ALARM FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PROVISION PARTY.

On our return to the camp, we observed dense masses of smoke rising at the
head of the marshes, and immediately under Mount Foster. This excited our
alarm for the safety of the party we hoped to find at Mount Harris, and
obliged us to make forced marches, to relieve it if threatened by the
natives.

On the 22nd, we crossed the plains of the Macquarie, and surprised a
numerous tribe on the banks of the river; and the difficulty we found in
getting any of them to approach us, their evident timidity, and the
circumstance of one of them having on a jacket, tended to increase our
apprehensions. When two or three came to us, they intimated that white
men either had been or were under Mount Harris, but we were left in
uncertainty and passed a most anxious night.

The body of reeds was still on fire; and the light embers were carried to
an amazing distance by the wind, falling like a black-shower around us. As
we knew that the natives never made such extensive conflagration, unless
they had some mischievous object in view, our apprehension for the safety
of Riley, with his supplies, was increased.

At the earliest dawn, we pushed for the hill. In passing that part of the
meadows under Mount Foster, we observed that the grass had also been
consumed, and we scarcely recognized the ground from its altered
appearance. As we approached Mount Harris, we saw recent traces of cattle,
but none were visible on the plains. Under the hill, however, we could
distinctly see that a hut of some kind had been erected, and it is
impossible for me to describe the relief we felt when a soldier came
forward to reconnoitre us. I could no longer doubt the safety of the