oubtless belonged to the same tribe as the
gins we had previously seen; and the men were probably those who had
traced us so far. The river water was brackish; and in the bank was a bed
of calcareous concretions which some of the men supposed to be bones.

June 9.

Striking again into the original south-west track by leaving the river on
a bearing of 202 degrees we arrived on the eastern bend of it, where we
had before breakfasted, and where we now heard natives, as if hastily
making their escape. Continuing the journey to the next bend lower down
we encamped at the head of the same gully in which I slept on the night
between the 4th and 5th of June.

NEW ACACIA.

On passing through the bush this day we fell in with a tree that was new
to me. It appeared to be very near Acacia eglandulosa (De C.) but the
branches had so graceful a character that I was tempted to draw it while
I awaited the arrival of the carts, whose progress through the spinous
scrub already mentioned was very slow. The wood of this acacia was hard
and of a dark brown colour. We gathered some stones of the fruit: and we
brought away its stem also.

June 10.

The knowledge which I had acquired in my ride down the Darling now
enabled me to follow the most desirable route in order to avoid the
scrub, and travel along the plains near its banks. At five miles and
twelve chains we approached a bend of the river, and found there the
remains of a large hut, in the construction of which an axe had been
used. It therefore occurred to me that we might be near the tree where
Captain Sturt had turned from the Darling, and I found that the northern
head of D'Urban's group bore nearly 58 degrees East of South, the bearing
given by him of this group.

MR. HUME'S TREE FOUND.

I therefore looked along the riverbank for the tree in question, but
without success. In crossing a dry watercourse some miles further on it
occurred to me that this might be the one at the mouth of which Mr. Hume
had cut his name. I therefore sent overseer Burnett and The Doctor to
trace the channel down, and to look for a tree so marked. They found at
the mouth of the creek a very large and remarkable gumtree, and on the
side next the river the letters H.H. appeared, although the cross-line of
one H had grown out. The letters seemed to have been cut with a tomahawk,
and were about five inches in length. The men cut my initials also on
that tree, which to my regret I was prevented from