HORSES ASTRAY.

At twilight, on enquiring, as usual, if the horses had been tethered and spancelled, I was informed that seven had set off, and that one of the men, Worthington, who went after them, had not returned. The weather had been so oppressive during the whole journey, that I determined on resting the cattle next day. This I did not mention however to the men, but I ordered all the good bush hands to be off in search at daybreak. The care of cattle, and particularly of horses on such journeys, requires great attention; to stand idle on a fine morning, unable to proceed, until by some fortunate chance, stray cattle or horses are discovered in a boundless forest, is like a calm on the line, irksome enough; but there is also the risk of losing the men sent in pursuit who, even after coming on the objects of their search, may be unable afterwards to find the camp, especially when there may be no watercourse to lead them to it.

December 7.

The weather still very sultry. The horses were brought in at a quarter-past eight by Worthington, who had traced them up the valley to two miles above our former encampment. The rich soil in this valley is nearly as deep as the bed of the rivulet, which is twenty feet lower than the surface; a substratum of gravel, similar to that in the bed of the watercourse, appears in the bank; the pebbles, consisting chiefly of trap-rock, seemed to be the water-worn debris of the Liverpool range. The cattle and horses being at rest, we were occupied this day in making various observations with our instruments, trying the rate of the chronometer, etc. A thundercloud and a little rain afforded some relief from the excessive heat of the atmosphere. The night was very calm; but the mosquitoes were numerous and troublesome.

A SQUATTER.

December 8.

A road or track, which we found about half a mile east from the camp, led us very directly, on the bearing of 335 degrees, to Loder's station, distant about six miles from our encampment. Here stood a tolerable house of slabs, with a good garden adjoining it, in charge of an old stockman and his equally aged wife. This man was named by the blacks Longanay (Long Ned).* The station was situated on a fine running stream called the Cuerindie, and the state of the sheep and cattle about it proved the excellence of the pasture. We passed the limits of the territory open to the selection of settlers, in crossing the Liverpool range; and the more remote country is not likely to come into the market soon. Such stations as this of Loder were held therefore only by the right of pre-occupancy, which has been so generally recognised among the colonists themselves, that the houses, etc. of these stations are sometimes disposed of for valuable considerations, although the land is liable to be sold by the government.

(*Footnote. His wife, whom the natives had told me of as a white gin, was perhaps the only white woman then dwelling beyond the mountains. She was enveloped in numerous flannel petticoats, and presented a singular contrast to the undraped slender native females, some of whom with children I saw about the place, and who appeared to be treated by her with great kindness.)

NATIVE GUIDE AND HIS GIN.

A native named Jemmy, whom I met with here, agreed to conduct me by the best way for carts to Wallamoul on the Peel, for which service I undertook to reward him with a tomahawk.* It was necessary, that we should ford the Cuerindie, which flows to the north-west, and notwithstanding the steepness of its banks, we effected a passage without difficulty, guided by Jemmy. One mile beyond this, another creek lay in our way. It was smaller, but much more formidable and difficult to cross, for the bottom and banks consisted of blue-mud or clay, half-hardened on the surface, yet soft and yielding below. It was not without considerable delay, that we effected the passage, for a wheel of one of the carts stuck fast in the mud, and it was necessary to dig away the earth in front of the other wheel before we could release the vehicle. At length everything was got across, and we fortunately met no other impediment for six miles. We then crossed the channels of two rivulets, neither of which contained any water. At half-past four I wished to encamp, and the natives having at length found a green mantling pool in the bed of the united channel of the two watercourses, we pitched our tents, at a place called Burandua. Bad as the water seemed to be, Jemmy soon obtained some which was both clear and cool, by digging a hole in the sand near the pool. This native was a quiet and sensible fellow—he steadily pursued the course he recommended for the wheelbarrows, as he termed our carts; and answered all my queries briefly and decidedly, either by a nod of assent, or the negative monosyllable Bel, with a shake of the head. His walk was extremely light and graceful; his shoulders were neatly knit, and the flowing luxuriance of his locks was restrained by a bit of half-inch cord, the two ends hanging, like a double queue, halfway down his back. He was followed by his gin and a child, which she usually carried on her back, although it seemed old enough and able to walk.

(*Footnote. A small axe used for numerous purposes by the natives of Australia.)

The air of evening was very refreshing, and the sun set with peculiar brilliancy. We had travelled during the whole day on good soil, and the ploughed appearance of the surface was very remarkable in various places, particularly a little to the south of Loder's station, where the hollows seemed to terminate in a common channel. I noticed also that the direction of all the watercourses was towards the north-west, and it was evident that the streams occasionally overflowed their banks.

December 9.

This morning the party was ready to proceed soon after five o'clock, but the barometer got out of order while I was using it in the dry bed of the rivulet, and some time was lost in an unsuccessful attempt to repair it. This derangement of the instrument was very unfortunate at so early a stage of our journey.

After travelling about seven miles and a half we perceived, on our left, an open valley in which a numerous herd of cattle was feeding; and one mile further on, we came upon a fine little stream, which was rather difficult to cross, owing to the steepness of the banks. As the men were at work taking the carts over one by one, the native and I were amused with a large black snake, which was swimming about. On his casting a stone at it the snake glided swiftly towards him, and the poor fellow took to his heels, cautioning me to keep off, saying it would kill my horse. But he soon returned to the charge, and having succeeded in stunning it with stones, it was at length cut in two with my sabre. On measuring this snake I found it to be nine inches in circumference, and eight feet and a half in length.

Beyond that rivulet the country appeared tolerably open and level, so that we could pursue our course in one direction nearly eight miles. The most conspicuous hill on our right, was named by the native Barragundy. It was visible during the whole of our day's journey. We at length entered upon an open and grassy plain, and found in the skirts of the wood beyond it, a channel containing water in abundance, and which was known to the natives as Carrabobbila.* Beyond this channel arose a peaked and picturesque range, whereof the highest summit was named Turi.

(*Footnote. Even before my men had seen this spot, the native name, in their mouths, was corrupted into Terrible Billy!)

MODES OF DRINKING AU NATUREL.

The water, when we encamped, was hot and muddy, but the blacks knew well how to obtain a cool and clean draught, by first scratching a hole in the soft sand beside the pool, thus making a filter, in which the water rose cooled but muddy. They next threw into this some tufts of long grass, through which they sucked the cooler water thus purified also from the sand or gravel. I was very glad to follow the example, and I found the sweet fragrance of the grass an agreeable addition to the luxury of drinking. But during the heat of the forenoon I had observed the female quenching her thirst with still greater satisfaction, by rushing into a pool, and drinking as she sat immersed up to the lip.

From Loder's station, we had travelled thus far on our way to Peel's river, without having any road or track to follow, and I had marked the trees along our line of route, which certainly seemed favourable for a cart-road in that direction. Near Carrabobbila, we came upon the track leading to Wallamoul, which was more circuitous, passing by other cattle stations in the plains.

WOODS ON FIRE.

During the last three days of our journey, the woods were burning before us, but fortunately the fire was one day's march in advance of our party, and thus the flames had cleared everything away before our arrival, so that our camp was not exposed to danger. This evening however, the country seemed on fire all around us. The weather was calm and sultry, particularly when the day closed in, and a very heavy storm, accompanied by thunder, broke over us in the night.

December 10.

The morning was cloudy; and the rain, which we anxiously looked for, at length came down, and soon checked the progress of the flames. On this account, as well as on that of the want of water, it afforded providential relief to us, for the hills we were about to cross had been all in a blaze during the night. Trees lay smoking as we passed; several gullies were difficult for the passage of carts, and detained the party in its ascent.

CROSS THE TURI RANGE.

But at length we reached the top of this pass, and crossed the range, which appeared to be continuous, thus separating the basin of the Peel from that of the waters falling to Liverpool plains. We were agreeably surprised to find that the opposite side of these hills, and the whole face of the country beyond them, presented a very different appearance from that through which we had passed. A gently sloping extremity lay before us for eight miles in the direction of our proposed route, and we were relieved from all the difficulties of crossing gullies, which had impeded our ascent on the other side of the range. We encamped at some waterholes, where this slope terminated in an extensive forest flat; over the whole of which, as my sable guide informed me, there was no other water at that time.

The grass on this side of the hills was good: and almost all the timber consisted of box (eucalyptus). The heights which we had crossed appeared to extend from the Liverpool range to the northward, as far as could be seen; but the native told me, that it soon terminated on the river Callala (or Peel) whose course, he said, turned westward (as he pointed); a fact corroborating so far, the statements of The Bushranger.

ARRIVE ON THE RIVER PEEL.

December 11.

