seemed to turn from that river so
as to embrace the extremities of the low ranges coming from the east, and
which successively terminate on the plains of the Darling. One of these
was about a mile to the east of our camp and consisted of hardish
sandstone, composed of grains of quartz, without any apparent cement, but
containing a small quantity of decomposed felspar. At the base of those
hills I found, as elsewhere, pebbles consisting chiefly of a splintery
quartz rock, in which the grains of sand or quartz were firmly embedded
in a siliceous cement. On the northern side of that ridge I observed at
some distance an isolated clump of trees resembling pines or cypresses,
growing very thick, and the foliage was of a brighter green than that of
the callitris trees which they most resemble; unlike them however they
had no dead lower branches but were thick and green to the ground. I
regretted much that I had not an opportunity of examining them closely.
In the Darling, westward of this camp, was a bed of round concretions,
all about an inch in diameter. They were dark-coloured and when first
taken out had a foetid smell.

July 1.

Pursuing the left bank of the newly discovered channel we found that it
embraced some low rising grounds which, ever since we had made
Macculloch's range, had been the limits of the polygonum flats along the
left bank also of the Darling.

TOMBS ON THE SANDHILLS.

On the tops of some of those hills I observed what appeared to be the
tombs of the natives. They consisted of a circular trench of about 30
feet in diameter, the grave being covered by a low mound in the centre;
and they were always dug in the highest parts of hills. On observing this
preference of heights as burying places I remembered that it was on the
summit of the hill where I fixed our depot on the Darling that we saw the
numerous white balls and so many graves.* The balls were shaped as in the
accompanying woodcut, and were made of lime.

(*Footnote. M. de la Roque says of the Bedouin Arabs of Mount Carmel:
"that the frequent change of the place of their encampment, not admitting
their having places set a part for burial, they always choose a place
somewhat elevated for that purpose, and at some distance from the camp.
They make a grave there, into which they put the corpse, and cover it
with earth, and a number of great stones, lest the wild beasts should get
at the body." Voyage dans la Palestine chapter 23. See also 2 Kin