CH. v.] NATIVE HAY-RICK3. 237 



■water was deep, and the banks rather low, but very steep. 

 The sky became overcast, ahnost for the first thne, since we 

 had advanced into these interior regions, and at sunset it 

 began to rain. The position of the hills, and the direction of 

 the river, were here particularly interesting, as likely soon to 

 decide the question respecting the ultimate course of this 

 solitary stream, on which our lives depended, in this dry and 

 naked wilderness ! 



June 18. — The morning was fine as usual, the rain which 

 fell during the night, had only laid the dust. We proceeded 

 south-west, until the bends of the river obliged me to move 

 still more to the southward. The hills on the opposite bank 

 at length receded, and we saw before us only a wide desert 

 plain, where nothing seemed to move, and the only indica- 

 tion of life throughout this melancholy waste, was a distant 

 column of dark smoke ascending in remarkable density to 

 the sky. In the afternoon, the wind blowing keenly from 

 the west-south-west, we encamped amongst some polygonum 

 J)ushes near the river, after travelling lOj miles. 



June 19. — A thick haze came on, with an extremely cold 

 wind from the south-west ; and, as it was necessary to look 

 well before me, in this part of our journey, I gave the men 

 and cattle the benefit of a day's rest. The river was so shal- 

 low, that it seemed almost possible to step across it ; and no 

 deep reaches appeared in its bed. This probably was the 

 reason, why no natives were in the vicinity, as in such deep 

 parts only can they find fish. The quantity of water con- 

 tinued the same as when we first came on the river 120 miles 

 higher up. In the neighbourhood of our camp the grass had 

 been pulled, to a very great extent, and piled in hay-ricks, 

 so that the aspect of the desei't was softened into the agree- 

 able semblance of a hay-field. The grass had evidently been 

 thus laid up by the natives, but for what purpose we could 

 not imagine. At first, I thought the heaps were only the 

 remains of encampments, as the aborigines sometimes sleep 

 on a little dry grass ; but when we found the ricks, or hay- 



