JVARHATIVE OF MR. CAREOX. 191 



with their spears shipped, making' a most hideous 

 noise, and with the most savage gestures. Know- 

 ing the fire could not reach us, as there was nothing- 

 to burn on our side the gully, we drew up towards 

 them with our fire-arms prepared. The}^ approached 

 near enough to throw three spears into our camp, 

 one of which went quite through one of our tents. 

 No one was hurt, but a few of our party fired at 

 them 5 we could not tell whether any were wounded, 

 as they disappeared almost immediately. We kept 

 three on watch this night for fear of the natives. 



Sept. 17th to 21st. — Leaving the river, we turned 

 north-west, and had occasionally fair travelling 

 over stiff soil, intersected by many creeks, most of 

 them dry, but were every where able to find water 

 at intervals of a few miles. We passed over some 

 ironstone ridges, and rocky hills, covered with 

 Callitris, Cochlospermum, and Sterculias. On the 

 stiff soil the trees were iron-bark, box, apple-gum, 

 and some large acacias, with long lanceolate 

 phyllodia, and large spikes of golden-coloured 

 flowers. The grass here in the valleys between the 

 hills had been burned, and was grown up again 

 about eight or ten inches high. 



Sept. 22nd. — We crossed a creek running east- 

 ward, overhung by melaleucas and arborescent 

 callistemons, with plenty of grass on both sides ; the 

 soil appeared to become more sandy than that over 

 which we had hitherto passed. 



Sept. 2^rd. — We proceeded on our course, tra- 



