tion, to where I went in search of a crossing-place, and in doing so
followed the river in a south-east direction for two and a half miles
without finding a place where the horses could approach even near enough
to the river to get a drink without a risk of their falling into the deep
water. We followed up the Gregory River thirteen miles by the courses I
have mentioned. We found the branding-irons did not answer for branding
trees, as it took a much longer time to do so than to mark them with a
tomahawk, so we buried them at a tree marked Dig, at the camp we left
this morning. Last night we had a potful of the young wood of the cabbage
palm, which tasted like asparagus. All the country we have seen today is
of a similar character to that described in yesterday's journal. This
afternoon we reached country on which rain had fallen recently and it was
in consequence covered with herbage so green that we did not think the
horses on it would require water during the night, so their not having
been able to approach it earlier in the day was not of any consequence.
We encamped but the night was so short and the mosquitoes so troublesome
that, what with watching and getting up at 3.45, we had hardly sufficient
sleep. I found at this time that the duties of exploring gave very little
time for fishing or shooting. At this period of our journey the sextant
was too much out of order for making sufficiently accurate observations
of the stars.

Thursday November 21. Camp Number 5.

On right bank of the Gregory River. Started at 8.30 a.m., and at 8.55 had
made along the same bank three-quarters of a mile in a south-south-east
direction; at 9.25 we made a mile further in the same direction; at 10.13
also in the same direction (south-south-east) two miles; at 10.30 changed
our course and made three-quarters of a mile south-east; at 10.45 by
following up the river we made half a mile south-east by south to a point
where I marked a tree with a broad arrow before LC+, where the river
assumed a new character. It has a broad hard bed with only a boggy spot
at the western bank. The crossing of the horses over this place was more
difficult than I expected, and had to be accomplished by strewing the
ground with grass. We started from the left bank of the river at 3.13
p.m., and at 3.40 made one mile and a quarter south and by east; at 4.18
two miles in the same direction; at 4.40 one mile south-east; at 4.54
half a mile further in the same dir