CH. VII.] A day's halt. 285 



mile off, but on my turning for a short time and again looking, 

 I perceived them already far away, scampering at amazing 

 speed back towards the river. It seemed, as if they had 

 become alarmed at our silence, or on discovering our num- 

 bers, and the extent of our camp. Of course we expected 

 a visit from their tribe, either during the day's journey or 

 in the evening. By proceeding in a direction 72° 45' E. of 

 N., we travelled along a fine plain, and hit exactly a sharp 

 angle in our fomier route (June 24). Thus a distance of a 

 mile and a half was gained upon that line, and some very 

 soft and heavy ground avoided. This day's route was, con- 

 sequently, almost a straight line, and we halted opposite to a 

 bend of the river, 2^ miles short of the camp of June 2-3. 

 As we approached this part of the river, a dense column of 

 smoke, such as the natives send up as signals, arose from it. 

 We saw no more of the natives, however, that night, al- 

 though the men with the cattle noticed their fires on the 

 other side of the river. 



July 25. — As wejournied along the formar tract, and over 

 a plain near the Darling, we observed smoke to arise from 

 the same place, in which it had appeared on the preceding 

 evening ; but still no natives came to us. On passing our 

 old camp, we perceived that two men and a boy had that 

 morning stood on the ashes of our former fires, and gone all 

 over the ground. We saw nothing, however, of the natives 

 during the whole of this day ; and we finally halted within 

 half a mile of our encampment of June 23. Here we found 

 a species of Atriplex related to A. Halimus.* 



July 26. — The cattle having had a fatiguing journey, I 

 thought it best to give them a day's rest, especially as I 

 wished to examine the country and a group of hills to the 

 eastward. I, therefore, set out with three men for the highest 

 summit, (bearing 124° from N.), and distant thirteen miles. We 



* Atriplex halimoides ; fruticosa erecta squamuloso-incana, foliis rhombeo- 

 ovatis integris, perianthiis fructiferis axillaribus solitariis sessilibus spongiosis, 

 dorsi alis ovatis integris. (Lindl. MSS.) 



