for their long patience, for immediately on attaining the other side, the country changed into good sound well-grassed stringy-bark ridges, which continued throughout the whole stage, with the exception of a few broad tea-tree gullies.  They encamped at about 10 miles.  Poor old Eulah experienced to-day, what he felt was a cruel disappointment.  Just before getting into camp he espied what he supposed to be a fresh turkey’s nest (the ’Talegalla Lathami’); jumping off his horse, he eagerly commenced rooting it up, expecting to be rewarded by a fine haul of eggs.  These, as is the habit of that bird, were deposited in a large mound formed of sticks, earth, and leaves.  His disappointment and disgust were equal, and his language forcible and deep, on finding that he had been anticipated—­the big mound was the abode of emptiness.  The mystery was cleared up on going on a little way, when they found a black’s camp about two days old, where the egg-chips shewed that the occupants had enjoyed Eulah’s anticipated feed, the piccaninnies probably amusing themselves afterwards by filling up the nest to its original appearance.  In the evening, whilst Alexander Jardine, was preparing the frugal supper (they generally ate their jerked meet raw, but on this occasion he was cooking it for a change), the Leader and Eulah walked to the top of a small sandy conical hill, about half-a-mile distant, when climbing the highest tree, they could find, they were rewarded by a fine view of Newcastle Bay, on the south-east of the bight, on which they were now camped.  They had also the great satisfaction of finding that they had at last headed the Escape River.

‘March’ 1.—­“A nasty wet morning.”  The trio started early, thinking it quite possible that they might “pull up” something or other belonging to the Settlement before night, but they kept their thoughts to themselves.  They had had so many disappointments that they felt that to hazard a guess even, was a mistake.  After travelling over a great deal of low scrub and brushwood, which, however, was better than boggy ground ("to be without one or the other,” says Alexander Jardine “would have been too much to expect”) during a heavy shower of rain, about three o’clock, whilst riding over some low sandy ridges they suddenly came on to a number of blacks, camped on the outside of a thick scrub, at a point where it abutted on a small creek.  The travellers immediately unslung their carbines, very dubious however as to whether they would go off (for they were all damp,) and prepared for the customary “set-to.”  As hitherto, in all these encounters, they had always without any show of hostility on their part, been at once attacked, they were surprised to find the blacks, who were very numerous, bolt into the scrub, with the exception of three who stood their ground, and holding up their empty hands shewed that they were unarmed, dancing and shouting vociferously.  Eulah was the first to detect what they said, and reining up called out