of their being habitations of the living, and
constructed to avoid sleeping on the ground during the wet season.

June 15.--We travelled about nine miles and a half down the river, over a
country like that of yesterday, the tree vegetation was, however, more
scanty, the forest still more open, the groves of Acacia larger. Brown
returned with two sheldrakes (Tadorna Raja), four black ducks (Anas Novae
Hollandiae), four teals (Querquedula castanea); and brought the good news
that the Lynd joined a river coming from the south-east, with a rapid
stream to the westward.

June 16.--We left the Lynd, along which we had journeyed from lat. 17
degrees 58 minutes to lat. 16 degrees 30 minutes, and travelled about
twelve miles W.N.W., when we encamped at the west side of a very long
lagoon Though I did not see the junction of the two rivers myself, Mr.
Roper, Brown, and Charley, informed me, that the Lynd became very narrow,
and its banks well confined, before joining the new river; which I took
the liberty of naming after Sir Thomas Mitchell, the talented
Surveyor-General of New South Wales; they also stated that the Lynd was
well filled by a fine sheet of water. The bed of the Mitchell was very
broad, sandy, and quite bare of vegetation; showing the more frequent
recurrence of floods. A small stream meandered through the sheet of sand,
and from time to time expanded into large water-holes: the river was also
much more tortuous in its course than the Lynd, which for long distances
generally kept the same course. The Mitchell came from the eastward, and
took its course to the west-north-west. At the sudden bends of the river,
the bergue was interrupted by gullies, and occasionally by deep creeks,
which seemed, however, only to have a short course, and to be the outlets
of the waters collecting on the flats and stiff plains at some distance
from the river. The bergue was covered with fine bloodwood trees,
stringy-bark and box. At a greater distance from the river, the trees
became scanty and scattered, and, still farther, small plains extended,
clothed but sparingly with a wiry grass. These plains were bounded by an
open forest of the Acacia of Expedition Range. This little tree gave us a
good supply of a light amber-coloured wholesome gum, which we sometimes
ate in its natural state, or after it had been dissolved by boiling.
Towards the end of the day's stage, we came to several very fine lagoons;
one of which was several miles l