64 EXCURSION TOWARDS THE LACHLAN. 
Our horses literally sank up to their knees on parts of 
the great plain over which we had in the first instance to 
pass, and we rode from three to four miles before we caught 
sight of a distant wood at its northern extremity ; the view 
from the river having been for the last two or three days, 
as boundless as the ocean. As we approached the wood, two 
columns of smoke rose from it, considerably apart, evidently 
the fires of natives near water. We made for the central 
space between them, having a dead acacia scrub upon our 
right. On entering the wood, we found that it contained 
for the most part, flooded-gum, under which bulrushes and 
reeds were mixed together. The whole space seemed liable 
to overflow, and we crossed numerous little drains, that 
intersected each other in every direction. From the resem- 
blance of the ground to that at the bottom of the marshes of 
the Macquarie, I prognosticated to my companion that we 
should shortly come upon a creek, and we had not ridden 
a quarter of a mile further, when we found ourselves on the 
banks of one of considerable size. Crossing it, we proceeded 
northerly, until we got on the outskirts of a plain of red 
sandy soil, covered with rliagodia alone, and without a tree 
upon the visible horizon. The country appeared to be 
rising before us, but was extremely depressed to the east- 
ward. After continuing along this plain for some time, I 
became convinced from appearances, that we were receding 
from water, and that the fires of the natives, which were 
no longer visible, must have been on the creek we had 
crossed, that I judged to be leading W.S.W. from the op- 
