Thick fog in the morning. The day being Sunday the party remained in the camp; but I do not think we could have left it from the soft state of the plains, however desirable it might have been to proceed. After twelve I rode to Wollar (Mount Allan) with the theodolite, and from its summit I intersected most of the hills seen from Mounts Amyot and Cunningham. A small wart on the eastern horizon, very distant yet conspicuous, I found to be Mount Juson, the hill on which I had stood with the brother of the botanist whose name had been given to this hill by Mr. Oxley.
The sameness in the surface of this country is apparently owing to the simplicity of its geological composition. All the hills I ascended below the junction of Byrne's creek consist of ferruginous sandstone, similar to that which constitutes all the hills I saw on, and even beyond, the Darling.
On passing to and from Mount Allan we crossed, at three-quarters of a mile from the camp, Goobang creek, the bed of which exactly resembles that of the Bogan. The remains of drifted weeds on the trees and the uniformity of its channel showed that it is a considerable tributary of the Lachlan. At length the stars appeared in the evening, and I could once more see my unerring guides, the faithful Little Dog, and the mighty Hercules,* whereby our latitude seemed to be 33 degrees 8 minutes 55 seconds South.
(*Footnote. Procyon, in Canis Minor and Regulus in Leo. The latter being also called Hercules and Cor Leonis.)
NATIVES FROM THE BOGAN.
At the camp we recognised among the natives seated at our fire two of our friends from the Bogan. Their little shovel of hard wood (not used on the Lachlan) and one of the tomahawks formerly distributed by us left no room to doubt whether we were right about their features.
PROPHECY OF A CORADJE.
One was an old man and a Coradje, the other was a boy. They disappeared in the evening, but the Coradje was so far civil as to tell the men that, having heard The Major was praying for rain, he had caused the late fall. This priest had also prophesied a little for our information, telling the men that a day was at hand when two of them would go out to watch the bullocks and would never return.
April 4.
The surface being sufficiently dry to enable us to travel we accordingly continued our journey and, crossing the Goobang at 5 1/4 miles, we kept the right bank of it during the day. The surface on that side was dry and firm; and it may be remarked that if ever it becomes desirable to open a line of communication from Sydney towards the country on the lower part of the Murray, the right bank of the Goobang will probably be found the best direction as the adjacent valley affords both grass and water for the passage of cattle, and the doubtful plains of the Lachlan may be thus avoided.