o'clock, was 68 degrees; the temperature of the air at the same
time being 50.5 degrees. Our camp at this place is indicated by a
box tree marked B over LII in square, the geographical position of
which is by account 28 degrees 26 minutes 9 seconds south latitude,
and longitude 143 degrees 0 minutes east. In proceeding from here
in a north-north-easterly direction up the course of the creek, or
rather of the water, for the creek is again lost on the plains for
five or six miles, we passed the southernmost point of a prominent
sandstone range, the nearest portion of which lay about a mile and
a half to the westward. At about nine miles we again touched the
creek, where it is about three chains broad. The banks are firm and
shelving, from ten to twelve feet above the water, and lined with
box, acacias, some large gums, gigantic marshmallows, polygonum,
etc. In the creek there is abundance of fish, and the ducks and
other waterfowl on it are numberless. From what we have seen of the
blacks, I should say the population cannot be far short of 150, and
it might be considerably more. From here we proceeded in an
east-north-easterly direction along the west bank of this fine
waterhole, and at two and a half miles found it begin rapidly to
decrease in breadth, and a little further on there was nothing but
a few small stony watercourses traversing a dense box forest: at
this point there is a level bed of sandstone pebbles, close to and
over a part of which the creek flows. The blacks have here gone to
the trouble of making paths for themselves, along which we turned
off from the creek on a north-north-easterly course, and at about
three miles, coming on earthy plains, with no signs of water ahead,
we again turned in to the creek and camped at a small waterhole.
From here the line of river timber continues in a north-easterly
direction. To the west and north-north-west is a line of sandstone
ranges running off in the same direction. The land in the immediate