rning from some waterholes they had found, one of which was
within half a mile of the river. As they made their excursion an
exploring rather than a sporting expedition they shot very little,
although they saw several wallabies on the plains, and crowds of duck and
other aquatic fowl at the waterholes they passed in the course of their
walk.

On the 22nd, having made circulars to the effect that the Firefly hulk
and the horses (broad arrow before L) were on their way up the river, the
latter on the west bank, some of our party landed on the east bank and
stuck them up in places where Mr. Walker's party would probably find them
in the event of their passing us and following down that side of the
river. In doing so we went over a fine grassed plain, and in that
distance found two waterholes. On the 24th the blacks paid us a visit and
we gave them presents; but afterwards, as they stole some clothes that
were out to dry, we determined to give them no further encouragement
unless they returned the stolen things. This Mr. Woods, on the following
day, tried to explain to a few of them who swam across the river to the
bank that we were alongside of.

When I see naked blacks I am very much tempted to give them clothes and
tomahawks; but this should not be indulged for I have found from having
done so that the more they have got the more they have wanted; and on the
other hand I have found that when they got nothing from us they gave us
very little of their company and thus rarely gave us any occasion for
quarrelling with them.

On the 27th of October Mr. Campbell and the troopers went on shore and
collected the horses and took them up as far as Moore's Ponds.

From twenty-two observations, chiefly taken during the day, the
temperature has ranged from 69 to 89 degrees and averaged a fraction over
80 degrees. On the 29th we had a few drops of rain which reminded us that
we had hardly had any since we started from Brisbane, upwards of a couple
of months ago.

My party went in search of the horses yesterday and returned with them
today to the place where the ship was aground, a point about fifteen
miles in a straight line from the mouth of the river. The horses were so
fresh that to hobble them two of the quietest had to be caught to round
with them the others up. In the ten days that they had been ashore they
had improved more in condition than any horses I have seen do in other
parts of Australia in a similar period. To coll