- At eight o'clock the horses set forward with half the
baggage; with considerable difficulty they at length reached the hill,
and were immediately sent back for the remainder of the stores.
The hill
was about three miles from our camp, and from it a view of Arbuthnot's
Range was obtained, distant nine or ten miles: its elevated points were
extremely lofty, and of a dark, barren, and gloomy appearance; the rocks
were of a dark grey, approaching to black, and from their crevices, a
few stunted trees protruded themselves. It was half past three o'clock
before every thing was removed to the foot of the hill, when it was much
too late to think of proceeding, anxious as we were to arrive at the
main range itself. We killed this day one of the largest kangaroos we
had seen in any part of New South Wales, being from one hundred and
fifty to one hundred and eighty pounds weight. These animals live in
flocks like sheep; and I do not exaggerate, when I say that some
hundreds were seen in the vicinity of this hill; it was consequently
named Kangaroo Hill: several beautiful little rills of water have their
source in it, but are soon lost in the immeasurable morass at its base.
August 7. - About a mile from Kangaroo Hill, after crossing a marshy
plain, we came to a limestone rock, spreading in smaller pieces over a
low hill. It is somewhat remarkable, that this stone should again be
found precisely under the same meridian as seen on the Lachlan and
Macquarie Rivers:
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