of grass which I had seen nowhere
else. The valley I next approached, contained the channel of a river
flowing towards our river; a tributary, which evidently bore impetuous
floods into it, sometimes. This also ran in three channels. I called it
the Alice.

As this new river was likely to turn the main stream off to the westward
or south, I travelled west by compass over vast downs, finely variegated
with a few loose trees like a park, but extending on all sides to the
horizon. Where I looked for the main channel, I saw rising ground of this
kind; and meeting with another small river, with a stoney bed and water
in it, I bivouacqued, for the day was very hot; the thermometer, at 3
P.M., 90 deg. in the shade. The pond here was much frequented by pigeons, and
a new sort of elegant form and plumage, was so numerous that five were
killed at two shots. The head was jet-black, the neck milkwhite, the
wings fawn-colour, having lower feathers of purple. I had no means of
preserving a specimen, but I took a drawing of one.[*] Height above the
sea here, 826 feet.

[* By which I find it has been named GEOPHAPS HISTRIONIEA.]

24TH SEPTEMBER.--I continued to seek the river across extensive downs, in
many parts of which dead brigalow stumps remained, apparently as if the
decay of that species of scrub gave place to open ground. I turned now to
the S.W., and became anxious to see the river again. At length we came
upon a creek, which I followed down, first to the S.W. and next
southerly, until it was time to alight, when we established our bivouac
by a large lagoon in its bed, in latitude 24 deg. 3' 30" S. Thermometer, at 3
P.M. 98 deg.. Height above the sea, 688 feet.

25TH SEPTEMBER.--At 6 A.M. the thermometer stood at 73 deg.. We ought to have
been retrogressive yesterday, according to the time calculated on for our
stock of provisions; but we could not leave the river without tracing it
to the furthest accesible point. We still continued, therefore, to follow
the water-course which had brought us thus far, expecting at every turn
to find its junction with the river, whose course had obviously turned
more than usual to the southward. We fell in with a larger tributary from
the N. W.; after which junction, the tributary took a more westerly
direction than the minor channel which brought us to it. We thus came
upon a large lagoon, beside which were the huts of a very numerous tribe
of natives, who appeared to have been there very