to be the two hills marked to the southward of theembouchure of the South Alligator River. To the eastward, we saw anothernarrow belt of trees; beyond which, however, the plain evidentlycontinued. Numerous pillars of smoke were seen to the westward. 

A fine north-west breeze set in at three o'clock in the afternoon, andrefreshed us, as well as the cattle, which were suffering most severelyfrom heat and fatigue. 

Dec. 2. --Whilst we were waiting for our bullock, which had returned tothe running brook, a fine native stepped out of the forest with the easeand grace of an Apollo, with a smiling countenance, and with theconfidence of a man to whom the white face was perfectly familiar. He wasunarmed, but a great number of his companions were keeping back to watchthe reception he should meet with. We received him, of course, mostcordially; and upon being joined by another good-looking little man, weheard him utter distinctly the words, "Commandant!" "come here!!" "verygood!!!" "what's your name? !!!!" If my readers have at all identifiedthemselves with my feelings throughout this trying journey; if they haveonly imagined a tithe of the difficulties we have encountered, they willreadily imagine the startling effect which these, as it were, magic wordsproduced--we were electrified--our joy knew no limits, and I was ready toembrace the fellows, who, seeing the happiness with which they inspiredus, joined, with a most merry grin, in the loud expression of ourfeelings. We gave them various presents, particularly leather belts, andreceived in return a great number of bunches of goose feathers, which thenatives use to brush away the flies. They knew the white people ofVictoria, and called them Balanda, which is nothing more than"Hollanders;" a name used by the Malays, from whom they received it. Wehad most fortunately a small collection of words, made by Mr. Gilbertwhen at Port Essington; so that we were enabled to ask for water (obert);for the road (allun); for Limbo cardja, which was the name of theHarbour. I wished very much to induce them to become our guides; and thetwo principal men, Eooanberry and Minorelli, promised to accompany us, but they afterwards changed their minds. 

My first object was to find good water, and our sable friends guided uswith the greatest care, pointing out to us the most shady road, to somewells surrounded with ferns, which were situated in some tea-tree hollowsat the confines of the plains and the forest. These wells, however, wereso small that our horses could not approach to drink, so that we had togo to another set of wells; where I was obliged to stop, as one of ourhorses refused to go any farther. This place was about four miles E. N. E. From our last camp. The wells were about six or eight feet deep, and dugthrough a sandy clay to a stiff bed of clay, on which the watercollected. It would appear that the stiff clay of the plains had beencovered by the sandy detritus of the ridges, from which the water slowlydrained to the wells. It was evident, from the pains which the nativeshad taken in digging them, that the supply of fresh water was veryprecarious. In many instances, however, I observed that they had beeninduced to do so, simply by the want of surface water in the immediateneighbourhood of places where they obtained their principal supply offood. This was particularly the case near the sea-coast, where no surfacewater is found; whilst the various fish, and even vegetable productions, attract the natives, who will, in such a case, even contract the habit ofgoing the longest possible time without water, or, at least, with verylittle, as is well shown in Mr. Eyre's journey round the AustralianBight. We had to water our horses and the bullock with the stew pot; andhad to hobble the latter, to prevent his straying, and attacking thenatives. 

The natives were remarkably kind and attentive, and offered us the rindof the rose-coloured Eugenia apple, the cabbage of the Seaforthia palm, afruit which I did not know, and the nut-like swelling of the rhizoma ofeither a grass or a sedge. The last had a sweet taste, was very mealy andnourishing, and the best article of the food of the natives we had yettasted. They called it "Allamurr" (the natives of Port Essington, "Murnatt"), and were extremely fond of it. The plant grew in depressionsof the plains, where the boys and young men were occupied the whole dayin digging for it. The women went in search of other food; either to thesea-coast to collect shell-fish, --and many were the broad paths which ledacross the plains from the forest land to the salt-water--or to thebrushes to gather the fruits of the season, and the cabbage of the palms. The men armed with a wommala, and with a bundle of goose spears, made ofa strong reed or bamboo (?), gave up their time to hunting. It seemedthat they speared the geese only when flying; and would crouch downwhenever they saw a flight of them approaching: the geese, however, knewtheir enemies so well, that they immediately turned upon seeing a nativerise to put his spear into the throwing stick. Some of my companionsasserted that they had seen them hit their object at the almostincredible distance of 200 yards: but, making all due allowance for theguess, I could not help thinking how formidable they would have been hadthey been enemies instead of friends. They remained with us the wholeafternoon; all the tribe and many visitors, in all about seventy persons, squatting down with crossed legs in the narrow shades of the trunks oftrees, and shifting their position as the sun advanced. Their wives wereout in search of food; but many of their children were with them, whichthey duly introduced to us. They were fine, stout, well made men, withpleasing and intelligent countenances. One or two attempts were made torob us of some trifles; but I was careful; and we avoided the unpleasantnecessity of showing any discontent on that head. As it grew late, andthey became hungry, they rose, and explained that they were under thenecessity of leaving us, to go and satisfy their hunger; but that theywould shortly return, and admire, and talk again. They went to thedigging ground, about half a mile in the plain, where the boys werecollecting Allamurr, and brought us a good supply of it; in return forwhich various presents were made to them. We became very fond of thislittle tuber: and I dare say the feast of Allamurr with Eooanberry's andMinorelli's tribe will long remain in the recollection of my companions. They brought us also a thin grey snake, about four feet long, which theyput on the coals and roasted. It was poisonous, and was called "Yullo. "At nightfall, after filling their koolimans with water, there being noneat their camp, they took their leave, and retired to their camping placeon the opposite hill where a plentiful dinner awaited them. They werevery urgent in inviting us to accompany them, and by way of inducement, most unequivocally offered us their sable partners. We had to take greatcare of our bullock, as the beast invariably charged the natives wheneverhe obtained a sight of them, and he would alone have prevented theirattacking us; for the whole tribe were so much afraid of him, that, uponour calling out "the bullock, " they were immediately ready to bolt; withthe exception of Eooanberry and Minorelli, who looked to us forprotection. I had not, however, the slightest fear and apprehension ofany treachery on the part of the natives; for my frequent intercoursewith the natives of Australia had taught me to distinguish easily betweenthe smooth tongue of deceit, with which they try to ensnare their victim, and the open expression of kind and friendly feelings, or those ofconfidence and respect. I remember several instances of the mostcold-blooded smooth-tongued treachery, and of the most extraordinarygullibility of the natives; but I am sure that a careful observer is morethan a match for these simple children of nature, and that he can easilyread the bad intention in their unsteady, greedy, glistening eyes. 

