lagoon, and late in the afternoon descended to
the box-tree forest before mentioned, having the grassy plains now upon
the left-hand side. The sandy ridges overlooked these plains, so that in
riding along we noticed some natives, seven in number, collecting grass
seeds upon them, on which alone, it appears to me, they subsist at this
season of the year. However, as soon as they saw us, they all ran away in
more than usual alarm, perhaps from the recollection of our
misunderstanding with Mr. Popinjay. Their presence, however, assured us
that there must be water somewhere about, and as on entering the plain,
more to the west than before, we struck on a track, I directed Mr. Browne
to run it down, who, at about half-a-mile, came to a large well similar
to that in the creek on the other side of the Stony Desert, but not of
the same dimensions. We had lost sight of him for some little time, when
suddenly his horse made his appearance without a rider, and caused me
great anxiety for the moment, for my mind immediately reverted to our
sulky friend, and my fears were at once raised that my young companion
had been speared; riding on, therefore, I came at length to the well,
down which, to my inexpressible relief, I saw Mr. Browne, who was
examining it, and who came out on my calling to him. There was not
sufficient water to render it worth our while to stop; but the well being
nine feet deep, shewed the succession of strata as follows: four feet of
good alluvial soil; three feet of white clay; and two feet of sea sand.

I should perhaps have been more particular in the description of our
interview with the old man and his family on the northern side of the
earthy plain. As I have stated, he called out to us, and in order to
discover what he wanted, I held Mr. Browne's horse, while he dismounted
and went to him. The old native would not, however, sit down, but pointed
to the S.E. as the direction in which, as far as we could understand, the
horse, "cadli" (dog), as he called him, the only large four-legged brute
of which he knew any thing, had gone. The poor fellow cried, and the
tears rolled down his cheeks when he first met Mr. Browne, and the women
chanted a most melancholy air during the time we remained, to keep the
evil spirits off, I suppose; but they had nothing to fear from us, if
they could only have known it. This confusion of tongues is a sad
difficulty in travelling the wilds of Australia. Both the old man and the
wo