eady feeding. At the close
of this laborious day I encamped on the right bank, leaving still on the
other side however a small party in charge of the horses and carts. The
day was extremely hot and the full and flowing river gave an unusual
appearance of life and motion to the desert whose wearisome stillness was
so unvarying elsewhere. Serpents were numerous and some were seen of a
species apparently peculiar to this river. Here they invariably took to
it, and one beautiful reptile in particular, being of a golden colour
with red streaks, sprang from under my horse's feet and rode upon the
strong current of the boiling stream, keeping abreast of us and holding
his head erect, as if in defiance and without once attempting to make
off, until he died in his glory by a shot from Roach.

HORSES.

October 19.

The first half of this day was required for the passage of the horses one
by one; and for taking the carts across. We left the boat carriage on the
left bank and sunk the boat in a deep lagoon on the right bank, to remain
there until the party should return to the spot with a stock of
provisions for Mr. Stapylton. Here the last mountain barometer, which had
been carried in excellent order throughout the journey, lost mercury so
copiously that I could not hope to use it any more, time being then too
valuable to admit of delay; and thus my list of observations terminated
on the Murray. I supposed that the intense heat of the sun to which the
instrument had been exposed when tied to a tree for some hours after the
tents had been struck had contracted the leathern bag so much as to
loosen it from the edges of the cylinder, and thus formed openings
through which the mercury had escaped. The breadth of the Murray was 80
yards at the place where we crossed it and the mean depth was 3 1/2
fathoms. At length I saw with great satisfaction my party on the right
bank of this great river; having now no other stream to cross until we
reached the Murrumbidgee where we might consider ourselves at home.

PARTY RETURNING TO MEET MR. STAPYLTON.

Just at this time Archibald McKane, a carpenter, came forward and
proposed to return with any two of the men and the native Tommy to meet
the party coming after us upon the Goulburn; and to construct there such
rafts of casks and other gear as might enable Mr. Stapylton to cross that
river and the Ovens and so come forward to the Murray; an arrangement
which would render it unnecessary for m