the light of a nearly full moon. I
had preceded the party by some miles, accompanied by Yuranigh, the rest
following my horse's tracks, and I had thus passed through the four miles
of scrub, and reached the river early in the day. On returning, we found
the party in the midst of this scrub, and succeeded in guiding it, even
by moonlight, to the pond at which we had watered our horses during the
day. Many dry hollows of indurated mud appeared, as usual, in the
brigalow we had passed through; and we endeavoured to lead the carts, as
much as possible, through these hollows, in order to avoid the dead logs,
many of which we were obliged to cut, before the carts could pass. Many
deep impressions of natives' feet appeared in these clay hollows; also
the tracks of emus. Yuranigh showed me several tracks where a native had
been following a kangeroo's track; and he told me of a certain method
adopted by the natives of killing the kangeroo during wet weather,--which
is, to pursue the track, following it up day after day, until they
overtake the animal, which, on being so incessantly followed, becomes at
length so defenceless, that one native can despatch it with a tomahawk.
According to the barometer, it appeared that this river was not now much
higher above the level of the sea, than the Bogan or the Balonne. Still
it spread into many channels and isolated ponds; the latter being
sometimes in good grassy land, apart from the brigalow. Nothing could be
more sterile than the surface where the brigalow grew; but the first
indication of the river was an open space covered with luxuriant grass,
and we had to ride two miles along this, before Yuranigh and I could find
the river, having been guided to it chiefly by some smoke of the natives.
At the first place we approached, we found two ponds of excellent water,
under the shining boughs of lofty Yarra trees. Latitude, 22 deg. 10' 15" S.
Thermometer, at sunrise, 39 deg.; at noon, 64 deg.; at 4 P.M., 61 deg.; at 9, 36 deg.;--
with wet bulb, 28 deg.. (LXVII.)

6TH AUGUST.--I gave the jaded cattle a day's rest, and the men thus had
an opportunity to screw up and repair their carts.

7TH AUGUST.--The brigalow scrub obliged me this day to travel along the
river banks, upon which I found it pleasant to go, as they proved open
and grassy. Large lagoons and reaches of water appeared in the scattered
channels. At length, a deep broad reach, brim full of pure water,
glittered before us. Clouds o