Part 4 (1/2)

I had hoped that the weather would have cleared during the night, but in this I was disappointed On the 17th we had again continued rain until sunset, when the sky cleared to ard and the glass rose We were however unable to stir, and so lost another day About noon Nadbuck ca native from Laidley's Ponds, as on his way to Moorundi, had just told him that only a few days before he co natives had attacked an overland party co down the river, and had killed them all, in number fifteen I therefore sent for the lad, and with Mr Browne's assistance examined him He was perfectly consistent in his story; mentioned the number of drays, and said that the white felloere all asleep when the natives attacked theoons, and that only one native, a woman, was killed; the blacks, he added, had plenty of shi+rts and jackets Doubtful as I was of this story, and equally puzzled to guess what party could have been coive so cub; for he neither varied in his account or hesitated in his reply to any question I certainly feared that some sad scene of butchery had taken place, and became the more anxious to push my way up to the supposed spot, where it was stated to have occurred, to save any one whoLake Victoria to report what I had heard to the Governor

As the barometer fell before the rain, so it indicated a cessation of it, by gradually rising The weather had indeed cleared up the evening before, but theof the 18th was beautifully fine and cool; we therefore yoked up the cattle and took our departure froround was soft, but it soon hardened again

Shortly after starting we struck a little creek, which trended to the south, so that ere obliged to leave it, but we could trace the line of trees on its banks to a considerable distance We traversed plains of great extent, keeping on the overland road until at length we gained the river, and encarassy enclosure, into which we put our cattle One side of this enclosure was flanked by the river, the other by a beautiful lagoon, that looked inia water than one in the wilds of Australia

As we crossed the plains we again observed nu from the brushes to the river, to the very point indeed where we encamped The natives had previously informed us, as far back as the place where we shot the first bullock, that we should fall in with other cattle hereabouts; we did not however see any of the the day Our tents were pitched on the narrow neck of land leading to an enclosure into which we had turned our ani could pass either in or out of it without being observed by the guard, so that neither could our cattle escape or the wild ones join them It was clear, however, that we had cut off the latter fro all round us, and frequently approached close up to our fires We had no difficulty in distinguishi+ng the lowing of the heifers from that of the bullocks; of which last there appeared to be a large proportion in the herd

So very sore necks, and our loads at this tiested our trying to secure two or three of the bullocks running in the bush We therefore arranged that a party should go out in the ht find towards the river, at which I was to be prepared to entice thely Mr Poole and Mr Broith Flood and Mack, started at sunrise It was near twelve, however, when Mr Browne returned with Flood, who had met with a sad accident, and had three of the first joints of the fingers of his right hand carried off by the discharge of his fusee whilst loading He had incautiously put on the cap and was galloping at the time, but kept his seat Mr Browne inforreat ly wild, and started off the moment the horsemen appeared, insomuch that they could not turn them, and it ith a view to drive them towards the river that Flood fired at them However none approached the camp Mr Poole returned late in the afternoon equally unsuccessful Mr Browne dressed Flood's hand, who bore it exceedingly well, and only expressed his regret that he should be of no use on the Darling in the event of any rupture with the natives I reht it would be necessary to keep Flood quiet for a day or two On the following day we resumed our journey, and reached the junction of the ancient channel of the Darling with the Murray about 11 The floods were running into it with great velocity, and the water had risen to a considerable height, so thatin it I remained here until noon, when a rees 4 minutes 34 seconds We then bade adieu to the Murray, and turned northwards to overtake the party, which under Nadbuck's guidance had cut off the angle into which we had gone With the Murray we lost its fine trees and grassy flats The Ana-branch had a broad channel and long reaches of water; but holly wanting in pasture or timber of any size The plains of the interior forrew on theht rass, but were obliged to keep the cattle in yoke and the horses tethered to prevent their wandering As we advanced up the Ana-branch on the following day, its channel sensibly diminished in breadth, and at eleven miles we reached a hollow, beyond which the floods had not worked their way Here we found a tribe of natives, thirty-seven in number, by whom the account we had heard of thewas confirmed Nadbuck now inforo to the eastward, and that it would be necessary to start by dawn, as we should not reach the Darling before sunset Nadbuck had now becoreat favourite, and there was a dry kind of hu, at the same time that his services were really valuable

