We started this morning at 7.37.  When we had come seven miles over rich well-grassed downs we observed a great number of blacks on a level flat which extended to the southward.  Mr. Bourne and I approached them and they all ran away except some gins and children who hid themselves in a waterhole.  We remained near them for a short time and were joined by Jemmy and Jackey.  The gins and children soon abandoned their hiding-place and assembled on the bank, where they had their coolamons filled with rats.  The old gins repeatedly offered the wives of the men who had run away to us.  Amongst the females whom I observed was a girl about ten years old with a large bone stuck through the cartilage of her nose.  We declined the offer, although I daresay Jackey would have liked to have taken one of the ratcatchers with him:  but Jemmy said he would not, as he does not approve of wedded life.  He has seen it, I presume, under disadvantageous circumstances.  The young gins had fine eyes, white teeth, and good expression.  The children looked particularly lively and intelligent.  Jemmy understood a few words of their language but not sufficient to get information from them.  Their word for water, cammo, I caught while we were getting them to fill our pint pots with water.  After bidding them farewell Mr. Bourne and Jackey proceeded after the packhorses and Jemmy and I went up the flat to a place about three and a half miles south of Bramston Range and, having halted, I made the meridian altitude of the sun 71 degrees 45 minutes; latitude 20 degrees 29 minutes 16 seconds.  Started after the main party at 12.20.  We soon found them as they had been obliged to stop to repair a saddle.  Having started again we came one and a quarter miles over rich downs very much overrun with roley-poley.  As we had been getting too far away from the river we steered towards it, and having reached water in two and a half miles we encamped.  The country we passed over last consists of well-grassed downs.  In the water we got plenty of mussels which made an agreeable addition to our rations.  Distance today seventeen and a half miles by the following courses:  11.50 east-south-east seven miles; 12 south one and a half miles; 1.16 east-north-east one and a half miles; 2.40 east-south-east four and a quarter miles; 3.30 east-north-east two and a half miles; 3.45 north-east and by east three-quarters of a mile.

March 15.  Camp 26 situated near a creek named by me Sloane Creek, at a point about three miles south-east from Bramston Range.

Started this morning at 8.15.  Having come one mile and a half we reached a small hill bearing 2 degrees 84 minutes from the south-west end of Bramston Range and 50 minutes from table ranges up the river.  On this hill Jemmy and I stopped for some time and then proceeded after the main party.  Following their track led us over rich, high, unwooded downs for five and three-quarter miles to a creek with a shallow broad channel.  This stream evidently