he flowing stream
at another. Returning from the river in a different direction I found, in
a situation where I had nearly gained as I imagined the high bank after
riding a mile, that a deep reach still separated me from that high bank
which I then saw was beyond it, so that in order to return to the carts I
was obliged to retrace my steps for several miles. Having got round at
length I ascended the hill before mentioned for the purpose of taking
some angles, and I found that it consisted of granite, the component
parts being white quartz and felspar and black mica. I named this
remarkable feature, probably the lowest hill of granite on the Murray,
Mount Ochtertyre. I had sufficient daylight left to conduct the party
over part of this hill to a portion of the riverbank accessible then to
carts by fording only one lagoon. The velocity of the Murray at the spot
where we could thus approach its border exceeded that of any other river
we had previously crossed, being at the rate of 2 1/2 miles per hour.

October 18.

At daylight this morning the boat was sent across with Burnett and Piper,
who landed to examine the ground within the reeds on that bank; and they
ascertained it was so intersected by various deep lagoons that we could
no longer hope to pass that way. I next went down the river in the boat
and found at about a mile and a half below our camp a place where I
thought we might effect a passage. This point was under a steep bank of
red earth on the opposite shore where the river seemed to be encroaching.

A CARRIAGE TRACK DISCOVERED.

We landed and endeavoured to ascertain by looking for cattle marks
whether any stations were near; and having heard that the flocks of the
settlers already extended to the Murray we proceeded northward, eager to
discover the tracks of civilised men. The wheels of a gig drawn by one
horse and accompanied by others were traced by Piper, but the impressions
were several months old. We walked as far as a spacious plain at some
distance from the river without seeing any more recent tracks; and we
were at length convinced that no station extended then in the immediate
neighbourhood. The left bank between the spot where our camp then was and
the crossing-place which I had selected was low though apparently firm;
but on landing and returning along it I met with several narrow channels
into which water was then flowing from the river and which afterwards
cost us considerable trouble to cross