after we parted. We also left them all the
fishing-hooks.

Mr. Walker's party instantly commenced on the system of halting, and
instead of moving on in the afternoon remained where they were that day
for the purpose of resting themselves.

The country we travelled over for the first two miles was pretty good,
being a series of grassy plains. At this point we came to a belt of thick
wood which we found exceedingly difficult to traverse. We then continued
our south by east course for four miles further over undulating sandy
downs, and halted for the night in a small clump of Banksia trees which
afforded plenty of wood for our fires.

April 11.

About an hour before daylight I roused the party, and as soon as it was
light enough to distinguish the surrounding objects we started. Our route
lay along a series of undulating sandy hills which sloped down to a
fertile plain, four or five miles in width, on the western side of which
rose a low range of dunes, and beyond these was the sea. We found the
walking along these hills very difficult on account of the prickly scrub
with which they were covered, and the general appearance of the country
to the eastward was barren and unpromising.

COURSE IMPEDED BY A THICK WOOD.

The course I pursued was about south by east, but we soon found ourselves
embarrassed in thick woods through which it was almost impossible to
force a way: the trees were not large but so matted together that it
required my utmost exertions to prevail upon the men to persist in
pushing through them, indeed it will afterwards be found that these woods
had a most disastrous effect upon the spirits of that portion of the
party which followed me. It was however absolutely necessary to make our
way through one of these which formed a belt of nearly a mile in width,
running almost east and west as far as the eye could see in each
direction.

I therefore gave a bold plunge into the bushes, followed by the native
and slowly by the other men, who kept alternately groaning from fatigue
and pain and uttering imprecations against the country they were in.
Having cleared this wood I turned rather more inland, and we pursued our
route over barren scrubby plains, and, after having travelled about
fifteen miles over this uninteresting description of country, we suddenly
found ourselves on the top of a low range which overlooked a most
luxuriant valley of about three miles in width, its general direction
appearing to be