Toonda, on the other hand, was aand ent than any native I had ever before seen

His habit was spare, but his muscles were firreat confidence in his oers to have undertaken a journey of more than 200 miles from his own home He was very taciturn, and would rather remain at the officers' fire than join his fellows

The country we had passed through during the day had been reat extent flanked the Ana-branch on either side, on which there were sandy undulations covered with stunted cypress trees or low brush

Flood had froreat pain; but as he did not otherwise complain, Mr Browne did not entertain any apprehension as to his having any attack of fever

On theof the 24th, the natives paid us an early visit with their boys, and remained at the camp until we started At the head of the water they had hs of which the current was running like a sluice; but the further progress of the floods was stopped by a bank that had been gradually thrown up athwart the channel Crossing the Ana-branch at this point, we struck across barren sandy plains, on a NNE course From them we entered a low brush, in which there weretrees At four ain to traverse open barren plains At their terh a second brush, consisting for the most part of fusani, acaciae, hakeae, and other low shrubs, but there were no cypresses here as in the first brush On gaining radually rose before us, and a ferruginous congloan our descent towards the valley of the Darling The country beca on partially flooded land, and there was no deficiency of grass Mr Broent on a-head with Toonda and Flood, whilst I and Mr Poole remained with the party From the appearance of the country, however, I momentarily expected to come on the river; but the approach to it from the ard is extremely deceptive, and we had several um-trees shewed their white bark in the distance We reached the Darling at half-past five, as the sun's al the flats, and every blade of grass and every reed appeared of that light and brilliant green which they assue from barrenness and sterility to richness and verdure was sudden and striking, and nothing certainly could have beenRiver The scene itself was very pretty Beautiful and drooping trees shaded its banks, and the grass in its channel was green to the water's edge Evening's er on a scene so fair, and there was a mellow haze in the distance that softened every object The cattle and horses were up to their flanks in grass and young reeds, and plants indicative of a better soil, such as the sowthistle, thein profusion around us Close to our tents there was a large and hollow gu net had been deposited, but where the owner intended to use it was a puzzle to us, for it was impossible that any fish could re; which was at its lowest ebb, and the current was so feeble that I doubted if it really flowed at all

Whether the natives anticipated the flood which shortly afterwards swelled it I cannot say, although I am led to believe they did, either from habit or experience

So abundant had been the feed that none of the cattle stirred out of sight of the camp, and we should have started at an early hour, but for the visit of an old native, the owner of the net we had discovered It ith some hesitation that he crossed the river to us, but he did so; and as soon as he sawbeen in the boat on the Murray in 1830, though fourteen years had passed since that time, and he could only have seen ular in his recollection of me, since one of the natives of the Ana-branch also recollected me; and Tenbury, the native constable at Moorundi, not only knew me the moment he saw me, but observed that a little white man sat bybefore me, which was a compass There was a suspicious manner about our visitor, for which we could not very well account; but it arose from doubts he entertained as to the safety of his net, for after he had seen that it had not been taken away, his dereat satisfaction that we had not touched it

We co at nine o'clock, on a course somewhat to the ard {EASTWARD in published text} of north

We passed flat after flat of the reen, ornaive a most picturesque finish to the landscape Trees of denser foliage and deeper shade dropped over the river, forrassed to the water, had the appearance of having been made so by art

We halted, after a journey of fourteen ain turned the cattle out to feed on the luxuriant herbage around the reat length of tirassy nature of its bed, that it seldoth of tirass would be killed Its flats, like those of the Murray, are backed by lagoons, but they had long been dry, and the trees growing round the