The weather cleared up at about six A.M.: and we travelled across a good soil, throughout the whole of this day's journey. The country appeared but thinly wooded, and without any hill or watercourse. After a journey of thirteen miles, we reached the bank of the Peel at Wallamoul, the lowest cattle station upon this river. It was occupied by Mr. Brown, who had there about 1600 head of cattle. I gave to Jemmy, our excellent guide, the promised tomahawk, also a knife to Monday his brother, whom he met here. The river was so low that Mr. White and I passed over easily on a tree which the flood had laid across it. The current however was strong; and the men having been furnished from our stock with a few hooks and lines, caught three large fishes by sunset. I met, at this place, with some intelligent natives, from whom I learnt, that the spot where Mr. Oxley crossed the Peel on his journey, was about two miles lower down.

FISHES.

December 12.

At an early hour this morning, one of our men caught a fish, which weighed eighteen pounds; but, according to the natives, this was no uncommon size. These fishes are most erroneously called cod by the colonists, although they certainly very much resemble cod in taste. The flakes are firmer than sea cod, and equally white, the fish affording a very light and palatable food. When dried in the same manner as the Newfoundland cod, in which state I have tasted this fish at Bathurst, I could not perceive any difference either in flavour or appearance.

Being at length about to enter the Terra incognita, I deemed it expedient to repack our stores, in order that the load might be made as light and compact as possible, and that we might pass with less difficulty over whatever description of ground we were destined to encounter. With this view, I directed the flour to be started from casks into bags, and made such arrangements as tended materially to lessen the bulk of our provisions and other necessary stores. Having questioned the natives with regard to the course of the Peel, I learnt that, instead of flowing northward, as hitherto supposed, it took a westerly direction, and was soon joined by the Muluerindie, a river coming from the north-east. The natives further assured me that there was a good ford below the junction of these streams at a place called Wallanburra; and I determined to proceed to this ford, as it was not advisable, with the Muluerindie beyond, to cross the river above the junction.

ANOTHER NATIVE GUIDE.

Being anxious to procure another guide, the overseer at Wallamoul brought me a native named Mr. Brown, who agreed to accompany our party on condition that he should receive blankets for himself and his gin, and a tomahawk, the latter being a small hatchet, which is so valuable a substitute for their stone hatchet that almost all natives within reach of the colony have them, even where the white man is known as yet only by name—or as the manufacturer of this most important of all implements to the Australian native.

EXPLORE THE PEEL.

December 13.

Mr. Finch having joined us on the previous evening, without procuring the supply of flour that I had expected, I despatched him back this morning to the Hunter's River district, with directions to procure as much flour, tea, and sugar as he could pack on six bullocks, and to follow along my line of marked trees with all possible speed. I furnished him with an official letter to Mr. Dixon, in which I instructed that surveyor to supply him with any article he could possibly spare from his own equipment, without impeding the service on which he was engaged.

And now our arrangements being as complete as we could hope to make them, under existing circumstances, we broke up our encampment at eight A.M., and proceeded in the interesting pursuit of the course of the Peel River.

CHAPTER 1.2.

Enter an unexplored region. Situation of Mr. Oxley's camp on the Peel. Westward course of the river. Kangaroo shot. Calcareous rocks. Acacia pendula first seen. Other trees near the river. Junction of the Peel and Muluerindie. View from Perimbungay. Ford of Wallanburra. Plains of Mulluba. View from Mount Ydire. Hills seen agree with The Bushranger's account. The river Namoi. Stockyard of The Bushranger. Singular fish. View from Tangulda. Cutting through a thick scrub. Want of water. Impeded by a lofty range of mountains. Marks of natives' feet. Maule's river. A grilled snake. View on ascending the range of Nundewar. Native female. Proposed excursion with packhorses. Native guide absconds. The range impassable. Return to Tangulda. Prepare to launch the boats on the Namoi.

ENTER AN UNEXPLORED REGION.

We advanced with feelings of intense interest into the country before us, and impressed with the responsibility of commencing the first chapter of its history. All was still new and nameless, but by this beginning, we were to open a way for the many other beginnings of civilised man, and thus extend his dominion over some of the last holds of barbarism.

SITUATION OF MR. OXLEY'S CAMP ON THE PEEL.

About a mile and a half below Wallamoul, we crossed a small open plain, and I was informed that Mr. Oxley encamped on its southern side, and had afterwards forded the Peel at no great distance from the spot.

WESTWARD COURSE OF THE RIVER.

We crossed a succession of gentle slopes, without any gully or watercourse between them. After travelling about eight miles in a north-west direction, we came upon the Peel, having thus cut off a great bend of the river. From that point our route was west and even to the southward of west, until we again encamped near the river, after a journey of fifteen miles. Some flats crossed by the party this day appeared to be subject to inundations. One gully only had impeded our carts. It was about a mile short of the encampment, and it was called Goora by the natives. It had evidently been long dry, had steep banks, and its bottom consisted of gravel and sand. The banks of the Peel, thus far, are composed chiefly of extensive flats of good land, thinly wooded, and occasionally flooded by the river.

Only a few of the flats however are quite clear of trees, but where the ground is open, the soil appears to be rich, and presents the same characters which I noticed elsewhere. We saw a numerous family of kangaroos this day, but although the dogs were let loose, such was the length of the grass, that they could not see the game. The morning had been clear, but the sky in the afternoon was overcast by a thunderstorm, with a strong gale of wind. At sunset, the weather cleared up, and the sky became again serene.

December 14.

The sun rose clear, and the party were in motion at seven o'clock. This day I discovered that the native had sent back his gin early in the morning, a circumstance which I regretted, for the woman had an intelligent countenance, and having been brought from the country towards which we were travelling, she might have been of service to us.

KANGAROO SHOT.

When we had proceeded a few miles, the quick eye of Mr. Brown distinguished the head of a kangaroo peeping at us over the long grass. On discharging my rifle at it, the animal, as he supposed, bounded off; but as I had taken very steady aim, I ran to the spot, and there found, to the astonishment of our guide, the kangaroo at which I had aimed lying dead, the ball having passed through the throat and neck. The kangaroo which leapt about on the discharge of the piece, was another which had not been previously in sight, and appeared to have been the mate of that which fell. The distance was considerable, and the shot fortunate, as being well calculated to strengthen Mr. Brown's confidence, who had only seen previously the heavy old muskets carried by stockmen. He surveyed with great attention the percussion lock and heavier barrel of the rifle, surprised, no doubt, at its superior make and accuracy.

Our course was still westward, and thus we occasionally touched upon the bends of the river. Adjacent to one sharp angle, we met with a rather singular formation of little hills formed by projecting strata, the strike extending in the direction of North 30 West, and the dip being to the east, at an angle of about 30 degrees.

CALCAREOUS ROCKS.

The rock appeared to consist in some parts of a buff calcareous sandstone, calcareous tuff; and, more abundantly, of limestone of a peculiar aspect, presenting at first sight the appearance of porphyry, but consisting of a base of compact limestone, with disseminated portions of calcareous spar, principally due to fragments of crinoidea. At a lower part in the same rock, less compact, I found a beautiful chalcedonic cast, apparently of a terebra. The calcareous sandstone consisted of grains of quartz cemented by calcareous spar, and contained fragments of shells of the littorina or turbo.*

(*Footnote. Also a sriated shell (Plate 4 figure 5) near to Buccinum globulare of Phillips, Volume 2nd 16 and 15; but Mr. Sowerby thinks it is different, and more probably a Littorina, and would call it L. filosa.)

Acacia pendula FIRST SEEN.

On crossing another low ridge beyond this we descended to a valley in which I saw, for the first time, that beautiful shrub of the interior, the Acacia pendula. The foliage is of a light green colour and it droops like the weeping willow; the bark is rough, and the trunk seldom exceeds nine inches in diameter. The wood of this graceful tree is sweet-scented, of a rich dark-brown colour, and being very hard, it is in great request with the natives for making their boomerangs and spearheads. It appears to grow chiefly on flats which are occasionally inundated.

OTHER TREES NEAR THE RIVER.

During this day's journey we also met with the Callitris pyramidalis, a tree which in external appearance closely resembles some kinds of pine-tree. The wood is of a rich yellow hue, very compact, and possesses a very agreeable perfume; it grows on the drier parts of the country. We found lofty bluegum-trees (eucalyptus) growing on the flats near the Peel, whose immediate banks were overhung by the dense umbrageous foliage of the casuarina, or river-oak of the colonists.

JUNCTION OF THE PEEL AND MULUERINDIE.

We encamped on the river at the foot of a small hill named Perimbungay. In this very interesting position I could at leisure continue from the hill my observations of the country before us, while the cattle were at rest and feeding. The Muluerindie had joined the Peel about a mile above, and the united streams here flowed along a reach of most promising extent. Mr. Brown said it was so deep that the natives could never dive to the bottom. The ford of Wallanburra, by which we were to cross this river, was only a short way below, and the summit of Perimbungay commanded a view of the country beyond it. The bank here presented a section of at least 50 feet of rich earth; and flats of this character, of more or less width, occur between the river and the hills. In the left bank at the camp I found a conglomerate rock, consisting of water-worn fragments of serpentine and trap, cemented by calcareous spar. The men were very successful in fishing; the cod-perch which they caught weighing upwards of nine pounds each (See figure 1 Plate 6). With such abundance of fish, and also the kangaroo, I hoped to feast Mr. Brown, but he set no value on food so common to him, preferring flour to all things else, while this was precisely the article which I was most unwilling to spare. He ate about two pounds and a half of flour daily, yet I considered his services of so much value, that I felt loth to lessen his allowance; for with all this he seldom seemed satisfied. He came to me however in the afternoon, pointing to his protuberant stomach, and actually declaring that, for once at least, he did not wish any more.

