Bay from the south-east I turned up its bed, and we were
then able to move along with tolerable facility. This watercourse ran at
the bottom of a red sandstone ravine resembling the old red sandstone of
England; and the remainder of the evening was spent in clambering about
the rocks and endeavouring to avoid such natural obstacles as impeded our
route. Our progress was slow, and just before nightfall I turned up a
branch ravine trending to the southward, when we soon found ourselves at
the foot of a lofty cascade down which a little water was slowly
dropping; and on climbing to its summit it appeared to be so well adapted
for a halting-place for the night that I determined to remain here. The
men made themselves comfortable near the waterholes, and Mr. Smith and
myself crept into a little cave which occasionally served as a
resting-place for the natives, the remains of whose fires were scattered
about. A wild woodland and rocky scenery was around us; and when the moon
rose and shed her pale light over all I sat with Mr. Smith on the edge of
the waterfall, gazing alternately into the dim woody abyss below, and at
the red fires and picturesque groups of men, than which fancy could
scarcely image a wilder scene.

NATIVE PATH AND WELL.

April 3.

Before the day had fully dawned we were under weigh. Our course for the
first mile or two was embarrassed by ravines and scrub similar to that we
had yesterday met with; our progress was therefore very slow, but we at
length emerged on elevated sandy downs, thickly clothed with banksia
trees, and across these we came upon a well-beaten native path running to
the south by east, which was exactly our line of route. We had not
followed this path for more than four miles when we found a most
romantically-situated native well, surrounded by shrubs and graceful
wattle trees, and of a depth and size such as we had never before
observed. Here then we seated ourselves, and upon such scanty fare as we
had made a sparing breakfast. This however but very insufficiently
supplied our wants; and as we sat at this little well, thus surrounded
with such fairy scenery, a variety of philosophic reflections crossed our
minds and found vent in words. Nothing could be more delightfully
romantic than our present position. Both as regarded danger, scenery,
savages, and unknown lands, we were in precisely the situation in which
Mr. Cooper and other novelists delight to depict their travellers, with
th