Dec. 3. --The natives visited us very early in the morning, with theirwives and children, whom they introduced to us. There could not have beenless than 200 of them present; they were all well made, active, generallywell-looking, with an intelligent countenance: they had in fact all thecharacters of the coast blacks of a good country; but without theirtreacherous dispositions. I started in a north-east direction; and as wewere accompanied by the natives, I led our bullock, by the noserope, behind my horse. After crossing a plain, we were stopped by a large sheetof salt-water, about three or four miles broad, at the opposite side ofwhich a low range was visible; when Eooanberry explained that we had togo far to the south-east and south, before we could cross the river, andthat we had to follow it down again at the other side. He expressed hisgreat attachment to his wife and child, and obtained leave of us toreturn to his tribe, which had already retired before him. Seeing thenecessity of heading the river, which I considered to be the EastAlligator; the longitude of which was, where we first came to it, 132degrees 40 minutes according to reckoning; I returned to the forest land, and travelled along its belt of Pandanus, to obtain a better ground forour cattle, and to avoid the scorching heat of the forenoon sun. Observing some singularly formed mountains rising abruptly out of theplains and many pillars of smoke behind them, I tried to get to them, butwas again prevented by the broad salt water. We now steered for a distantsmoke to the south-east by east, and had travelled fully seventeen mileson, or along extensive plains, when we perceived seven natives returningon a beaten foot-path, from the salt water to the forest. We cooeed--theyran! But when we had passed, and Charley stopped behind alone, they cameup to him, and, having received some presents, they showed us somemiserable wells between two tea-tree groves; after which they hastenedhome. Our cattle were tired and thirsty, but we could give them nothingto drink, except about six quarts of brackish water; which fell to theshare of our bullock. The feed, however, was rich and young, and duringthe night a heavy dew was deposited, Many flocks of geese came flying lowover the plains, which made us hope that water was not very distant. Whilst we were passing the head of a small Mangrove creek, four nativedogs, started out of a shady hole; but we looked in vain for fresh water. The plains, which were very level, with a few melon-holes, were scatteredall over with dead Limnaeas, which showed evidently, that fresh, orslightly brackish water, covered them occasionally, and for some lengthof time. Since we first entered upon the large plains of the AlligatorRivers, we had seen myriads of the small cockatoo (Cocatua sanguinea, GOULD), which retired towards night, in long flights from the plains, tothe shade of the drooping tea-trees near the shallow pools of water onwhich we encamped. We had also observed several retreats of flying-foxesin the most shady parts of the Pandanus groves, receiving frequently thefirst indication of them by the peculiar odour of the animal. 

Cumuli formed very early in the morning, and increased during the day, sending down showers of rain all round the horizon. The sea breeze set inat 3 o'clock; and the weather cleared up at sunset, and during the firstpart of the night; but after 1 o'clock A. M. Became cloudy again, withinclination to rain; heavy dew fell during the clear part of the night. 

Dec. 4. --The natives returned very early to our camp. I went up to themand made them some presents; in return for which they offered me bunchesof goose feathers, and the roasted leg of a goose, which they werepleased to see me eat with a voracious appetite. I asked for Allamurr, and they expressed themselves sorry in not having any left, and gave usto understand that they would supply us, if we would stay a day. Neitherthese natives nor the tribe of Eooanberry would touch our green hide ormeat: they took it, but could not overcome their repugnance, and tried todrop it without being seen by us. Poor fellows! they did not know howgladly we should have received it back! They were the stoutest andfattest men we had met. 

We travelled at first to the east, in the direction from which the geesehad come last night, but, arriving at ridges covered with scrubby forest, we turned to the north-east, and continued in that direction about sevenmiles and a half, over iron-stone ridges, when we again entered upon theplains of the river. Mountains and columns of smoke were seen all alongits northern banks; but we afterwards found that most of those supposedcolumns of smoke were dust raised by whirlwinds. We now followed theriver until a vine brush approached close to its bank, into the coolshade of which our bullock rushed and lay down, refusing to go anyfarther; our packhorse and most of our riding horses were also equallytired. The bed of the river had become very narrow, and the water was notquite brine, which made me hope that we should soon come to fresh water. Charley, Brown, and John, had gone into the brush to a camp offlying-foxes, and returned with twelve, which we prepared for luncheon, which allowed our bullock time to recover. They gave an almost incredibleaccount of the enormous numbers of flying-foxes, all clustering round thebranches of low trees, which drooped by the weight so near to the groundthat the animals could easily be killed with endgels. The Seaforthia palmraised its elegant crown far above the patches of vine brush which wepassed at the river side of the ridges. 

After a delay of two hours, we again started, and travelled in a duesouth direction towards some thick smoke rising between two steep andapparently isolated rocky hills: they were about four miles distant, and, when we arrived at their base, we enjoyed the pleasing sight of largelagoons, surrounded with mangrove myrtles (Stravadium), with Pandanus, and with a belt of reeds and Nelumbiums. Man, horse, and bullock, rushedmost eagerly into the fine water, determined to make up for the privationand suffering of the three last days. The lagoons were crowded withgeese, and, as the close vegetation allowed a near approach, Brown madegood use of the few slugs that were still left, and shot ten of them, which allowed a goose to every man; a great treat to my hungry party. 

Dec. 5. --I determined upon stopping for a day, to allow our cattle torecover. Every body was anxious to procure geese or flying-foxes; and, whilst three of my companions went to the flying-fox camp which we hadvisited yesterday, loaded with ironstone pebbles for shot, and full ofthe most sanguine expectations, Brown was busy at the lagoons, and evenMr. Roper stirred to try his good luck. The two met with a party ofnatives, who immediately retreated at sight of Mr. Roper; but during theafternoon they came to the other side of the lagoon opposite to our camp, and offered us some fish, a Silurus (Mao) and a tench (?) which they hadspeared in the lagoons. I made a sign for them to come over and toreceive, as presents in exchange, some small pieces of iron, tincanisters, and leather belts; which they did; but they became exceedinglynoisy, and one of them, an old rogue, tried to possess himself quietlyand openly of every thing he saw, from my red blanket to the spade andstew-pot. I consequently sent Brown for a horse, whose appearance quicklysent them to the other side of the lagoon, where they remained untilnight-fall. Brown offered them half a goose, which, however, theyrefused; probably because it was not prepared by themselves, as they werevery desirous of getting some of the geese which we had not yet cooked. Brown had shot nine geese, and our fox hunters returned with forty-fourof the small species. 

When the natives became hungry, they ate the lower part of theleaf-stalks of Nelumbium, after stripping off the external skin. Theythrew a great number of them over to us, and I could not help making arather ridiculous comparison of our situation, and our hosts, with thatof the English ambassador in China, who was treated also with Nelumbiumby its rich Mandarins. 

The natives seemed to speak a less melodious language, which might beascribed to the mountainous character of their country. I collected thefollowing names: Kobboyakka, Nobungop, Kanbinycx, Manguradja, Apirk(Apek), Yaganyin, Kolar, Kadgupa, Gnanga Gnanga. Ayir meant stone spear;Ekolpen, jagged fish-spear. 

