kinds; we also found a fruit in shape like a pear, three inches in length, growing on a small creeper, the interior of the fruit consisting of a number of small flat seeds, to which were attached a bundle of long silky fibres resembling cotton.  Our bivouac was in latitude 24 degrees 7 minutes 52 seconds, near a fine pool of fresh water, with limestone cropping out in a thin bed on the banks; we had frequently met with it distributed in small nodules scattered over a large portion of the country on the Upper Murchison.

Since quitting the mouth of the Gascoyne we had seen natives almost daily; to-night we again found ourselves in close proximity to a large encampment of them.

2nd June.

Our neighbours paid us an early visit this morning, some of them evidently bent on mischief, but were restrained by others more prudent—­not, however, before it had nearly cost one of them his life; having pointed a spear at Mr. Moore, Dugel, whose natural instincts are very destructive, hastily took aim at him, but fortunately pulled the wrong trigger, which just gave his adversary time to lower his weapon; on our mounting our horses they hastily fell back and joined their other companions at their camp, which was just in our line of march; about thirty of them awaited our approach with some tokens of defiance, but most of them decamped on our coming within spear’s throw.

Mount Augustus 3,480 feet above sea level.

Directing our course for Mount Augustus, we pushed on at a rapid pace with the object of ascending it if possible before sundown; but after riding twenty miles, we found it to be farther off than we anticipated, and accordingly altered our course and encamped at a pool in the river about three miles north-east of the mount, in latitude 24 degrees 20 minutes, and at an elevation of 1500 feet above the sea.

We here met with strong evidences of the cannibalism of the natives; at a recently occupied encampment we found several of the bones of a full-grown native that had been cooked, the teeth marks on the edges of a bladebone bearing conclusive evidence as to the purpose to which it had been applied; some of the ribs were lying by the huts with a portion of the meat still on them.

Nearly the whole of the country passed over this day was an alluvial flat extending on the south-west to the grassy range already described, while to the north and east it extended for many miles, branching out into the numerous valleys that drain the different ranges in that direction; the grass and vegetation on these flats is not so rank as on that traversed the previous day, but more even, and the soil better adapted for agriculture; the amount of good land on this part of the Lyons River was estimated at 150 square miles, while on the tributaries between Mount Thompson and Mount Augustus I have no doubt that there is as much more.  Water at this time was plentiful in the numerous channels that intersect the plain, their permanency being the only matter of doubt—­our limited acquaintance with the nature of the seasons in these latitudes does not enable us to decide with any degree of certainty; the pools lower down the river are unquestionably of a permanent character, but many of them were already becoming brackish.