About noon we struck upon a body of reeds under the wood of eucalypti, below the second great morass, and keeping a little to our right to avoid them, fell shortly afterwards into our old track on the plain, upon which we continued to move, making the best of our way to the channel which had supplied our wants on our first return from the Darling.
It was now, however, quite dry, and we were obliged to push on further, to shorten the journey of the morrow.
CONNECTION OF MACQUARIE AND DARLING.
The result of our journey up the creek was particularly satisfactory, both to myself and Mr.Hume; since it cleared up every doubt that might have existed regarding the actual termination of the Macquarie, and enabled us to connect the flow of waters at so interesting and particular a point.
It will be seen by a reference to the chart, that the waters of the marshes, after trickling through the reeds, form a small creek, which carries off the superfluous part of them into Morrisset's chain of ponds, which latter again falls into the Castlereagh, at about eight miles to the W.N.W.and all three join the Darling in a W.by N.direction, in lat.
30 degrees 52 minutes south and E.lon.147 degrees 8 minutes at about 90 miles to the N.N.W.of Mount Harris, and about an equal distance to the E.S.E.of where we struck upon the last-mentioned river.

Thus it is evident that the Darling had considerably neared the eastern ranges, although it was still more than 150 miles from their base.

It was apparently coming from the N.E., and whether it has its sources in the mountains behind our distant settlements, or still farther to the northwards, is a question of curious speculation, although, as I have already stated, I am of opinion that none but tropical rains could supply the furious torrent that must sometimes rage in it.
It would be presumptuous to hazard any opinion as to the nature of the interior to the westward of that remarkable river.

Its course is involved in equal mystery, and it is a matter of equal doubt whether it makes its way to the south coast, or ultimately exhausts itself in feeding a succession of swamps, or falls into a large reservoir in the centre of the island.
RETURN TO MOUNT HARRIS.
We reached Mount Harris on the 7th of the month, and moving leisurely up the banks of the Macquarie, gained Mr.Palmer's first station on the 14th, and Wellington Valley on the 21st, having been absent from that settlement four months and two weeks.

The waters of the Macquarie had diminished so much, that its bed was dry for more than half a mile at a stretch, nor did we observe the least appearance of a current in it, until after we had ascended the ranges.