ely traversed, for wherever trees or bushes grew, we generally found
the ground to be hardest. We were compelled to travel much farther than I
intended in order to reach the river, which took a great sweep to the
west, a change in its direction which I had previously observed to take
place in the course of this river on approaching a similar feature on the
right bank. The river was narrower and its channel more contracted at
this part than at any other I had seen; indeed so great was the change in
the dimensions that I doubted whether this was more than an arm of it.
The current however ran at about the same rate, and the general course
for some miles to the southward was marked out, as usual, by large trees.
At the camp the head of the range on the right bank bore North 16 degrees
West.

CONVENIENT REFRACTION.

June 22.

The distant range which I observed during the journey of yesterday
appeared high above the horizon of our camp this morning, and the
refracted image was so perfect that with my glass I could distinguish the
trees and other objects. Thus I obtained bearings on the range from a
spot whence it could be but seldom visible. The small eminences to the
eastward, from which I first saw that range, were also refracted, and
appeared like cliffs on a sea coast. To the astonishment of the men all
the hills however soon disappeared. The Darling took some bends eastward
of south; and we were much troubled during this day's journey by the soft
ground through which we were obliged to travel in order to keep clear of
the river. At length I could proceed south-west, and on reaching, at 12
1/4 miles, a bend in the channel, I saw one of the low ridges extending
westward. On ascending it I discovered a range to the south-west,
apparently connected with that already seen to the south, and from the
many beaten paths of the natives it seemed probable that this angle was
the nearest to the hilly country which lay to the south-east.

NATIVE HUTS.

There were also permanent huts on both banks, the first of the kind I had
seen, large enough certainly to contain a family of 15 persons; and in
one there had recently been a fire. They were semicircular and
constructed of branches of trees, well thatched with straw, forming
altogether a covering of about a foot in thickness, and they were well
able to afford a ready and dry shelter in bad weather. In this respect
the inhabitants of that part of the Darling may be considered some