nd finding, upon following up a little way, that it was only
brackish, we crossed and halted for the night. Wylie went out to search
for food, but got nothing, whilst I unharnessed and attended to the
horses, which were a good deal fagged, and then prepared the camp and
made the fires for the night: I could get nothing but grass-tree for this
purpose, but it was both abundant and dry. Owing to its very resinous
nature, this tree burns with great heat and brilliancy, emitting a
grateful aromatic odour. It is easily lit up, makes a most cheerful fire,
and notwithstanding the fervency with which it burns, does not often
require renewing, if the tree be large. Our whole journey to-day had been
over undulations of about three hundred feet in elevation; the country
rose a little inland, and a few occasional bluffs of granite were
observed in the distance, but no timber was seen any where. At night the
flies and mosquitoes were very troublesome to us.

May 31.--The morning showery, and bitterly cold, so that, for the first
two hours after starting, we suffered considerably, After travelling for
seven miles and a half, through an undulating and bare country, we came
to a salt-water river, with some patches of good land about it. Having
crossed the river a little way up where it became narrower, we again
proceeded for five miles farther, through the same character of country,
and were then stopped by another salt stream, which gave us a great deal
of trouble to effect a crossing. We had traced it up to where the channel
was narrow, but the bed was very deep, and the water running strongly
between banks of rich black soil. Our horses would not face this at
first, and in forcing them over we were nearly losing two of them. After
travelling only a quarter of a mile beyond this stream I was chagrined to
find we had crossed it just above the junction of two branches, and that
we had still one of them to get over; the second was even more difficult
to pass than the first, and whilst I was on the far side, holding one of
the horses by a rope, with Wylie behind driving him on, the animal made a
sudden and violent leap, and coming full upon me, knocked me down and
bruised me considerably. One of his fore legs struck me on the thigh, and
I narrowly escaped having it broken, whilst a hind leg caught me on the
shin, and cut me severely.

As soon as we were fairly over I halted for the night, to rest myself and
give Wylie an opportunity of l