even miles further,
another, but it was dry; and, at the end of the stage we came to a fine
sandy creek with large pools. Seeing that the natives had encamped here
frequently, and some very lately, by the heaps of broken Pandanus fruit,
I did not hesitate to pitch our tents; but, on examining the water, I was
greatly disappointed in finding it so brackish that the horses and cattle
would not drink it. I, therefore, started with Charley in search of
better, and, in the upper part of the creek, we found some large
water-holes just dried up: but, on digging, they yielded an ample supply
of good water. On this little excursion, we were fortunate enough, by the
aid of Spring, to kill two emus; but the poor dog again received some
deep scratches.

The camps of the natives were, as usual, distinguished by heaps of shells
of Cytherea, oysters, fresh-water mussels, and fish bones. The
fresh-water mussel was small, and of a yellowish colour.

We had some few drops of rain at about half-past 11 o'clock, A. M,

Sept. 12.--The horses, though hobbled, had strayed so far in search of
water, that we had to wait for them until 1 o'clock. We started, however,
but, after travelling a short distance, finding the day far advanced, and
our chance of finding water very doubtful, I determined to return to the
water-hole which we had dug yesterday; about two miles and a half west by
south. The flats of the creek were well-grassed; large drooping tea-trees
with groves of Pandanus grew on the hollows near the creek, and tea-tree
thickets farther off.

I frequently tasted the fine-looking fruit of the Pandanus, but was every
time severely punished with sore lips and a blistered tongue; and the
first time that I ate it, I was attacked by a violent diarrhoea. I could
not make out how the natives neutralized the noxious properties of the
fruit; which, from the large heaps in their camps, seemed to form no
small portion of their food. The fruit appeared either to have been
soaked, or roasted and broken, to obtain the kernels; for which purpose
we invariably found large flat stones and pebbles to pound them with. I
supposed that they washed out the sweet mealy matter contained between
the stringy fibres, and that they drank the liquid, as they do with the
honey; and that their large koolimans which we had occasionally seen,
were used for the purpose. I, consequently, gathered some very ripe
fruit, scraped the soft part with a knife, and washed it un