Monday, 17th December, 1860.--We continued to follow down the
creek. Found its course very crooked, and the channel frequently
dry for a considerable distance, and then forming into magnificent
waterholes, abounding in water fowl of all kinds. The country on
each side is more open than on the upper part of the creek. The
soil on the plains is of a light earthy nature, supporting
abundance of salt bush and grass. Most of the plains are lightly
timbered, and the ground is finer and not cracked up as at the head
of the creek. Left Camp 67 at ten minutes to six A.M., having
breakfasted before leaving. We followed the creek along from point
to point, at first in a direction west-north-west for about twelve
miles, then about north-west. At about noon we passed the last
water, a short distance beyond which the creek runs out on a
polygonum flat [Footnote: Polygonum Cunninghami.]; but the timber
was so large and dense that it deceived us into the belief that
there was a continuation of the channel. On crossing the polygonum
ground to where we expected to find the creek we became aware of
our mistake. Not thinking it advisable to chance the existence of
water ahead, we camped at the end of a large but shallow sheet of
water in the sandy bed of the creek.

The hole was about 150 links broad, and * [Footnote: Blank in
original.] feet deep in most places. In many places the temperature
of the water was almost incredibly high, which induced me to try it
at several points. The mean of two on the shady side of the creek
gave 97 4/10 degrees. As may be imagined this water tasted
disagreeably warm, but we soon cooled some in water bags, and
thinking that it would be interesting to know what we might call
cool, I placed the thermometer in a pannikin containing some that
appeared delightfully so, almost cold in fact; its temperature was,