n plains, continued along its banks, and I set out on this, as we had
indeed on all other mornings since we made the discovery, intensely
interested in the direction of its course. We had not prolonged our
journey very far across the plains, keeping the trees of the river we had
left visible on our right, when another line of river trees appeared over
the downs on our left. Thus it seemed we were between two rivers, with
their junction before us, for the ground declined in that direction. And
so we found it. At about seven miles from where we had slept, we arrived
at the broad channel of the first river we had traced down, whose
impetuous floods had left the trees half bent to the earth, and clogged
with drift matter; not on any narrow space, but across a deep section of
400 yards. The rocks in the channel were washed quite bare, and crystal
water lay in ponds amongst these rocks. A high gravelly bank, crowned
with brigalow, formed the western margin, but no brigalow could withstand
the impetuous currents, that evidently, at some seasons, swept down
there. It was quite refreshing to see all clear and green, over so broad
a water-worn space. The junction with the northern river took place just
below, and I continued my journey, not a little curious to see what sort
of a river would be formed by these channels when united. I found the
direction of the course to be about N.W., both running nearly parallel.
About three miles on I approached the united channel, and found the
broad, deep, and placid waters of a river as large as the Murray. Pelican
and ducks floated upon it, and mussle-shells of extraordinary size lay in
such quantities, where the natives had been in the habit of eating them,
as to resemble snow covering the ground. But even that reach seemed
diminutive when compared with the vast body of water whereof traces had,
at another season, been left there; these affording evidence that,
although wide, they had still been impetuous in their course. Verdure
alone shone now, over the wide extent to which the waters sometimes rose.
Beyond that channel lay the almost boundless plains, the whole together
forming the finest region I had ever seen in Australia. Two kinds of
grass grew on these plains; one of them a brome grass, possessing the
remarkable property of shooting up green from the old stalk.

[* P. AVENACEUM (Lindl. MS.); aristis 9 inaequalibus scabris infra medium
plumosis, panicula pilosa angusta interrupta ramul