other fide the ground wore a barren, unpromifing appearance ; and
during the day they faw only a few kangooroos o f a particular kind,
having long, black, and brufliy tails; with a few birds, which,
from the length o f the tail feathers, they denominated pheafants.
On the 25th they continued in their courfe, S. S. W. for fix
miles, through a country in general open, and apparently o f a good
black foil. In the courfe o f the day they faw many kangooroos and
feveral emus; and fell in with a party o f natives, one of whom engaged
to accompany them, on condition o f their halting for that
night where they then were. Confenting to this, they had leifure
to examine a hill in that neighbourhood, the face o f which appeared
white, and proved to be an immenfe cliff o f fait, a fpecimen o f which
they brought in.
On the 26th, they determined to incline more to the weftward,
and travelled 16 miles in a diredtion W. S. W. over a rocky country,
covered with brufh wood, and a prickly kind o f vine. They
did not meet with any natives j and that animals exifted there, they
only faw by their foeces.
They continued on the 27th travelling in the fame diredtion
about 16 miles ; the firft fix o f which were like thofe o f the preceding
day. From thence they got into an open but mountainous
country, where they croffed a fmall river, and difcovered a quantity
of coal and lime-ftone. Here every mile they went the fcene
improved. The rocky and barren ground was exchanged for a flat
country and beautiful meadows, furnifhing pafture for the kangaroos
and emus, feveral o f which they faw. Thé timber was ob-
ferved to run fmall, and to be thinly fcattered about, there being
fcarcely ten trees upon an acre o f ground. The quality o f them
was known in the fettlement, where a fimilar timber was called the
Black Wattle.
On the 28th their courfe was ftill W. S. W. and their diftance
increafed 20 miles in that diredtion. The land and the timber on
it were much the fame as they had feen the preceding day. In one
part
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part they afcended a hill, from which they obtained a view o f the
country for fome diftance round. To the northward it feemed to
be open, and thinly clad with timber: to the north-weftward they
faw fome high mountains, and an appearance o f much good land in
that diredtion : to the weftward they obferved a deep, break in the
land ; this they conjedtured to be formed by a river, which, i f one,
laid in a S. E. and N, W. diredtion. To the fouthward the land
1'cemcd high, but fttll open. In the courfe o f this day’s journey
they met with a party o f the natives, who appeared much terrified,
and inftantly ran away from them. One o f the party, however,
purfued and came up with a woman and child, whom he detained,
from an opinion that the men might be thereby induced to return;
but, although fhe remained with them the whole o f the night,
which fhe pafled in tears and lamentations, not knowing what fate
might await her, the men did not appear. They, therefore, made
her a prefent o f a fmall hatchet, and in the morning fent her back
to her fr ien d s .W ilfo n , underftanding fomething of the language
o f thefe mountain natives, hoped to have gained fome information
o f the country from this woman ; but fhe could not comprehend
him.
Thefe natives were all clothed with garments o f fkins o f different
animals, which reached from their fhoulders down to their heels.
On the 29th, they again travelled 24 miles in the fame diredtion.
During the firft four miles the country was not good, the ground
being rocky and covered with low fhrubs, and here and there in-
t&rfedted with creeks, which appeared all to run toward Tome
river, probably to that which from the top o f the hill they
fuppofed to be one. At the head o f thofe creeks they faw feveral
falls o f water, one o f which fell at the leaft 40 feet, and
two others not lefs than 20 feet each. They now walked to
the northward for 12 miles, thinking to get round the heads o f the
creeks ; but unfortunately they fell in with more. They then determined
to keep their former courfe of W. S. W., but found the
VOL. II. t n country