I made the latitude of these lagoons, by an observation of Castor, 12degrees 23 minutes 19 seconds. 

Dec. 6. --The natives visited us again this morning, and it was evidentthat they had not been with their gins. They invited us to come to theircamp; but I wished to find a crossing place, and, after having tried invain to pass at the foot of the rocky hills, we found a passage betweenthe lagoons, and entered into a most beautiful valley, bounded on thewest, east, and south by abrupt hills, ranges, and rocks rising abruptlyout of an almost treeless plain clothed with the most luxuriant verdure, and diversified by large Nymphaea lagoons, and a belt of trees along thecreek which meandered through it. The natives now became our guides, andpointed out to us a sound crossing place of the creek, which proved to bethe head of the salt-water branch of the East Alligator River. Weobserved a great number of long conical fish and crab traps at thecrossing place of the creek and in many of the tributary salt-waterchannels; they were made apparently of Flagellaria. Here I took leave ofour guides: the leader of whom appeared to be "Apirk, " a young andslender, but an intelligent and most active man. We now travelled againto the northward, following the outline of the rocky ridges at the rightside of the creek; and, having again entered upon the plains, we encampedat a very broad, shallow, sedgy, boggy lagoon, surrounded with Typhas, and crowded with ducks and geese, of which Brown shot four. It was aboutfour miles east of our yesterday's camp. Numerous flocks of the Harlequinpigeon (Peristera histrionica, GOULD) came to drink at this lagoon; andinnumerable geese alighted towards the evening on the plain, and fed onthe young grass, moistened by the rain. The number of kites was in a fairproportion to that of the geese; and dozens of them were watching us fromthe neighbouring trees. 

We found a new Eugenia, a tree of rather stunted growth, with broadopposite leaves, and fruit of the size of an apple, of a delicaterose-colour, and when ripe, a most delicious refreshment during a hotday. We had frequently met with this tree on sandstone ridges, and insandy soils, but had never before found it in fruit. The day wasdistressingly hot, but we had several light showers during the afternoon. 

Dec. 7. --"Apirk, " with seven other natives, visited us again in themorning, and it seemed that they had examined the camp we had last left. They gave us to understand that we could travel safely to the northward, without meeting any other creek. Apirk carried a little pointed stick, and a flat piece of wood with a small hole in it, for the purpose ofobtaining fire. I directed my course to a distant mountain, due northfrom the camp, and travelled seven or eight miles over a large plain, which was composed of a rich dark soil, and clothed with a great varietyof excellent grasses. We saw many columns of dust raised by whirlwinds;and again mistook them for the smoke of so many fires of the natives. Butwe soon observed that they moved in a certain direction, and that newcolumns rose as those already formed drew off; and when we came nearer, and passed between them, it seemed as if the giant spirits of the plainwere holding a stately corrobori around us. They originated on a patch ofground divested of its vegetation by a late fire. There was a belt offorest to the northward, and the current of the sea-breeze coming up thevalley of the river from N. N. W. Seemed to eddy round the forest, and towhirl the unsheltered loose earth into the air. 

Towards the river, now to the west of our course, peaks, razor-backedhills, and tents, similar to those we had observed when travelling at thewest side of the river on the 3rd December (and probably the same), reappeared. To the east of the mountain, towards which we weretravelling, several bluff mountains appeared, which probably bounded thevalley of a river flowing to the northward, and disemboguing between theLiverpool and Mount Morris Bay. For the last five miles of the stage, ourroute lay through forest land; and we crossed two creeks going to theeast, and then came to rocky sandstone hills, with horizontalstratification, at the foot of which we met with a rocky creek, in thebed of which, after following it for a few miles, we found water. Thesupply was small; but we enlarged it with the spade, and obtained asufficient supply for the night. A thunder-storm formed to the northward, which drew off to the westward; but another to the north-east gave us afine shower, and added to the contents of our water-hole. A well-beatenfoot-path of the natives went down the creek to the south-east. Mylatitude, according to an observation of Castor, was 12 degrees 11minutes. 

We saw the Torres Strait pigeon; a Wallooroo and a red kangaroo(Osphranter Antilopinus, GOULD). The old camps of the natives, which wepassed in the forest, were strewed with the shells of goose eggs, whichshowed what an important article these birds formed in the culinarydepartment of the natives; and, whilst their meat and eggs served themfor food, their feathers afforded them a protection against the flieswhich swarmed round their bodies during the day. 

The arborescent Vitex with ternate leaves, which I had first met with atthe Flying-Fox Creek of the Roper, was also observed here. 

At this time we were all sadly distressed with boils, and with a pricklyheat; early lancing of the former saved much pain: the cuts and sores onthe hands festered quickly; but this depended much more on the want ofcleanliness than any thing else. A most dangerous enemy grew up amongstus in the irresistible impatience to come to the end of our journey; andI cannot help considering it a great blessing that we did not meet withnatives who knew the settlement of Port Essington at an earlier part ofour journey, or I am afraid we should have been exposed to the greatestmisery, if not destruction, by an inconsiderate, thoughtless desire ofpushing onward. 

Dec. 8. --I went to the westward, to avoid the rocky ground, and ifpossible to come into the valley of the East Alligator River, if thecountry should not open and allow me a passage to the northward, whichdirection I took whenever the nature of the country permitted. Aftercrossing the heads of several easterly creeks, we came upon a largefoot-path of the natives, which I determined to follow. It was, in allprobability, the same which went down the creek on which we had encampedlast night: it descended through a narrow rocky gully, down which I foundgreat difficulty in bringing the horses; and afterwards wound through afine forest land, avoiding the rocky hills, and touching the heads ofwesterly creeks, which were well supplied with rocky basins of water. Itthen followed a creek down into swampy lagoons, which joined the broadirregular sandy bed of a river containing large pools and reaches ofwater, lined with Pandanus and drooping tea-trees. This river came fromthe eastward, and was probably the principal branch of the East AlligatorRiver, which joined the salt-water branch we had crossed in latitudeabout 12 degrees 6 minutes. We met another foot-path at its northernbank, which led us between the river and ranges of rocky hills, over acountry abounding with the scarlet Eugenia, of which we made a richharvest. We encamped at a fine lagoon, occupied, as usual, with geese andducks, and teeming with large fish, which were splashing about during thewhole night. The situation of these lagoons was, by an observation ofCastor, in lat. 12 degrees 6 minutes 2 seconds; and about nine milesnorth-west from our last camp. 