VIEW FROM PERIMBUNGAY.

December 15.

To avoid as much as possible the heat which had proved very distressing to the cattle, I ordered the party to prepare to move off this morning soon after sunrise; and while the people were packing up and loading, I again ascended Perimbungay. The range we had crossed at Turi was near us to the westward, and a conical hill, called Uriary, in the direction of Turi, was the most prominent feature to the south-west. The Peel continued its course westward, passing through this range, which presented a more defined and elevated outline where it continued beyond the river. The highest summits there were Periguaguey, bearing west by south, and Waroga. Turial, a hill still more remote, bore west-north-west; and between it and Waroga appeared an opening, which I judged therefore to be the best direction for our route, after crossing the Peel, for I saw that it was impossible to pass to the westward of that range at any part nearer the river; but by that opening we could pursue the further course of the Peel, as the nature of the country permitted. The land immediately beyond the Peel was inviting enough; one green hill arose from a level country which lay between the river and the base of these hills. The waters of the Peel, and the shady trees overhanging its banks, were visible for several miles; and the varying outlines of wood, tinted with the delicate lights, around which the deep grey shadows of early morning were still slumbering, contrasted finely with the rugged rocks of the hill on which I stood, already sharpened by the first rays of the rising sun. This hill consisted of trap-rock.

FORD OF WALLANBURRA.

The passage between it and the river was not very safe for the carts, so that we made a detour on leaving the camp, and did not again see the Peel until we arrived near the ford of Wallanburra, distant from Perimbungay 4 1/4 miles. The bed of the river was here broad and gravelly; and the banks on each side were low, qualities most essential to a good ford, but by no means common on the Peel. Two emus, the first we had seen on this journey, were drinking on the opposite side, as we approached the ford, but they ran away on seeing the party. The current was strong, though the water did not reach above the axles of the carts, and by half-past seven A.M. everything was safe on the other side of the Peel. On quitting the immediate banks of the river, we passed through a forest of the tree resembling pine (Callitris) with bushes of the Acacia pendula interspersed. There was also a tree new to us, having a small round leaf.

PLAINS OF MULLUBA.

After proceeding six miles, we reached the borders of an extensive open tract, named Mulluba. It could scarcely bear the usual designation of plain (the term applied in New South Wales to almost all land free from trees) for the undulations were as great as those which occur between London and Hampstead, and, indeed, the whole territory bore a remarkable resemblance to an enclosed and cultivated country. The ridges, of the kind already described, I observed in directions, both with the slopes, and across them, exactly resembling furrows in fallow land. Trees grew in rows, as if connected with field enclosures, and parts, where bushes or grass had been recently burnt, looked red or black, thus contributing to the appearance of cultivation. The soil was, indeed, well worthy of being cultivated, for it consisted of a rich black mould, so loose and deep that it yawned in cracks, as if for want of feet to tread it down. It appeared very probable however that in wet weather such parts of the country might be too soft for the passage of carts. I then supposed the ridge on our left might be that called Hardwick's range, by Oxley; its general direction being about 20 degrees westward of north. We at length reached the remarkable opening in that range, which I had observed from Perimbungay, and passing through it, over a narrow flat, we arrived at a low woody country westward of these ranges. Having now travelled sixteen miles, I was anxious to encamp here, but we could not, at first, find any watercourse; and one small, dry channel appeared to be the only line of drainage in wet weather from the extensive open country of Mulluba. It struck me at the time that much might be done to remedy the natural disadvantages, whether of a superfluity of water lodging on the plains in rainy seasons, or of too great a scarcity of moisture in dry weather. Channels might be cut in the lines of natural drainage, which would serve to draw off the water from the plains, and concentrate and preserve a sufficient supply for use in times of drought, when it would not be obtained elsewhere.

VIEW FROM MOUNT YDIRE.

We had followed the dry channel for about a mile and a half in search of water, without much prospect of finding any, when we came to a rocky part, which still contained, in several pools, more indeed than sufficient for all our wants, and here we gladly encamped. The range no longer intercepted our view to the westward, and I lost no time in ascending one of its pointed summits, named Ydire, accompanied by Mr. White, and our guide, Mr. Brown. From this hill, the view extended far and wide over the country to the westward. The most conspicuous feature in that landscape was a lofty flat-topped hill in the middle distance, being somewhat isolated, and on the western border of a plain which extended from our position to its base. The native name of this was Boonalla.

TANGULDA.

A singular-looking pic, someway northward of Boonalla, next drew my attention. This, according to my sable authority, was Tangulda. A meandering line of trees bounded an open part of the intervening plain, and marked the course, as my guide informed me, of the Namoi.

HILLS SEEN AGREE WITH THE BUSHRANGER'S ACCOUNT.

Now the hills I have just mentioned and the course of this river had been exactly described by The Bushranger, and the scene made me half believe his story.

I determined to proceed to the pic of Tangulda, this being the course also recommended by my guide as the best for the continued pursuit of the Namoi.

Liverpool plains, which appear to the colonists as if boundless to the northward, were now so far behind us that their most northern limits were barely visible to the southward, in two faint yellow streaks. The basin in which these plains are situated belongs however to the Namoi, which receives all their waters; and, in the extensive landscape before me, there appeared to be an opening near Tangulda, through which the whole of these waters probably passed to the north-west.

The Bushranger's tale was that he had reached the Kindur, or large river, by proceeding north-east by north from Tangulda. I then perceived only a few low hills to the eastward of that pic: circumstances which rendered the account of his journey beyond it also probable.

I had scarcely time to complete a sketch of these hills before the sun went down. Mr. White took bearings of the principal summits, and at the same time obtained their respective names from the native. The range that we had ascended consisted of porphyry, having a base of fawn-coloured compact felspar, with grains of quartz, and crystals of common felspar. We reached the tents, distant from the hill a mile and a half, as night came on. The moon soon rose in cloudless splendour, and received our particular attention, for we were uncertain how soon we should be compelled to depend on the chronometer alone for the longitude, which thus far we had been enabled to connect with the survey of the colony by means of Barragundy and other hills towards Liverpool range.

December 16.

We proceeded over a perfectly level surface, wooded rather thickly with a broad-leaved eucalyptus, and the Acacia pendula. The air was cool, and a most refreshing breeze met us in the face during the whole of this day's journey; the thermometer at sunrise was only 52 degrees.

THE RIVER NAMOI.

After travelling upwards of ten miles we crossed the corner of an open plain, and five miles further on we reached the bank of the river Namoi, and encamped about noon. This stream, having received the Conadilly from the left bank, had here an important appearance: the breadth of the water was 100 feet, its mean depth 11 3/4 feet; the current half a mile per hour, and the height of the banks above the water 37 feet. The course of the Muluerindie, from the junction of the Peel to that of the Conadilly, is somewhat to the southward of west. Below the junction of the Conadilly, where the well-known native name is the Namoi, it pursues a north-west course. The men threw in their lines, but caught during the day only two fishes, similar to those we obtained at Perimbungay. The alluvial bed of the stream consisted of marl, fragments of red quartz, and other rocks. A very hard yellow calcareous sandstone also occurred in the bank.

December 17.

Leaving the ground at an early hour, the party travelled for about two miles along the riverbank, the stream appearing deeper and broader as we proceeded. Six miles on we came upon a narrow branch from the river, which we avoided by turning a little to the right.

STOCKYARD OF THE BUSHRANGER.

We next reached a very large stockyard which the natives said had belonged to George The Barber, meaning The Bushranger. We saw besides the remains of a house, the gunyas, or huts, of a numerous encampment of natives; and the bones of bullocks were strewed about in great abundance, plainly enough showing the object of the stockyard, and that of The Barber's alliance with the aborigines of these parts. The whole country was on fire; but although our guide frequently drew our attention to recent footmarks, we could not discover a single native.

We encamped near this stockyard, beside a lagoon of still water which was as broad and deep as the main stream. The water was nearly on a level with the surface of the surrounding country, and was obviously supplied from the overflowings of the Namoi, then at some distance to the westward.

SINGULAR FISH.

We caught some small fish, two of them being of a rather singular kind, resembling an eel in the head and shape of the tail, although as short in proportion to their thickness as most other kinds of fish. (Figure 2 Plate 6.)* We found granular felspar in the bank.

