were for once enabled to leave the beach, and keep a little inland. The
soil was light and sandy, but tolerably fertile. In places we found low
brush, in others very handsome clumps of tea-tree scattered at intervals
over some grassy tracts of country, giving a pleasing and park-like
appearance we had long been strangers to. The grass was green, and
afforded a most grateful relief to the eye, accustomed heretofore to rest
only upon the naked sands or the gloomy scrubs we had so long been
travelling amongst. Anxious if possible to give our horses a day or two's
rest, at such a grassy place, and especially as the many kangaroos we
saw, gave us hope of obtaining food for ourselves also, I twice dug for
water, but did not find any of such quality as we could use. I was
compelled therefore to turn in among the sand-hills of Point Malcolm,
where I found excellent water at three and a half feet, and halted for
the day, after a stage of five miles. Unfortunately we were now beyond
all grass, and had to send the horses by a long and difficult road to it,
over steep sandy ridges, densely covered by scrub. Upon halting, one of
our horses lay down, appearing to be very ill, for two hours I could not
get him to rise, and was sadly afraid he would die, which would have been
a serious loss to us, for he was the strongest one we had left. A little
inside Point Malcolm, I found traces of Europeans who had slept on shore
near the beach, and upon one of the tea-trees, I found cut "Ship Julian,
1840," "Haws, 1840," "C. W." and some few other letters, which I did not
copy. The forenoon continued very wild and stormy, with occasional
showers of rain, and as we could get neither firewood nor shelter at our
camp, and the sand eddied around us in showers, we were very miserable.
After dinner, I sent Wylie out with the rifle, to try to shoot a
kangaroo, whilst I took a walk round, to look for grass, and to ascertain
whether water could not be procured in some place nearer the horses, and
better provided with firewood and shelter. My efforts were without
success, nor did I meet with better fortune, in examining Point Malcolm,