over to the natives’ encampment, and reported that most of the men who had been to our camp were sitting there with nothing to eat in the camp; the women being probably out on a hunting excursion, whilst they, as lords of creation, waited quietly at their club till dinner should be announced.  They got very little from me, as I had no surplus food to spare.  Nicholls told me they had some tin billies and shear-blades in the camp, and I noticed that one of the first batch we saw had a small piece of coarse cloth on; another had a piece of horse’s girth webbing.  On questioning the most civilised, and inquiring about some places, whose native names were given on my chart, I found they knew two or three of these, and generally pointed in the proper directions.  It was evident they had often seen white people before, if, they had never eaten any.

One of our cow camels had been very lame for two or three days, and now we found she had a long mulga stake stuck up through the thick sole of her spongy foot.  I got a long piece out with knife and plyers, but its removal did not appear to improve her case, for the whole lower part of her leg was more swollen after than before the extraction of the wood, but I hoped a day or two would put her right.  Yesterday, the 15th of October, Mr. Young managed to get the name of this place from the natives.  They call it Ularring, with the accent on the second syllable.  It is a great relief to my mind to get it, as it saves me the invidious task of selecting only one name by which to call the place from the list of my numerous friends.  This morning, 16th, our usual visitors arrived; two are most desirous to go westward with us when we start.  A little later a very pretty little girl came by herself.  She was about nine or ten years old, and immediately became the pet of the camp.  All the people of this tribe are excessively thin, and so was this little creature.  She had splendid eyes and beautiful teeth, and we soon dressed her up, and gave her a good breakfast.  In an hour after her arrival she was as much at home in my camp as though I were her father.  She is a merry little thing, but we can’t understand a word she says.  She evidently takes a great interest in everything she sees at the camp, but she didn’t seem to care to look at herself in a glass, though the men always did.

While we were at dinner to-day a sudden whirl-wind sprang up and sent a lot of my loose papers, from where I had been writing, careering so wildly into the air, that I was in great consternation lest I should lose several sheets of my journal, and find my imagination put to the test of inventing a new one.  We all ran about after the papers, and so did some of the blacks, and finally they were all recovered.  Mr. Young cut my initials and date thus:  E. over G. over 75., upon a Grevillea or beef-wood-tree, which grew close to the well.  While here we have enjoyed delightful weather; gentle breezes and shady tree(es),