Another mile on a course of 180 degrees brought us to the valley in our front; it was of the same rich and romantic character as that which I have just described, being in depth about two hundred feet, down limestone rocks, in places assuming the character of cliffs.  In its bottom was a watercourse containing water in pools only; but it must be borne in mind that it was now the very end of the dry season.  The party all came up, and we laid ourselves down under the grateful shade of the mimosas.  Those who chose took their fill of water.  I had made a rule never to taste it except to wash out my mouth from sunrise until we halted for the night; for I found that drinking water promoted profuse perspiration and more ardent thirst, and I preferred practising a little self-denial to enduring the greater pangs arising from indulgence.

Whilst I stretched my weary length along under the pleasant shade I saw in fancy busy crowds throng the scenes I was then amongst.  I pictured to myself the bleating sheep and lowing herds wandering over these fertile hills; and I chose the very spot on which my house should stand, surrounded with as fine an amphitheatre of verdant land as the eye of man has ever gazed on.  The view was backed by the Victoria Range, whilst seaward you looked out through a romantic glen upon the great Indian Ocean.  I knew that within four or five years civilization would have followed my tracks, and that rude nature and the savage would no longer reign supreme over so fine a territory.  Mr. Smith entered eagerly into my thoughts and views:  together we built these castles in the air, trusting we should see happy results spring from our present sufferings and labours, but within a few weeks from this day he died in the wilds he was exploring.

The Buller river.

The stream we were on I named the Buller; we rested some time by it and when we moved on some of the advocates of the eight or ten mile a day system very unwillingly followed the party.  We fell in with a native path which wound up through a thick scrub in pleasing sinuosities, and emerged upon a tableland similar to the one we had traversed this morning.

The Chapman river.

I now followed a course of 169 degrees, and after walking three miles more we arrived at the edge of a valley of the same character as that wherein the Buller flowed, and through it we had another view of the fertile country to the eastward:  into this valley we descended and, finding a watercourse running through it with water in pools, I seated myself with such of the party as were up, about half a quarter of a mile from the Mount Fairfax of Captain King, and named this stream the Chapman.

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