(*Footnote. For a description of this fish see note to Chapter 1.5 below.)

VIEW FROM TANGULDA.

The pic of Tangulda lay due north of our camp, distant about two miles; and in the afternoon I set out on foot to ascend it, accompanied by Mr. White and the carpenter. On approaching its base, the bold rocks near the summit were reddened by the rays of a sun setting in smoke; while the whole mass of woody hill below that summit seemed more imposing, as it overhung a level country, which had no visible horizon. We reached the top at a little after four P.M. by a steep and rocky ascent; and although the atmosphere was dim, the view was very important. I saw the Namoi's course through a cluster of hills, between which it passed to a lower country in the north-west. These hills were connected on the right bank with the pic on which we stood, and with a low range in the east and north-east, whose western extremities appeared to terminate on the vale of the Namoi, as far northward as I could then see them in perspective. The Barber had positively stated that the only practicable way to the big river was north-east by north from Tangulda; and it now appeared that the lowest part of this range lay exactly in that direction. Some bold and remarkable hills appeared at no great distance to the right of that line; but the country between Tangulda and the lowest part of that horizon seemed so level or gently undulating that I felt it my duty, before I traced the Namoi further, to explore the country in the direction so particularly described by The Bushranger. On my return to the camp in the evening, I made a drawing of the eel-fish, which we had caught early in the day. (Figure 2 Plate 6.)

December 18.

We now quitted the line of the Namoi, and proceeded in the direction north-east by north from Tangulda. We thus continued our route in a straight line up a long valley, until at ten A.M. we reached the crest of the low range previously mentioned. The rock consisted of a calcareous breccia, with water-worn pebbles. The carts had ascended to the crest without difficulty, and the descent to the country beyond was equally favourable. Halfway down, the dogs killed a female kangaroo, with a nearly full-grown young one, which she retained to the last, within her pouch. The death of no animal can excite more sympathy than that of one of these inoffensive creatures. The country beyond the low range was more open for two miles; the only trees being ironbark.

CUTTING THROUGH A THICK SCRUB.

At 15 miles we met an impenetrable scrub of forest oak (casuarina) through which no passage appearing near, we were compelled, hot as the day was, to cut our way with axes where the trees were smallest and least numerous. We thus cleared our course for a mile and a half, when we had the good fortune to see once more an open forest before us, and after a journey of eighteen miles the party encamped on a dry watercourse, but without much prospect of finding any water. We had carried eleven gallons from our last camp, but the men had already experienced the full benefit of this, in cutting through the scrub, during a hot wind, after having travelled fifteen miles.

When the camp was fixed, I rode forward with Mr. White and the native, and soon entered an extensive valley beyond which I could just perceive, through the general smoke, a majestic chain of mountains extending to the westward. I never felt less love for the picturesque than at that time, for grand as the outline was, I could perceive no opening by which I could hope to cross it.

WANT OF WATER.

Our present urgent want however was water, and fortunately, at a distance of upwards of four miles from the camp, we reached the stream watering that valley, and which we thankfully saluted with our parched lips, its waters being cool and clear.

MARKS OF NATIVES' FEET.

Imprinted on their sandy margin however our native guide discovered, apparently with horror, the fresh traces of human feet. The trees bore numerous marks of the mogo or stone hatchet, the use of which distinguishes the barbarous from the civil blackfellows, who all use iron tomahawks. Although Mr. Brown made the woods echo with his cooeys their inhabitants remained silent and concealed, a circumstance which seemed to distress him very much.

On returning to the party, we received the agreeable intelligence that some very good water had been found in a deep hole within a short distance of the tents. The supply however was not sufficient for the bullocks, which were consequently restless, and seemed so much disposed to ramble during the night that two men placed in charge found it extremely difficult to keep them together. This difficulty suggested the plan which I on subsequent occasions adopted, of confining these animals at night, within a temporary stockyard of ropes tied between trees.

MAULE'S RIVER.

December 19.

We left the ground at six A.M. and in an hour and half arrived at the stream of the valley, which I now named Maule's river. Here, leaving Mr. White with the party to encamp, that the cattle might be watered and refreshed during the day, I proceeded with the native and two men to examine the mountains before us.

A GRILLED SNAKE.

As we advanced along a rising ground, the native discovered a dog, and on following it to a little brook, we came to a fire, with a large snake roasting upon it; and a wooden water-vessel on the ground beside it. The reptile was evidently the intended breakfast of somebody whom our approach had disturbed. Mr. Brown soon discovered that the fugitives were females, and, following their track, he found a bag, apparently thrown down in hasty flight. He called loudly and repeatedly, at the same time tracing the footsteps through the long grass into a rocky glen, but no person appeared.

IMPEDED BY A LOFTY RANGE OF MOUNTAINS.

We placed the grilled snake, as it seemed quite cooked, within the wooden bowl, and we left also a head-band (uluguer) which we had found near the fire, and we then continued our journey up the mountains. This range consisted of a different rock from any I had seen in the country, a chocolate-coloured trapean conglomerate. A very dark colour distinguished these rocky masses, which terminated in pointed obelisks, or were broken into bold terraces of dismal aspect. In the little stream were many pebbles of vesicular trap, probably an amygdaloid with the kernels decomposed, but containing particles of olivine; also pebbles of a syenitic compound, consisting of quartz, hornblende, and felspar; and of compact felspar, mottled green and white, the green colour probably being due to chlorite or green earth, and they enclosed also decomposed crystals of mica and hornblende.

VIEW ON ASCENDING THE RANGE OF NUNDEWAR.

After climbing about one mile and a half, we reached a lofty summit, where I hoped to obtain a view beyond the range, or at least to discover how it might be crossed, but I was disappointed. Distant summits, more lofty and difficult of access, obstructed our view towards the east, north, and even west; while the only link connecting the hill we had gained with those still higher was a very bold, naked rock, presenting a perpendicular side, at least 200 feet in height. To proceed further in that direction was therefore quite out of the question. (See Plate 7.)

NATIVE FEMALE.

As we descended, we came suddenly on an old woman who, as soon as she saw us, ran off in terror. I ordered the two men who accompanied me to keep back, until Mr. Brown could overtake and tell her that we intended no harm; and she was easily persuaded, after a brief conversation with our guide, to allow us to come near. She presented a most humiliating specimen of our race: a figure shortened and shrivelled with age, entirely without clothing, one eye alone saw through the dim decay of nature, several large fleshy excrescences projected from the side of her head like so many ears and the jawbone was visible through a gash or scar on one side of her chin. The withered arms and hands, covered with earth by digging and scraping for the snakes and worms on which she fed, more resembled the limbs and claws of a quadruped. She spoke with a low nasal whine, prolonged at the end of each sentence; and this our guide imitated in speaking to her. The mosquitoes tormented her much, as appeared from her incessantly slapping her limbs and body. Mr. Brown's conversation seemed animated on some subject, but not, as I at last suspected, on that most important to us; for, when I enquired, after he had spoken a long time, what she said of The Barber and the way across the mountains, he was obliged to commence a set of queries, evidently for the first time. She said horses might pass, pointing at the same time further to the eastward—but our guide seemed unwilling to put further questions, saying she had promised to send at sunset to our tents two young boys, who could inform us better. Even in such a wretched state of existence, ornaments had their charms with this female, though the decency of covering was wholly disregarded. Around her brow she had kangaroo teeth fastened to the few remaining hairs, and a knot of brown feathers decorated her right temple. The roasting snake, which we had seen in the morning, belonged, as we now learned, to this witch of the glen.

PROPOSED EXCURSION WITH PACKHORSES.

The boys did not visit us in the evening as Mr. Brown had expected; and he appeared unusually thoughtful, when I found him sitting alone by the waterside, at some distance from the camp. I was then making arrangements for carrying across the range the bulk of our provisions and equipment on packhorses and bullocks, intending to leave the remainder of our stores at this spot, in charge of two men armed; but of this measure Mr. Brown did not approve.

NATIVE GUIDE ABSCONDS.

December 20.

When the packhorses had been loaded and we were about to start, leaving the remainder of our provisions in charge of two men, we discovered that our native guide was missing. I had promised him for his services a tomahawk, a knife, and a blanket, and as I supposed he was already far beyond his own beat, he might have had the promised rewards, by merely asking for them. We had always given him plenty of flour, also his choice of any part of the kangaroos we killed. It had been observed by the men that the intelligence received from the old woman had made him extremely uneasy, and he had also expressed to them on the previous evening his apprehensions about the natives in the country before us. I was very sorry for the loss of Mr. Brown. He was very comical, as indeed these half-civilised aborigines generally are; he liked to be close-shaved, wore a white neckcloth, and declared it to be his intention of becoming, from that time forward a whitefellow. I concluded that he had returned to his own tribe; and that he had been unwilling to acknowledge to me his dread of the myall tribes. We proceeded up the valley, or to the eastward, with the pack animals, and endeavoured to pass to the northward, where we found a valley in that direction, but at length it became impossible to go forward with some of the bullocks, which were not used to carry packsaddles.

