m., distance thirty-two miles. The whole journey from the sand hills
has been through a dense forest of scrubs of all kinds--hedge-tree, gum,
mulga, lancewood, etc. We have had great difficulty in forcing the horses
through it so far; they are very tired. It is the thickest scrub I have
yet been in. Ground very soft; heavy travelling, with the exception of
the last five miles, where little rain seems to have fallen. I am afraid
this will be another hopeless journey. I fully expected to have got water
to-night from the recent rains, but there is not a drop. The country is
such that the surface cannot retain it, were it to fall in much larger
quantities. I shall try a little further on to-morrow. I had a hole dug,
to see if any rain had fallen, and found that it had penetrated two feet
below the surface, below which it is quite dry. Wind, east.

Tuesday, 11th June, Dense Forest and Scrub. Leaving Woodforde, Wall, and
the pack-horses, I took Thring with me, and proceeded on the same course
to see if I could get through the horrid forest and scrub, or meet with a
change of country, or find some water. At two miles we came upon some
grass again, which continued, and at another mile the forest became much
more open and splendidly grassed, which again revived my sinking hopes;
but alas, it only lasted about two miles, when we again entered the
forest thicker than ever. At eleven miles it became so dense that it was
nearly impenetrable. The horses would not face it; when forced, they made
a rush through, tearing everything we had on, and wounding us severely by
running against the dead timber (which was as sharp as a lancet) and
through the branches. I saw that it was hopeless to force through any
further. Not a drop of water have we seen, although the ground is quite
moist--the horses sinking above the fetlock. The soil is red and sandy;
the mulga from thirty to forty feet high and very straight; the bark has
a stringy appearance. There is a great quantity of it lying dead on the
ground, which causes travelling to become very difficult. I therefore
returned to where I left Woodforde and Wall, and came back ten miles on
yesterday's journey, and camped. This morning, about 5.30, we observed a
comet bearing 110 degrees; length of tail, 10 degrees, and 10 degrees
above the horizon. Wind, south-east.

Wednesday, 12th June, Western Dense Forest and Scrub. Proceeded to camp
and found all well. This is the third long journey by which I