THE INTEBIOK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 149 



water of the country, where occurring at all, being found in holes 

 amongst the granite rocks, in small rushy lagoons or open lakes, and 

 occasionally in lodgments in the more clayey descriptions of soil 

 amongst the thick scrubs of the interior. In the latter situations were 

 also frequently seen many circular spaces, five to ten yards in diameter, 

 in which the interior rain-waters had subsided, and which answer to the 

 description of Dr. Leichardt's " Melon holes/' From this time, until 

 we arrived abreast of the western group of the Keclierche Archipelago, 

 salt-lakes were of common occurrence immediately behind the sea-coast 



hills, and yielded the only food for our horses which this part of the 

 country was likely to afford us ; nor was this at all abundant or easily 

 discovered on the route I pursued. Mr, Eyre had in 1841 generally 

 found abundance both of water and grass for his horses hereabouts, 

 immediately behind the coast-hills; but I was desirous of avoiding all 

 former tracks as much as possible ; and with respect to the nature of 

 the country further inland, some natives we fell in with gave me to 

 understand that nothing was to be met with there but scrub and salt- 

 lakes. 



On the 10 th we had, in search for grass, so worked our way amongst 

 numerous salt and fresh lakes and swamps, and the narrow ridges of 

 steep limestone hills which divided them, that it was not without some 

 difficulty we extricated ourselves next day, and gained the less intri- 

 cate country w^hich bordered them on the north. The travelling how- 

 ever was bad, and very trying to our weary horses, both on account of 

 the steepness of the ridges, and their rocky rugged nature. We were 

 therefore not sorry to find grass increase as we proceeded over more 

 accessible slopes, and that in one patch it was of excellent quality to 

 the extent of three hundred acres. Hopes being raised, toil no longer 

 felt oppressive, and before noon we were once more gladdened by the 

 sight of an open deep river, fifteen yards wide, extending directly 

 across our course. Clumps of Nuytd<e and Yeit were scattered about, 

 Zamice of gigantic size grew near the steep banks, and tolerable grass 

 among dwarf grass-trees extended back from two to four hundred 

 yards. Numerous ducks and black swans were constantly disturbed as 

 we ascended the river in its course to the northward, but we found to 

 our regret that the bed rapidly diminished in importance. At first the 

 banks were frequently broken into steep yellow and red cliffs, indicat- 

 ing a proximity to the coal formation ; but these gradually disappeared, 



