t with these little
creatures at night, and the flies by day, we really had no rest. I
continually wore a veil, or I could not have attended to our movements,
or performed my duties. It is probable that being in the neighbourhood of
water they were more numerous, but here they were a perfect plague, and
in our depressed and wearied condition we, perhaps, felt their attacks
more than we should otherwise have done. We commenced our journey at
seven, and crossing the creek at three-quarters of a mile, ascended a
small sand hill upon its proper left bank. Where we had crossed the
channel was perfectly dry, but from the sand hill another magnificent
sheet of water stretched away to the southeast as far as we could see.

From this point the creek appeared to be bounded by forest land, partly
scrubby and partly grassed. To the south there were flats seemingly
subject to floods, and lightly timbered, and beyond these were low sand
hills. To the S.W. a high line of trees marked the course of a tributary
from that quarter. To the north the country was exceedingly sandy and
low, as well as to the east; and the direction of the sand ridges was
only 5 degrees to the west of north, so that from this point to our
extreme west they gradually alter their line 17 degrees, as in 138
degrees of longitude they ran 22 degrees to the west of north. I was not
able to take more than one bearing from the hill I had ascended, to a
remarkable flat-topped hill nearly N.E. I now crossed the creek on an
east course, and traversed sandy plains, and low undulations, there being
a tolerable quantity of grass on both; and at four miles changed the
route a little to the northward for a small conical sand hill, from which
the flat-topped hill bore 41 degrees, and from it some darker hills were
visible, somewhat more to the eastward, and as they appeared to be
different from the sand ridges, I again changed my course for them, and
crossing the bed of the creek at four miles, ascended a small stony range
trending to the eastward, the creek being directly at their base.
Following up its proper left bank I ascended another part of the range at
three miles and a half, from which the flat-topped hill bore 24 degrees,
and the last hill I had ascended 239 degrees. The channel of the creek
had been dry for several miles, but we now saw a large sheet of water
bearing due east, distant two miles, to which we made our way, and then
stopped. From the top of this range t