s timid party, so I made no objection to their leaving us after
staying for about half an hour. Our latitude here, by an altitude of
Jupiter, was 27 degrees 47 minutes S.; our longitude by account 141
degrees 51 minutes E.

The plains we had crossed during the day were very extensive, stretching
from the north-west, to the south-east, like an open sea. They were
thinly scattered over with box-trees, and comprised hundreds of thousands
of acres of flooded grassy land. It is worthy of remark that none of
these plains existed to the south of the creek, in which quarter the
country was very barren, neither were there any native paths. We were at
this time in too low a position to see any of the mountain ranges of
which I have spoken. As the old native with the boughs had told us, the
creek led us to the southward of east, and consequently away from them,
and I feared that his further information would prove correct, and that
we should soon arrive at its commencement.

The morning of the 3rd of November was as cloudy as the night of the 2nd
had been, during which it blew violently from the N.W., and a few
heat-drops fell, but without effect on the temperature. One of the horses
got bogged in attempting to drink, and Mack's illness made it nine before
we mounted and resumed our journey up the creek, on a N.N.E. course, but
it gradually came round to north. At six miles we crossed the small and
sandy bed of a creek coming from the stony plains to the south, and
beneath a tree, near two huts, observed a large oval stone. It was
embedded in the ground, and was evidently used by the natives for
pounding seeds. We now proceeded along a broad native path towards some
gum-trees, having stony undulating hills upon our right. Underneath the
trees there was a fine deep pool in the channel of the creek, which had
again assumed something of its original shape; but as we were in an
immense hollow or bowl, and the view was very limited, I branched off to
the hills, then not more than half a mile distant. From their summit the
country to the south and south-west appeared darkly covered with brush;
to the west, there were numerous stony undulations; northward and to the
east were immense grassy plains, with many creeks, all making for a
common centre upon them. In the near ground to the south-east, the
surface of the country was of fine white sand, partly covered with
salsolaceous plants, with small fragments of stone, and patches of more
g