343 
Interior of New Holland. 
north, and swept the horizon with his arm from north to east 
when he repeated his first motion, as if intending to intimate that 
waters were between those two points, on which the natives used 
the canoes. He pointed to E.S.E. as the direction of the creek, 
and clearly intimated that it did not go beyond a certain point. 
On the 4th we had stony elevations to our right at about a mile 
distant from the creek, similar to those we had passed to our left, 
and beyond those there were enormous grassy plains bounding 
the horizon. We had had a difficulty in keeping the channel of 
the creek, and on the proper left bank of it the native paths, 
hitherto so broad and so useful, ceased. We could not see the 
range I have mentioned, which would there have borne north¬ 
west from us. We were here in lat. 27° 49' 14' south, and long. 
141° 51' east; the point at which we struck this fine creek being 
in lat. 27° 8 south, and long. 140° 11'east. The country south 
of us was dark and scrubby, thence to E.N.E. and north exten¬ 
sive grassy plains; the grass being similar to that on the grassy 
plains near the lakes. 
Just before we left the creek to ascend these hills, we had seen 
a large pool under some gum trees, and on descending were re¬ 
turning to it, when we observed a body of natives, whose paths 
we had entirely lost, approaching us. I therefore went to meet 
them, and on getting near them dismounted, on which they all sat 
down to receive us. There were two who appeared to exercise 
authority ; both powerful men, and one of them about six feet 
two inches in height. They were painted red, but were not 
otherwise disfigured. They really cried, and the tears rolled down 
their cheeks when we came up; but the others, who sat behind 
them, were mostly lads, and laughingly pointed their fingers at 
the two chiefs, as if to tell us their crying was a farce, and we 
really could hardly preserve our gravity. These men told us that 
there was no water to the east or south, that the only water was 
to the north-east, and that to get to it we should have to cross the 
creek and go along a path. The two leaders, to whom I made pre¬ 
sents, accompanied us to point out the way; and as they had given 
us to understand, so immediately on crossing the creek we got on 
a broad path, leading direct to the north-east; it thus appearing 
