ing the windings
of the river to the left. The character of the country continued the
same; the same Ironbark forest, with here and there some remarkably
pretty spots; and the same Bastard-box flats, with belts of scrub,
approaching the river. At about nine miles from Skull Creek, which I
supposed to be in latitude 21 degrees 42 minutes, the Isaacs breaks
through a long range of sandstone hills; beyond which the country opens
into plains with detached patches of scrub, and downs, with "devil-devil"
land and its peculiar vegetation, and into very open forest. The river
divides into two branches, one coming from the eastward, and the other
from the northward. It rained hard during our journey, and, by the time
we reached the water-hole which Mr. Gilbert had found, we were wet to the
skin.

In consequence of the additional fatigues of the day, I allowed some
pieces of fat to be fried with our meat. Scarcely a fortnight ago, some
of my companions had looked with disgust on the fat of our stews, and had
jerked it contemptuously out of their plates; now, however, every one of
us thought the addition of fat a peculiar favour, and no one hesitated to
drink the liquid fat, after having finished his meat. This relish
continued to increase as our bullocks became poorer; and we became as
eager to examine the condition of a slaughtered beast, as the natives,
whose practice in that respect we had formerly ridiculed.

As I had made a set of lunar observations at Skull camp, which I wished
to calculate, I sent Mr. Roper up the north branch of the Isaacs to look
for water; and, on his return, he imparted the agreeable intelligence,
that he had found fine holes of water at about nine or ten miles distant,
and that the country was still more open, and abounded with game,
particularly emus.

CHAPTER VI

HEADS OF THE ISAACS--THE SUTTOR--FLINT-ROCK--INDICATIONS OF WATER--DINNER
OF THE NATIVES APPROPRIATED BY US--EASTER SUNDAY--ALARM OF AN OLD
WOMAN--NATIVES SPEAKING A LANGUAGE ENTIRELY UNKNOWN TO CHARLEY AND
BROWN--A BARTER WITH THEM--MOUNT M'CONNEL.

I was detained at this place from the 1st to the 4th March, from a severe
attack of lumbago, which I had brought on by incautiously and, perhaps,
unnecessarily exposing myself to the weather, in my botanical and other
pursuits. On the 4th March. I had sufficiently recovered to mount my
horse and accompany my party to Roper's water-holes. Basalt cropped out
on the plains; the s