216 APPENDIX. NO. V. 
of muscle-shells on their banks, but now having scarcely 
any water in them, the fish having either been taken, or 
are dead, and the tribes gone elsewhere for food, while the 
badness of the river water has introduced a cutaneous 
disease among the natives of that district, which is fast 
carrying them off. Our intercourse with these people was 
incessant from the time we first met them, and on all occa- 
sions they behaved remarkably well, nor could we have 
seen less than than two hundred and fifty of them. 
Our return is to be attributable to the want of water alone, 
and it is impossible for me to describe the effects of the 
drought on animal as well as vegetable nature. The natives 
are wandering in the desert, and it is melancholy to reflect 
on the necessity which obliges them to drink the stinking 
and loathsome water they do — birds sit gasping in the 
trees and are quite thin — the wild dog prowls about in 
the day-time unable to avoid us, and is as lean as he can 
be in a living state, while minor vegetation is dead, and 
the very trees are drooping. I have noticed all these 
things in my Journal I shall have the honour of submitting 
through you, for the Governor’s perusal and information, 
on my return. Finally, I fear our expedition will not 
pave the way to any ultimate benefit ; although it has been 
the means by which two very doubtful questions, — the 
course of the Macquarie, and the nature of the interior, 
have been solved ; for it is beyond doubt, that the interior 
for 260 miles beyond its former known limits to the 
W. N. W., so far from being a shoal sea, has been ascer- 
tained not only to have considerable elevations upon it, 
but is in itself a table land to all intents and purposes, and 
has scarcely water on its surface to support its inhabitants. 
