edly should have done had we
recognised it as such, the loss of many of our animals would have been the
inevitable consequence, and very probably a final issue would have been
put to our journey. It is only to those who are placed in situations that
baffle their own exertions or foresight, that the singular guidance of
Providence becomes fully apparent.

NATIVES PERISHING FROM FAMINE.

It would appear that the natives were dying fast, not from any disease,
but from the scarcity of food; and, should the drought continue, it seemed
probable they may became extinct.

The men found the body of a woman covered with leaves near the tents, and
very properly buried it. We made Friday a day of rest for ourselves, as
indeed was necessary; and on the following morning proceeded down the
river, and encamped on a high bank above it, at the base of which, our
cattle both fed and watered.

At this spot one of the largest gum-trees I had ever seen had fallen,
having died for want of moisture; indeed, the state of the vegetable
kingdom was such as to threaten its total extinction, unless a change of
seasons should take place.

It may be worthy of remark that, from our first arrival on the banks of
the Castlereagh, to our arrival at the present camp, we never picked up a
stone, or a pebble, in its bed.

JUNCTION OF THE CASTLEREAGH WITH THE DARLING.

In the hope that we should fall on some detached pond, we pursued our
journey on the 29th. The Castlereagh gave singular proofs of its violence,
as if its waters, confined in the valley, had a difficulty in escaping
from it. We had not travelled two miles, when in crossing, as we imagined,
one of its bights, we found ourselves checked by a broad river. A single
glimpse of it was sufficient to tell us it was the Darling. At a distance
of more than ninety miles nearer its source, this singular river still
preserved its character, so strikingly, that it was impossible not to have
recognised it in a moment. The same steep banks and lofty timber, the same
deep reaches, alive with fish, were here visible as when we left it.
A hope naturally arose to our minds, that if it was unchanged in other
respects, it might have lost the saltness that rendered its waters unfit
for use; but in this we were disappointed--even its waters continued the
same. As it was impossible for us to cross the Darling, I determined on
falling back upon our last encampment, which was at a most Convenient
distance, and