They Were Fine, Stout, Well Made People, And Most Of Them Young; But A Few Old Women, With White Circles Painted On Their Faces, Kept In The Back Ground.

They were much struck with the white skins of my companions, and repeatedly patted them in admiration.

Their replies to inquiries respecting water were not understood; but they seemed very anxious to induce us to go down the river.

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

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

Feb. 29. - It was cloudy in the morning, and became more so during the day, with easterly and north-easterly winds. As soon as our capricious horses were found, which had wandered more than eight miles through a dense Bricklow scrub, in search of food and water, we started and travelled about ten miles in a north-east direction, leaving the windings of the river to the left. The character of the country continued the same; the same Ironbark forest, with here and there some remarkably pretty spots; and the same Bastard-box flats, with belts of scrub, approaching the river. At about nine miles from Skull Creek, which I supposed to be in latitude 21 degrees 42 minutes, the Isaacs breaks through a long range of sandstone hills; beyond which the country opens into plains with detached patches of scrub, and downs, with "devil-devil" land and its peculiar vegetation, and into very open forest. The river divides into two branches, one coming from the eastward, and the other from the northward. It rained hard during our journey, and, by the time we reached the water-hole which Mr. Gilbert had found, we were wet to the skin.

In consequence of the additional fatigues of the day, I allowed some pieces of fat to be fried with our meat.

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