s by the scrub.

Friday, 15th June, Bishop Creek. Resting horses, and getting our
equipment in order for another trial, as I think the horses will be ready
to start on Monday morning. No more of the natives but their smoke is
still visible. Wind south; day hot, night cool.

Saturday, 16th June, Bishop Creek. The horses are still drinking an
immense quantity of water; they are at it five and six times a day; they
must have suffered dreadfully. The grass here is as dry as if it were the
middle of summer, instead of winter. I hope we may soon have rain, which
would be a great blessing to me.

Sunday, 17th June, Bishop Creek. The horses still pay frequent visits to
the water. We have found more about a mile up the creek, and there seems
to be plenty further up in the hills; I cannot examine it just now, in
consequence of the natives being about. It would not do for me to leave,
as the party is so small, nor do I like sending one of them, for he might
be taken by surprise and cut off, which would ruin me altogether, being
able to do scarcely anything myself. Although I am much better, I am
still very weak; the pains in my limbs are not so constant. I attribute
the relief to eating a number of native cucumbers which are in quantities
on this creek. The horse that was kicked by the mare is still very lame.
Wind south-east.

Monday, 18th June, Bishop Creek. Started at 9.30 on a bearing of 18
degrees, through a plain of alternate grass, scrub, and spinifex, and at
five miles passed a number of isolated hills close together, composed of
large masses of ironstone, quartz, and a hard brown rock, very irregular,
and all sorts of shapes; the stones seem as if they had undergone the
action of fire. We then proceeded through some very bad spinifex,
dark-coloured, long, hard and dry; we could scarcely get the horses to
face it. We then came upon a grassy plain, and at ten miles struck a gum
creek coming from the west of north-west, and running (at this place)
east-north-east; followed it and found an abundance of water in long deep
holes, with shells of the crab fish lying on the banks. The water is
upwards of a mile in length; the creek then spreads out over a grassy
plain with scrub and gum-trees, and is joined by the other creeks coming
from the McDouall range. I thought it advisable to camp here for the rest
of the day, as a further journey would be a risk for the horse that is
lame, and I do not wish to lose any more; as it is,