Immediately after our arrival, Brown went to shoot some geese, and metwith two natives who were cooking some roots, but they withdrew in greathaste as soon as they saw him. Soon afterwards, however, a great numberof them came to the opposite side of the lagoon, and requested a parley. I went down to them with some presents, and a young man came over in acanoe to met me. I gave him a tin canister, and was agreeably surprisedto find that the stock of English words increased considerably; that veryfew things we had were new to him, and that he himself had been at thesettlement. His name was "Bilge. " He called me Commandant, and presentedseveral old men to me under the same title. Several natives joined us, either using the canoe, or swimming across the lagoon, and, after havingbeen duly introduced to me, I took four of them to the camp, where theyexamined everything with great intelligence, without expressing the leastdesire of possessing it. They were the most confiding, intelligent, inquisitive natives I had ever met before. Bilge himself took me by thehand and went to the different horses, and to the bullock and asked theirnames and who rode them. The natives had always been very curious to knowthe names of our horses, and repeated "Jim Crow, " "Flourbag, " "Caleb, ""Irongrey, " as well as they could, with the greatest merriment. Bilgefrequently mentioned "Devil devil, " in referring to the bullock, and Ithink he alluded to the wild buffaloes, the tracks of which we soonafterwards saw. We asked him for "Allamurr;" and they expressed theirreadiness to bring it, as soon as the children and women, who both wentunder the denomination of Piccaninies, returned to the camp. The daybeing far advanced, and their camp a good way off, they left us, afterinviting us to accompany them: but this I declined. About 10 o'clock atnight, three lads came to us with Allamurr; but they were very nearsuffering for their kindness and confidence, as the alarm of"blackfellows" at night was a call to immediate and desperate defence. Suspecting, however, the true cause of this untimely visit, I walked upto them, and led them into the camp, where I divided their Allamurrbetween us; allowing them a place of honour on a tarpauling near me forthe remainder of the night, with which attention they appeared highlypleased. The night was clear and dewy, but became cloudy with the settingof the moon. 

Dec. 9. --The natives came to our camp at break of day, and Bilgeintroduced several old warriors of a different tribe, adding always thenumber of piccaninies that each of them had; they appeared veryparticular about the latter, and one of the gentlemen corrected Bilgevery seriously when he mentioned only two instead of three. Bilge hadpromised to go with us to Balanda, but, having probably talked the matterover during the night, with his wife, he changed his intentions; butinvited us in the most urgent manner, to stay a day at their camp. Although no place could be found more favourable for feed and water, anda day's rest would have proved very beneficial to our cattle, yet ourmeat bags, on which we now solely depended, were so much reduced, thatevery day of travelling was of the greatest importance; as the nativestold us that four days would bring us to the Peninsula, and two more toBalanda. We crossed the plain to the westward, in order to avoid the lowrocks and rocky walls which bounded this fine country to the north andeast. After about three miles, however, we turned to the northward, andtravelled with ease through an open undulating forest, interrupted bysome tea-tree hollows. Just before entering the forest, Brown observedthe track of a buffalo on the rich grassy inlets between the rocks. Afterproceeding about five miles we crossed a chain of fine Nymphaea ponds;and, at five miles farther, we came upon a path of the natives, which wefollowed to the eastward, along a drooping tea-tree swamp, in the outletof which we found good water. Our lat. Was 11 degrees 56 minutes; aboutten miles and a half north by east, from Bilge's lagoon. Mitrasacmeelata, and all the other little plants I have before mentioned, weregrowing in the stringy-bark forest. A flight of whistling ducks came atnight, and alighted on the ground near our camp; but departed as soon asthey saw us moving. Tracks of buffaloes were again observed by Charley. The night was clear and very dry. 

Dec. 10. --We travelled about seven miles to the northward; but kept forthe first three miles in a N. N. W. Direction from our camp, when we cameto a small plain, with a Mangrove creek going to the westward; scarcelytwo miles farther, we crossed a drooping tea-tree swamp, of which aPandanus creek formed the outlet; and, two miles farther still, a largeplain opened upon us, in which we saw a great number of natives occupiedin burning the grass, and digging for roots. All the country interveningbetween the creeks and the plain was undulating stringy-bark forest. Ileft my companions in the shady belt of drooping tea-trees, and rode withCharley towards the natives, in order to obtain information. They were, however, only women and children, and they withdrew at my approach, although I had dismounted and left my horse far behind with Charley. Theyhad, however, allowed me to come near enough to make them understand myincessant calls for "obeit, " water, adding occasionally "Balanda; verygood; no good. " When they had disappeared in the forest, Charley camewith the horse, and we reconnoitred along the boundaries of the plain tofind water, but not succeeding, we returned; and, when opposite to theplace where I had left my companions, I cooeed for them to come over tome. My cooee was answered by natives within the forest, and, shortlyafterwards four men came running out of it, and approached us mostfamiliarly. They spoke English tolerably, knew the pipe, tobacco, bread, rice, ponies, guns, etc. ; and guided us to a fine lagoon, which I namedafter the leading man of their tribe, "Nyuall's Lagoon. " Two of thempromised to pilot us to Balanda and to "Rambal, " which meant houses. Theywere very confiding, and women and children entered for the first timefreely into our camp. 

They examined every thing, but made not the slightest attempt to rob useven of a trifle. When the women returned at night, they did not bring"Allamurr, " or, as it was here called, "Murnatt, " but plenty of"Imberbi, " the root of Convolvolus, which grow abundantly in the plain:they gave us a very seasonable supply of it, but would not taste ourdried beef, which they turned, broke, smelled, and then with a feeling ofpity and disgust returned to us. Nyuall gave an amusing account of ourstate: "You no bread, no flour, no rice, no backi--you no good! Balandaplenty bread, plenty flour, plenty rice, plenty backi! Balanda verygood!"

He, Gnarrangan, and Carbaret, promised to go with us; and the firstintended to take his wife with him. They imitated with surprisingaccuracy the noises of the various domesticated animals they had seen atthe settlement; and it was amusing to hear the crowing of the cock, thecackling of the hens, the quacking of ducks, grunting of pigs, mewing ofthe cat, etc. Evident proofs that these natives had been in Victoria. 

A heavy thunder-storm passed over at 6 o'clock P. M. And the nativeseither crowded into my tent, or covered their backs with sheets oftea-tree bark, turning them to the storm, like a herd of horses or cattlesurprised by a heavy shower in the middle of a plain. Imaru lay close tome during the night, and, in order to keep entire possession of myblanket, I had to allow him a tarpauling. 

