82 UPWARD COURSE OF THE VICTORIA. 



the night, when we distinctly heard the footsteps of 

 the prowling savages. We had no squall, and 

 except this interruption, the howling of native dogs, 

 and the shrill peculiar whistle of a flock of vampires 

 constantly flying backwards and forwards over our 

 heads, we slept in peace in our comfortable little 

 retreat. 



Our last regretful view of this part of the Victoria — 

 for every member of our little band seemed to feel an 

 equal interest in the subject— was taken from a posi- 

 tion in lat. 15° 36' and long. 130" 52' E. ; 140 miles 

 distant from the sea : but still 500 miles from the 

 centre of Australia. Its apparent direction con- 

 tinued most invitingly from the southward — the very 

 line to the heart of this vast land, whose unknown 

 interior has afforded so much scope for ingenious 

 speculation, and which at one time I had hoped, 

 that it was reserved for us to do yet more in reducing 

 to certainty. And though from the point upon 

 which I stood to pay it my last lingering farewell, 

 the nearest reach of water was itself invisible, yet 

 far, far away I could perceive the green and glisten- 

 ing valleys through which it wandered, or rather 

 amid which it slept ; and the refreshing verdure of 

 which assured me, just as convincingly as actual 

 observation could have done, of the constant pre- 

 sence of a large body of water ; and left an indelible 

 impression upon my mind, which subsequent con- 

 sideration has only served to deepen, that the Vic- 

 toria will aflford a certain pathway far into the 



