193 
Interior of New Holland. 
in his endeavours to dissuade us from pursuing it. His alarm, 
from our first entrance into the hills, had been remarkable. He 
said he should be crushed to death, and literally trembled from 
head to foot. Yet—will the reader believe ?—we were at that 
moment, when he vociferated that there was no more water in 
the creek, within 100 yards of a beautiful pond, at which I after¬ 
wards encamped. We gave him his own way, on his assuring us 
that he would lead us to plenty of water, and, under his guidance, 
we turned to the north. We passed a remarkable iron-stone 
range, on which the needle deviated 43“ to the E. of N. The 
iron ore laid in a ridge and in immense blocks along the spine of 
the hill, bearing N. and S., and it was the finest and most 
beautiful I have ever seen. On the heated face of the rock, 
without a particle of soil, a new plant, of a nature not to be pre¬ 
served, was growing. A little before sunset, we turned somewhat 
to the eastward, and soon afterwards arrived at a pass, leading 
out of the ranges to the plains we had crossed. Entering this 
pass, Topar showed us a little pond of green water, under the 
rocks, wholly unfit to drink. I was now, however, indifferent to 
his treachery, since, having found a pond to which I felt justified 
in removing the party, and from which I could explore the 
western interior with more advantage, I had determined on re¬ 
turning to the camp; and accordingly, on the following morning, 
followed down the pass for about a mile, but as it then bent to the 
eastward, I crossed a small range, and, traversing the plains, halted 
for the night on a sandhill about 35 miles from Cawndilla. We 
were suddenly roused at an early hour of the morning, by a vio¬ 
lent gust of wind from the south-west, that carried away every 
light thing we had; nor do I remember, even in Canada, having 
ever suffered so intensely from cold as on that day. The wind 
literally pierced us through and through, and we arrived at the 
camp more dead than alive. It was in consequence of this that 
Mr. Topar, who I intended to have treated with a good flogging, 
escaped unpunished ; no young rascal ever deserved such a cor¬ 
rection more richly. 
On the 27th, I sent Flood, with two men and the light cart, to 
enlarge the wells at Carnapaga—the principal well Topar had 
