Despairing at length of being able to avoid them, I impatiently galloped my horse into one and the carts followed, thanks to my impatience for once, for I do not think that I should otherwise have discovered that a swamp so uninviting could possibly have borne my horse, and still less the carts. After this I ventured to pursue a less circuitous route.
AGAIN REACH THE GOOD COUNTRY.
About that time a yellow flower in the grass caught my eye and, remembering that we had seen none of these golden flowers since we left the beautiful valley of the Wannon, I ventured to hope that we were at length approaching the good country at the head of that stream. Such was my anxious wish when I perceived through the trees a glimpse of an open grassy country, and immediately entered a fine clear valley with a lively little stream flowing westward through it and which I named the Grange. This was indeed one of the heads of the Wannon and we had at length reached the good country. The contrast between it and that from which we had emerged was obvious to all; even to the natives who for the first time painted themselves in the evening and danced a spirited corrobory on the occasion. This day Piper had seen two of the native inhabitants and had endeavoured to persuade them to come to me, but all to no purpose until at length, enraged at the unreasonable timidity of one of them, he threw his tomahawk at him and nearly hit him as he edged off; an act of which, as I told him in the strongest terms, I very much disapproved.
YELLOW FLOWER ABUNDANT ON THE PLAINS OF AUSTRALIA FELIX.
September 12.
The course of the little stream being to the northward, I proceeded along its right bank this morning until it turned to the north-west; but we soon after came to another to which the former seemed to be but a tributary. Its course was almost due west, and the valley in which it flowed was deep and boldly escarped. The stream thundered along with considerable rapidity over a rocky bottom consisting of the same sort of trap or ancient lava. I had little doubt that this was the principal head of the Wannon, a river crossed by us on the 11th of August. Meeting next an important branch falling into it from the south-east and being obliged to cross this, we effected the passage even with the carts, although the horses were nearly swimming. We proceeded next along a continuous ridge of fine firm ground covered with excellent grass, and soon after we saw before us a smaller stream flowing under a broad grassy vale and, having crossed it also without difficulty, we encamped in one of the valleys beyond, where this tributary appeared to originate. A finer country could scarcely be imagined: enormous trees of the mimosa or wattle of which the bark is so valuable grew almost everywhere; and several new varieties of Caladenia were found today. The blue, yellow, pink, and brown-coloured were all observed on these flowery plains.
MOUNTS BAINBRIGGE AND PIERREPOINT.
The sublime peaks of the Grampians began to appear above the trees to the northward, and two lower hills of trap-rock arose, one to the south-west the other north-west of our camp. That to the northward I named Mount Bainbrigge, the other on the south Mount Pierrepoint.