surprising the natives; and I accordingly prepared to set out the next morning, accompanied by Mr. Finch and seven men on horseback, leaving Mr. White with eight men, equally well armed, to guard the camp.  By this arrangement the bullocks, which had been rather hard wrought, would enjoy a day’s rest.  I availed myself of every precaution, as far as prudence could suggest, in selecting a position for our camp and arranging the carts for defence.  A better one against surprise could not have been found as it overlooked an open country for several miles on all sides.

HOT WIND.

A hot wind, which had been blown during the day from the south, brought a very gloomy sky in the evening, when the wind veered to the south-east.  The sun set amid clouds of a very uncommon appearance, too plainly indicating that the rain was at length coming.  We had now however left those low levels and dense scrubs where the natives began to hang about us like hungry wolves; and I could not reflect on what might have been the consequence had we been delayed only one week longer there, without feeling grateful for our providential escape.  It was obvious that had we got fast in the mud, or been hemmed in by inundations, we might have been harassed on one side by the natives of the Gwydir, and on the other by the plunderers of Mr. Finch’s party, until we shared a similar fate.  We had now fortunately arrived within sight of the hills, the country around us was open, and with these advantages, the nature of our position was so different that I could OCCUPY the country, divide my party, visit the camp of Mr. Finch, and recover what we could from that scene of plunder.

HEAVY RAINS SET IN.

February 14.

This morning it rained heavily, and the dark sky promised no better weather during the day.  I therefore gave up at once my intention of dividing the party here, and moved the whole forward at an early hour, being desirous to push the carts as near the hills as possible before the plains became too soft; and with this view I deferred my intended visit to the plundered camp until after the termination of another day’s journey.  The soil, as from experience we had reason to expect, had become very soft, and the rain pouring in torrents it became so more and more.  The wheels however did go round, and the party followed me over a plain which scarcely supported even a tuft of grass on which I could fix my eye in steering by compass through the heavy rain.  At length I distinguished half a dozen trees, towards which we toiled for several hours, and which grew, as we found when we at length got to them, beside a pond of water; the only one to be seen on these plains.  There was also some grass beside it, and we encamped on its bank, placing the carts in a line at rightangles to the trees, thus taking possession of all the cover from an attack that could be found.  We had travelled eight miles over the open plain in a straight line, and considering the state of the earth I was surprised that the cattle had made any progress through it.  When the clouds drew up a little I was not sorry to discover that the plain was clear of wood to a considerable distance on all sides, nor to recognise some of the hills overlooking our old route.