232 DUN lop's range. [ch. v. 



river with as little inconvenience as if they had only stepped 

 over it. The teeth and shape of the mouth of the young 

 female, were really beautiful, and indeed her person and 

 modest air presented a good specimen of Australian woman- 

 hood. On leaving us, they loudly pronounced a particular 

 word, which I as often repeated in reply ; and they pointed 

 to the earth and the water, giving us to understand in every 

 way they could, that we were welcome to the water, which 

 they probably considered their own. As we crossed a plain, 

 the dogs set off after three emus, the pursued and the pur- 

 suers disappearing in the woods. Some time after, while 

 passing through a scrub, we came upon the dogs standing 

 quietly beside a dead emu. If not the first killed by them, 

 it was at least the first that fell into our hands ; and if this 

 vvere the only one they had killed, it was singular enough, 

 that the capture should have happened exactly in the line of 

 our route. This acquisition we considered a favourable 

 omen on our approaching the hills, for we had begun to 

 despair of obtaining any of these swift though gigantic birds, 

 inhabitants of the plains. At length we reached rising 

 ground, rather a novelty to us ; and I continued my course 

 across a ridge, which appeared to be connected, on the south, 

 with Dunlop's range. It consisted of a very hard conglo- 

 merate composed of irregular concretions of milk-white 

 quartz, in a ferruginous basis, with apparently compact 

 felspar weathering white. It seemed the same kind of rock 

 which I found nearest to the Karaula, in latitude 29°.* On 

 this hill, we encamped for the night, the bend of the river 

 nearest to us, bearing north-north-east, and being distant 

 about two miles. It was almost sunset, before we took up 

 our ground, and we had still to seek the nearest way to the 

 river, through woods. Such occasions tried the mettle of 

 my men ; but he who, at the close of such days, was the 

 first to set out for the river, with his bucket in liand, and 

 jnuskct on shoulder, was the man for me. Such men were 



• See page 93. 



