ASPECT of country and river. 75 
As soon as we had taken a hasty dinner, we again em- 
barked, and pursued our journey. I had hoped, from the 
appearance of the country to the north of us, although that 
to the south gave little indication of any change, that we 
should soon clear the reeds ; but at somewhat less than a 
mile they closed in upon the river, and our frequent ex- 
amination of the neighbourhood on either side of it only 
tended to confirm the fact, that we were passing through a 
country subject to great and extensive inundation. We 
pulled up at half-past five, and could scarcely find space 
enough to pitch our tents. 
The Morumbidgee kept a decidedly westerly course 
during the day. Its channel was not so tortuous as we ex- 
pected to have found it, nor did it offer any obstruction to 
the passage of the boats. Its banks kept a general height 
of eight feet, five of which were of alluvial soil, and both 
its depth and its current were considerable. We calculated 
having proceeded from 28 to 30 miles, though, perhaps, 
not more than half that distance in a direct line. No rain 
fell during the day, but we experienced some heavy squalls 
from the E. S. E. 
The second day of our journey from the depot was 
marked by an accident that had well nigh obliged us to 
abandon the further pursuit of the river, by depriving us of 
part of our means of carrying it into effect. We had pro- 
ceeded, as usual, at an early hour in the morning, and not 
long after we started, fell in with the blacks who had visited 
us last, and who were now in much better humour than upon 
