NATIVE CONVERSATIONS.

In the calm evening of that day and as the sun was setting I distinctly heard the women, at a distance of nearly two miles, relating something respecting us to a party of their tribe beyond the Darling.  It may be difficult for those unused to the habits of Australian natives to understand how this could be; but it must be remembered that these people having no fixed domicile, the gins generally form a separate party, but may thus often carry on a conversation from a great distance with their male companions—­consequently when a mile apart only these people may be said to be in company with each other.  As the gins are always ordered by their lords and masters to meet them at such places of rendezvous as they may think proper, we may account for the well-known accuracy of these natives in the names which belong to every locality in their woods.

Nearly the whole day’s journey led through a bushy scrub and over ground rather soft and heavy.  We reached however our former place of encampment which we again occupied; and we sent our cattle to the river for the night with a party of four armed men.  The evening was extremely cold and raw, the wind blowing from south-west, with drizzling rain.  Between us and the river the country was open, but the above-mentioned scrub and low hills were close behind us; and through this scrub (as appeared by the foot-marks seen this morning) the gins had passed our camp, and preceded us along our line of route, making towards the river as soon as our track approached an open plain, probably because they could not have continued on the track of the party there, without having been seen by us.

July 15.

The men returned from the river in good time with the cattle, having neither seen nor heard the natives.  The morning was beautiful, and we proceeded, hoping that the fine weather might last.  We passed the place where we had halted on the 5th, and continued the journey for a mile or two further in a new direction, by which we cut off a considerable detour, and gained in direct distance about five miles.  We encamped near a bare hill beyond which the river was about a mile distant.

WEAK STATE OF THE CATTLE.

There was scrub all round us and I did not like our position; but it was impossible to drive the wearied cattle further.  As we approached this camp I heard the voice of one of the gins answered by that of a male, and “wite ma” was the subject of conversation; they might have been two miles from us, as the voices of the natives in the woods are audible, as just stated, a long way off, in a still evening.

July 16.

After a cold frosty night the morning was fine, and we continued our journey.  At about a mile and a half we entered on our former track, and after five miles more we encamped on the ground which we had occupied on the 4th instant.  By this short journey I hoped to refresh the cattle a little, and to make out a better one next day by getting through the brush and past the natives’ bivouac.  This camp of ours was a good mile from the river, and it was very necessary to send a separate party to remain on its bank all night with the cattle.