13] 
NEAR THE CASTLEREAGH. 
upon a small creek with abundance of water in it. Whether 
this creek was the Castlereagh, which it resembled much 
more than the one we had left in the morning, was doubt- 
ful ; but it was a great source of comfort to us to have so 
unexpected a supply of water as that which was now at our 
disposal. Whatever channel this was, whether a river or a 
creek, our tracing it down would lead us in the direction 
we wished to go, and probably to some junction. 
The neighbourhood of the creek was well clothed with 
vegetation, and the cattle found good feed ; but the only 
trees near it were rough-gum and casuarinm; the flooded- 
gum had again disappeared. The soil of the forest land 
over which we journeyed was a light sandy loam ; and its 
timber consisted chiefly of eucalypti, acacia pendula, and 
the angophora. 
Some natives visited us in the afternoon, and among 
them, both Mr. Hume and I recognized one of those we 
had seen on the Darling. He also knew us again, but we 
could not make out from him how far we were from that 
river. They staid with us till sunset, and then went down 
the creek, leaving their spears against a tree, for which 
they said they would return. 
On the 23rd we took up a W.N. W. course, and when 
we again touched on the creek it was dry. This was at a 
distance of about five miles from where we had slept. As 
the animals had not recovered from their late privations, I 
deemed it better to halt the party and to examine the creek 
for a few miles below us, that in case it should prove des- 
K 2 
