ed amongst the woods, and welcomed us to
the Torrid Zone. Until now, during every clear night the air had been
frosty. Latitude, 24 deg. 6' 50" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 34 deg.; at noon,
68 deg.; at 4 P.M., 61 deg.; at 9, 47 deg..

[* See page 285.]

[* D. FILIFOLIA (Hook. MS.); foliis sparsis ramis binis ternisve
lineariangustissimis elongatis subrugosis viscosis glabris utrinque
canaliculatis falcatis, fructibus trialatis.]

Chapter VI.

THE PARTY DESCENDS INTO A VALLEY FALLING NORTHWARD.--COMES UPON A CHAIN
OF PONDS.--THE HEAD OF THE RIVER BELYANDO.--FOLLOW IT DOWN, THROUGH MUCH
WATER SCARCE AT FIRST, IN ITS BED.--RANGE OF HILLS VISIBLE TO THE
EASTWARD.--CROSS THE TROPIC OF CAPRICORN.--MOUNT NARRIEN.--OPEN PLAINS,
WEST OF THE RIVER.--WATER MORE PLENTIFUL.--NEW PLANTS DISCOVERED.--DRY
CHANNEL OF A LARGE RIVER JOINS FROM S.W.--CROSS IT AND PROCEED N.W.--FROM
A HEIGHT OBTAIN A VIEW OF THE NORTHERN HORIZON.--MUCH BRIGALOW SCRUB
TRAVERSED.--REACH THE RIVER BY MOONLIGHT.--FOLLOW THE CHANNEL MORE
CLOSELY.--COME UPON LARGE REACHES OF WATER.--ANOTHER DRY CHANNEL JOINS
FROM W.S.W.--RIDE OF RECONNAISSANCE BEYOND IT, TO THE NORTH-WEST.--CROSS
FINE DOWNS.--LIMESTONE IN A THICK SCRUB.--ENTER THICK BRIGALOW.--NIGHT
WITHOUT WATER.--NEXT DAY MEET WITH THE RIVER.--ITS COURSE BEING EASTWARD
OF NORTH, DETERMINE TO RETURN.--NATIVES.--RETRACE OUR TRACK TO THE
PYRAMIDS, IN ORDER TO EXPLORE MORE TO THE WESTWARD.--PREPARE TO DEPART,
WITH TWO MEN AND YURANIGH.--WRITE DESPATCH TO THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.

20TH JULY.--AFTER a little trouble with the gullies and brigalow scrub,
on first setting off, we came upon fine undulating open forest land, and
crossed many a gully and small water-course, all declining towards the
N.E. A very remarkable flat-topped hill appeared on our right, resembling
a wart, on one of these ridges; to the northward it was precipitous, and
seemed to consist of a very red rock. At length, after crossing a ridge
rather broader than the rest, with some brigalow scrub upon it, and one
or two specimens of that tree of solitary places, the bottle tree,
(DELABECHEA) we arrived at valleys and water-courses descending to the
southward of west, into a valley turning to the N.W. One, at length, on
our right, taking the direction in which I was proceeding, viz., 10 deg. W.
of N., I followed it down, and thus entered a broader valley leading N.W.
Following this, on a wide flat of open forest, we found at length a fine
pond