ear that
the river had not re-formed at a distance of twenty-five miles to the
north of us, since Mr. Hume had gone to the westward of that point, at
about the same distance on his late journey, without having observed
the least appearance of reeds or of a river. He had, indeed, noticed a
hollow, which occasionally contained water, but he saw nothing like the
bed of a permanent stream. I became convinced, also, from observation
of the country through which we had passed, that the sources of the
Macquarie could not be of such magnitude as to give a constant flow to
it as a river, and at the same time to supply with water the vast
concavity into which it falls. In very heavy rains only could the
marshes and adjacent lands be laid wholly under water, since the
evaporation alone would be equal to the supply.

The great plains stretching for so many miles to the westward of Mount
Harris, even where they were clear of reeds, were covered with shells
and the claws of cray-fish and their soil, although an alluvial
deposit, was superficially sandy. They bore the appearance not only of
frequent inundation, but of the floods having eventually subsided upon
them. This was particularly observable at the bottom of the marshes. We
did not find any accumulation of rubbish to indicate a rush of water to
any one point; but numerous minor channels existed to distribute the
floods equally and generally over every part of the area subject to
them, and the marks of inundation and subsidence were everywhere the
same. The plain we had last crossed, was, in like manner, covered with
shells, so that we could not yet be said to be out of the influence of
the marshes; besides which we had not crossed the hollow noticed by Mr.
Hume, which it was clear we should do, sooner or later.

SITUATION OF THE PARTY.

To have remained in our position would have been impossible, as there
was no water either for ourselves or the animals; to have descended
into the reeds again, for the purpose of carrying on a minute survey,
would, under existing circumstances, have been imprudent. Our
provisions were running short, and if a knowledge of the distant
interior was to be gained, we had no time to lose. It was determined,
therefore, to defer our further examination of the marshes to the
period of our return; and to pursue such a course as would soonest and
most effectually enable us to determine the character of the western
interior.

CHAPTER II.

Pro