sandy watercourse, winding
through a grassy valley, which everywhere presents indications of
the most violent floods. Beyond this is an extensive grassy plain;
and for three or four miles scarcely a trace of the creek could be
seen. We then came to a clump of trees, amongst which were two
large waterholes surrounded by polygonum bushes, and containing
great numbers of small fish. These holes appear to be permanent. We
found about sixty blacks camped here. Above these waterholes, which
are together about half a mile long, the creek again disappears on
the plain. The land for the next ten or twelve miles in a
north-north-easterly direction is very fine for pastoral purposes,
being alternately grassy plains and ridges. At twelve or thirteen
miles we crossed the creek where it has cut for itself a deep
narrow channel, the banks of which are densely timbered and well
grassed, but the waterholes are small, and contained very little
water. For a distance of six miles the creek is of a very
insignificant character. It appears to be divided into several
branches, which traverse clay flats badly grassed. Here and there
are some lines of low sandy rises, with plenty of feed on them. All
the watercourses are distinctly marked by lines of box timber. At
about nine miles from where we crossed the creek, and after
traversing some loose polygonum ground, which was covered with
mussel shells and a shell resembling a periwinkle, we came to a
branch of the creek containing a splendid waterhole 150 links broad
and about half a mile long. A little above this the creek again
disappears for a short distance, and then there is a long narrow
channel of undoubtedly permanent water, being nearly four feet deep
in the shallowest places; it is only on an average about fifty
links broad, and well sheltered by overhanging box trees. The
temperature of the water on the morning of the 7th November, at six
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 nea