through the hills to the eastward, and at six
miles came upon a stream-bed that led us to the north-east fifteen or
sixteen miles, when, finding it contained no water, we resumed an
easterly course over an open sandy and stony plain, covered with triodia,
for twelve miles, and encamped in poor feed without water. Camp 56.

Latitude 21 degrees 4 minutes.

THE YULE RIVER.

9th August.

A heavy dew having fallen during the night, our horses were much
refreshed, and we were enabled to proceed with the scanty supply of water
carried with us. In an hour we struck upon the channel of a river with a
sandy bed, 300 yards wide, in which were a few pools of water, under a
bold sandstone bluff, rising abruptly 300 feet from the plain. From the
summit of this hill the river was observed to trend to the
north-north-west for eight or ten miles, and to come upon a gap in a
granite range four miles to the south-south-east, towards which we now
turned our steps, across extensive beds of soft drift-sand brought down
by the river. Cajeput and acacia trees occupied a large portion of the
channel, and it was not until reaching the gorge in the range that grass
was met with in sufficient quantities to supply our wants. Several large
pools, teeming with water-fowl, occupied the whole of the valley, which
here was fully a quarter of a mile wide. The remainder of the day I
devoted to sketching and triangulating the country, while the horses were
enjoying the benefit of the fine feed. Camp 57.

Latitude 21 degrees 6 minutes 26 seconds.

10th August.

As this river, from its magnitude, afforded a fair chance of working to
the south-east, I determined to bring forward the rest of the party.
Having named this river the Yule, we returned to the depot party by a
somewhat shorter cut, making it in about thirty miles, which we
accomplished by sundown.

11th August (Sunday).

Party resting. Observed a set of lunars, which placed us in longitude 118
degrees 3 minutes east, the rate of the chronometer being still so
irregular as to be almost useless.

12th August.

To-day the whole party proceeded twenty-four miles towards the Yule,
finding a small pool of water in a rocky ravine by the way which we had
missed on our former trip. Bivouacked in an open grassy plain six miles
short of the river.

13th August.

Moved on to our camp of the 9th, and halted there for the remainder of
the day. The latitude by meridian altitude of the sun I foun