f that river, according to my instructions and in
hopes of discovering a better country. My anxiety about the safety of the
depot brought me more speedily to this determination. During the wet and
cold weather there might be less activity among the savage natives, but
it was not probable that the tribe which had collected 500 men to attack
Captain Sturt would be quiet in my rear after having lost some of their
number. To be in detached parties amongst a savage population was
perilous in proportion to the length of time we continued separate; and I
did not feel warranted in exhausting all my means in order to attain, by
a circuitous route, the point where my survey ought to have commenced;
while a second duty for which the means now left were scarcely adequate
remained to be performed. I had already reached a point far above where
any boat could be taken, or even any heavy carts; and nothing was to be
gained by following the river further.

The natives were heard by Piper several times during the day's journey in
the woods beyond the river, as if moving along the right bank in a route
parallel with ours; but they did not appear near our camp, although their
smoke was seen at a distance.

RAINY MORNING.

June 2.

For several days the barometer had been falling and this morning the
weather was rainy and cold.

RETURN OF THE PARTY.

After tracing the further course of the Darling for some distance and
obtaining, during an interval of sunshine, a view from a sandhill which
commanded a very extensive prospect to the northward, I commenced the
retrograde movement along our route, which was but too deeply visible in
the sand. From what Piper had said the men expected an engagement during
the morning; and it was doubtful, on account of the wetness of the day,
whether their pieces would go off if the natives came on; but fortunately
we continued our journey unmolested. We reached our former encampment
notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the ground, and again pitched
our tents upon it. We found among the scrubs this day a new curious
species of Baeckea with extremely small scattered leaves not larger than
grains of millet, plano-convex and covered with pellucid dots.*

(*Footnote. B. crassifolia, Lindley manuscripts; glaberrima, foliis
subrotundis oblongisque obtusis plano-convexis crassis, floribus
solitariis axillaribus pedicellatis cernuis, laciniis calycinis
marginatis integerrimis petalis integris brevioribus.)