198 Notes on the 



so abundant that they seem to constitute the chief food of 

 the natives. The water of the Mackenzie appears very green, 

 but, unless when taken from shallow pools, does not taste bad. 



The blacks do not seem numerous. We sometimes saw 

 their fresh footprints, but themselves only once. Every night 

 Ave went to sleep as securely as if Ave had been at home. We 

 kept no watch and Avere never disturbed. 



In reference to climate, from the 7th till the end 'of Sep- 

 tember there was very little change. At day-dawn, light 

 clouds drift up from the N.E., from the sea. By eight or 

 nine o' clock, a fine cool breeze comes up from the same 

 quarter, and generally continues throughout the day. 



There are no hot winds, and neither the ground nor the 

 atmosphere ever seems to become so thoroughly heated as in 

 more southern latitudes. Very heavy dews fall, and thunder- 

 storms are frequent, generally from the Avest. In that region, 

 the temperature of one day does not differ so much from that 

 of the preceding or following day, as does the temperature of 

 the night from the day. Tak^one example : at day-light on 

 the 6th of Nov., when on the Mackenzie, the thermometer 

 was at 55° ; at noon 93° ; at sunset, 76° ; at daylight next 

 morning, it was at 48°. The night had been calm, and as 

 usual, there was a very heavy dew. On the 7th of Sep., a 

 perfectly calm morning, at daylight, at Rockampton, the 

 temperature of the atmosphere was 40°, Avhile the tempera- 

 ture of the river, which is constantly agitated by tidal cur- 

 rents, was 59°. Of course there was a very dense fog. 



Nothing which I observed caused in me so much astonish- 

 ment as the greenness of the grass. I had expected to see it 

 all dried up by the heat of a tropical climate. At the begin- 

 ing of September there had been no rain for four months, 

 yet everywhere the grass was remarkably green, and became 

 greener every week till I left in November. 



With such a climate, and possessing so much excellent 

 soil, that portion of Australia must, at some future period, 

 become great in the production of cotton, tea, sugar, coffee, 

 and all other tropical articles ; but the vast region lies in its 

 ancient glory unsubdued, and should we wonder, if, after 

 the lapse of so many ages of neglect, Ave find some portions of 

 its richest soils buried under a covering of brigalow scrub ? 



To those who Avish to settle in the north, the greatest ob- 

 structions are in the way, all arising from the system of ten- 

 dering for runs having been taken advantage of as a system 

 for speculation. The whole of the vast region is locked up 



