departure of two men for WELLINGTON. 33 
and treated him accordingly. To my satisfaction, when I 
visited the men late in the evening, 1 found a general im- 
provement in the whole of them. Spencer was consider- 
ably relieved, and those of the party who had inflammation 
of the eyes no longer felt that painful irritation of which they 
had before complained. I determined, therefore, unless un- 
toward circumstances should prevent it, to send Riley 
and his companion homewards, and to move the party 
without toss of time. 
We had not seen any natives for many days, but a few 
passed the camp on the opposite side of the river on the 
evening of the 25th. They would not, however, come to 
us j but fled into the interior in great apparent alarm. 
On the morning of the 26th, the men were sufficiently 
recovered to pursue their journey. Riley and Spencer left 
us at an early hour ; and about 7 a. m. we pursued a N.N.W. 
course along the great plain I have noticed, starting 
numberless quails, and many wild turkeys, by the way. 
Leaving that part of the river on which Mr. Hume and I 
had touched considerably to the left, we made for the point 
of a wood, projecting from the river line of trees into the 
plain. The ground under us was an alluvial deposit, and 
bore all the marks of frequent inundation. 
The soil was yielding, blistered, and uneven; and the 
claws of cray-fish, together with numerous small shells 
were every where collected in the hollows made by the sub- 
siding of the waters, between broad belts of reeds and 
scrubs of polygonum. 
D 