Dec. 11. --We travelled about seven miles N. N. W. Over an immense plain, with forest land and rising ground to the eastward, in which directionfour prominent hills were seen, one of which had the abrupt peak form ofBiroa in Moreton Bay. The plain appeared to be unbounded to the westward. When we approached the forest, several tracts of buffaloes were seen;and, upon the natives conducting us along a small creek which came intothe plain from the N. N. E. , we found a well beaten path and several placeswhere these animals were accustomed to camp. We encamped at a good-sizedwater-hole in the bed of this creek, the water of which was covered witha green scum. As the dung and tracks of the buffaloes were fresh, Charleywent to track them, whilst Brown tried to shoot some Ibises, which hadbeen at the water and were now perched on a tree about 300 yards off. Atthe discharge of the gun a buffalo started out of a thicket, but did notseem inclined to go far; Brown returned, loaded his gun with ball, wentafter the buffalo and wounded him in the shoulder. When Charley came backto the camp, he, Brown and Mr. Roper pursued the buffalo on horseback, and after a long run, and some charges, succeeded in killing it. It was ayoung bull, about three years old, and in most excellent condition. Thiswas a great, a most fortunate event for us; for our meat bags were almostempty, and, as we did not wish to kill Redmond, our good companion, wehad the prospect of some days of starvation before us. We could now sharefreely with our black friends, and they had not the slightest objectionto eat the fresh meat, after baking it in their usual manner. They calledthe buffalo "Anaborro;" and stated that the country before us was full ofthem. These buffaloes are the offspring of the stock which had eitherstrayed from the settlement at Raffles Bay, or had been left behind whenthat establishment was broken up. They were originally introduced fromthe Malay islands. I was struck with the remarkable thickness of theirskin, (almost an inch) and with the solidity of their bones, whichcontained little marrow; but that little was extremely savoury. 

We had a heavy thunder-storm at 10 o'clock at night from the southward. 

Dec. 12. --Part of the meat was cut up and dried, and part of it wasroasted to take with us; a great part of it was given to the natives, whowere baking and eating the whole day; and when they could eat no moremeat, they went into the plains to collect "Imberbi" and Murnatt, to addthe necessary quantum of vegetable matter to their diet. The sultryweather, however, caused a great part of the meat to become tainted andmaggotty. Our friend Nyuall became ill, and complained of a violentheadache, which he tried to cure by tying a string tightly round hishead. 

The black ibis, cocatua, kites, crows, and a small black and whitespecies of heron, frequented our water-hole. 

The night was extremely close, and, to find some relief, I took a bath;which gave me, however, a very annoying inflammation of the eyes. 

Dec. 13. --At day break, an old man, whom Nyuall introduced to us asCommandant, came with his gin, and invited us to his camp, about twomiles off. We went to it with the intention of continuing our journey, and found a great number of women and children collected in very spacioushuts or sheds, probably with the intention of seeing us pass. They had adomestic dog, which seemed very ferocious. A little farther on, we cameto a small creek, with good water-holes, and our guides wished us tostop; but, when I told them that we were desirous of reaching Balanda assoon as possible, and added to my promise of giving them a blanket and atomahawk, that of a pint pot, Gnarrangan and Cabaret again volunteered, and pursuaded a third, of the name of Malarang, to join them. For somemiles, we followed a beaten foot-path, which skirted the large plain, andthen entered the forest, which was composed of rusty-gum, leguminousIronbark, Cochlospermum gossypium, and a small apocynaceous tree(Balfouria, Br. ); we crossed several salt-water creeks which went down toVan Diemen's Gulf. The country near these creeks, was more undulating, the soil sandy and mixed with small ironstone pebbles; fine tea-treeflats with excellent grass, on which the buffaloes fed, were frequent. Along the plain, small clusters of brush protruded into it from theforest, or covered low mounts of sea shells, mixed with a black soil. Amongst these copses, the tracks of buffaloes were very numerous. 

We travelled about ten miles north-west by north, and encamped at a smallpool of water in a creek, in which the clayey ironstone cropped out. Itswater was so impregnated with the astringent properties of the gum-trees, that Mr. Phillips boiled and drank it like tea. Before arriving at thiscreek, we had a thunder-storm, with heavy rain, from the northward. Afterpitching our tents, our guides went out, and returned with a small Iguana(Vergar), and with pods of the rose-coloured Sterculia, which theyroasted on the coals. I succeeded in saving a great part of our meat bysmoking it. 

Our horses were greatly distressed by large horse-flies, and every nowand then the poor brutes would come and stand in the smoke of our firesto rid themselves of their persevering tormentors. This want of restduring the night contributed very much to their increasing weakness;though most of them were severely galled besides, which was preventedonly in two by the most careful attention, and daily washing of theirbacks. On this stage we again passed one of those oven-like huts of thenatives, thatched with grass, which I have mentioned several times, andwhich Nyuall's tribe called "Corambal. " At the place where we encamped, the ruins of a very large hut were still visible, which indicated thatthe natives had profited by their long intercourse with the Malays andEuropeans, in the construction of their habitations. 

Dec. 14. --When we started, intending to follow the foot-path, our nativeguides remained behind; and, when I had proceeded two or three miles, mycompanions came up to me and stated, that the natives had left us, butthat they had given them to understand that the foot-path would conductus safely to Balanda. They had attempted to keep the large tomahawk, buthad given it up when Brown asked them for it. I was very sorry at theirhaving left us, as the cloudy sky had prevented me for several days fromtaking any latitude, and determining my position. We crossed a greatnumber of small creeks, coming from the eastward, and draining the ridgesof the neck of the Peninsula. Scattered Pandanus and drooping tea-treesgrew on their banks as far as the fresh water extended; when they weresucceeded by the salt-water tea-tree and the mangrove, covering andfringing their beds, which enlarged into stiff plains, withoutvegetation, or into mangrove swamps. The latter were composed ofAegiceras, Bruguiera, and Pemphis. The tracks of the buffaloes increasedin number as we advanced, and formed broad paths, leading in variousdirections, and made me frequently mistake them for the foot-path of thenatives, which I eventually lost. A course north 30 degrees west, broughtus to easterly creeks, one of which I followed down, when Brown calledout that he saw the sea. We, therefore, went to the sea-side, and foundourselves at the head of a large bay, with an island to the north-east, and with headlands stretching far into the ocean, which was open andboundless to the northward. It was Mount Morris Bay, with Valentia andCrocker's islands; the latter, however, appeared to us to be acontinuation of the main land. We now went to the north-west andwestward, until we came again on westerly waters. The country in thecentre of the neck of the Peninsula, was very hilly, and some of theridges rose, perhaps, from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feetabove the level of the sea; one or two hills were still higher. They wereall composed of a clayey ironstone, and clothed with patches of scrub, formed principally of Calythrix, and with a more open forest of Cypresspine, white-gum, tea-trees, bloodwood, Livistona palms, Pandanus, withshrubby Terminalias and Coniogetons. The grass was dry, but high anddense; and buffalo tracks spread in every direction, particularly downthe creeks, both to the eastward and westward. 

