what a severe season must have been encountered by Sturt when on his last
struggle north, as that explorer finally turned his-back in much the same
locality.

On the 27th of February, heavy rains set in, fortunately, they were in
the neighbourhood of some stony ridges and sand hills, on which they
camped, and where they had plenty of space to feed their animals,
although surrounded by water.

On March 10th, they started again, and steadily continued north through
good travelling country, keeping back from the main creek, which was now
too flooded and boggy to follow. This large creek, which was called by
M'Kinlay the Mueller, is one of the main rivers of the interior, now
known as the Diamantina. M'Kinlay soon kept more to the westward and
crossed the stony range, which bears his name, in much the same place
that Burke and Wills did. He christened many of the large tributaries of
the inland watershed, but most of his names have been replaced by others,
it having been difficult to determine them, as in many cases, the creeks
he named were but anabranches.

The history of their progress is now monotonous in the extreme, the
country through which they travelled presented no great obstacle to the
travellers' advance, being well-grassed and watered; and finally on the
6th May they reached the Leichhardt River.

M'Kinlay was most anxious to get to the mouth of the Albert, it being
understood that Captain Norman with the steamer Victoria, would there
form a depot for the use of the other explorers, Landsborough and Walker,
and M'Kinlay's stock of rations was getting perilously low.