s appearance again. Jemmy
said his reason for not going to Barcoo River was that the blacks there
would kill him if they found him in their country. When we had followed
the creek up about thirteen miles to near its source in Johnstone Range
we had to return four miles to get water for our encampment as there was
none in the upper part of the creek. We saw several emus today but as
usual we did not manage to shoot any. The ground we saw from our path is
rich, chiefly wooded with myall; the herbage good but rather dry from the
want of rain. In the middle of the day, when we had gone back for a
considerable distance on the north-east side of the creek, we got to the
edge of rich unwooded downs. We steered on the following courses: 11.10
south-east for three and three-quarter miles; at 1 south-east for one and
three-quarter miles; 1.22 south-south-east for one mile; 1.50 south by
west for one and a half miles back to the creek; 4 south-east for five
and a quarter miles up to the creek; 5.49 north-west for three and
three-quarter miles down the creek to camp. Distance seventeen miles.

April 17.

Jemmy and I left our camp on Dunsmore Creek this morning at 8.5 to go to
the Barcoo River. When we had ridden three or four miles we got on the
watershed of a creek on the Barcoo side of the range. About seven miles
further on we reached the main branch of the creek. It had extensive
flood-marks and heaps of mussel-shells on its banks, but the waterholes
in its channels were empty. I named it the Archer Creek. After following
Archer Creek for thirteen miles we reached its junction with the Barcoo
River. I was glad to find that the channel of the river was full of
water; and as there were fresh tracks of blacks near the river I supposed
them to be in the neighbourhood, so to avoid them I returned up Archer
Creek for about four miles to some fine young grass and encamped. The
country we saw today has in many places a rich soil with grass and
saltbush. It is wooded chiefly with myall and western-wood acacia. Near
the channel of the river there are gumtrees, and on the banks of the
river and Archer Creek there are box-trees. Today we steered to the river
on the following courses: 12.10 east for eleven miles to the left bank of
Archer Creek; 1.20 east for three miles down the creek; 2.28
south-south-east for three miles; 2.52 east for one mile; 3.10
east-south-east for three-quarters of a mile; 4.20 south-east and by
south for two and