d under more cheering
circumstances than we had any right to anticipate; but, although the
creek promised so well, the valley on either side of it was more than
usually barren and scrubby, and was bounded in, as usual, by high ridges
of sand, that still continued to head us in unbroken lines, and were the
most prominent and prevailing feature of the interior; and although we
were now within two degrees of the Tropics, our latitude at this point
being 25 degrees 34 minutes 19 seconds, we had not as yet observed the
slightest change in the vegetation, or anything to intimate our approach
to a tropical country.

On the 5th we started on a course of 340 degrees, the upward course of
the creek. At two miles it turned to the N. E, but soon came round again
to N.W., and afterwards kept a general course of 10 degrees to the west
of north. Its channel gradually contracted as we advanced, and the
polygonum grew to the size of a very large bush upon its banks. At nine
miles we arrived at a creek junction from the S.W. and traced it over
grassy plains, on which some Bauhimia were growing, but finding that it
took its rise in a kind of marsh occupying the centre of the plain into
which it had led us, we turned away to the main creek. The country now
became more open, and tertiary limestone shewed itself on the plains, and
at a short distance from the creek a vein of milky quartz cropped out
near a pretty sheet of water. As we proceeded upwards sandstone traversed
its bed in several places; in some degree contracting its channel. A
short time before we halted we passed a very large and long sheet of
water, on which there were a good many wild fowl, so very shy, that
although the brush grew close to the banks of the creek, so as to favour
our creeping upon them, we could not shoot any.

Notwithstanding that the creek had thus changed its appearance from what
it was where we first came upon it (its waters being muddy with less
grass in its channel), we had no reason to suppose that it would
disappoint our hopes; we therefore resumed our journey on the morning of
the 6th, without any idea that we should meet with any check in the
course of the day. As the immediate neighbourhood of this creek had
become scrubby, we kept wide of it and travelled for 12 miles, on a
bearing of 340, over flats destitute of all manner of vegetation, but
thinly scattered over with the box, acacia and the Bauhimia. These flats
were still bounded on either sid