tinctly saw from the ranges, as he descended, the hills of whose
existence we had had some doubt the day before, bearing N.N.W. Thus,
then, fortune once more befriended our movements, by enabling us to push
on another day in advance, without being dependent on our own resources.
Morgan was too glad to empty the casks again, and to lighten the
cart-load, with which, on the morning of the 9th, we left the glen, and
gradually turned to the westward, until the hill we had walked to on the
7th, and which bore west by north from the place where we had left Morgan
with the cart, now bore W.N.W. Pushing up a narrow valley, we found
little difficulty in our way, and leaving the above hill somewhat to our
right, we gradually descended by a long and leading spur to the
Cis-Darling interior.

We could now look back on the ranges from the depressed region into which
we had fallen, nor could the eye follow their outline and glance over the
apparently boundless plain beyond them, without feeling a conviction that
they had once looked over the waters of the ocean as they then overlooked
a sea of scrub.

As soon as we had got well into the plains, we pursued a course of half a
point to the eastward of north, nearly parallel to the ranges, until we
reached the glen from which the creek issues, and formed our little camp
on its banks. The water however was not good, so that we were obliged to
send for some from a pool a little above us. In the bed of this creek we
found beautiful specimens of Solani, and a few new plants.

I halted at this place in consequence of the resolution I had taken to
push into the interior on the following morning. I was therefore anxious
that the horses should start as fresh as possible, as we could not say
where we should again find water.

The direction of the hills was nearly north and south, extending at
either hand to a distance beyond the range of vision or telescope. Our
observations here placed us in latitude 31 degrees 23 minutes 20 seconds
S., so that we were still nearly half a degree to the south of Mount
Lyell, and a degree to the south of Mount Serle. I had little prospect of
success, however, in pursuing a direct westerly course, as it would have
led me into the visible scrub there; on the other hand I did not wish to
move exactly parallel to the ranges, but, in endeavouring to gain a
knowledge of the more remote interior, to keep such a course as would not
take me too far from the hills in the