134 Remarks on the Physical Geography, ^c, of the 



towards it. This has at no remote period been an important 

 creek, and may become such again if its outlet from the 

 Lachlan_, now said to be silted up, were again opened. Thus 

 a fine and extensive pastoral country might be supplied with 

 water frontage. It is impossible that this creek can bend 

 round again to the Lachlan ; its direction is towards the Dar- 

 ling, and it is probable that it either reaches that river, or ends 

 in some great inland depression. We camped by this creek, 

 and in the morning I saw that there was now quite a range 

 of hill-tops in view towards the north. These bore respec- 

 tively— N. 14° W., N. 18° E., N. 23° E., N. 37° E., N. 48° E., 

 and the point first observed, N. 65° E, Having always care- 

 fully timed our horses, I thus obtained a base by which to 

 measm'e the distances those hills were from us with some de- 

 gree of accuracy. One of our six horses had to be left here, 

 unable to go farther. In leaving it we were not without 

 some apprehension that it might be taken oif by the wild 

 horses that, in numerous troops, inhabit this otherwise unoc- 

 cupied country. 



Four miles from the large creek we came to a swamp about 

 a mile Avide, vidthan undulating hard clay bottom, covered in 

 some places Avith a very coarse sand of disintegrated granite. 

 We had now evidentlj'- got upon a different description of 

 country; a level country, with merely local depressions, to 

 receive any water that may flow fi^om the plains, and alto- 

 gether without the shallow water-channels such as we had 

 seen on the south side of the large dry creek already referred 

 to. In crossing this swamp bed, which is thinly covered with 

 the rough-barked box-tree peculiar to a dry country, much 

 polyizonum scrub, and a tall, coarse reed grass, we had some 

 sport with a large emu. Stopping our horses, I dismounted, 

 and making a sound like a young emu, I brought it up within 

 shot, when I discharged both barrels at its head, but wdthout 

 efiPect. It is of importance to know that emus that have not 

 often seen white men can be thus attracted. When in the north 

 of Queensland, last year, I often, out of curiosity, induced 

 these birds to come quite within shot, and even to follow us 

 for long distances. But it is of no use to fire at them "with 

 small shot, as I did on this occasion. 



At the distance of two and a half miles farther, we passed 

 another box-swamp, which had a bottom of loose blue clay, 

 cut in the most extraordinary manner with deep and steep- 

 sided fissui'es, the effect, I believe, of descending currents of 

 water. 