THE RANGE IMPASSABLE.

The passage was almost hopeless, indeed it was so bad that I was at length convinced it might be easier to pass to the northward in ANY other direction than this, and that it would not be prudent to struggle with such difficulties, and separate my party for the purpose of crossing a range, which, for all I could see, might be easily turned by passing between its western extremity and the river Namoi.

RETURN TO TANGULDA.

We had now tried the course pointed out by The Bushranger, and, having found that it was wholly impracticable, I determined upon returning to Tangulda, and by pursuing the Namoi to endeavour to turn this range and so enter the region beyond it. With this resolution I moved back to the depot, which we left in the morning, and having reached it, made preparations to retrace our course. Mr. White followed Maule's river for some miles to the westward, so that we could judge of the direction in which it fell into the Namoi. This evening as Burnett, the carpenter, was seated beside a pool with his gun, silently engaged in watching some ducks, two natives approached on the opposite side to fill a small vessel with water, they looked around very cautiously, as if conscious that we were near, but Burnett very prudently did not allow them to see him.

December 21.

The whole party having started early, we this day reached the former encampment near Tangulda, a distance of twenty-one miles, in seven hours.

December 22.

I set out before the party moved off, in order to mark the line of route for the carts, and to fix on a spot for the camp. I rode over firm and level ground, on a bearing of 295 degrees, which I knew would bring me to the little hill observed from Tangulda, where the Namoi passes to the lower country beyond. The morning was so foggy that I could see none of the hills. The perfume from the recently burnt bushes of Acacia pendula was most fragrant, and, to me, quite new. At six miles I came upon the river which was flowing rapidly northward. Its deeper bed and sparkling waters looked very different from the stagnant lagoon we had left that morning. The grass along the banks was excellent, and on the little hill beside the river hung pines (Callitris pyramidalis) in abundance. Lofty bluegum-trees grew on the margin of the stream, and the place, upon the whole, seemed favourable for the formation of a depot, where I might leave the cattle to refresh while proceeded down the Namoi in the canvas boats, with the materials for constructing which, we were provided. This river was the channel of the united waters of the Peel, Muluerindie and Conadilly. Some of these streams traversed extensive plains, subject to inundation, but the low rocky hills in this neighbourhood afforded perfect security. The country smoked around us on all sides; and the invisible blacks, The Barber's allies, were not well disposed towards us, but in a position like this our depot would be secure.

PREPARE TO LAUNCH THE BOATS ON THE NAMOI.

I accordingly made preparations for constructing our boats and launching them on the Namoi as soon as possible. With four adjoining trees cut off at equal height, we formed a saw-pit, and a small recess which had been worked in the bank by the floods served as a dock in which to set up and float the boats. We had fixed upon this spot because it appeared more favourable for launching than that higher up the river, where the water was shallower, and drift timber lay across it.

The course of the Namoi, as far as it could be traced from the hill, was northward, and the evening being clear, I could perceive very plainly in the same direction, the western extremity of the range, which we had so needlessly endeavoured to cross.

CHAPTER 1.3.

Fires in the Bush. Rocks of Bullabalakit. Boat launched. Bees load my rifle with honey. Embark on the Namoi in canvas boats. Impediments to the navigation. Boat staked, and sinks. The leak patched. She again runs foul of a log. Provisions damaged. Resolve to proceed by land. Pack up the boats, and continue the journey. Pass the western extremity of Nundewar Range. Unknown tree. Water scarce. Providential supply. Crayfish. Trap-hill on plains. Cut through a scrub. Meet a tribe of Natives. Again obliged to cut our way. Fortunate discovery of water. Dry valleys. Mount Frazer. The party in distress for want of water. Water found next day. Ducks. Wheel Ponds. Excessive heat and drought. Description of the woods. Meet with natives. Cross the dry bed of a river. A friendly native with his family. No water. Reach the Gwydir. Cross it with one man. Prevented by a native with spears, from shooting a kangaroo. Re-cross the river.

December 23.

This morning all hands were at work. Some good pinetrees were brought to the saw-pit, and one laid upon it. The sailors were set to paint the inside of the canvas for the boats; The Doctor to clear out the dock previous to laying down the keel, etc.; and the bullock-drivers and smith to make a stockyard.

FIRES IN THE BUSH.

At 11 A.M. I discovered the grass near our tents to be on fire, but with the assistance of the people it was fortunately extinguished. All the country beyond the river was in flames, and indeed, from the time of our arrival in these parts, the atmosphere had been so obscured by smoke that I could never obtain a distinct view of the horizon. The smoke darkened the air at night, so as to hide the stars, and thus prevented us from ascertaining our latitude. One spark might have set the whole country on our side in a blaze, and then no food would remain for the cattle, not to mention the danger to our stores and ammunition. Fires prevailed fully as extensively at great distances in the interior, and the sultry air seemed heated by the general conflagration. In the afternoon I took my rifle and explored the course of the river some miles downwards, an interesting walk where probably no white man's foot had ever trod before. I found a flowery desert, the richest part of the adjacent country being quite covered with a fragrant white amaryllis in full bloom.* The river widened into smooth deep reaches, so that I felt sanguine about our progress with the boats. In returning, I examined the hills on the right bank. One, named Einerguendi by Brown, consisted of compact felspar, coloured green by chlorite, with grains of quartz and acicular crystals of felspar.

(Footnote. Calostemma candidum, Lindley manuscripts; foliis...tubo perianthii limbo multo breviore, corona truncata dentibus sterilibus nullis, umbellis densis, pedicellis articulatis exterioribus multo longioribus.)

ROCKS OF BULLABALAKIT.

The hill immediately over our camp was Bullabalakit, and consisted partly of granular felspar, probably tinged greenish with chlorite; and partly of concretionary porphyry, the concretions being mottled red and white, and containing grains of quartz and crystals of common felspar; the white concretions resisting the action of the atmosphere stood in relief on the weather surface; I noticed also a vein of amethystine quartz.

December 24 and 25.

Ribs and thwarts were necessary to distend the canvas boats, and though we had brought only moulds of each sort, yet we had tools and hands to make them when required. We also sawed the pine wood into thin planks to form a floor in each boat, whereon to lay our stores. We made the ribs of bluegum (eucalyptus). The weather was excessively hot, yet the men worked hard at the saw-pit notwithstanding; but all our activity was in danger of being fruitless, for the river each day fell about four inches!

BOAT LAUNCHED.

December 26.

At half-past one P.M. the first boat was launched on the Namoi, and the keel of the second immediately laid down. The delay occasioned by the preparation of these boats was more irksome as the waters of the river continued to subside.

Amongst the objects, which in this country were quite new to me, were the insects continually buzzing about my tent. Of these, a fly as large as a small bee, and of a rich green and gold colour, being a species of stilbum, occasionally surprised me with a hum almost as musical as the tones of an Eolian harp.

BEES LOAD MY RIFLE WITH HONEY.

But the habits of the bees were very remarkable, judging from a singular circumstance which occurred respecting my rifle, for I found that a quantity of wax and honey had been deposited in the barrel, and also in the hollow part of the ramrod. I had previously observed one of these bees occasionally enter the barrel of the piece, and it now appeared that wax and honey had been lodged immediately above the charge, to the depth of about two inches. The honey was first perceived in the hollow part of the ramrod; and although an empty, double-barreled gun lay beside the rifle, neither wax nor honey was found in either of its tubes. The bee, which I frequently observed about my tent, was as large as the English bee, and had a sting.

December 28.

This day I sent off one of the men (Stephen Bombelli) with a despatch for the government at Sydney, giving an account of our journey thus far, and stating my intention of descending the Namoi in the boats. Bombelli was mounted on horseback, armed with a pistol, and provided with food for twelve days, being sufficient to enable him to carry the despatch to Pewen Bewen, and to return to the depot which I had arranged to establish here.

EMBARK ON THE NAMOI IN CANVAS BOATS.

December 29.

We launched the second boat, and having loaded both, I left two men in charge of the carts, bullocks and horses, at Bullabalakit, and embarked, at last, on the waters of the Namoi, on a voyage of discovery.

IMPEDIMENTS TO THE NAVIGATION.

We passed along several reaches without meeting any impediment, but, at length, an accumulation of drift timber and gravel brought us up at a spot where two large trees had fallen across the stream from opposite banks. From the magnitude of these trunks and others which, interwoven with rubbish and buried in gravel, supported them, I anticipated a long delay, but the activity of the whole party was such that a clear passage was opened in less than half an hour. The sailors swam about like frogs, and swimming, divided with a cross-cut saw trees under water. I found I could survey the river as we proceeded by measuring, with a pocket sextant, the angle subtended by the two ends of a twelve feet rod held in the second boat, at the opposite end of each reach, the bearing being observed at the same time. By referring to one of Brewster's tables, the angle formed by the rod of twelve feet, I ascertained thus the length of each reach. This operation occasioned a delay of a few seconds only, just as the last boat arrived in sight of each place of observation.

