t delightful camps we have had in the journey, and
proceeded on the same course as before, north-west by north, across
some high ridges of loose sand, many of which were partially
clothed with porcupine grass. We found the ground much worse to
travel over than any we have yet met with, as the ridges were
exceedingly abrupt and steep on their eastern side, and although
sloping gradually towards the west, were so honeycombed in some
places by the burrows of rats, that the camels were continually in
danger of falling. At a distance of about six miles, we descended
from these ridges to undulating country of open box forest, where
everything was green and fresh. There is an abundance of grass and
salt bushes, and lots of birds of all descriptions. Several flocks
of pigeons passed over our heads, making for a point a little to
our right, where there is no doubt plenty of water, but we did not
go off our course to look for it. Beyond the box forest, which
keeps away to the right, we again entered the sand ridges, and at a
distance of six miles, passed close to a dry salt lagoon, the
ridges in the vicinity of which are less regular in their form and
direction, and contain nodules of limestone. The ground in the
flats and claypans near, has that encrusted surface that cracks
under the pressure of the foot, and is a sure indication of saline
deposits. At a distance of eight miles from the lagoon, we camped
at the foot of a sand ridge, jutting out on the stony desert. I was
rather disappointed, but not altogether surprised, to find the
latter nothing more nor less than the stony rises that we had
before met with, only on a larger scale and not quite as
undulating. During the afternoon several crows came to feed on the
plain. They came from an east-north-east direction, no doubt from a
portion of the creek that flows through the forest that we left on
our right. In the morning, as we were loading, a duck passed over,
but it was too dark to see which way it went.

Sunday, 23rd December.--At five A.M. we struck out across the
desert in a west-north-west direction. At four and a-half miles we
crossed a sand ridge, and then returned to our north-west by north
course. We found the ground not nearly as bad for travelling on as
that between Bulloo and Cooper's Creek. In fact I do not know
whether it arose from our exaggerated anticipation of horrors or
not, but we thought it far from bad travelling ground, and as to
pasture it is only t