Large Heaps Of Muscle-Shells, Which Have Given Food To Successive Generations Of The Natives, Cover The Steep Sloping Banks Of The River, And Indicate That This Part Of The Country Is Very Populous.

The tracks of the natives were well beaten, and the fire-places in their camps numerous.

The whole country had been on fire; smouldering logs, scattered in every direction, were often rekindled by the usual night breeze, and made us think that the Blackfellows were collecting in numbers around us, - and more particularly on the opposite side of the river; added to which, the incessant splashing of numerous large fishes greatly contributed to augment our fears. As a matter of precaution, therefore, we tied our horses near our sleeping-place, and gathered the grass which grew along the edge of the water for them to eat; and it was not till daylight that our alarm vanished.

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

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

Jan. 18. - Leaving my party to complete the process of drying and packing the charqui, I started with my two black companions to examine the country to the north-west. After passing the gullies in the immediate neighbourhood of the river, we came to sandstone ridges covered with an almost impenetrable scrub; chiefly composed of stiff and prickly shrubs, many of them dead, with dry branches filling the intervals. As no grass grew on the poor soil, the bush-fires - those scavengers of the forest - are unable to enter and consume the dead wood, which formed the principal obstacle to our progress. Difficult, however, as it was to penetrate such thickets with pack-bullocks, I had no choice left, and therefore proceeded in the same direction. In a short time, we reached an open Bricklow scrub containing many dry water-holes, which, farther on, united into a watercourse. We passed a creek flowing to the eastward to join the Mackenzie, and continued our route through patches of Bricklow scrub, alternating with Bastard-box forest, and open Vitex scrub, in which the Moreton Bay ash was very plentiful. About eight miles from our camp, we came upon an open forest of narrow-leaved Ironbark (E. resinifera) and Bastard-box, covering gentle slopes, from which shallow well-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 favourable place for the camp, I sent Charley back, to guide my party through the scrub; whilst I proceeded with Brown to examine the creek upwards, to the north-west. After a ride of about five miles, during which several fine lagoons 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.

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