Page:Diary of ten years.djvu/400

 382 their account. Another party has started again to look for them.

May 9th.—I have just heard that Dr. Walker (one of Lieutenant Grey's party) has made his way to Perth, in a deplorable state. He was supported along the street by two people. A party had gone out to bring in the rest. I was out all this day endeavouring to get some natives to go out, and had intended to set out myself to-morrow morning to look for them.

May 12th.—I went out 40 miles to the north, looking particularly for a lake called Bambanup, about which there is said to be a fine tract of ground, and also just now a great congregation of ducks, swans, pelicans, &c.—so much so that we did not take any meat with us, only a little flour and tea and sugar. But we could not find the lake, and so had to content ourselves with tea and "damper." One night we had "damper" and a glass of wine, night having come upon us before we could get water. We traced the Ellen's Brook for near 40 miles, and found it to be the drain of extensive level plains of land flooded in winter by some streams running from the hills, and which run even now at the end of summer; but the water subsides in the earth before reaching the plains at this time of the year. I was rather disappointed with the land on the Brook, but there is a good deal of limestone, having rank vegetation. I only returned this evening about four o'clock.

Monday.—Mr. Priess, the naturalist, has called a species of the anigozanthus after me, and has sent me a droll letter with it, written in his German-English. He has also called a new genus after the Governor "Huttia elegans." These are to be figured in the work of Sir F. Hooker, of Glasgow.

May 14th.—I brought this down to-day, as it is said the vessel will sail this week. I have seen Dr. Walker, of Grey's expedition, who has just come in. You never saw such an object, mere skin and bone, and covered with sores and