226 SEARCH FOR MR. HUMe's TREE. [CH. V. 



them have my pocket-handkerchief (no unusual request, for 

 such natives always found it out), I mounted, and we galloped 

 off to the eastward, their very singular mode of expressing 

 surprise, heing audible until we were at some distance. On 

 reaching that point in my track, where I had in the mornino- 

 changed the direction of my ride, I took off to the north- 

 north-east, in search of the river, and at six miles we reached 

 a branch of it, where it formed an island. We did not arrive 

 here until long after sunset, and were, consequently, in an 

 unpleasant state of ignorance as to the locality, but we made 

 our fire in a hollow, as on the preceding night, and could 

 only rely on the surrounding silence for security. The re- 

 sult of the excursion thus far was, that I ascertained that 

 angle of the river which I first made on this tour, to be the 

 part nearest of all to D'Urban's group ; that its general 

 course thence to the lowest position at which I had seen it 

 (the direct distance being 21 miles), is nearly two points 

 more to the westward than the course from the depot ; and 

 that, even at such a distance from Oxley's Table-land and 

 D'Urban's group, the line of the river is evidently influenced 

 by these heights, thus rendering it probable that it might be 

 found to turn still more towards the west or north-west, on 

 its approaching any other hills situated on the left bank. 



June 5. — I awoke, thankful that we had been again guided 

 to a solitary and secure place of rest. That no tribe veas 

 near, admitted of little doubt, after we had seen the morning 

 dawn and found ourselves awake, for, had our fire been dis- 

 covered by any natives, it was very unlikely that any of us 

 had been permitted to wake again. Being within a mile and 

 a half of where Captain Sturt and Mr. Hume had turned (as 

 indicated by the bearing given by the former of D'Urban's 

 group, viz. 58° E. of S.), I looked along the river bank for 

 tlie tree described by the former as having Mr. Hume's 

 initials cut upon it, but without success, and at ten o'clock 

 I left the river and rode, on the same bearing, to D'Urban's 

 group. The thick scrub, having been previously burnt, pre- 



