CH.VIir.] APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 329 



Sept. 8. — Proceeding in a south-south-east direction, we 

 crossed, at seven miles, a creek, which I took for that of 

 Tandogo, and thereupon turned towards the south-east. 

 After a journey of eleven miles, we encamped about three- 

 quarters of a mile from the Bogan, on a spot where we 

 found excellent grass. We had now arrived where the pas- 

 turage was so much better than any we had seen, that we 

 could not doubt that a greater quantity of rain had fallen here, 

 than in the regions where we had been. The improvement 

 was obvious, not alone in the quality of the grass, but in the 

 birds, the woods, the clouds, and distant horizon, which all 

 bespoke our approach to a more habitable region, than that 

 in which we had so long been wandering. We crossed some 

 fine sloping hills, and found on the Bogan, a rich flat, some- 

 what resembling those tracts of black soil, which are so much 

 prized on some of the larger rivers of the colony. A hot wind 

 blew from the north, and now brought with it smoke and an 

 overcast sky, vvhich in the evening turned to nimbus clouds. 

 A south-west wind, (the usual antidote to the hot winds of 

 Sydney) came in the evening, and some genial showers fell 

 during the night. 



Sept. 9. — A drizzling rain fell early in the morning, but 

 about mid-day the weather cleared up. We had not proceeded 

 far before I was stopped by the Bogan, the course of which, I 

 found, at length, to come more from the south. 1 had been 

 fortunate in the line, which I had pursued, as the supposed 

 direction of this river, above the part previously surveyed. 

 This was on the bearing of 139^°, and chosen after considering 

 the position of hills and other circumstances relative, and I 

 now found that this line nearly cut through our three last 

 camps, on the river. We were at length to turn southward, 

 and this still appeared to be the main channel, judging by 

 the breadth of the bed, and the long deep ponds of water. 

 Indeed we had no longer any apprehensions about finding 

 water, while travelling along the main channel ; and this day 

 we crossed over ground, well covered with grass. During 



