ed upon its banks, which were composed of
a light tenacious earth. Brushes of casuarina existed near it, but a
tortuous box was the prevailing tree, which, excepting for the knees of
small vessels, could not have been applied to any use, while the
flooded-gum had entirely disappeared. Some ducks were shot in the
afternoon, which proved a great treat, as we had been living for some time
on salt provisions. Our animals fared worse than ourselves, as the bed of
the creek was occupied by coarse rushes, and but little vegetation was
elsewhere to be seen. I here killed a beautiful snake, of about four feet
in length, and of a bright yellow colour: I had not, however, the means of
preserving it. Fraser collected numerous botanical specimens, and among
them two kinds of caparis. Indeed a great alteration had taken place in
the minor shrubs, and few of those now prevalent had been observed to the
eastward of the marshes.

From the creek, which both I and Mr. Hume must have crossed on our
respective journeys, we held a westerly course for about fifteen miles,
through a country of alternate plain and brush, the latter predominating,
and in its general character differing but little from that we had
traversed the day previous.

The acacia pendula still continued to exist on the plains backed by dark
rows of cypresses (Cupressus callitris). In the brushes, box and
casuarina (Casuarina tortuosa), with several other kinds of eucalypti,
prevailed; but none of them were sufficiently large to be of use. The
plains were so extremely level that a meridian altitude could have been
taken without any material error; and I doubt much whether it would have
been possible to have traversed them had the season been wet.

HUNTING PARTY OF NATIVES.

As we were travelling through a forest we surprised a hunting party of
natives. Mr. Hume and I were considerably in front of our party at the
time, and he only had his gun with him. We had been moving along so
quietly that we were not for some time observed by them. Three were seated
on the ground, under a tree, and two others were busily employed on one of
the lower branches cutting out honey. As soon as they saw us, four of them
ran away; but the fifth, who wore a cap of emu feathers, stood for a
moment looking at us, and then very deliberately dropped out of the tree
to the ground. I then advanced towards him, but before I got round a bush
that intervened, he had darted away. I was fearful that he