NATIVES FROM THE BOGAN.

At the camp we recognised among the natives seated at our fire two of our friends from the Bogan.  Their little shovel of hard wood (not used on the Lachlan) and one of the tomahawks formerly distributed by us left no room to doubt whether we were right about their features.

PROPHECY OF A CORADJE.

One was an old man and a Coradje, the other was a boy.  They disappeared in the evening, but the Coradje was so far civil as to tell the men that, having heard The Major was praying for rain, he had caused the late fall.  This priest had also prophesied a little for our information, telling the men that a day was at hand when two of them would go out to watch the bullocks and would never return.

April 4.

The surface being sufficiently dry to enable us to travel we accordingly continued our journey and, crossing the Goobang at 5 1/4 miles, we kept the right bank of it during the day.  The surface on that side was dry and firm; and it may be remarked that if ever it becomes desirable to open a line of communication from Sydney towards the country on the lower part of the Murray, the right bank of the Goobang will probably be found the best direction as the adjacent valley affords both grass and water for the passage of cattle, and the doubtful plains of the Lachlan may be thus avoided.

POISONED WATERHOLE.

We finally encamped on the Lachlan at the junction of the Goobang, in latitude 33 degrees 5 minutes 20 seconds; longitude East 147 degrees 13 minutes 10 seconds.  There the river contained some deep pools and we expected to catch fish; but Piper told us that the holes had been recently poisoned, a process adopted by the natives in dry seasons, when the river no longer flows, for bringing the fish to the surface of deep ponds and thus killing the whole; I need not add that none of us got a bite.  All these holes were full of recently cut boughs of the eucalyptus, so that the water was tinged black.

ASCEND HURD’S PEAK.

April 5.

As soon as the party had started I gave the overseer the bearings and distances to be pursued; while I proceeded to the cone named Hurd’s peak by Oxley, but by the natives Tolga.  It was distant about four miles from our line of route.  A low ridge of quartz rock extends from the Goobang to this peak the base of which consists of chlorite slate, and its summit of squarish pebbles of quartz, with the angles rounded, associated with fragments of chlorite slate.  There was just convenient room on it for the theodolite and, as it afforded a most satisfactory and commanding view, well suited for the purpose of surveying, it seemed to have been aptly named after a distinguished geographer.  Many points of a distant range now appeared on the north-western horizon in the direction of Oxley’s Mount Granard, and the ridge of Bolloon (towards the great lake Cudjallagong) seemed not very distant.  I took angles on all the points and