ssful explorers
is still more strongly displayed. Nor, although it be only a minor
annoyance, must the pain and inconvenience felt by wanderers in the
bush from the prickly grass, which is found abundantly in the sandy
districts, be forgotten. In those barren sands, where no grass grows,
there are frequently tufts of a prickly bush, which tortures the horses,
and tears to pieces the clothes of the men about their ankles, if they
are walking. This bush, called the prickly grass, and a dwarf tree, the
_Eucalyptus dumosa_, grows only where the soil appears too barren and
loose for anything else; indeed, were it not for these, the sand would
probably drift away, and cover the vegetation of neighbouring spots less
barren and miserable. Against this evil, nature seems to have provided
by the presence of two plants so singularly fitted for a soil of this
description. The root of the _Eucalyptus dumosa_ resembles that of a
large tree; but it has no trunk, and only a few branches rise above
the ground, forming an open kind of bush, often so low that a man on
horseback may look over it for miles. This dwarf tree, and the prickly
grass together, occupy the ground, and seem intended to bind down the
sands of Australia. The size of the roots prevents the bush from growing
very close together, and the stems being without leaves, except at the
top, this kind of _Eucalyptus_ is almost proof against the running fires
of the bush. The prickly grass resembles, at a distance, in colour and
form, an overgrown lavender plant, but the blades of it, consisting of
sharp spikes, occasion most cruel annoyance both to men and horses.
Another inconvenience and danger to which exploring parties are liable,
are those fires in the bush already alluded to; which, whether caused by
accident, or designedly by the natives, are not uncommon events.[31]
"The country seemed all on fire around us."--"All the country beyond the
river was in flames; one spark might have set the whole country on our
side in a blaze, and then no food would remain for the cattle, not to
mention the danger to our stores and ammunition." "Fires prevailed
extensively at great distances in the interior, and the sultry air
seemed heated by the general conflagration;" these expressions convey
rather alarming ideas of the dangers to which travellers are exposed in
the bush, and from which it is not always easy to make good an escape.

[31] On one occasion the progress of the fire was _a