230 JMK. Hume's tree. [ch. v. 



gins we had previously seen ; and the men were probably 

 those who had traced us so far. The river water was brackish ; 

 and in the bank was a bed of calcareous concretions, which 

 some of the men supposed to be bones. 



June 9. — Striking again into the original south-west 

 ti-ack, by leaving the river on a bearing of 202° ; we arrived 

 on the eastern bend of it, where we had before breakfasted, 

 and where we now heard natives, as if hastily making their 

 escajje. Continuing the journey to the next bend, lower 

 down, we encamped at the head of the same gully in which 

 I slept on the night between the 4th and 5th of June. On 

 passing through the bush this day, we fell in with a tree 

 that was new to me. It appeared to be very near Acacia 

 eglandulosa (De C), but the branches had so graceful a cha- 

 racter, that I was tempted to draw it, while I awaited the 

 arrival of the carts, whose progress through the spinous 

 scrub already mentioned, was very slow. The wood of this 

 acacia was hard and of a dark brown colour. We gathered 

 some stones of the fruit : and we brought away its stem also. 

 June 10. — The knowledge which I had acquired in my 

 ride down the Darling, now enabled me to follow the most 

 desirable route, in order to avoid the scrub, and travel along 

 the plains near its banks. At five miles and twelve chains, 

 we approached a bend of the river, and found there the 

 remains of a large hut, in the construction of which an axe 

 had been used. It, therefore, occurred to me, that we might 

 be near the tree, where Captain Sturt had turned from the 

 Darling, and I found that the northern head of D'Urban's 

 group bore nearly 58° E. of S., the bearing given by him of 

 this gi'oup. I, therefore, looked along the river bank for 

 the tree in question, but without success. In crossing a dry 

 water-course some miles further on, it occurred to me that 

 this might be the one, at the mouth of which, Mr. Hume 

 had cut his name. I, therefore, sent overseer Burnett and 

 the Doctor to trace the channel down, and to look for a tree 

 80 marked. Tlicy found at the mouth of the creek a very 



