and if all is well will make a start on Monday morning.
The stony hills and slopes (that from every appearance, a few days ago,
from their thorough bronzed and desert appearance, one would suppose
grass never grew) are now being clothed in many places with a nice green
coating of grass, and shortly will give this part quite a lively
appearance, very different indeed from what it was when I first saw it,
then it was as desolate a looking spot as one could picture to himself.
In a couple or three months' time from this date one could with little
difficulty (I am almost certain) start with a herd of any description of
stock from the northern settled parts of South Australia and go right
across the continent to whatever point he might think fit by this route,
but I will know more about it shortly. This bullock gave us of dried meat
about 116 pounds, apparently well dried, besides what meat was used with
the bones to make soup. I hope it may keep well.

Sunday, March 9.

At Escape, or Number 7, Camp--will be all ready for a start in the
morning. Wind north-east.

Monday, March 10.

Wind north and east, fresh breeze. Bullocks rather refractory at being
packed, consequently late before we started. The journey today was over
stony hills and flats, crossing several small creeks from the more remote
hills, some running tributaries of Burke Creek for twelve and a half
miles, and for three and three-quarter miles further over similar
country, but more flat as we are now approaching the creek, and camped on
the outside of a flat with some water and a fair supply of feed. I was
here before the pack animals arrived but, after waiting for them a short
time, found that in some of the small watercourses the water seemed to be
driving, as I thought with the strength of the wind as is not unusual,
and took for the time no further notice; the horses came up first and
were unpacked, the camels were some time after and did not arrive until
after I had returned from a ride to the top of a hill further up the
creek, and at which place I went down to the water and to my astonishment
found that the whole valley was a perfect sea, rising fast; on my return
to where I had fixed the camp I found that the water had approached
rather too close to be comfortable, and on the arrival of the camels had
them unpacked some distance out on the top of a mound of stones and had
all the horse gear removed there also; the bullocks did not get to camp
till a