ish feeling,
an ebullition, an overflow, which I am ready to admit that our
circumstances and situation will alone excuse. The eye of every native had
been fixed upon that noble flag, at all times a beautiful object, and to
them a novel one, as it waved over us in the heart of a desert. They had,
until that moment been particularly loquacious, but the sight of that flag
and the sound of our voices hushed the tumult, and while they were still
lost in astonishment, the boat's head was speedily turned, the sail was
sheeted home, both wind and current were in our favour, and we vanished
from them with a rapidity that surprised even ourselves, and which
precluded every hope of the most adventurous among them to keep up
with us.

CHAPTER V.

Character of the country--Damage of provisions--Adroitness of the natives
in catching fish--The skiff broken up--Stream from the North-East supposed
to be the Darling--Change of country in descending the river--Intercourse
with the natives--Prevalence of loathsome diseases among them--Apparent
populousness of the country--Junction of several small streams--The Rufus,
the Lindesay, &c.--Rainy and tempestuous weather--Curious appearance of
the banks--Troublesomeness of the natives--Inhospitable and desolate
aspect of the country--Condition of the men--Change in the geological
character of the country--The river passes through a valley among hills.

Arrived once more at the junction of the two rivers, and unmolested in our
occupations, we had leisure to examine it more closely. Not having as yet
given a name to our first discovery, when we re-entered its capacious
channel on this occasion, I laid it down as the Murray River, in
compliment to the distinguished officer, Sir George Murray, who then
presided over the colonial department, not only in compliance with the
known wishes of his Excellency General Darling, but also in accordance
with my own feelings as a soldier.

The new river, whether the Darling or an additional discovery, meets its
more southern rival on a N. by E. course; the latter, running W.S.W. at
the confluence, the angle formed by the two rivers, is, therefore, so
small that both may be considered to preserve their proper course, and
neither can be said to be tributary to the other. At their junction,
the Murray spreads its waters over the broad and sandy shore, upon which
our boat grounded, while its more impetuous neighbour flows through the
deep but narrow