We followed a westerly creek in all its windings, in order to detectwater in one of its rocky water-holes. The rock was shaly, of a greyishcolour, like the clay shale of Newcastle above the layers of the coal, but more indurated. Patches of vine brush grew along the banks, and theirverdure led me frequently to expect the presence of water. We met, however, only with salt-water, where the mangroves commenced, and hadconsequently to continue our journey. Here we again came on the foot-pathof the natives, which skirted the mangrove swamps, and I followed it forabout three miles farther, crossed several dry watercourses, and at lastfound some pools of rain water, in a small creek. I was fortunate enoughto make my latitude by an observation of Regulus, 11 degrees 32 minutes11 seconds. 

Dec. 15. --I followed the foot-path of the natives, with the intention ofcontinuing on it, until I came in sight of Mounts Bedwell and Roe. If Ihad done so, much trouble would have been saved. But, after we hadtravelled more than three hours, the country became very hilly and ridgy, and I supposed that we were close to those mountains, but were prevented, by the ridges, from seeing them. We went consequently to the northward, and after an hour's riding over a hilly, but openly timbered country, came to an easterly creek, which we followed down, until we found anabundance of water. The upper part of this creek was very scrubby, andwith but little grass. I imagined that we had arrived at the west side ofPort Essington, and that the creek on which we encamped was probably theWarvi. To ascertain this, I rode down the creek with Charley: it becamemore open; limited flats of sandy alluvium were clothed with therefreshing verdure of young grass, and with groves of Banksias; itshollows were fringed with large drooping tea-trees. The creek itself wasa succession of shady water-holes, out of which, at our approach dashedbuffaloes, three and four at a time, shaking their muddy heads, as theyscrambled up the steep banks, and galloped to the neighbouring thickets. The stiff sedges of the salt-water, and the salt-water tea-trees, madetheir appearance about three miles from our camp; and it is probable thatthe sea was scarcely half a mile farther. High hills rose to thenorthward, openly timbered, but at their base with patches of scrub, andvery stony. Here we heard the distant cooees of natives, which weanswered, going in their direction, until we came to a camp, in which wefound an old lame man, "Baki Baki, " and a short sturdy fellow, "RamboRambo;" both of whom knew a great number of English words, and were quitefamiliar with the settlement, and knew the Commandant, Mr. Macarthur. They promised the guide us the next morning to Balanda, after having mademany inquiries about our stock of provisions and of tobacco. I made mylatitude 11 degrees 26 minutes 18 seconds, by an observation of Regulus;which, allowing a possible error of a few miles, confirmed me in mybelief, that we were at the head of the harbour; particularly as BakiBaki had told me that he had come this very morning from the settlement. 

Dec. 16. --When we arrived with our whole train at the camp of thenatives, their behaviour was quite altered, and they now showed as littleinclination to guide us to the settlement, as they had been eager lastnight to do so. I persuaded Baki Baki, however, to go, at least part ofthe way; and, when we saw that he became tired, we mounted him on one ofthe horses, and led it by the bridle. He pointed to the W. N. W. As thedirection in which the settlement lay. We travelled about five miles overstony ironstone ridges, with extensive groves of Livistona palm coveringtheir slopes. Here Baki Baki desired to dismount; and, telling us that itwas a very good road to Balanda, took his leave and returned. Soon afterwe came to a large creek full of water, running to the eastward, which wefollowed up for a long distance, before we were able to cross. Ourpack-horse became bogged, and as it was so weak that it would not evenmake an effort to extricate itself, and as I supposed that we were nearthe settlement, we took off its pack-saddle and load, and left it behind. We crossed two or three more watercourses; and continued the coursepointed out by the native, until it became very late, and I found myselfcompelled to look for water; particularly as our bullock showed evidentsymptoms of becoming knocked up. I therefore followed the fall of thecountry to the north-east; and, in a short time, came to the sea-side. Wecompared our little map of the harbour of Port Essington with theconfiguration of the bay before us, but nothing would agree exactly, although it bore a general resemblance to Raffles Bay. 

A narrow belt of brush covered the approaches to the water; but thescarlet Eugenia grew on the sandy flats towards the hilly forest; wherewe also found a new tree, a species of Anacardium, which the nativescalled "Lugula;" it bore a red succulent fruit, formed by the enlargementof the stalk, with a greyish one-seeded nut outside, like Exocarpus. Thefruit was extremely refreshing; the envelope, however, contained such anacrid juice that it ate into and discoloured my skin, and raised blisterswherever it touched it: these blisters were not only followed by a simpleexcoriation, but by a deep and painful ulceration. In the forest, we metwith some few small Seaforthia palms, the young shoots of which weobtained with great difficulty, not then knowing how easily the nativesstrip them of the surrounding leaves and leafstalks. I followed a a wellbeaten foot-path of the natives to the northward, crossed a creek, in themangrove swamp of which another horse was bogged, which we extricatedafter great exertion; and, after two or three miles, came to a largefresh-water swamp (Marair) on which we encamped. The sun had long set, and our cattle, as well as ourselves, were miserably tired. We were herevisited by a tribe of natives, who were well acquainted with thesettlement; they were all friendly, and willing to assist us; and many ofthem spoke very tolerable English. One of them, apparently the chief ofthe tribe, though a hunchback, named "Bill White, " promised to guide usto the settlement. He gave us to understand that we had come too far tothe northward, and that we had to go to the south-west, in order to headPort Essington, and to follow its west coast, in order to arrive atVictoria. We were, in fact, at Raffles Bay. The natives knew every bodyin Victoria, and did not cease to give us all the news; to which we mostwillingly listened. They fetched water for us from a great distance, andgave us some Murnatt, which was extremely welcome. Perceiving the stateof exhaustion and depression in which we were, they tried to cheer uswith their corrobori songs, which they accompanied on the Eboro, a longtube of bamboo, by means of which they variously modulated their voices. I may mention that we experienced a heavy thunder-storm during theafternoon. 