Several black swans floated before us, and they were apparently not much alarmed even at the unwonted sight of boats on the Namoi. The evenness of the banks and reaches, and the depth and stillness of the waters were such that I might have traced the river downwards, at least so far as such facilities continued, had our boats been of a stronger material than canvas.

BOAT STAKED, AND SINKS.

But dead trees lay almost invisible under water, and at the end of a short reach where I awaited the reappearance of the second boat, we heard suddenly confused shouts, and on making to the shore, and running to the spot, I found that the boat had run foul of a sunken tree and had filled almost immediately. Mr. White had, on the instant, managed to run her ashore, across another sunken trunk, and thus prevented her from going down in deep water opposite to a steep bank. By this disaster our whole stock of tea, sugar, and tobacco, with part of our flour and pork, were immersed in the water, but fortunately all the gunpowder had been stowed in the first boat.

THE LEAK PATCHED.

This catastrophe furnished another instance of the activity of the sailors; the cargo was got out, and the sunken boat being hauled up, a rent was discovered in the canvas of her larboard bow. This the sailmaker patched with a piece of canvas; a fire was made; tar was melted and applied; the boat was set afloat, reloaded, and again underway in an hour and a half.

SHE AGAIN RUNS FOUL OF A LOG.

Once more upon the waters everything seemed to promise a successful voyage down the river, but our hopes were doomed to be of short duration, for as I again awaited the reappearance of the second boat, a shout similar to the first again rose, and on running across the intervening land within the river bend, I found her once more on the point of going down, from similar damage sustained in the STARBOARD bow.

RESOLVE TO PROCEED BY LAND.

It was now near five P.M., and the labours of the day had been sufficient to convince me that the course of the Namoi could be much more conveniently traced at that time by a journey on land than with boats of canvas on the water. We pitched our tents; and on plotting my work I found we were distant, in a direct line, only about two miles from Bullabalakit.

December 30.

The cattle from the depot camp arrived at nine A.M., four men having been sent there early this morning to bring them with the carts and horses to the place where we had disembarked.

PROVISIONS DAMAGED.

The tea, sugar, and biscuit, having got wet in the sunken boat, I was compelled to halt this day in order to dry these articles if possible, in the sun, and the heat being very intense, we were tolerably successful. The sugar, in a liquid state, was laid out in small quantities on tarpaulins; the tea was also spread out thinly before the sun, and thrown about frequently—and thus we were enabled, by the evening, to pack it up quite dry in canisters; the whole having lost in weight two and a half pounds. The sugar had crystallised sufficiently to be put up again, without any danger of fermentation. During many days I had anxiously watched the smoky red hot sky for some appearance of rain: no dew nourished the grass, which had become quite yellow, and the river upon which I set my hopes was rapidly drying up. In my tent the thermometer generally reached 100 degrees of Fahrenheit during the day. At length the welcome sound of thunder was heard, and dark clouds cooled the atmosphere long before sunset. These clouds at length poured a heavy shower on the yawning earth; flakes of ice or hail accompanied it, and we enjoyed a cool draught of iced water, where the air had just before been nearly as warm as the blood.

In emptying the water out of the sunken boat we found a crayfish resembling those which I had seen in the freshwater lagoons about Lake George; the remains of this crustacean were also abundant there, at places where water had been but very temporarily lodged.*

(Footnote. A species of Astacus, which, as far as I am aware, comes very close to the common European crayfish.)

PACK UP THE BOATS, AND CONTINUE THE JOURNEY.

We dismantled our boats, packing up the canvas, and in the hollow of a large tree I buried my collection of geological specimens, that we might be loaded as lightly as possible.

December 31.

Quitting this spot at seven A.M. we continued on a bearing of 20 degrees west of north, and passed through a scrub of Acacia pendula, in which grew some eucalypti. At two and three-quarter miles we entered on a spacious open plain which appeared to extend westward to the river, a distance of about two miles. We crossed the more elevated and eastern part of this plain. We next entered a scrub of Acacia pendula, which at seven miles opened into a forest of apple-trees and other eucalypti. We soon after reached Maule's creek, the passage of which, on account of its steep banks, cost us an hour and a half. This induced me to encamp there, influenced also by the apprehension of a want of water, at any convenient distance beyond it. On first approaching water I had frequently an opportunity of observing that the worst characters have the least control over their appetites, in cases of extreme privation. It was a standing order, which I insisted on being observed, that no man should quit the line of route to drink without my permission. There was one, notwithstanding, who never could, in cases of extremity, resist the temptation of water, and who would rush to it, regardless of consequences. Now this man continued to be an irreclaimable character, and in six years after he had lost all the advantages he gained by his services on this occasion. The morning had been calm and very hot, but at three P.M. the sun was obscured, to our inexpressible relief, and clouds full of thunder at length overcast the whole sky; only a few drops of rain fell about six P.M.; and at ten the heavens became clear, the air however was cool and refreshing.

PASS THE WESTERN EXTREMITY OF NUNDEWAR RANGE.

January 1, 1832.

We proceeded on the same bearing, travelling over a very level surface. As we approached the western extremity of the great range, we touched on an open plain, whereof the soil was very rich. The greater portion of it lay on the left, or westward of our route, or towards the river. After crossing it we again entered a thin scrub of Acacia pendula, which having been recently burnt was open and favourable for passing through. We afterwards crossed a succession of gentle undulations, and through an opening, along the bottom of one valley, I obtained a view over the flat country to the westward. The most remarkable feature was a naked ridge of yellowish rock which rose abruptly from the woody country, as if it overhung the river. I wished much to examine that singular mass, but we were proceeding with little prospect of finding water, and we had impassable scrubs before us, as well as rocky hills on our right. A valley at length appeared in our route, and in which from the nature of the mountains at its head, I hoped to find water. In this I was however disappointed, for the channel, although of considerable depth, was quite dry, and I in vain searched its bed for at least a mile upwards. At ten miles the most western head of the range of Nundewar bore north, its low western extremity being distant only about a quarter of a mile. We were about to cross some offsets from the range, when a thick scrub or brush obstructed our further progress in that direction. I entered it and penetrated about a mile and a half without discovering any indication of water, or any opening through which the carts might pass. The weather was extremely warm, and as we had come a long journey, I determined to encamp once more on the Namoi; and turning westward I followed a line of flats and hollows, which led me to the nearest bend of that river. We calculated we had travelled twenty-one miles, although the distance by latitude and angles taken on the hills is less. Thermometer 97 degrees in the shade. Where we encamped the river was shallow, with many dead trees in the channel; but a little lower down it formed a deep, broad, and extensive reach. The latitude as ascertained by the stars Aldebaran and Rigel was 30 degrees 24 minutes 44 seconds South.

January 2.

We pursued a north-west course after getting clear of the river, my object being to keep within reach of it, if possible, in case of scarcity of water. Yet with such a range on our right this was not much to be apprehended; indeed, our line of exploration was as favourable as could be wished, having a river on one hand, and a lofty range on the other; the country between presenting no impediment to our progress northward. At about two miles we crossed a small watercourse with some pools in it, and half a mile further the broad bed of a river, the course of which was towards the Namoi, but it did not contain much water. It could not be a long river in either direction, though the width, the height of banks, and the large water-worn stones in its bed, gave it the appearance of being at times a considerable stream. Some caution was necessary at both these watercourses in passing the carts over, the banks of both being steep; we crossed them however without much delay. We next ascended, by a gradual slope, a low ridge, which had on its summit a species of the eucalyptus with yellow bark, presenting a striking contrast to other trees, the line between them being also well defined. The rock consisted of red sandstone, the first I had seen to the northward of Liverpool range. On descending, which we did by a gentle slope, the scrub became gradually thin, and at length opened to a clear verdant surface, extending far to the north and west. It was now obvious that nothing could obstruct our progress into the regions beyond the great range. On the contrary, a beautiful open country lay at its base, reaching quite round it to the north-east. A fresh cooling breeze from the north-west fanned our faces as we beheld, for the first time, that fine country. The recollection of the rocks which we had endeavoured to cross further east perhaps heightened its beauty in our eyes, but the great range itself formed a sublime horizon on the east, some of the summits having very remarkably pointed or castellated forms.

UNKNOWN TREE.

One tree of an uncommon genus grew on the borders of the plain, and about a mile to the west one solitary hill stood in this plain, like an island in the sea. It was flat-topped, with a few trees on the summit. The uncommon tree was covered with a yellow blossom, the leaf was dark green and shining, and the wood was white.* The low country, which seemed most to promise water, was still distant, while the course of the Namoi was receding from our route as I had reason to believe from the position of the low ridge which I had crossed. An opening in the distance westward seemed to mark its course.

(*Footnote. See the Journal of my next Journey Chapter 2.8.)

