contained many
melon-holes. I changed my westerly course a little more to the northward,
and again crossed a succession of plains, separated by hollows. These
hollows were covered with thickets of small trees, principally
raspberry-jam trees; and contained many dry water-holes, either in
regular chains or scattered. They, no doubt, formed the heads of creeks;
as we invariably came on decided watercourses whenever we followed
hollows of this character down to the northward. After sunset, we came to
a dry creek, and were compelled to encamp without water. We took care,
however, to watch our bullocks, and hobble and tether our horses, which
enabled us to start early in the morning of the 17th, when we followed
the creek about seven miles north-east, and there found some very fine
water-holes within its bed, in latitude 17 degrees 51 minutes, at which
we encamped, to allow our cattle to recover; for they had had very little
water during the two last days. Smoke was seen to the north-west, north,
and north-east. Charley shot two more emus, and I felt the loss of our
bullock very much, as it became difficult to carry the additional meat,
which, however, was too valuable to be wasted or thrown away. Although we
had followed the creek for seven miles, we did not find it joined by any
of those hollows we had crossed the day before; and it would appear that
the intervening plains extended far to the north-ward, and that the
hollows and creeks converged only very gradually towards each other.

August 18.--Last night we were busily employed in cutting up and drying
our two emus, in which operation we were favoured by a slight breeze from
the south-east. As we had no fat nor emu oil to fry the meat with, I
allowed a sufficient quantity of meat to be left on the bones, which made
it worth while to grill them; and we enjoyed a most beautiful moonlight
night over a well grilled emu bone with so much satisfaction, that a
frequenter of the Restaurants of the Palais Royal would have been
doubtful whether to pity or envy us.

We travelled to the north-west, because, whenever I kept a westerly
course, I had almost always to follow creeks down to the northward to
obtain water; and, notwithstanding a north-west course, had, on previous
occasions, generally brought us to salt-water.

For the first three miles, we passed several plains, and crossed a creek
in which we recognised a Casuarina, which tree we had not seen since we
left the Mitch