REEDY WATERCOURSE. 
37 
wide and very deep water holes, connected with one 
another by a strongly running stream, which seldom 
or never fails even in the driest seasons. The soil 
upon its hanks however is not valuable, being 
generally stony and barren, and bearing a sort of 
prickly grass, (Spinifex). Wildfowl abound on the 
pools. On a former occasion, when I first discovered 
the Broughton, I obtained both ducks and swans from 
its waters, but now I had no time for sporting, being 
anxious to push on to the “ reedy watercourse,” a 
halting place in my former journey, so as to get 
over all the rough and hilly ground before nightfall, 
that we might have a fair start in the morning. I 
generally preferred, if practicable, to lengthen the 
stage a little in the vicinity of watercourses or hills, 
in order to get the worst of the road over whilst the 
horses worked together and were warm, rather than 
leave a difficult country to be passed over the first 
thing in the morning, when, for want of exercise, the 
teams are chill and stiff, and require to be stimulated 
before they will work well in unison. Our journey 
to-day was about twenty miles, and the last five 
being over a rugged hilly road, it was late in the 
afternoon when we halted for the night. 
“ The reedy watercourse,” is a chain of water-holes 
taking its rise among some grassy and picturesque 
ranges to the north of us, and trending southerly 
to a junction with the Broughton. Among the 
gorges of this range, (which I had previously named 