Dec. 17. --We started, with a willing guide, for the goal of our journey, and travelled to the south-west over a hilly country, covered with grovesof the Livistona palm, which, as we proceeded became mixed withSeaforthia (the real cabbage-palm). A fine large creek, containing achain of large water-holes went to the north-east, and disemboguedprobably into Bremer's Bay. We followed it for three or four milestowards its head; and, when crossing it, we had a very heavythunder-storm; at the earliest hour we had ever witnessed one. TheSeaforthia palm because very abundant, and at last the forest was formedentirely of it, with trees of every size. Our guide showed us how wecould easily obtain the young shoots, by splitting the leaves andleafstalks; and we enjoyed a fine meal of the cabbage. Our bullockrefused to go any farther, and, as I then knew that the settlement wasnot very distant, I unloaded him, and covered his packsaddle and loadwith tarpaulings, and left him to recruit for a few days; when I intendedto send for him. As we approached the harbour, the cabbage palm becamerarer, and entirely disappeared at the head of it. We crossed severalcreeks running into the harbour, until we arrived at the Matunna, a drycreek, at which the foot-path from Pitchenelumbo (Van Diomen's Gulf)touched the harbour, and on which we should have come last night. Wefollowed it now, crossed the Warvi, the Wainunmema, and the Vollir--allwhich enlarged into shallow lagoons or swamps, before they were lostbetween the mangrove thickets. At the banks of the Vollir, some constantsprings exist, which induced Sir Gordon Bremer to choose that place for asettlement, and on which Victoria at present stands. All these creekswere separated from each other by a hilly forest land; but small fertileflats of sandy alluvium, clothed with young grass, and bordered byBanksias, extended along their banks. The forest was principally composedof stringy-bark, the leguminous Ironbark, Melaleuca-gum, with underwoodof Acacias, Coniogeton, Pachynemas, Pultenaeas? and Careya? A tree verymuch resembling the real Ironbark (Eucalyptus resinifera) was observed atthe Warvi; but I expect it will be found entirely different. Thestringy-bark and the drooping tea-tree were the only useful timber nearthe settlement. The Cypress-pine (Callitris) could, however, be obtainedwithout any great difficulty from Mount Morris Bay, or Van Diemen's Gulf. On the Vollir, we came on a cart road which wound round the foot of ahigh hill; and, having passed the garden, with its fine Cocoa-nut palms, the white houses, and a row of snug thatched cottages burst suddenly uponus; the house of the Commandant being to the right and separate from therest. We were most kindly received by Captain Macarthur, the Commandantof Port Essington, and by the other officers, who, with the greatestkindness and attention, supplied us with every thing we wanted. I wasdeeply affected in finding myself again in civilized society, and couldscarcely speak, the words growing big with tears and emotion; and, evennow, when considering with what small means the Almighty had enabled meto perform such a long journey, my heart thrills in gratefulacknowledgement of his infinite kindness. 

After a month's stay at Port Essington, the schooner Heroine, CaptainMackenzie, arrived from Bally, on her voyage to Sydney, via Torres Straitand the Inner Barrier, a route only once before attempted with success. We embarked in this vessel, and arrived safely in Sydney, on the 29th ofMarch. To the generous attentions of Captain Mackenzie our party owemuch; and, at his hospitable table, we soon forgot the privations of ourlate journey. At Sydney, a reception awaited us, the warmth and kindnessof which, it is out of my power to describe. All classes pressed forwardto testify their joy at our reappearance, which, we found, had been longdespaired of, and to offer their aid in supplying our wants. A publicsubscription was set on foot, which, in a very few weeks, by the liberalcontributions which flowed in from all parts of the Colony, amounted toupwards of Fifteen Hundred pounds; and in the Legislative Council, amotion was brought forward, which, by the unanimous vote of that House, and the ready concurrence of His Excellency, Sir George Gipps, theGovernor, devoted a Thousand Pounds out of the Public Revenue to our use. In the Appendix to this volume, will be found the very handsome letter, in which the Hon. Mr. E. Deas Thomson, the Colonial Secretary, conveyedto me this resolution of the Government; and an account of theproceedings taken at the School of Arts, on the 21st September, when HisHonor, The Speaker, Dr. C. Nicholson, presented me with that portion ofthe public subscription, which the Committee of the Subscribers hadawarded. In laying these documents before the Public, I will leave it tobe supposed how vain would be any attempt of mine to express my gratitudeto that generous people to whom I have inscribed this humble narrative. 

APPENDIX. 

LETTER FROM THE COLONIAL SECRETARY TO DR. LEICHHARDT. 

Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 25th June, 1846. 

Sir, --I do myself the honour to inform you that the Auditor General hasbeen requested to prepare a warrant for the payment, out of the CrownRevenue, of a gratuity of 1000 pounds to yourself and party whichaccompanied you in your recent expedition to Port Essington; inconsideration of the successful issue of that very perilous enterprise;the fortitude and perseverance displayed by the persons engaged in it;and the advantages derived from it to the Colony; and I beg to add, thatit is with much gratification that I make this communication to you. 

The money is to be divided in the manner stated below, which the Governorhas considered reasonable, after weighing all the circumstances of thecase, and advising with the gentleman who waited on His Excellency onFriday the 11th instant, and who formed a deputation from the Committee, who have superintended the collection and distribution of the money (1400pounds. ) raised in Sydney by voluntary subscription, in testimony of theservices rendered to the Colony by you and your companions, viz. 

 Dr. Leichhardt 600 pounds Mr. Calvert 125 Mr. Roper 125 John Murphy 70 W. Phillips, who has already received from the Government a pardon 30 The two aboriginal natives, Charles Fisher and Harry Brown 50 ---- 1000

The 50 pounds for the two Blacks will be lodged in the Savings' Bank, andwill not be drawn out without the approval of the Vice President of thatInstitution. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, (Signed) E. DEAS THOMSON, COLONIAL SECRETARY. 

* * * * *

THE LEICHHARDT TESTIMONIAL. 

[Extract from the Sydney Herald, Sept. 22, 1846. ]

Yesterday afternoon, a meeting of the subscribers to the LeichhardtTestimonial was held in the School of Arts. 

At half-past three o'clock the Honourable the Speaker of the LegislativeCouncil entered the room with Dr. Leichhardt, who was received with loudapplause. 

As soon as silence was restored, the Speaker rose and addressed Dr. Leichhardt. He said, The duty has been assigned to me of presenting toyou, on behalf of a numerous body of colonists, an acknowledgment of thegrateful sense they entertain of the services rendered by you to thecause of science and to the interests of this colony. Whilst I fullyparticipate in the admiration with which your merits are universallyacknowledged, I confess that I shrink from the task now imposed upon me, from a sense of my inability to do justice to it in language commensuratewith the occasion. For indeed it would be difficult to employ any termsthat might be considered as exaggerated, in acknowledging the enthusiasm, the perseverance, and the talent which prompted you to undertake, andenabled you successfully to prosecute, your late perilous journey througha portion of the hitherto untrodden wilds of Australia. An enthusiasmundaunted by every discouragement, a perseverance unextinguished bytrials and hardships which ordinary minds would have despaired ofsurmounting, a talent which guided and led you on to the full and finalachievement of your first and original design. 

