wild indigo. We arrived in
good time, the way being good, at Camp LXII., and there again established
ourselves for the night. It was an excellent spot for the purpose, having
plenty of water in rocky ponds, and abundance of grass, half green. The
wind lulled, and heavy clouds of stratus appeared in the east, towards
evening. Some stars were afterwards visible, and about 9 P. M., a wind
from the S.E. suddenly arose, but no rain fell. Thermometer, at sunrise,
55 deg.; at noon, 71 deg.; at 4 P. M., 74 deg.; at 9, 68 deg.;--with wet bulb, 62 deg..

18TH AUGUST.--The mercurial column was lower this morning, and the sky
was overcast. No wind could be felt from any quarter. We moved off, at
our usual hour, 7 A. M. About nine, the western portion of the sky seemed
loaded with rain; the wind suddenly arose from S. W., and a heavy rain
began to fall steadily, to my great joy. The soil consisted of clay,
which clogged the wheels, nevertheless, we arrived, without much delay,
at a large lagoon, not much more than a mile short of Camp LXI., and
there, of necessity, encamped. The rain continued without intermission
until the evening, turning the surface around our tents into mud, almost
knee deep. Still I rejoiced in the prospect the rain afforded, of water
in the remaining part of our journey; the grand object of which was still
to be accomplished, namely, the discovery of an interior river, flowing
towards the Gulf of Carpentaria. Thermometer, at sunrise, 51 deg.; at noon,
54 deg.; at 4 P. M., 53 deg..

19TH AUGUST.--The soft clay was still impassable, but the sun shone
brightly in the morning, and was likely soon to put a crust upon the
earth. The wind continued, however, in the same quarter, the S. W., and I
had thus a little leisure to mature my plan of farther exploration in
that interesting country, to the westward of the vale of Salvator Rosa. I
had ascertained that the whole of that fine country so named, and all the
gullies falling towards it, were on the seaward side of the dividing
range, if range there was. That, southward of the high ground under the
parallel of 24 deg. or 25 deg., the fall of waters and of the whole country was
towards the south; whereas, northward of that parallel, the fall was so
decidedly in the very opposite direction, or northward, that the river we
had just explored extended across three degrees of latitude, descending
from a mean elevation of at least 2000 feet, to one of only 600 feet
above the