of a flower upon them) which were
scattered over with fragments of slaty quartz, we traversed a box flat,
apparently subject to overflow, having a barren sandy scrub to its
left. I had desired the men to preserve a W.N.W. direction, on leaving
them, supposing that that course would have kept them near the creek;
but, on overtaking the party, I found that they had wandered completely
away from it. The fact was, that the creek had taken a sudden bend to
the eastward of N. and had thus thrown them out. It was with some
difficulty that we regained it before sunset; and we were at length
obliged to stop for the night at a small plain, about a quarter of a
mile short of it, but we had the satisfaction of having excellent feed
for the animals.

OXLEY'S TABLE LAND.

Fearful that New Year's Creek would take us too far to the eastward,
and being anxious to keep westward as much as possible, it struck me
that we could not, under existing circumstances, do better than make
for Oxley's Table Land. Water, I knew, we should find in a swamp at
it's base, and we might discover some more encouraging feature than I
had observed on my hasty visit to it. We left the creek, therefore on
the 23rd, and once more took up a westerly course. Passing through a
generally open country, we stopped at noon to rest the animals; and
afterwards got on an excellent grazing forest track, which continued to
the brush, through another part of which I had penetrated to the marsh
more to the south. While making our way through it, we came upon a
small pond of water, and must have alarmed some natives, as there was a
fresh made fire close to it. Our journey had been unusually long, and
the cattle had felt the heat so much, that the moment they saw water
they rushed into it; and, as this created some confusion, I thought it
best to stop where we were for the night.

In the morning, Mr. Hume walked with me to the hill, a distance of
about a mile. It is not high enough to deserve the name of a mountain,
although a beautiful feature in the country, and showing well from any
point of view. We ascended it with an anxiety that may well be
imagined, but were wholly disappointed in our most sanguine
expectations. Our chief object, in this second visit to Oxley's Table
Land, had been to examine, more at leisure, the face of the country
around it, and to discover, if possible, some fixed point on which to
move.

If the rivers of the interior had already exhausted the