the more desirous of surveying the country to the northward, because of
the apparent eagerness with which the natives had caught at the word
Colare, which I recollected having heard a black on the Macquarie make
use of in speaking of the Lachlan. They pointed to the N.N.W., and making
a sweep with the arm raised towards the sky, seemed to intimate that a
large sheet of water existed in that direction; and added that it
communicated with the Morumbidgee more to the westward. This information
confirmed still more my impressions with regard to Mr. Oxley's line of
route; and, as I found a ready volunteer in M'Leay, I gave the party in
charge to Harris until I should rejoin him, and turned back towards the
hills, with the intention of reaching them if possible. No doubt we should
have done so had it not been for the nature of the ground over which we
travelled, and the impossibility of our exceeding a walk. We rode to a
distance of 18 miles, but still found ourselves far short of the hills,
and therefore gave up the point. I considered, however, that we were about
the same distance to the south, as Mr. Oxley had been to the north of
them, and in taking bearings of the highest points, I afterwards found
that they exactly tallied with his bearings, supposing him to have taken
them from his camp.

QUIET DEMEANOUR OF THE NATIVES.

On our way to the river, we Passed through some dense bushes of casuarinae
and cypresses, to the outskirts of the plains through which the
Morumbidgee winds. We reached the camp two or three hours after sunset,
and found it crowded with natives to the number of 60. They were extremely
quiet and inoffensive in their demeanour, and asked us to point out where
they might sleep, before they ventured to kindle their fires. One old man,
we remarked, had a club foot, and another was blind, but, as far as we
could judge from the glare of the fires, the generality of them were fine