him.  We had not long been seated together, when some of his tribe mustered sufficient courage to join him.  Both Mr. Hume and I were desirous of seeing the net drawn, but the old man raised some objection, by pointing to the heavens and towards the sun.  After a little more solicitation, however, he gave a whistle, and, four or five natives having obeyed the summons, he directed them to draw the net, but they were unfortunate, and our wish to ascertain the kind of fish contained in the river was disappointed.  As his tribe gathered round him, the old chief threw a melancholy glance upon them, and endeavoured, as much as he could, to explain the cause of that affliction which, as I had rightly judged, weighed heavily upon him.  It appeared, then, that a violent cutaneous disease raged throughout the tribe, that was sweeping them off in great numbers.  He called several young men to Mr. Hume and myself, who had been attacked by this singular malady.  Nothing could exceed the anxiety of his explanations, or the mild and soothing tone in which he addressed his people, and it really pained me that I could not assist him in his distress.  We now discovered the use to which the conical substance that had been deposited with such unusual care in one of the huts, was applied.  There were few of the natives present who were not more or less marked with it, and it was no doubt, indicative of mourning.

Departure of the natives.

Some of the men, however, were painted with red and yellow ochre, with which it was evident to me they had besmeared themselves since our appearance, most likely in preparing for the combat in which they fancied they would be engaged.  We distributed such presents as we had to those around us, and when we pursued our journey, the majority accompanied us, nor did they wholly leave us until we had passed the place to which their women had retired.  They might have left us when they pleased, for we intended them no harm; as it was, however, they struck into the brushes to join their families, and we pushed on to make up for lost time.

The travelling near the river had been so bad, not only in consequence of the nature of the soil and brush, but from the numerous gullies that had been formed by torrents, as they poured into its channel after heavy rains and floods, that it was thought advisable to keep at a greater distance from it.  We turned away, therefore, to the plains, and found them of much firmer surface.  They partook, however, of the same general character as the plains we had traversed more to the eastward.  Their soil was a light sandy loam, and the same succulent plants still continued to prevail upon them, which we have already noticed as existing upon the other plains.  Both emus and kangaroos were seen, though not in any considerable numbers, but our dogs were not in a condition to run, and were all but killed by the extreme heat of the weather.  We had fallen on a small pool