Miscellanea . 
387 
be fifty lines. One thing, we think, is very clear—that if the 
means of communication are afforded at all, it must be to the 
northward, and, indeed, far in the interior; the seacoast line 
1'rom east to west, for many miles from the coast, being known to 
be impracticable. There is one other thing that we may observe 
with reference to this newly-discovered country. The alleged ab¬ 
sence of any permanent water would seem to be incompatible 
with the presence of cattle; and there is thus at least a strong 
probability that permanent water must exist somewhere in the 
neighbourhood. On the other hand, it is certainly possible that 
these tracts are only frequented by the cattle in the wet season, 
and that in the drier parts of the year they retire to other places. 
As an argument against the existence of permanent water, we un¬ 
derstand that Mr. Drummond has detected the presence of salt 
throughout all his explorations of the country in question, and 
has discovered several plants which grow only in such a locality; 
among others, the plant which yields the true barilla of commerce. 
Mr. Drummond also found a European plant of the parsley tribe, 
which he has not seen in any other part of the colony, and which 
he considers must have been introduced to that spot by the cattle 
in question ; an additional reason for inferring their migration 
from a distant settlement. We trust that, on his return, Mr. 
Drummond will not hesitate to publish full particulars of his ex¬ 
plorations .”—Inquirer (Western Australia), Nov. 6, 1844. 
II. El Mano Colorado. 
“ On reading 6 Incidents of Travels in Yucatan,’ by J. L. Ste¬ 
phens, published at New York in 1843, we were much struck at 
the mention made, we believe for the first time, of the mano Colo¬ 
rado, or red hand, which Mr. Stephens observed so frequently, 
both on the external surface of the stones used in the erection of 
sundry of the splendid remains of antiquity which he explored in 
Yucatan, as well as in the mortar in the interior of the walls after 
they had been opened. Mr. Stephens describes the appearance 
of the mano Colorado as follows:—‘ Over the cavity left in the 
mortar by the removal of the stone were two conspicuous marks, 
which afterwards stared us in the face in all the ruined buildings 
of the country; they have the prints of a red hand, with the thumb 
and fingers extended—not drawn or painted, but stamped by the 
living hand, the pressure of the palm upon the stone. He who 
made it stood before it alive as we did, and pressed his hand, 
moistened with red paint, hard against the stone. The seam and 
creases of the palm were clear and distinct in the impression. 
There was something life-like about it that waked exciting 
thoughts, and almost presented the image of the departed inha¬ 
bitant hovering about the building. There was one striking fea¬ 
ture about these hands : they were exceedingly small; either of 
our own spread over and completely hid them ; and this was in- 
