TO PORT ESSINGTON. 349 
of the country, are slight undulations, on which grew a few 
. Scattered rather stunted trees, amongst which was Grevillia 
mimosoides, R. Br. with its long, narrow, drooping, silvery 
leaves, which particularly attracted the attention of the tra- 
vellers. The finest and most available country was along the 
creeks and rivers. Here the soil was much lighter, and the 
bloodwood, the leguminous ironbark, and a species of Pan- 
danus grew well on it, forming an open forest. All the 
rivers of Australia have lines of holes and hollows parallel to 
them; these are generally filled by high floods, and keep 
the water much longer than the rivers themselves. Lagoons 
of this description were very numerous along the Staaten, 
the Van Diemen, the Gilbert, and the Caron, and appeared 
to be the constant resorts of the natives. To the north of 
the Staaten, towards the sea coast, there is a succession of 
plains, but the grass was generally stiff and wiry. If we 
Compare the course of the rivers on the east coast of the 
Gulf of Carpentaria, it will be considered remarkable that 
the Lynd, which rises in the latitude of the head of the Gulf 
from the Table land of the York Peninsula, should go to the 
north-north-west, and. belong to a system of waters which  . 
dois the sea in lat, 15° S. instead of taking a direct course - 
_ fo the westward, and of disemboguing in or near the head of 
the Gulf. A number of coast rivers, of probably very short 
Courses, the Nassau, the Staaten, the Van Diemen, the — 
Gilbert, and the Caron, take their origin from the mode- 
Tately elevated country which bounds the valley of the Lynd 
and Mitchell to the westward. E 
CSV The. # Plains of Promise," so called by Captain 
_ Stokes, at the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria in 18" S 
latitude, with the Flinders, the Albert, and the Nicholson 
vers. These plains were covered with a variety of tende 
Basses and herbs, but bare of wood with the exception of 
. straggling trees. The narrow valleys of the creeks 3 ere, 
à filled with open. scrub, formed by a nall tree 
. Wood had the scent of that preserve. . Should. 
