After reading prayers, Messrs. Brown, Harding, and myself walked to the summit of the range of black volcanic hills that skirted the western bank of the river at about a mile distant.  These hills consist of ragged scoria, elevated 300 to 400 feet above the plain, and are nearly destitute of vegetation.  At their summits are deep fissures, the heat of the eruptive rocks from beneath having been sufficient to convert the trap and sandstone rocks into a deep bluish-grey scoria, having a specific gravity of nearly four; but we did not observe any instance of the actual overflow of lava, and consequently there was a want of the fertilising properties in the soil resulting from it that usually accompanies volcanic formations.  A native dog had left a litter of pups under a heap of stones not eighteen inches beneath our feet, but such was the sharpness and ponderability of the fragments of rock that it fairly baffled our attempts to unhouse them.  A valuable round of bearings was procured from this spot, Depuch Island being seen bearing north 14 degrees east, distant about twenty-eight miles.

Extensive grassy plains.

15th July.

We resumed our course down the Sherlock, the stony nature of the country telling severely upon our horses’ feet, who in other respects were in very tolerable condition.  We had not proceeded more than three or four miles when Mr. Brockman’s horse, Rocket, gave in, and could not move another step, the hoof being fairly worn through; leaving him close to a pool of water amongst plenty of feed, I hoped he might possibly recover by the time we returned from the bay.  Below this the channel became sandy and dry, and we only procured a little water at night in a clay-hole.  Plains extended from the river to the north and eastward as far as the eye could reach, only interrupted by occasional detached hills of granite or volcanic trap, the feed being generally coarse and the soil poor.  Camp 44.

Latitude 20 degrees 54 minutes 45 seconds.

Natives fishing with nets.

16th July.

Leaving the valley of the river on a north-west course, in half an hour we came upon an open plain of rich clayey loam, covered with a fine even sward of good grass, on which were feeding large flocks of pigeons and white cockatoos; this change in the character of the soil being ascribable to the occasional overflow of the river, leaving a deposit of rich mud.  This plain extends as far as we could see to the north and east, a few widely-scattered topes of trees being the only objects breaking the monotony of the sea of grass.  To the north-west was a strong line of large timber, for which we steered.  At three miles we entered the wood, and found it to contain the main channel of the Sherlock, in which were a few small pools of rainwater.  Crossing the bed of the river on the same course, we soon came upon another branch coming from the south-west, which was