ich we had slept, and as it was the point at which the
native path from Lake Bonney also strikes it, I halted to take a meridian
altitude, which placed it in 34 degrees 4 minutes 5 seconds S. We had
allowed our horses to go and feed with their bridles through the
stirrups, and were sitting on the ground when we heard a shot, and a
general alarm amongst them, insomuch that we had some difficulty in
quieting them, more especially Mr. Poole's horse. It was at length
discovered that one of that gentleman's pistols had accidentally gone off
in the holster, to the dismay of the poor animal. Fortunately no damage
was done.

After noon, we pushed on, and at a mile crossed a creek, where we found a
small tribe of scrub natives, one of whom had a child of unusual fatness:
its flesh really hung about it; a solitary instance of the kind as far as
I am aware. We then traversed good grassy plains for about two miles,
when we fell in with another small tribe on a second creek: our
introduction to which was more than ordinarily ceremonious. The natives
remained seated on the ground, with the women and children behind them,
and for a long time preserved that silence and reserve which is peculiar
to these people when meeting strangers; however, we soon became more
intimate, and several of them joined our train. Our friend Nadbuck was
very officious (not disagreeably so, however), on the occasion, and
shewed himself a most able tactician, since he paid more attention to the
fair than his own sex, and his explanation of our movements seemed to
have its due weight.

We soon passed from the grassy plains I have mentioned, to plains of
still greater extent, and still finer herbage. Nothing indeed could
exceed the luxuriance of the grass on these water meadows, for we found
on crossing that the floods were beginning to incroach upon them. These
were marked all over with cattle tracks, many of them so fresh that they
could only have been made the night before, but independently of these
there were others of older date. The immense number of these tracks led
me to inquire from the natives if there were any cattle in the
neighbourhood, when they informed me that there were numbers of wild
cattle in the brushes to the westward of the flats, and that they came
down at night to the river for water and food. The grass upon the plain
over which we were travelling was so inviting, that I determined to give
the horses and bullocks a good feed, and turn