eral slaps on the head; afterwards, seeing that Mr.
Burke was found fault with for not keeping a journal, King was made
to appear to say that Mr. Wills's journal was written in
conjunction with and under the supervision of Mr. Burke; and thus
accounted for the absence of one by Mr. Burke. I was present at
King's examination, and can bear witness that he said nothing of
the kind. His answers, as given in the Royal Commission Report,
were framed to suit the questions of the interrogator, which
appeared to astonish King, and he made no reply. King's statements,
as far as he understood what he was asked, I believe to have been
generally very truthful, and honestly given.

After March 25th, an interval of three days occurs, in which
nothing is noted. Gray's illness, attending to the maps, with extra
labour, may account for this omission.

. . .

March 29.--Camels' last feast; fine green feed at this camp:
plenty of vines and young polygonums on the small billibongs.

March 30.--Boocha's rest.--Poor Boocha was killed; employed all day
in cutting up and jerking him: the day turned out as favourable for
us as we could have wished, and a considerable portion of the meat
was completely jerked before sunset.

March 31.--Mia Mia Camp.--Plenty of good dry feed; various shrubs;
salt bushes, including cotton bush and some coarse kangaroo grass;
water in the hollows on the stony pavement. The neighbouring
country chiefly composed of stony rises and sand ridges.

April 5--Oil Camp.--Earthy and clayey plains, generally sound and
tolerably grassed, but in other places bare salt bush, and
withered.

April 6 and 7.--Earthy flats, cut into innumerable water courses,
succeeded by fine open plains, generally very bare, but having in
some places patches of fine salt bush. The dead stalks of portulac
and mallows show that those plants are very plentiful in some
seasons. Towards noon came upon earthy plains and numerous
billibongs. The next day the water and feed much dried up, and
nearly all the water has a slightly brackish taste of a peculiar
kind, somewhat resembling in flavour potassio-tartrate of soda
(cream of tartar).

On the 8th, poor Gray, suffering under the bad odour of his
peculations, was thought to be pretending illness, because he could
not walk, and my son, when he was himself ill, much regretted their
suspicions on this point; but it appears from King's evidence, that
Gray's excuse for using the provisions surreptiti