It is needless for me to recall to the recollection of those around me, the circumstances under which the project of undertaking an overlandjourney to Port Essington was formed. The smallness of your party, andthe scantiness of its equipment, the length and unknown character of thecountry proposed to be traversed, induced many to regard the scheme asone characterised by rashness, and the means employed as whollyinadequate towards carrying out the object in view. Many withheld theirsupport from a dread lest they might be held as chargeable with thatresult which their sinister forebodings told them was all but inevitablewith a small but adventurous band. You nevertheless plunged into theunknown regions that lay before you. After the lapse of a few monthswithout any tidings of your progress or fate, the notion became generallyentertained that your party had fallen victims to some one of the manydangers it had been your lot to encounter; that you had perished by thehands of the hostile natives of the interior; that want of water orexposure to tropical climate were even but a few of the many evils towhich you had rendered yourself liable, and to the influence of some oneor more of which it was but too probable you had fallen a prey. Twoparties successively went out with the hope of overtaking you, or atleast of ascertaining some particulars of your fate. The result of theseefforts was, however, fruitless, and but few were so sanguine as tobelieve in the possibility of you or your comrades being still inexistence. I need not recall to the recollection of those here present, the surprise, the enthusiasm, and the delight, with which your suddenappearance in Sydney was hailed, about six months ago. The surprise wasabout equal to what might be felt at seeing one who had risen from thetomb; a surprise, however, that was equalled by the warm and cordialwelcome with which you were embraced by every colonist; and when welistened to the narrative of your long and dreary journey--the hardshipsyou had endured, the dangers you had braved, the difficulties you hadsurmounted--the feeling with which your return amongst us was greeted, became one of universal enthusiasm. For it would indeed be difficult topoint out, in the career of any traveller, the accomplishment of anequally arduous undertaking, or one pregnant with more important results, whether we contemplate them in a scientific, an economical, or a politicalpoint of view. The traversing, for the first time by civilised man, of solarge a portion of the surface of this island, could not fail to beattended with many discoveries deeply interesting to the scientificinquirer, in botany, geology, and zoology. Your contributions to each ofthese departments of knowledge have consequently been equally novel andvaluable. In a social and economical point of view, it is difficult, ifnot impossible, to over-estimate the importance of the discovery recentlymade of an all but boundless extent of fertile country, extending to thenorth, soon to be covered with countless flocks and herds, and calculatedto become the abode of civilized man. In its political aspect, thepossession of an immense territory, now for the first time discovered tobe replete with all those gifts of nature which are necessary for theestablishment and growth of a civilized community, cannot be regarded asa fact of small importance; nor the possession of a continuous tract offine and fertile land, that connects us with the shores of the Indianocean, and which would appear to render the Australian continent a mereextension of the Anglo-Indian empire as a matter of indifference. Itwould be almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of theseconsiderations; I shall, however, abstain from occupying your time bydwelling upon what must be so obvious to all. The Colonists of New SouthWales, Dr. Leichhardt, have been anxious to evince their gratitude to youfor all that you have done in behalf of this their adopted country. Assoon as your return was announced, subscriptions were entered into forthe purpose of presenting to you a suitable testimonial. To the fundraised for this purpose persons of all classes, and from every quarter ofthe colony, have contributed. The sum that has been raised amounts to1518 pounds 18 shillings 6 pence. The Executive, with a laudableemulation, have presented you a sum of 1000 pounds from the Crownrevenue. Gratifying as this demonstration must doubtlessly prove to yourfeelings, it is unquestionably beneath your deserts; and the substantialreward due to your past exertions will be found in the undying glory ofhaving your name enrolled amongst those of the great men whose genius andenterprise have impelled them to seek for fame in the prosecution ofgeographical science--with those of Niebuhr, Burckhardt, Park, Clapperton, Lander, and, in Australian geography, with those of Oxley, Cunningham, Sturt, Eyre, and Mitchell. In these days of universalknowledge, when there are so many competitors for distinction in everydepartment of science, few attain the desired goal of scientificeminence. Perhaps no one has so fair a chance of giving immortality tohis name as he who has first planted his foot where civilized man hadnever before trodden. The first chapter in the history of Australia, somethousand years hence, will present a narration of those adventurousspirits--of the exploits of those who may fairly be considered its firstconquerors, and by whose peaceful triumphs an empire had been added tothe parent state. I cannot close this brief address without indulging inan aspiration for the safety and success of one now engaged in anenterprise similar to that from which you hate earned so much honour. Iallude to Sir T. Mitchell. To enter upon any eulogium of the character orabilities of that distinguished officer on the present occasion, is uncalled for; the enterprise in which he is engaged must commandthe sympathy of every person here present, and I am sure of no onemore than of yourself. In enterprises such as those in which bothhe and yourself are engaged, it may fairly be said the harvest isplentiful, the labourers are few--a kindred taste and zeal in thepursuit of a common object can be attended with no other than aworthy and generous emulation. It only remains for me to add oneword to what I have already said--you have disclosed your intentionof starting within a few weeks from the present time on anotherexploratory expedition. From your past career we may all safely indulgein sanguine anticipations as to your future success. That Providence mayguide you in your wanderings and crown your future labours with newlaurels is the ardent wish of all on whose behalf I now address you. Letme, however, beg that you will guard, against any unnecessary exposure torisk, that life in the preservation of which we all feel so deep aconcern. With the assurance of the gratitude, esteem, and admiration ofmy brother colonists, permit me now to present you with 854 pounds, beingthe proportion of the public subscription awarded to you. 

Dr. LEICHHARDT (who was evidently deeply affected) said: Mr. Chairman andGentlemen, I thank you for the munificent gift with which you havehonoured me--I thank you for the congratulations for the past--for yourkind wishes for my approaching expedition. [Note. 1] I feel the more theweight of your generous liberality, as I am conscious how much yourkindness has overvalued my deserts; but I shall try to render myselfworthy of it; and I hope that the Almighty, who has so mercifully takencare of me on my former expedition, will grant me skill and strength tocontinue my explorations, and will render them equally successful andbeneficial to this colony. May his blessings attend the generous peoplewho have shown, by the honours they have done me, how great an interestthey take in the advancement of discovery. 

Mr. C. COWPER then moved a vote of thanks to the Committee and theirSecretary, which was acknowledged by Mr. R. GRAHAM, when the business ofthe meeting closed. 

Those who appreciate the value of Dr. Leichhardt's scientific explorationof the country from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, and who feel anyinterest in his record of the difficulties of his enterprise, will beglad to learn that the Royal Geographical Society of London has recentlyawarded him the Queen's Gold Medal, in acknowledgment of his services;and that the Royal Geographical Society of Paris has likewise adjudgedhim its Gold Medal of this year. 

[Note 1. The object of the new Expedition here alluded to, Is to explorethe Interior of Australia, to discover the extent of Sturt's Desert andthe character of the Western and North-Western Coast, and to observe thegradual change in vegetation and animal life from one side of theContinent to the other. 

Dr. Leichhardt does not expect to be able to accomplish this overlandjourney to Swan River, in less than two years and a half. According to aletter written by him on the eve of his departure (Dec. 6, 1846); hisparty consisted of six whites, and two blacks; he had purchased thirteenmules, twelve horses, and two hundred and seventy goats; and bad receivedforty oxen, three mules, and two horses, as presents. He then purposed totravel over his old route, as far as Peak Range, and then to shape hiscourse westwards; but thought it not impossible, as his course depends onwater, that be should be obliged to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria, andthen to follow up some river to its source. --Ed. ]

The End