from the continued rain and exposure to wet, several of them
having died during the night; only five were thus left alive out of the
number we started with, and, one of these being in a drooping state, I
had it killed that we might not lose the advantage of it altogether.

NATIVES.

Immediately on the other side of the tributary stream which lay to the
south of us there rose a high precipitous sandy range, similar to those
we had fallen in with on first landing. This range completely overlooked
our encampment from a distance, and on it a party of natives had posted
themselves. We saw the smoke of their fires and heard their own cries and
the yelling of their dogs; and with the help of my telescope I once
distinguished their dusky forms moving about in the bush.

COCKATOOS.

A large flight of cockatoos which lay between us and them were kept in a
constant state of screaming anxiety from the movements of one or the
other party, and at last found their position so unpleasant that they
evacuated it and flew off to some more quiet roosting-place. Their
departure however was a serious loss to us, as they played somewhat the
same part that the geese once did in the Capitol; for whenever our sable
neighbours made the slightest movement the watchful sentinels of the
cockatoos instantly detected it and, by stretching out their crests,
screaming, standing on their toes on the highest trees, with their wings
spread abroad to support them, and peering eagerly in the direction where
the movement was made, they gave us faithful intimation of every motion.

When therefore this advanced guard took unto themselves wings and flew
away I was obliged to keep all hands on the alert to prevent a surprise.
Whilst we were thus occupied our detachment returned and reported the
country to be utterly impracticable. I determined however to examine it
myself the next morning in order to be quite satisfied upon so important
a point.

March 16.

I moved off at dawn this morning with a party, but after following the
direction of the stream for several miles I found that the whole of the
land between it and the foot of the hills had been rendered by the heavy
rains a marsh quite impassable for horses, which was rendered the more
annoying as the swamp was not more than a mile in width, so that this
slight space alone prevented us from pursuing our desired route. Nothing
however was now left us but to turn once more to the north-west, and thus
to