him on his horse. It was a day well calculated to impress on the
Blackfellows the difference between riding and walking, between finding a
meal ready after a fatiguing journey, and looking out for food for
themselves. Hearing Brown's cooee as we were travelling along, Mr. Roper
stopped behind until Brown came up to him, and expressed his desire to
rejoin my party, as he had had quite enough of his banishment and bush
life; and, before sunset, he arrived quite exhausted at our
camping-place, and begged me to pardon him, which I did, under the former
condition, that he was to have no farther communication with Charley, to
which he most willingly assented.

Feb. 22.--On a ride with Mr. Gilbert up the river, we observed several
large reedy holes in its bed, in which the Blackfellows had dug wells;
they were still moist, and swarms of hornets were buzzing about them.
About eight miles north-west from the junction of North Creek with the
river, a large flight of cockatoos again invited us to some good
water-holes extending along a scrubby rise. Large Bastard-box flats lie
between North Creek and the river. About four miles from the camp, the
country rises to the left of the river, and ranges and isolated hills are
visible, which are probably surrounded by plains. Wherever I had an
opportunity of examining the rocks, I found sandstone; flint pebbles and
fossil-wood are in the scrub and on the melon-hole flats.

At night, on my return, I had to pass Charley's camp, which was about a
hundred yards from ours. He called after me, and, when I stopped, he came
up to me, and began to plead his cause and beg my pardon; he excused his
sulkiness and his bad behaviour by his temperament and some
misunderstanding; and tried to look most miserable and wretched, in order
to excite my compassion. My companions had seen him sitting alone under
his tree, during almost the whole day, beating his bommerangs which he
had received from the natives. I pitied him, and, after some consultation
with my companions, allowed him to rejoin us; but upon the condition that
he should give up his tomahawk, to which he most joyfully consented, and
promised for the future to do every thing I should require. His spirit
was evidently broken, and I should probably never have had to complain of
him again, had no other agent acted upon him.

Feb. 23.--I moved on to the water-holes, which I had found the day
before, and encamped in the shade of a Fusanus. The latitu