544 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
expressed by naming the various localities after one or other of his 
retinue. Few spots were of more importance to be specially designated 
than the water-holes and chains of ponds. Thus on the 2nd of May, the 
party arriving at a small water-course, with pools of water flowing into 
the plain, Mr. Stuart observes, “ These ponds I name King’s Ponds, in 
token of my approbation of his care and attention to the horses, and his 
readiness and care in executing all my orders.” And this is no solitary 
instance : other springs were named in a similar manner, “ Nash’s 
Spring,” “ McGorerey’s Ponds,” “ Auld’s Chain of Ponds,” “ Frew’s 
Water-hole,” &c., &c., in token of approbation. 
As might be expected in a country of such a nature, animal life is any- 
thing but abundant. Birds not unfrequently appeared in some numbers, 
but their kind is not always specified. In the neighbourhood of King’s 
Ponds cockatoos were observed, and old tracks of the emu, but no 
quadruped game, except one wallaby and one kangaroo. The forest, it 
appears, grows dense and tangled, though no water be near, but in such 
situations not a bird was to be seen, nor the chirrup of any heard to dis- 
turb the gloomy silence. On Daly Waters, which cover a large area but 
are not deep, pelicans and other water-birds were observed ; and the party 
here caught a number of small fish, from three to five inches long, some- 
thing resembling a perch, which were looked upon as a godsend by men 
who had so long lived upon dry meat. In River Strangways, also, fine large 
fish were caught, some of them weighing 2| lb. Of these some were of 
the perch family, and others resembled rock-cod, with three remarkable 
black spots on each side of their bodies. There were also some smaller 
ones resembling gold-fish, and other small ones, with black stripes on their 
sides, resembling pilot-fish. 
The vegetable productions of the country vary according to the prox- 
imity to water. In a valley through which a stream of water runs, the 
sides are described as thickly wooded with tall stringy-bark, gums, and 
various kinds of palm-trees, which were very beautiful, the stems growing 
upwards of fifty feet high, and the leaves from eight to ten feet long, 
each side resembling an immense feather : a great number of these shooting 
out from the top of the high stems, and falling gracefully over, produced a 
very pretty, light, and elegant appearance. In other places dense scrub and 
impenetrable forest of gum-trees and tall mulgar, through which they in 
vain atttempted, by pushing, tearing, and winding, to make some progress, 
obliged them to make a circuitous journey. Such was that met with near 
Auld’s chain of ponds. This, says Mr. Stuart, would be a fearful country 
for any one to be lost in, as there is nothing to guide them, and one cannot 
see more than 300 yards around. “ Should any be so unfortunate as 
to be lost, it would be quite impossible to find them again ; it would be 
imprudent to search for them, for by so doing the searchers would run the 
risk of being lost too.” In such situations the usual resource of climbing 
a tree sometimes led to deceptive appearances of open country, caused by 
the shade of the sun on some of the lower mulgar bushes. Near Kewick’s 
large group of springs, in lat. 13° 54', on some table-land thickly 
planted with stringy bark, pines, and other trees and shrubs, the 
party for the first time saw the fan-palms, some of them growing 
