246 THE PORT DARWIN DISTRICT 



lightnings, but no thunder or rain. Often I thought I 

 could perceive dusky shadows moving about the plain 

 near me, and I thought it wise to let my fire die out. I 

 felt so sure that there were prowling savages in the 

 neighbourhood that I saddled my horse in the dark, and 

 rode off as soon as there was light enough to show me 

 whither I was going, doing without other food for 

 breakfast than a draught of water and a piece of dough 

 made of moistened flour, which I ate as I rode along. 



About seven o'clock I reached a spot where I could 

 easily cross the river, which was here not more than 

 twenty yards wide. Resuming a southward direction, I 

 soon found the country rapidly assuming a hilly appearance. 

 There were a few narrow valleys with abrupt hills enclosing 

 them. These heights were covered with fragments of 

 large rocks, like those previously mentioned, and some 

 were very rugged and seamed with gullies which had the 

 appearance of being water-channels during rains, though 

 they were dry now. The ist of October was a very hot 

 day, and had the effect of rapidly drying the face of the 

 country, so that, except for the circular, basin-like marks, 

 left where the water had settled in pools, it was scarcely 

 possible to perceive that there had recently been very 

 heavy rains. Yet here and there I noticed broad sheets 

 of water that were probably permanent, or nearly so — 

 small lakes in fact. 



A few of the hills were pyramidal, running to quite a 

 sharp point ; but most of them were flat-topped, and a few 

 had a line of cliffs at, or near, the top. In the valleys 

 and near the river there were groves of trees, but on 

 the hills only a few scattered ones, and bushes. There 

 was no continuous range of these hills, most of which were 

 isolated elevations. 



Near the river, birds of the plover and duck kinds 

 were very numerous, especially a small brown whistling 

 duck. On the plains there were many pigeons, also of 

 a brown colour, and flying in flocks of two or three 

 hundred each. One unfortunate lot came so close that I, 

 being in want of something for dinner, fired amongst 



