creek where the timber was procured the party had been twice
visited by the blacks; these intrusions were neither decidedly friendly
or hostile, but they stole some small articles which had been imprudently
left lying near one of the logs of timber while the party was employed
elsewhere; about 10.0 a.m. the blacks set fire to the grass about 200
yards from the camp, and then retired. At 2.0 p.m., left the camp,
accompanied by Messrs. H. Gregory, Wilson, and Mueller, with seven horses
and twenty days' provisions, the object being to examine the country
through which the exploring party will have to travel on the route to the
interior; at 6 a.m. bivouacked at Timber Creek; in the principal channel
of the creek there were many small pools of water, and the grass was
fresh and green on the flats. Except on the banks of the river and
creeks, the country is very poor and stony; the geological structure of
the country is the same as at Sea Range--the same bands of sandstone
cliff resting on soft shales, the strata being horizontal; but beneath
the shales chert and coarse siliceous limestone were exposed, and
fragments of jasper are frequent. The principal timber is white-gum of
small size, and the cotton-tree (cochlospermum), which sometimes attains
the thickness of nine to twelve inches. Though grass is abundant on every
description of soil, yet the greater part is of inferior descriptions and
dries up completely at this season.

Latitude by altitude of Achernar, 15 degrees 39 minutes 43 seconds.

25th November.

Started at 5.45 a.m., and followed the creek to the south-south-east; it
rapidly decreased in size, branching into small gullies, so that we had
some difficulty in finding water for a midday halt. The flats on the bank
of the creek are in some parts nearly a mile wide, well grassed and
openly timbered; the hills are of sandstone, but chert and coarse
limestone were frequently seen on the lower ridges. At noon halted at a
small pool of rainwater. The day was cloudy and cool, the thermometer
only 90 degrees at 2 p.m. At 3.0 resumed our route up the creek, which
soon terminated in small gullies rising in stony ridges; as there was no
appearance of water to the south, the course was changed to south-east
and east, in which direction we followed down a gully, and at 7.20 halted
at a small waterhole.

26th November.

Starting at 6.15 a.m., steered first north 70 degrees east and then 60
degrees till 3 p.m., traversin