418 
Account of the country between 
the character of the western country may be well estimated. It is 
frequently open in the valleys, and on some of the secondary hills. 
On the mountain sides large forests are invariable. A wilder 
prospect than that seen from hence can scarcely be imagined ; 
for in almost all directions, the landscape ends in groups of 
broken mountains. These generally form the back-ground— 
the last visible land of the picture. The greater portion of the 
surface lying between, is so thrown up into hills, as to impart to 
the country generally an appearance of wonderful irregularity of 
surface, which however presents on examination extensive levels : 
over some of these I traced the track to Macquarie Harbour. 
Having descended the long slopes of Fatigue Hill, we landed at 
the bottom in a small plain, which Sir John Franklin afterwards 
named Wombat Glen. On a low wooded rise we found, in the 
last stages of decay, several articles which indicated that a party 
of runaway convicts from Macquarie Harbour, had, many years 
ago, passed this way. They were placed in the hollow of a fine old 
tree, which had been the means of preventing their entire destruc¬ 
tion. They consisted of an old yellow jacket, a pea jacket, a 
blanket, and a pair of boots ; and on searching about we found a 
large gitnblet, a hammer, and a broken iron pot. Several trees had 
been marked. Having passed this plain, the road enters a deep 
myrtle* forest, in which it continues for three miles. In this forest 
we first met the Franklin River, a large and rapid stream, of 
which I shall again have occasion to speak. For the present I 
contrived to avoid crossing it with the track I was marking out, 
but was not so fortunate as to escape this necessity, when I had 
got 40 miles nearer Macquarie Harbour. But here our track 
necessarily passes another stream, which I most unexpectedly 
encountered, and to which I therefore gave the name of the 
Surprise. It is not large or rapid, and is easily crossed by trees 
lying over it; it joins the Franklin. The soil of this forest is light, 
but good. Emerging from it, we enter a narrow plain about 
a mile and a half long, called Painter’s Plain. Its general 
* The Myrtle tree spoken o f by Mr. Colder, throughout this article, is the Fugus Cun. 
ninghami .— Ed. 
