ered with rich soil and very
heavy timber. The most remarkable is Warrawolong--whose top I first
observed from the hill of Jellore in the south, at the distance of 108
miles. This being a most important station for the general survey, which
I made previously to opening the northern road, it was desirable to clear
the summit, at least partly, of trees, a work which was accomplished
after considerable labour--the trees having been very large. On removing
the lofty forest, I found the view from that summit extended over a wild
waste of rocky precipitous ravines, which debarred all access or passage
in any direction, until I could patiently trace out the ridges between
them, and for this purpose I ascended that hill on ten successive days,
the whole of which time I devoted to the examination of the various
outlines and their connections, by means of the theodolite.

(*Footnote. Originally Snodgrass Valley--but Vox populi vox Dei. The
present name is shorter, and has the additional merit of being
descriptive--for the valley contains but little grass.)

Looking northward, an intermediate and lower range concealed from view
the valley of the Hunter, but the summits of the Liverpool range appeared
beyond it. On turning to the eastward, my view extended to the unpeopled
shores and lonely waters of the vast Pacific.

NATIVES OF BRISBANE WATER.

Not a trace of man, or of his existence, was visible on any side, except
a distant solitary column of smoke, that arose from a thicket between the
hill on which I stood and the coast, and marked the asylum of a remnant
of the aborigines. These unfortunate creatures could no longer enjoy
their solitary freedom; for the dominion of the white man surrounded
them. His sheep and cattle filled the green pastures where the kangaroo
(the principal food of the natives) was accustomed to range, until the
stranger came from distant lands and claimed the soil. Thus these first
inhabitants, hemmed in by the power of the white population, and deprived
of the liberty which they formerly enjoyed of wandering at will through
their native wilds, were compelled to seek a precarious shelter amidst
the close thickets and rocky fastnesses which afforded them a temporary
home, but scarcely a subsistence, for their chief support, the kangaroo,
was either destroyed or banished. I knew this unhappy tribe, and had
frequently met them in their haunts. In the prosecution of my surveys I
was enabled to explore the w