had previously seen, was surrounded by a ridge of red earth, rather
higher than the adjacent plains, and it was evidently fed, during high
floods, by the creek we had crossed. I travelled due west from the berg
of this lake along the plain which extended in that direction a mile and
three-quarters. We then came to another woody hollow or channel in which
I could at first see only a field of polygonum, although we soon found in
it a broad deep reach of still water. In tracing it to the left or from
the lake towards the river, we found it increased so much in width and
depth, after tracing it three-quarters of a mile, that a passage in that
direction seemed quite out of the question. Many of the natives who had
followed us in a body from the lake overtook us here. They assured Piper
that we were near the junction of this piece of water with the Millewa
(Murray) and that in the opposite direction, or towards the lake, they
could show us a ford. We accordingly turned and we came to a narrow place
where the natives had a fish-net set across. On seeing us preparing to
pass through the ford, they told Piper that, at a point still higher up,
we might cross where the channel was dry. Thither therefore we went, the
natives accompanying us in considerable numbers, but each carrying a
green bough. Among them were several old men who took the most active
part and who were very remarkable from the bushy fulness and whiteness of
their beards and hair; the latter growing thickly on the back and
shoulders gave them a very singular appearance, and accorded well with
that patriarchal authority which the old men seem to maintain to an
astonishing degree among these native tribes. The aged chiefs from time
to time beckoned to us, repeating very often and fast at the same time
"goway, goway, goway," which, strange to say, means "come, come, come."
Their gesture and action being also precisely such as we should use in
calling out "go away!" We crossed the channel at length where the bed was
quite dry, and pitched our tents on the opposite side.
DISCOVER THE NATIVES TO BE THOSE LAST SEEN ON THE DARLING.
It will however be readily understood with what caution we followed these
natives when we discovered, almost as soon as we fell in with them, that
they were actually our old enemies from the Darling! I had certainly
heard, when still far up on the Lachlan, that these people were coming
down to fight us; but I little expected they were to be the first natives
we should meet with on the Murray, at a distance of nearly two hundred
miles from the scene of our former encounter. There was something so
false in a forced loud laugh, without any cause, which the more plausible
among them would frequently set up, that I was quite at a loss to
conceive what they meant by all this uncommon civility. In the course of
the afternoon they assembled their women and children in groups before
our camp, exactly as they had formerly done on the Darling; and one or
two small parties came in, whose arrival they seemed to watch with
particular attention, hailing them while still at a distance as if to
prevent mistakes. We now ascertained through Piper that the tribe had
fled precipitately from the Darling last year to the country westward,
and did not return until last summer, when they found the two bullocks we
left there; which, having become fat, they had killed and eaten. We also
ascertained that some of the natives then in the camp wore the teeth of
the slaughtered animals, and that they had much trouble in killing one of
them, as it was remarkably fierce. This we knew so well to the character
of one of the animals that we had always supposed it would baffle every
attempt of these savages to take it.
In the group before me were pointed out two daughters of the gin which
had been killed, also a little boy, a son. The girls exactly resembled
each other and reminded me of the mother. The youngest was the handsomest