7th July (Sunday) was kept as a day of rest.

8th July.

The horses strayed so far back on our tracks during Sunday night that by the time they were brought in it was too late to make a start with advantage, as we were now about to enter a new tract of country, by striking for the coast somewhere between Breaker Inlet and Depuch Island.  As a knowledge of this part of the country would greatly assist us in starting on the second division of our exploration, I availed myself of the delay here to fix by triangulation many of the summits and prominent spurs of the Hamersley Range, and take observations for the variation of the needle, which I found to be about 1 degree east by the prismatic compass I had in use.

9th July.

Our horses again gave us some trouble to find them, so that we did not start until 10.30 a.m.  Two hours’ sharp travelling across the plain brought us to the foot of low hills of trap and sandstone, covered with triodia; good feed being, however, plentiful in the valleys, although now rather dry.  Tracing up a small tributary to the Fortescue, at sunset we halted on a small rocky pool near its source, in latitude 21 degrees 41 minutes 40 seconds.  Several pools, supplied by springs coming from under the superstratum of sandstone, were passed during the day.  Camp 39.

Longitude 117 degrees 47 minutes.

10th July.

For seven miles the country continued gently to ascend, the sandstone giving place to trap boulders, yielding a very rich soil, clothed with short green grass and melons, the soil being too stony for agricultural purposes, although I have seen country of a similar appearance in the island of Mauritius producing fine crops of sugar.  Some of the melons weighed as much as five or six ounces, and were passably good eating, although rather bitter.  At noon the country dropped suddenly to the northward, and we descended a deep rocky ravine, in which we soon found water and grass.  Travelling now became difficult and sometimes dangerous to the horses; rugged and semi-columnar metamorphic sandstone cliffs hemmed in the ravines on either side, while large rounded boulders of trap-rock filled the bed of the stream, which in several places was running.  We had a rather indifferent camp in latitude 21 degrees 29 minutes 10 seconds, the camp at Nickol Bay bearing west-north-west, distant seventy-five miles by account.  Camp 40.

Sherlock river.

11th July.

The stream we were upon continued to take a northerly course for eight or ten miles down a valley from 200 to 300 feet in depth, where it is diverted to the eastward for about the same distance by a cross range of black volcanic hills of loose ragged rocks, totally devoid of vegetation.  The channel receiving several tributaries, here becomes a succession of fine open pools of water from eighty to 150 yards in width.  We halted for the night on a wide bed of bare sand and rocks, the only feed being in the channel of the river, to which was now given the name of Sherlock.  Camp 41.