WATER SCARCE.

I was still disposed to pursue a middle direction between the mountains and the river (35 degrees West of North) but I bore in mind the necessity for turning these ranges, so as to pass into that part of the country beyond them at which we should have arrived if we had crossed them where we first attempted, in order to determine the question as to the existence of the large river there, as stated by The Barber.

PROVIDENTIAL SUPPLY.

A rather elevated but grassy plain afforded little prospect of water being near at the time we were about to halt and rest, after a long journey, and I had directed the men to pitch the tents, despairing of reaching water that day, when I suddenly came upon a deep pool. I was truly sensible of the goodness of Providence, considering that this was to all appearance the only water within many miles, and on a plain where I had no reason to expect it. I could not then see how the pond was supplied.

CRAYFISH.

Neither was this all our good fortune, for having directed Jones (one of the men ablest at fishing) to try the pond, to the no small amusement of the others; he nevertheless drew out in a short time a good dish of crayfish (or lobsters, as they termed them). We had also killed a kangaroo that morning, which enabled us to feed our famished dogs, so that our entry on this new region could not have been more auspicious.

TRAP-HILL ON PLAINS.

In the afternoon I walked to the isolated hill of the plain, and found that it consisted of trap-rock, a solid mass projecting from the earth, with little or no soil upon it. Its greater elongation extended due north and south, conformable to the direction of most of the other summits I had ascended. The steepest side was towards the east, and its height was 50 feet above the plain. From this hill I perceived another like it, due south, and distant about half a mile.

The dead silence of the solitary plains around me was broken by the sound of a distant thunderstorm which was then exhausting itself on the Nundewar range, while the sun was setting in perfect tranquillity on the unbroken horizon of the west. Afterwards the night was dark and stormy, and at ten it began to rain, a circumstance rather alarming to us then, considering the nature of the soil of these plains, which a few days' rain must have rendered nearly impassable.

January 3.

A fine serene morning, although the eastern mountains still echoed under clouds of thunder. We left the Lobster Pond at six, and continued our route in the direction of 35 degrees west of north for the first twelve miles.

CUT THROUGH A SCRUB.

Having reached, at length, the northern limits of the plain, we encountered, after passing through some slight woods of Acacia pendula and eucalyptus, a thick brush through which we were obliged to open a way with axes for a mile and a half.

MEET A TRIBE OF NATIVES.

While engaged in this work, one of the men said he heard voices. On gaining once more the opener forest, we saw two newly felled trees which had been cut with an iron axe or tomahawk; and immediately after we perceived the natives at a little distance. They were hurrying off, but being most anxious to conciliate them and gain if possible some information respecting the country, I sent Dawkins, who was an eager volunteer on the occasion, forward to them, and he prevailed on several to stop and speak to him, while their women and children decamped. When they seemed no longer disposed to run, I ventured forward; but those who had got round Dawkins, on seeing me approach, made off, one by one, until none remained when I rode up to Dawkins, except a young man. Not a word was understood on either side, yet our new acquaintance talked fluently, and also repeated what we said to him. He carried no spear or weapon, with the exception of three little sticks, which he held in the left hand; neither did he wear any dress or ornament, nor was his skin much scarified. His features were not bad, and they wore an expression of extreme good nature. We now regretted more than ever the absence of Mr. Brown, as with his assistance we might now have learnt so much respecting the rivers and the country before us. The tribe appeared to consist of about thirty individuals; those who remained, at a distance, carried spears, and were evidently much afraid of us. The string of low slang words which the natives nearer the colony suppose to be our language, while our stockmen believe they speak theirs, was of no use here. In vain did Dawkins address them thus: "What for you jerran budgerry whitefellow?" "Whitefellow brother belong it to blackfellow."* Neither had the piece of tobacco, which he had put in the stranger's mouth, any effect in bringing intelligible words out of it, although the poor fellow complacently chewed the bitter weed. He readily ate some bread which was given him, and on presenting him with a halfpenny he signified by gesture that he should wear it at his breast, a fashion of the natives nearer the colony. I placed in his hand a small tomahawk, the most valuable of gifts to his tribe; and leaving him enriched thus, we quietly continued our journey, that the tribe might see our purpose had no particular reference to them, and that they had no cause for alarm, as our behaviour to the young man must have sufficiently testified.

(*Footnote. Meaning: Why are you afraid of a good white man? The white man is the black man's brother.)

We soon after entered another extensive plain on which the rich soil, when we had got halfway across, changed to a stiff clay, the grass marking the change by a difference of colour, being red on the clay and quite green on the other soil. This clay occupied the highest part of the plain. Passing through another scrub of Acacia pendula we reached a still more extensive plain, and while we were crossing it I was informed, by the carpenter, that the wheels of one of the carts were falling to pieces and required immediate repair. We accordingly halted, and some wedges were driven into them. The thermometer here stood at 97 degrees.

AGAIN OBLIGED TO CUT OUR WAY.

A brush of Acacia pendula also bounded this plain on the north; and beyond it we entered a scrub of forest-oak (casuarina) which was so very thick that we were compelled to halt the carts until a way could be cut through it for upwards of two miles; beyond that distance however the brush opened into patches of clearer ground. We had changed our course to north in the large plain, and had preserved this direction in cutting through these scrubs. It was now four P.M., and during the whole journey from six A.M., we had seen no water; the day also was exceedingly warm, and I was riding in advance of the party, and looking at some elevated ground in an opening of the wood with thoughts of encamping there, but very doubtful whether we should ever see water again.

FORTUNATE DISCOVERY OF WATER.

When almost in despair I observed a small hollow with an unusually large gumtree hanging over it; and my delight under such circumstances may be imagined, when I perceived on going forward, the goodly white trunk of the tree reflected in a large pond. A grassy flat beside the water proved quite a home to us, affording food for our cattle, and rest from the fatigues of that laborious day. We found these ponds in situations which seemed rather elevated above the adjacent plains, at least their immediate banks were higher; hence we usually came upon them where we least expected to see water, before we were acquainted with this peculiarity of the country. The pond where we now encamped was connected with several others that were dry, but it was quite impossible at that time to discover which way the current ran in times of flood. The latitude was 30 degrees 6 minutes 30 seconds South. In the evening the sky was illuminated so much by an extensive fire in the woods near us that the light was clearer in our camp than the brightest moonlight.

DRY VALLEYS.

January 4.

Continuing due north, we just avoided some thick scrubs, which either on the right or left would have been very difficult to penetrate. The woods opened gradually however, into a thick copse of Acacia pendula, and at the end of three miles we reached the eastern skirts of an extensive open plain, the ground gently undulating. At 4 3/4 miles, on ascending a slight eminence, we suddenly overlooked a rather deep channel, containing abundance of water in ponds, the opposite banks being the highest ground visible. The vast plains thus watered consist chiefly of a rich dark-coloured earth, to the depth of 30 or 40 feet. Unabraded fragments of trap are not uncommon in the soil of these plains, and I imagined there was a want of symmetry in the hollows and slopes as compared with features more closely connected with hills elsewhere. At 8 1/2 miles, perceiving boundless plains to the northward, I changed the direction of our route 24 degrees east of north. The plains extended westward to the horizon, and opened to our view an extensive prospect towards the north-east, into the country north of the range of Nundewar, a region apparently champaign, but including a few isolated and picturesque hills. Patches of wood were scattered over the level parts, and we hastened towards a land of such promising aspect. Water however was the great object of our search, but I had no doubt that I should find enough in a long valley before us, which descended from the range on the east. In this I was nevertheless mistaken; for although the valley was well escarped, it did not contain even the trace of a watercourse.

MOUNT FRAZER.

Crossing the ridge beyond it, to a valley still deeper, which extended under a ridge of very remarkable hills, we met with no better success; nor yet when we had followed the valley to its union with another, under a hill which I named Mount Frazer, after the botanist of that name.

THE PARTY IN DISTRESS FOR WANT OF WATER.

No other prospect of relief from this most distressing of all privations remained to us, and the day was one of extraordinary heat, for the thermometer, which had never before been above 101 degrees on this journey, now stood at 108 degrees in the shade. The party had travelled sixteen miles, and the cattle could not be driven further with any better prospect of finding water. We therefore encamped in this valley while I explored it upwards, but found all dry and desolate. Mr. White returned late, after a most laborious but equally fruitless search northward, and we consequently passed a most disagreeable afternoon. Unable to eat, the cattle lay groaning, and the men extended on their backs watched some heavy thunderclouds which at length stretched over the sky; the very crows sat on the trees with their mouths open.

The thunder roared and the cloud broke darkly over us, but its liquid contents seemed to evaporate in the middle air. At half-past seven a strong hot wind set in from the north-east and continued during the night. Thermometer 90 degrees. I was suddenly awoke from feverish sleep by a violent shaking of my tent, and I distinctly heard the flapping of very large wings, as if some bird, perhaps an owl, had perched upon it.

