We passed several muddy water-holes, and
at length stopped at a small clear deep pond. The colour of the water, a
light green, at once betrayed its quality; but fortunately for us, though
brackish it was still tolerable, much better than the gritty water we had
passed. There was however but little vegetation in its neighbourhood, the
grass being coarse and wiry. Both on this creek and some others we had
passed, we observed that the graves of the natives were made
longitudinally from north to south, and not as they usually are from east
to west.
The evening we stopped at this place was very fine. We had descended into
the bed of the creek, and Mr. Browne and I were reclining on the ground,
looking at the little pond, in which the bank above was clearly
reflected. On a sudden my companion asked me if I had brought a small
hook with me, as he had taken it into his head that there were fish in
the pond. Being unable to supply his wants, he got a pin, and soon had a
rough kind of apparatus prepared, with which he went to the water; and,
having cast in his bait, almost immediately pulled out a white and
glittering fish, and held it up to me in triumph. I must confess that I
was exceedingly astonished, for the first idea that occurred to my mind
was--How could fish get into so isolated a spot? In the water-holes above
us no animals of the kind could have lived.
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