46 
ISOLATED HILL. 
It was, indeed, small enough, probably the remains of a 
passing shower ; it was, however, sufficient for our neces- 
sities, and I thanked Providence for its bounty to us. We 
were now about sixty miles from the Macquarie, in a N. W. 
by W. direction, and the country had proved so extremely 
discouraging, that I intimated to my men my intention of 
retracing my steps, should I not discover any change in it 
before noon on the morrow. A dense brush of acacia suc- 
ceeded to the plain on which we had slept, which w'e en- 
tered, and shortly afterwards found ourselves in an open 
space, of oblong shape, at the extremity of which there was 
a shallow lake. The brush completely encircled it, and a 
few huts were upon its banks. About 10 p. m. we got into 
an open forest track of better appearance than any over 
which we had recently travelled. 
There was a visible change in the country, and the soil, 
although red, was extremely rich and free from sand. A 
short time afterwards we rose to the summit of a round hill, 
from which we obtained an extensive view on most points 
of the compass. We had imperceptibly risen considerably 
above the general level of the interior. 
Beneath us, to the westward, I observed a broad and 
thinly wooded valley ; and W. by S., distant apparently 
about twenty miles, an isolated mountain, whose sides seem- 
ed almost perpendicular, broke the otherwise even line of 
the horizon ; but the country in every other direction looked 
as if it was darkly wooded. Anticipating that I should find 
a stream in the valley, I did not for a moment hesitate in 
