(Footnote.  See below.)

PRESENT THEM WITH TOMAHAWKS.

The curiosity of these people was too intense to admit of much attention on their part, at that time, either to our words or gestures so, after giving them a tomahawk and two large nails, and refusing to let them have my pocket-handkerchief (no unusual request, for such natives always found it out) I mounted, and we galloped off to the eastward, their very singular mode of expressing surprise being audible until we were at some distance.  On reaching that point in my track where I had in the morning changed the direction of my ride, I took off to the north-north-east, in search of the river, and at six miles we reached a branch of it where it formed an island.  We did not arrive here until long after sunset and were, consequently, in an unpleasant state of ignorance as to the locality, but we made our fire in a hollow, as on the preceding night, and could only rely on the surrounding silence for security.  The result of the excursion thus far was that I ascertained that angle of the river which I first made on this tour to be the part nearest of all to D’Urban’s group; that its general course thence to the lowest position at which I had seen it (the direct distance being 21 miles) is nearly two points more to the westward than the course from the depot; and that, even at such a distance from Oxley’s Tableland and D’Urban’s group, the line of the river is evidently influenced by these heights, thus rendering it probable that it might be found to turn still more towards the west or north-west on its approaching any other hills situated on the left bank.

(Footnote.  See below.)

June 5.

I awoke thankful that we had been again guided to a solitary and secure place of rest.  That no tribe was near admitted of little doubt after we had seen the morning dawn and found ourselves awake for, had our fire been discovered by any natives, it was very unlikely that any of us had been permitted to wake again.

UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR MR. HUME’S MARKED TREE.

Being within a mile and a half of where Captain Sturt and Mr. Hume had turned (as indicated by the bearing given by the former of D’Urban’s group, namely 58 degrees East of South) I looked along the riverbank for the tree described by the former as having Mr. Hume’s initials cut upon it, but without success, and at ten o’clock I left the river and rode on the same bearing to D’Urban’s group.  The thick scrub, having been previously burnt, presented spikes like bayonets, which reduced our hurried ride to a walking pace, our horses winding a course through it as the skeleton trees permitted.  In an unburnt open place I found one solitary specimen of a tree with light bluish-green leaves, and a taste and smell resembling mustard.  It was no less remarkable for its rare occurrence and solitary character than for the flavour of its wood and remarkable foliage.  I could obtain no seeds of it.*