eir presence, and, in an
unguarded moment, might so easily surprise and spear some of the party.

APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY.

The rain continued to fall throughout the 20th, rendering our condition
every hour worse. Towards noon however the weather cleared a little, and
in a fine interval I mounted a high range of basaltic hills which lay
about a mile and a half to the westward. These hills were the highest
which I had yet ascended; and from them I gained a very extensive view.
The farthest extremity of the sandstone range which lay to the southward
and eastward did not appear to be more than ten or twelve miles distant.
Behind this barren range there again rose the conical tops of basaltic
hills, clothed in the greenest grass; and beyond these, in the far
south-east, I made out with the telescope a range of very lofty hills,
which, stretching their heads high into the clouds, left me without means
of forming any idea of their elevation: but even the portion of them
which met my view must have had a very considerable altitude. I took a
set of angles from this point but the mistiness of the day rendered it
very unfit for my purpose. Whilst I was thus occupied, we heard the cries
and calls of a party of natives between us and the tents. From the
loudness and proximity of these I augured badly and therefore hurried my
return; but we neither saw the natives themselves nor their tracks, and
were quite in ignorance as to what had been their intentions. Soon after
sunset the weather cleared up a little, and the stars, which came peeping
out, promised well for the next day.

NATIVES NEAR THE CAMP AGAIN.

March 21.

Although it had rained during the night and the sun this morning rose
bright and clear the country was still impassable owing to the late
continued torrents. I therefore went out with a detachment for the
purpose of exploring a route by which we could proceed the next day, as
well as to define some more points in the country we were about to enter.
In the course of our walk we crossed the track of the natives we had
heard yesterday. Their party must have been large, for they approached to
within about three hundred yards of the tents, leaving a trail as broad
and large as was made by our ponies and party together. I did not much
like their hanging about us for so many days as I rather mistrusted their
intentions; their object however appeared to have been to examine the
ponies, for they had only come as far as t