fog that portions of it appeared to be a large lake. Into this
valley we descended, and the remainder of the day until near noon was
spent by me in endeavouring to get the men to move.

THE IRWIN RIVER. AUSTRALIND.

We this morning for the first time met with Zamia trees, and about 12
P.M. came down upon the large sandy bed of a dried up river which I named
the Irwin after my friend Major Irwin, the Commandant at Swan River;
following this for half a mile we found a native well, dug to a
considerable depth in the bed, but all our scraping here was vain. Water
was found at a great depth, but so shallow that we could not dip it up.
Some of the men saw four native boys playing in the grassy plains near
us; directly however the little fellows perceived us, they scampered off
at their utmost speed, and no doubt ever since that period they have been
firm believers in the existence of ghosts.

The men now began to complain much of the want of water, and I for some
time followed the traces of these native boys, who had come from the
southward and eastward, in the hope that their tracks would lead us to
it, but the grumbling and discontent of some of the men was so great that
I found it almost impossible to induce them to move. My object was to get
them to walk to a high peaked hill distant about five miles from us in a
due south-east direction, and under which I felt certain, from its
height, that we should find water, but I was obliged at last to give up
this idea: Charles Woods would not stir at all, and several of the men
followed his example; they laid down on the ground and no inducement
could prevail on them either to move or to abandon a portion of their
loads; and this obstinacy on their part was accompanied in some instances
with the most blasphemous and horrid expressions. Indeed I could not
conceal from myself the fact of its being the general impression that my
mode of proceeding was "killing the men," and that consequently some of
them had arrived at the resolution of compelling me by their conduct to
adopt their favourite system of short marches and long halts. But I was
still aware of the disastrous consequences which must necessarily result
from such a mode of proceeding, and determined to have nothing to do with
it.

In the course of the afternoon I managed to get the party to move about a
mile and a half in an easterly direction, but they here again sat down
and could neither be induced to walk or to part