urselves after dark in the high grass, we passed the night
without the necessity of keeping watch after midnight.

7th July.

Our horses having strayed back on the track, we carried our saddles and
tracked them about two miles, and then mounting our horses steered north
for some miles; but all was level forest without any sign of the
existence of water, except a few cockatoos. I then turned to the
south-west; crossing the outward track, and at length came on a shallow
watercourse trending west, a ridge of rocks having confined the channel
to a narrow space; three small waterholes were discovered in which a
little water remained; below this the creek turned south-south-east, and
I again turned towards the camp; but night overtaking us in the
stringybark forest, we passed to the south of the camp without observing
its position.

8th July.

Having ascertained that we had passed the position of the camp, turned to
the north-east and reached the camp at 11.20. Mr. H. Gregory was somewhat
recovered, but very weak from a violent attack of fever. During my
absence a small party of blacks had visited the camp and had bivouacked a
short distance up the creek.

9th July.

Moved the camp to the waterholes twelve miles south-east, and in the
afternoon rode down the creek with Mr. Elsey; the creek turned to the
south-south-east for a mile and a half, and was lost on a level flat,
from which a channel trended to the west, which was again lost in a level
flat extending to the west several miles. Heavy showers at night.

CIRCUMCISION PRACTISED.

10th July.

Accompanied by Mr. Elsey, I proceeded to reconnoitre the country to the
south-east, and at 7.45 a.m. steered 130 degrees, gradually ascending the
tableland, and which was openly wooded with bloodwood, box, and
white-gum; acacia and sterculia occasionally appearing. The soil was
brown sandy loam with a few ridges of sandstone rock of white colour;
grass had been abundant, but was now burnt off. The small white-ant nests
from two to five feet high were very numerous; at 12.40 p.m. a slight
depression in the country was observed, and limestone appeared, and deep
hollows were frequent. One of these hollows which I examined was thirty
yards in diameter and fifteen feet deep; in the centre was a deep cleft
of fifteen feet more, which extended to the east and west under the
surface with a width of three feet; at 3.0 struck a small creek trending
east-north-east with a few small