48 EXPLORATION OF THE MURCHISON, LYONS, AND [Nov. 8, 1858. 



rapid pace, with the object of ascending it, if possible, before sun- 

 down, but, after riding 20 miles, we found it to be farther oif than 

 we anticipated, and accordingly altered our course and encamped 

 at a pool in the river about 3 miles N.E. of the Mount, in lat. 

 24° 20', and at an elevation of 1500 feet above the sea. 



We here met with strong evidences of the cannibalism of the 

 natives ; at a recently occupied encampment we found several of 

 the bones of a full-grown native that had been cooked, the teeth 

 marks on the edges of a blade-bone bearing conclusive evidence as 

 to the purpose to which it had been applied ; some of the ribs were 

 lying by the huts with a portion of the meat still on them. 



Nearly the whole of the country passed over this day was an 

 alluvial flat, extending on the south-west to the grassy range 

 already described, while to the north and east it extended for many 

 miles, branching out into the numerous valleys that drain the 

 d liferent ranges in that direction ; the grass and vegetation on these 

 flats are not so rank as on that traversed the previous day, but more 

 even, and the soil better adapted for agriculture ; the amount of 

 good land on this part of the Lyons Eiver was estimated at 150 

 square miles, while on the tributaries between Mount Thomson and 

 Mount Augustus I have no doubt that there is as much more. Water 

 at this time was plentiful in the numerous channels that intersect 

 the plain, their permanency being the only matter of doubt : our 

 limited acquaintance with the nature of the seasons in these latitudes 

 does not enable us to decide with any degree of certainty ; the 

 pools lower down the river are unquestionably of a permanent 

 character, but many of them were already becoming brackish. 



The quantity of game seen in this part of the country was also a 

 favourable indication. Turkeys, and a new variety of pigeon 

 having a brown back and slate-coloured breast, on the wing re- 

 sembling a tame pigeon, congregate in flights sometimes of a thou- 

 sand together ; emeu, cockatoos, quail, and paroquets are also very 

 numerous, particularly the latter. 



Srd June. — A gentle ascent of 2i miles brought us to the foot of 

 Mount Augustus, where, leaving our horses in charge of Fairburn 

 and Dugel, we commenced the ascent up the only accessible point 

 on this side of the hill ; it required two hours' heavy toil to bring 

 us to the summit, the barometer gradually falling until it only 

 registered 26*10, which, compared with the simultaneous observa- 

 tions kept at Champion Bay by Mr. H. Gray, gives an elevation of 

 3,480 feet above the level of the sea, the last 500 feet of the summit 

 being clothed in thickets of melaleuca, among which grew a non- 

 descript variety of red gum-tree, the only new thing observed in 



