iously covered the channel then suddenly ceased,
and the channel, contracting in breadth, gained in depth: it became
extremely serpentine, and at length lost all the character and
appearance of a river. It had many back channels, as large as the main
one, serving to overflow the neighbouring country. We succeeded in
finding a small pond of water in one of the former, hardly large enough
to supply our necessities, but as it enabled us to push so much further
on, we turned towards the lagoon, making a circuitous journey to the
right, across a large plain, bounded to the north by low acacia brush
and box. We struck upon a creek at the further extremity of the plain,
in which there was a tolerably sized pond. It appeared from the traces
of men, that some natives had been there the day before; but we did not
see any of them. The water was extremely muddy and unfit for use. The
lagoon at which we had encamped, was of less importance than we had
imagined.

JOURNEY DOWN THE RIVER.

Whilst Mr. Hume led the party down the river, I rode up its northward
bank, to examine it more closely. I found it to be a serpentine sheet
of about three miles in length, gradually decreasing in depth until it
separated into two small creeks. In following one of them up, I
observed that they re-united at the distance of about two miles, and
that the lagoon was filled from the eastward, and not by the river as I
had at first supposed. The waters at the head of the lagoon were
putrid, nor was there a fish in, or a wild fowl upon it. The only bird
we saw was a beautiful eagle, of the osprey kind, with plumage like a
sea gull, which had a nest in the tree over the tents.

In turning to overtake the party I rode through a great deal of acacia
scrub, and on arriving at the place at which I expected to have
overtaken them, I found they had pushed on.

The Castlereagh, as I rode down it, diminished in size considerably,
and became quite choked up with rushes and brambles. Rough-gum again
made its appearance, with swamp-oak and a miserable acacia scrub
outside. The country on both sides of the river seemed to be an
interminable flat, and the soil of an inferior description.

WRETCHED APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY.

I came up with with Mr. Hume about 1 o'clock and we again pushed
forward at 3, and halted for the night without water, the want of which
the cattle did not feel. The river held a general westerly course, and
the country in its neighbourhood bec