illea chrysodendrum. Charley shot a bustard, the
stomach of which was filled with seeds of Grewia, with small yellow
seeds, and some beetles. On this stage, we again passed some of those
remarkable dry tea-tree swamps--surrounded with heaps of very large
mussel shells--evidently showing that they had been a long time under
water, though they were now overgrown with small tea-trees, perhaps five
or six years old; and which proved, like the drooping tea-trees on the
banks of the creek, that the last few years had been exceedingly dry. I
supposed the river to be the Van Alphen of the Dutch navigators, as its
latitude, where I crossed it, was about 16 degrees 41 minutes, and its
longitude I calculated to be 137 degrees 48 minutes.

Sept. 7.--We travelled about nine miles N. N. W. to latitude 16 degrees
35 minutes; the first part of the stage was scrubby, the latter part
undulating with a fine open stringy-bark forest. The trees were tall, but
rarely more than a foot in diameter. Here we met with hard baked
sandstone, of a whitish grey colour. About seven miles from our camp, we
saw a low blue range to the westward; and, soon after, passed a sandy
Pandanus creek, with scrubby broken banks: this was joined by a second,
and both together entered a broad tea-tree creek, coming from the
south-west, in which we found a fine pool of water covered with white and
yellow Villarsias and yellow Utricularias.

The rose-coloured Sterculia, and a smooth broad-leaved Terminalia, were
observed on the sandy flats of the creek; and a small fan-leaved palm
(Livistona humilis, R. Br.), a small insignificant trunkless plant,
growing between sandstone rocks, was here first observed. A taller
species of this palm, as we subsequently found, formed large tracts of
forest on the Cobourg Peninsula, and near the Alligator rivers.

As our tea bag was getting very low, and as I was afraid that we should
have to go a long time without this most useful article, I thought it
advisable to make a more saving arrangement. We had, consequently, a pot
of good tea at luncheon, when we arrived at our camp tired and exhausted,
and most in want of an exciting and refreshing beverage. The tea-leaves
remaining in the pot, were saved and boiled up for supper, allowing a
pint to each person. In the morning, we had our soup, and drank water ad
libitum. Tea is unquestionably one of the most important provisions of
such an expedition: sugar is of very little consequence,