With the exception of the tribe at the Ana-branch, and the oldthe Murray; but, from the reports we had heard of the recent massacre of the overland party at Williorara, and the character of the Darling blacks, I was induced to take double precautions as I journeyed up the river, and had the camp so fored close to each other on either side, the boat carriage formed a face to the rear, and the tents occupied the front; thus leaving sufficient roole My own tent was in the centre of the front, and another tent at the angle opposite the guard tent So that it would have been difficult for the natives to have got at the sheep (which they h we had no apprehension of the natives, both Nadbuck and Toonda were constantly on the watch, and it was evident the former considered hireat ireat anxiety about our next intervieith the natives; but Toonda took everything quietly, and there was a haughty bearing about hi importance of his coe encampment of natives about three miles above us, but none of them ventured to our camp; nor, it isin the neighbourhood; but our friend Nadbuck, as I have stated, was in a great bustle, and shewed infinite anxiety on the occasion Neither were his apprehensions allayed on the followinge started He went in advance to prepare the natives for our approach, and to ask perh their territory, but returned without having found the afterwards it was reported that the natives were in front

On hearing this the old gentleed of me to stop the party, and away he went, full of bustle and importance, to satisfy hio on We had halted close to the brow of a gentle descent into a s a few paces came in view of the natives, assembled on the bank of the river below Men only were present, but they appeared to have been taken by surprise, and were in great alar, and a few hostile weapons, but not ether with any hostile intention

So and well enerally are so They looked with astonishment on the drays, which passed close to thereatly At this time Nadbuck had walked to so each by the hand in the most affectionate manner, and he was apparently in deep and earnest conversation with them Toonda, on the other hand, had remained seated on one of the drays, until it descended into the creek He then got off, and walking up to the natives, folded his blanket round hihty air, and eyed the whole of the pride, if not of ferocity Whether it was that his firmness produced any effect I cannot say, but after one of the natives had whispered to another, he walked up to Toonda and saluted hi his head until it touched his breast This Toonda coldly returned, and then stood as frigid as before, until the drays ain resu a word Nadbuck had separated fro as it see up to ue that fellow, you look after jimbuck” The contrast between these two men was rehty bearing of the other But I am led to believe that there was some latent cause for Toonda's conduct, since he asked me to shoot the natives, and was so excited that he pushed his blanket into his er On this I offered him a pistol to shoot them himself, but he returned it to me with a smile Of course it will be understood that I should not have allowed him to fire it

Two of the old men folloe left the other natives, to whom I made presents in the afternoon; but it is remarkable that h their women were not present, they hovered on the opposite bank of the Darling all the ti between the scrub and lagoons, but we had occasionally to ascend and cross ridges of loose sand, over which the bullock-drivers were obliged to help each other with their teae in the character of the distant interior, but the vicinity of the Darling was thickly timbered for more than three-quarters of apurposes

I was exceedingly surprised at the course of the river at this point We had gone a good deal to the eastward the day before, but on this day we sometimes travelled on a course to the southward of east, and never for the whole day caher up than east by north The consequence was, that we proceeded into a deep bight, and ress northwards up the river At our camp it had dwindled to a mere thread, so narroas the line of water in its bed Its banks were as even and as smooth as those of a fortification, and covered with a thick, even sward There was no perceptible current and the water was all muddy; but the scenery in its precincts was still verdant and picturesque, grassy flats with orna each other at every bend of the streareater part of which we gave to the natives, all indeed but a leg, which Jones, whose duty it was to feed thes Yet this appropriation excited Toonda's anger ”KangarooJones with his waddy; but he soon recovered his te his feelings with as iven vent to them

About this tih we had occasional cold winds We started early on thejourney, because the bullocks had been kept in yoke all night We travelled for six ot upon deep sand, through which the teahed their way I therefore turned towards the river, and enca run about ten miles on an east-north-east course

We here found the Darling so dian to doubt whether or not we should find water higher up Its channel, however preserved the appearance of a canal, with sloping grassy sides, shaded by trees of drooping habit and ue, but the soil of the flats had become sandy, and they appeared to be more subject to inundation than usual

About this tiretted to observe that many of the bullocks had sore necks, and I was in consequence obliged to make a different distribution of them; an alternative always better if possible to avoid, as men become attached to their animals, and part even with bad ones reluctantly

On counting our sheep at this ca