January 5.

The sun's rays were scorching before his red orb had cleared the horizon, but ere he appeared the party was in motion. No dew had fallen, yet even the distressed bullocks and horses seemed to participate in the hope which led us forward. With one accord men and quadrupeds hastened from the inhospitable valley, common sufferers from the want of an element so essential to the living world. Continuing on the same bearing of 24 degrees east of north we reached the highest part of some clear ground, at about two miles from where we had encamped, and from this spot I obtained an extensive view over the country before us. The ground sloped for several miles towards a line of trees beyond which a steep ridge extended parallel to that line, and upwards to the mountains, evidently enclosing a channel of drainage, so that I ventured at once, on seeing this, to assure the men that I saw where we should meet with water. The way to it was all downhill, open and smooth; while the Nundewar range, now to the southward, presented, on this northern side, a beautiful variety of summits.

WATER FOUND NEXT DAY. DISCOVER A SMALL RIVER.

I galloped impatiently towards the line of wood, and found there a meandering channel full of water, with steep banks of soft earth, apparently a small river, and I hastened back with the welcome intelligence to the men. The extreme heat and the fatigue of travelling could not have been borne much longer. One man (Woods) had been left behind at his own request, being unable even to ride, from violent pains in his stomach; another was also so ill that he could not walk; the bullocks still drew, but with their tongues protruding most piteously. I sent a man on horseback back with a kettleful of water to Woods. The cattle being unyoked rushed to the stream, and in half an hour we were all comfortably encamped, with good grass beside us for the cattle. The bottom of this small river-channel was in no part gravelly, but consisted of soft earth, in which however the cattle did not sink very deep. Fragments of flint, basalt, and quartz, apparently not worn by attrition, abound in the adjacent soil. The general direction of the watercourse appeared to be about 36 degrees north of west.

DUCKS.

At a pond above our camp the carpenter shot two ducks of a kind not previously seen by us, having a purple speck on the head, behind the ear.

We had now arrived in the country beyond the mountains which we had in vain attempted to cross, having found an open and accessible way round them; it remained to be ascertained whether the large river, as described by The Bushranger, was near; according to him it was the first river to be met with after crossing the range north-east by north of Tangulda.

At four P.M. the thermometer stood at 101 degrees. The latitude was ascertained in the evening to be 29 degrees 50 minutes 29 seconds South.

WHEEL PONDS.

January 6.

The morning was rather cool, with clouds and distant thunder. We now proceeded in a northerly direction until we were impeded by scrub, about three miles from the camp. Through this we cut our way, keeping as closely in the northern direction as the openings would allow. At length the wheels of one of the carts, and the axle of another, became unserviceable, and could not be repaired, unless we halted for two days. As they could only be dragged a few miles further, I went forward as soon as we got clear of the scrubs, which extended three miles, in search of water for an encampment. I came upon a slight hollow and followed it down, but it disappeared on a level plain, bounded on each side by rising grounds. One dry pond encouraged my hopes, and I continued my search along a narrow flat, where the grass had been recently on fire. From this point, and while pursuing a kangaroo, I came upon a well marked watercourse with deep holes, but all these were dry. Tracing the line of these holes downwards to where the other flat united with it I found, exactly in the point of junction, as I had reason to expect, a deep pool of water. Once more therefore we could encamp, especially as two very large ponds on a rocky bed were found a little lower than that water first discovered. This element was daily becoming more precious in our estimation, and I had reason to be very anxious about it, on account of Mr. Finch, who was following in our track. The spot on which we encamped was covered with rich grass, and enclosed by shady casuarinae and thick brush. The prospect of two days' repose for the cattle on that verdure, and under these shades, was most refreshing to us all. It was, indeed, a charming spot, enlivened by numbers of pigeons, and the songs of little birds, in strange, but very pleasing notes.

Here I again remarked that among these casuarinae scrubs the eucalyptus, so common in the colony, was only to be seen near water; so that its white shining bark and gnarled branches, while they reminded us of home at Sydney, also marked out the spots for fixing our nightly home in the bush.

EXCESSIVE HEAT AND DROUGHT.

January 7.

The night had been unusually hot, the thermometer having stood at 90 degrees, and there had not been a breath of wind. Few of the men had slept. Thus even night, which had previously afforded us some protection from our great enemy, the heat, no longer relieved us from its effects; and this incessant high temperature which weakened the cattle, dried up the waters, destroyed our wheels, and nourished the fires that covered the country with smoke, made humidity appear to us the very essence of existence, and water almost an object of adoration. No disciple of Zoroaster could have made proselytes of us. The thermometer ranged from 96 to 101 degrees during the day, and during the last five nights had stood as high as 90 degrees between sunset and sunrise. From the time the party left Sydney rain had fallen on only one day. We left each friendly waterhole in the greatest uncertainty whether we should ever drink again, and it may be imagined with what interest, under such circumstances, I watched the progress of a cloudy sky. It was not uncommon for the heavens to be overcast, but the clouds seemed to consist more of smoke than moist vapour. The wind, from the time of our first arrival in the country, had blown from the north or north-west, and the bent of trees, at all exposed, showed that these were the prevailing winds.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODS.

The country when seen from an eminence appeared to be very generally wooded, but the lower parts were perfectly clear, or thinly strewed with bushes, and slender trees, chiefly varieties of acacia. The principal wood consisted of casuarinae which grew in thick clumps, or scrubs, and very much impeded, as has already been stated, our progress in any given direction. I found that these scrubs of casuarinae grew generally on rising grounds, and chiefly on their northern or eastern slopes. We saw little of the callitris tribe, after we had crossed the first hill beyond our last camp on the Namoi. On the contrary, these casuarinae scrubs and grassy plains seemed to characterise the country to the westward and northward of the Nundewar range, as far, at least, as we had yet penetrated. The course of this chain of ponds appeared to be parallel to that on which we had previously encamped, 36 degrees North of West. A yellow, highly calcareous sandstone occurred in the bed and banks of this stream, forming a stratum from two or three feet in thickness, and in parts of the upper surface nodules of ironstone were embedded.

On examining our wheels, we found that the heat had damaged them very much, some of the spokes having shrunk more than an inch. The carpenter managed however to repair them this day.

January 8.

The morning was cool and pleasant, with a breeze from the west. We left the ponds (named Wheel Ponds) exactly at six A.M., and, after travelling a mile, entered a scrub through which we were compelled to cut a lane with axes, for three miles; when at length the wood opened, and some trees of that species of eucalyptus called box grew on the flats. At five miles from our camp I shot a kangaroo.

MEET WITH NATIVES.

At seven miles, as we entered a forest,* we heard the sound of the natives' hatchets, and we saw soon after their fires at a distance. We at length came unawares upon a native in a tree, for he was so busy at work cutting out an opossum, that he did not see us, until we were very near him. A gin and child gave the alarm, upon which he stared at the strange assemblage with a look of horror, and immediately calling to the female in an authoritative tone, she disappeared in the woods. He then threw a club, or nulla-nulla, to the foot of the tree, and ascended to the highest branch. I called to him, and made such signs as I thought most likely to give him confidence and remove his apprehensions of harm; but apparently to no purpose, for his reply was "Ogai!" pronounced in a loud imperative tone. I thought it best to proceed quietly on our way; whereupon he descended and ran off, having picked up two spears which lay near the tree. We heard calls in various directions, and witefellow pronounced very loudly and distinctly. Witefellow, or wite ma, appears to be their name (of course derived from us) for our race, and this appellation probably accompanies the first intelligence of such strangers to the most remote, interior regions.

(*Footnote. A forest means in New South Wales, an open wood, with grass. The common bush or scrub consists of trees and saplings, where little grass is to be found.)

CROSS THE DRY BED OF A RIVER.

We soon after came upon the bank of a river-course, in the bed of which, although deep, broad, and gravelly, there was no water; its general direction was westward. At eight miles we entered upon an extensive, open plain, which reached to the horizon in the direction of 10 degrees West of North. We crossed it, continuing our journey northward, until a thick scrub obliged me to turn to the east.

A FRIENDLY NATIVE WITH HIS FAMILY.

At thirteen miles, being again in a wood, we heard the native axe at work, and, naturally eager to communicate with or even see the faces of fellow-creatures in these dismal solitudes, I allowed Dawkins to go towards them unarmed, that he might, at least by signs, ascertain where water was to be found. A considerable time having elapsed without his reappearance, I went after him, and found him in communication (by signs) with a very civil native, who had just carried a quantity of wild honey to his gin and child, having first offered some to Dawkins. This man betrayed no signs of fear, neither had he any offensive weapons, but he refused to accompany Dawkins to the rest of the party, rather inviting the latter, by signs, to accompany him. For water, he pointed both to the north-east and south-west, and all around, as if it had been abundant; numerous pigeons and kangaroos also showed that there was some at no great distance; nevertheless we were doomed to pass another night without any, after a long day's journey.