the Roper River the general character of the country has been worthless; the small size of the watercourses indicating an arid country to the south-west of our route.  Few traces of blacks have been seen, though vast columns of smoke rise to the east and south-east; animals or birds are rarely seen.  The rocky nature of the country has caused the horses’ shoes to wear out rapidly, and the day seldom passes without having to replace the shoes of several of the horses.

Latitude by a Coronae Borealis and a Trianguli Australis 15 degrees 40 minutes 19 seconds.

26th July.

At 8.0 a.m. steered south-east, soon entering a scrub of acacia, melaleuca, and grevillia, with a few eucalypti; the soil sandy, with a few blocks of gray sandstone; some small dry watercourses trended to the north.  At noon crossed a large creek trending to the south-south-east through a very rocky valley, and the whole country was very barren and rocky.  At 2.35 p.m. recrossed the creek, which here turned to the east and north-east.  After following it down for an hour, found a small patch of grass, and encamped.  The bed of the creek was very rocky and well supplied with water in shallow pools.

Latitude by a Coronae Borealis and a Trianguli Australis 15 degrees 50 minutes 2 seconds.

Barren country.

27th July (Sunday).

Resumed our route at 7.0 a.m., crossing a very rocky ridge of hills, in descending which one of the horses wedged his foot into a cleft of the rock, and falling down, was only released by beating the rock away with an axe.  Fortunately, though much cut and bruised, there was no serious injury.  With some difficulty we extricated ourselves from these rocky ridges, and, crossing a large creek, entered a level plain covered with melaleuca scrub.  Crossing two sandy creeks fifteen and twenty yards wide with shallow pools, at noon reached a barren range of white sandstone hills, rising about 250 feet.  Beyond this entered an open grassy plain, with clumps of melaleuca-trees, indicating the existence of springs of water, one of which we reached at 1.25 p.m., and encamped.  The country passed is of a worthless description, there being very little grass, and the soil very poor and stony.  The sandstones are of gray colour, and not regularly stratified; but where it could be ascertained the bedding was horizontal, and the lamina dipping 20 degrees to 30 degrees to the north, but often in the opposite direction.  These sandstones are at least 200 feet thick, and rest on soft shales of white-brown and green colour.

Latitude by a Trianguli Australis 15 degrees 55 minutes 20 seconds.

28th July.