ity of a tribe of natives, about
fifty in number, the majority of whom were boys as mischievous as
monkeys, and as great thieves too, but we reduced them to some kind of
order by a little patience. The Darling had less water than in the
previous year before the flood, but its flats were covered with grass, of
which hundreds of tons might have been cut, so that our cattle speedily
began to improve in condition.

About this time the weather was exceedingly oppressive, and heavy
thunder-clouds hung about, but no rain fell.

Our journey on the 28th was comparatively short. We passed the location
of another tribe during the day, and recovered our letter-bag, which had
been left by our messengers with a native belonging to it. Here the old
Boocolo left us and returned to Williorara.

The last days of 1845 and the few first of 1846 were exceedingly
oppressive, and the heat was almost as great as in the interior itself.

On the 5th of January we crossed over from the Darling to its ancient
channel, and on the 6th Mr. Browne left for Adelaide. On the 8th I
reached Lake Victoria, where I learnt that our old friend Nadbuck had
been speared by a native, whose jealousy he had excited, but that his
wound was not mortal. He was somewhere on the Rufus, which I did not
approach, but made a signal fire in the hope that he would have seen it,
and, had they not been spoiled, I should have thrown up a rocket at
night. However Nadbuck heard of our return, and made a successful effort
to get to us, and tears chased each other down the old man's cheeks when
he saw us again. Assuredly these poor people of the desert have the most
kindly feelings; for not only was his reception of us such as I have
described, but the natives one and all exhibited the utmost joy at our
safety, and cheered us on every part of the river.

It blew very heavily on the night of the 10th, but moderated towards the
morning, and the day turned out cooler than usual. The lagoons of the
Murray were full of fish and wild fowl, and my distribution of all the
hooks and lines I had brought back enabled my sable friends to capture an
abundance of the former without going into the water, and they very soon
appreciated the value of such instruments.

On the 13th I left Mr. Piesse in charge of the party, and pushed on to
Moorundi, and arrived at the settlement, into which I was escorted by the
natives raising loud shouts, on the 15th. Here my kind friends made me as
comforta