the party could join us that
night and they in fact did remain six miles behind. I had never been more
puzzled in my travels than I was with respect to the nature of the
country before us then. Mount Napier bore 74 degrees East of North
distant about 16 miles. The little rivulet was flowing northward, and yet
we had not reached the interior side of that elevated though swampy
ground dividing the fine valleys we had seen further westward from the
country sloping towards the sea.

LEAVE ONE OF THE BOATS, AND REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE BOAT CARRIAGE.

September 3.

This morning we had steady rain accompanied as usual by a north-west
wind; I remarked also that at any rise of the barometer after such rain
the wind changed to the south-east in situations near the coast, or to
the north-east when we were more inland. I sent back the cattle we had
brought forward to this camp to assist those behind, and in the meanwhile
Mr. Stapylton took a ride along the ridge on which we were encamped in
order to ascertain its direction. Towards evening Burnett returned from
the carts with the intelligence that the boat-carriage could not be got
out of the swamps and that, after the men had succeeded in raising it
with levers and had drawn it some way, it had again sunk and thus delayed
the carts, but that the latter were at length coming on, two men having
been left behind with the boat-carriage. Mr. Stapylton returned in the
afternoon having ascertained that a swamp of upwards of a mile in breadth
and extending north and south as far as he could see lay straight before
us, and he had concluded that the rivulet upon which we were then
encamped turned into it. Under such circumstances we could not hope to be
able to travel much further with the boats, nor even indeed with the
carts unless we found ground with a firmer surface in the country before
us. Ere we could reach the nearest habitations of civilised men we had
yet to traverse 400 miles of a country intersected by the highest
mountains and watered by the largest rivers known in New Holland.

September 4.

Although the boats and their carriage had been of late a great hindrance
to us I was very unwilling to abandon such useful appendages to an
exploring party, having already drawn them overland nearly 3000 miles. A
promising part of the coast might still be explored, large rivers were to
be crossed, and we had already found boats useful on such occasions. One
however might answer these