emain
on the creek and wait for assistance from town. Crossing some sand
ridges, running north and south, we struck into a creek which runs
out of Cooper's Creek, and followed it down; at about five miles we
came to a large waterhole, beyond which the watercourse runs out on
extensive flats and earthy plains.

Calm night; sky cleared towards morning, and it became very cold. A
slight easterly breeze sprung up at sunrise but soon died away
again. The sky again became overcast and remained so throughout the
day. There was occasionally a light breeze from south, but during
the greater portion of the day it was quite calm. Fine halo around
the sun in the afternoon.

Camp 16.

Saturday, 18th May, 1861.--[No entry except the following
meteorological entry on an opposite page, which may probably refer
to this date.] Calm night; sky sometimes clear and sometimes
partially overcast with veil clouds.

Sunday, 19th May, 1861.--[No entry beyond this citation of date.]

Monday, 20th May, 1861.--[No entry beyond this citation of date.]

Tuesday, 21st May.--Creek.--[No entry beyond this citation of date.]

Wednesday, 22nd May, 1861.--Cooper's Creek.--[No entry beyond this
citation of date.]

Thursday, 23rd May, 1861.--[No entry beyond this citation of date.]

Friday, 24th May, 1861.--Started with King to celebrate the Queen's
birthday by fetching from Nardoo Creek what is now to us the staff
of life; returned at a little after two P.M. with a fair supply,
but find the collecting of the seed a slower and more troublesome
process than could be desired. Whilst picking the seed, about
eleven A.M., both of us heard distinctly the noise of an explosion,
as if of a gun, at some considerable distance. We supposed it to
have been a shot fired by Mr. Burke, but on returning to the camp
found that he had not fired, nor had heard the noise. The sky was
partially overcast with high cumulostratus clouds, and a light
breeze blew from the east, but nothing to indicate a thunderstorm
in any direction.

Saturday, 25th May, 1861.--[No entry beyond this.]

Sunday, 26th May.--[No entry beyond this.]

Monday, 27th May, 1861.--Started up the creek this morning for the
depot, in order to deposit journals and a record of the state of
affairs here. On reaching the sandhills below where Landa was
bogged, I passed some blacks on a flat collecting nardoo seed.
Never saw such an abundance of the seed before. The ground in some
parts was quite blac