A FRIENDLY TRIBE.

July 4.

The same tribe came up to our tents in the morning with the men who had been in charge of the cattle, and who reported that these natives had assisted in finding them.  I was so much pleased with this kindness and the quiet, orderly behaviour of the tribe that I presented two of them with clasp-knives.  They approached fearlessly, gins and all, and quite unarmed, to a short distance from our camp; and they were all curiosity to see our party.  The difference between the conduct of these harmless people and that of those whom we had last seen was very striking.  All the men retained both front teeth, an uncommon circumstance; for these were the first natives whom I had seen in Australia possessing both.  Their women were rather good-looking.  After travelling six miles we crossed the dry bed of a watercourse which I supposed was the same as that from which we turned a day or two before, but the line of bearing of this was southward, and we were following the river which flowed in the contrary direction.  After travelling about eleven miles we encamped a mile east of two bends of the stream, beside a patch of scrub which afforded us fuel.  The banks of the Darling near this camp were unusually low, being not more than thirty feet high; the channel also was contracted and, containing many dead trees, had altogether a diminished appearance.

July 5.

Penetrating the scrub in a southerly direction we soon came upon open ground, the surface of which consisted of firm clay.  The river was close on our right until, at about six miles forward, it turned off to the westward.  We pursued our journey over plains and through scrubs, first south-west, then west, and finally north-west, encamping at last, after a journey of fourteen miles, where the bend of the river was still 1 1/2 miles to the north of us.  We had crossed at 12 miles the dry bed of a river which was five chains wide, and whose course was to the north.  In it were several natives’ canoes, and on its banks grew large rivergum-trees, or eucalypti.  The course of this tributary (which probably included that which we had seen previously) and the change in the direction of the main stream, which trended now so much towards the west, made it still possible that a range separated it from the Murray.  There was now less of the extensive plains of bare soft earth, and more of the firm clay, with small rough gumtrees.  Few bushes of the genus acacia were now to be seen, but the minor vegetation appeared to be much the same as on the upper parts.  As great a paucity of grass also prevailed here, except on the riverbank, and as great an abundance of the same atriplex and cucurbitaceous plants as I had noticed elsewhere.

A RANGE DISCOVERED BY REFRACTION.

July 6.