March 26.

We left camp this morning at 8.45.  When we had travelled at our usual pace till 1.45 we encamped at a small creek from the north-east.  We stopped here as we found dray-tracks near the creek that I wanted to trace.  After unsaddling Fisherman and I traced them a short distance to the north-east.  The tracks were made probably by the parties who have occupied Bowen Downs.  Bowen Downs is a fine tract of country that Mr. N. Buchanan and I discovered about two years ago.  The country we passed over today is easily described.  It is undulating poor land of a sandstone formation, grassed with triodia and wooded with ironbark and bloodwood.  Having left the creek on which we encamped last night our course today took us back onto high ground from which, descending, we reached this by the following courses:  11.45 south-south-west eight and three-quarter miles; 1.45 south five and three-quarter miles.  Distance come today fourteen and a half miles.  In a waterhole near camp Mr. Bourne caught a great quantity of small fish, an agreeable addition to our fare, and from the same waterhole Fisherman got a quantity of mussels for our breakfast tomorrow.

March 27.  Camp 35, situated on the right bank of a small well-watered creek at a point about half a mile above its junction with a larger creek from the north-west.

Jackey and I left camp this morning at 9.  When we had gone down the creek in a southerly direction for two and three-quarter miles we left it and went west, expecting to find the tracks of our party as I had asked Mr. Bourne to steer south-south-west; but, not finding the tracks, we returned to camp and reached it at 1.15.  At camp we learned that the horses were only mustered a few minutes before our arrival.  In my ride with Jackey down the creek I saw the recent tracks of a cow or steer (probably made by the beast that had been on the Flinders River).  I would have tried to have found the beast with a view of killing it for the benefit of our party, but from seeing the dray-tracks near the camp I thought this was unnecessary as I was convinced we were near a station.  Before leaving the subject of the beast I may mention that it may have been taken from the Darling to one of the stations on the head of the Burdekin and, having strayed from there to the Flinders River, was now on its way back.  Started from camp at 1.45 p.m.  When we had come a mile we crossed a creek flowing to the northward.  On both sides of the creek there are stony ranges grassed with triodia and wooded with ironbark.  After leaving the creek we crossed the ridges and came on land with a good deal of rich soil and wooded with belts of myall, Port Curtis sandalwood, and western-wood acacia.  About these scrubs the grass is very good and there is a luxuriant undergrowth of saltbush and salt herbs.  When we had come four miles from camp we sighted to the south-west a small isolated hill and went towards it.  When we had crossed