ntinue my
journey. The longitude of this river, according to my daily distances,
was 137 degrees 5 minutes.

Sept. 15.--We travelled about fifteen miles N. 25 degrees W., passing for
the first eight miles over a very fine available country, but without
meeting with water, or even with a watercourse. Beyond that, however, the
country became more undulating, and we crossed, for about four miles, a
most wretched sandstone scrub. Here we saw some natives, but they avoided
us. The scrub opened upon fine box flats, with numerous shallow
watercourses; farther on, they were interrupted by scrubby or thickly
timbered elevations, on which we met with some Cycas palms from thirty to
fifty feet high, thick at the butt, and tapering gradually towards the
crown. At one of the shallow creeks, which suddenly became rocky, and
probably formed falls and rapids in the wet season, we struck upon a well
beaten foot-path of the natives, which led us through Cypress pine
thickets, and over open lawns to a creek, whose right bank was covered
with Cycas groves of the most strikingly picturesque appearance; and here
I observed that the Cycas, although it generally has a simple stem,
frequently grew with two or three arms. The foot-path went up the creek:
lower down, I found broad, deep, but dry water-holes; and, still lower,
Salicornia indicated the approach to the salt water. The foot-path
conducted us from one Zamia grove to another, which alternated with fine
forest composed principally of white-gum, the fresh green foliage of
which was extremely pleasing to the eye. I observed some large wells, ten
or twelve feet deep, and eight or ten in diameter, which the natives had
dug near the Zamia groves, but they were without the slightest indication
of moisture. I continued to follow the path for five miles, until I came
to a broad-leaved tea-tree forest. The sun was then low, and my
companions far behind: I, therefore, returned to ascertain the cause of
their delay; and found that our old bullock had refused to carry his
pack, and it had been put on a horse; but that, even then, the poor beast
was scarcely able to crawl before us. His weakness had been occasioned by
a diarrhoea brought on by the green feed and the brackish water at Seven
Emu River; and I congratulated myself on not having remained there
longer, as probably all my bullocks would have been equally affected. We
encamped without water, hobbled our horses, and watched the bullocks,
whi