14 
BANKSIAS MET WITH. 
character and formation of the country. It was the 
appearance for the first time of the Banksia, a shrub 
which I had never before found to the westward of 
Spencer’s Gulf, but which I knew to abound in the 
vicinity of King George’s Sound, and that descrip- 
tion of country generally. Those only who have 
looked out with the eagerness and anxiety of a per- 
son in my situation, to note any change in the vege- 
tation or physical appearance of a country, can 
appreciate the degree of satisfaction with which I 
recognised and welcomed the first appearance of the 
Banksia. Isolated as it was amidst the scrub, and 
insignificant as the stunted specimens were that I 
first met with, they led to an inference that I 
could not be mistaken in, and added, in a tenfold 
degree, to the interest and expectation with which 
every mile of our route had now become invested. 
During the day the weather had been again cloudy, 
with the appearance of rain ; but the night turned 
out cold and frosty, and both I and the native 
suffered extremely. We had little to protect us from 
the severity of the season, never being able to pro- 
cure firewood of a description that would keep 
burning long at once, so that between cold and 
fatigue, we were rarely able to get more than a few 
moments rest at a time ; and were always glad when 
daylight dawned to cheer us, although it only 
aroused us to the renewal of our unceasing toil. 
May 2. — We again moved away at dawn, through 
a country which gradually become more scrubby, 
