The new creek now just discovered had a large stony water-hole immediately above and below the junction of Trickett’s Creek, and as we approached the lower one, I noticed several native wurleys just deserted; their owners having seen us while we only thought of them, had fled at our approach, and left all their valuables behind.  These consisted of clubs, spears, shields, drinking vessels, yam sticks, with other and all the usual appliances of well-furnished aboriginal gentlemen’s establishments.  Three young native dog-puppies came out, however, to welcome us, but when we dismounted and they smelt us, not being used to such refined odours as our garments probably exhaled, they fled howling.  The natives had left some food cooking, and when I cooeyed they answered, but would not come near.  This creek was of some size; it seemed to pass through a valley in a new range further eastwards.  It came from the north-west, apparently draining the northern side of Gill’s Range.  I called it Petermann’s Creek.  We were now sixty-five miles from our depot, and had been most successful in our efforts to find a route to allow of the departure of Robinson, as it appeared that this creek would surely reach the Finke, though we afterwards found it did not.  I intended upon returning here to endeavour to discover a line of country round the south-eastern extremity of Lake Amadeus, so as to reach Mount Olga at last.  We now turned our horses’ heads again for our home camp, and continued travelling until we reached Stokes’s Creek, where we encamped after a good long day’s march.

This morning, as we were approaching Penny’s Creek, we saw two natives looking most intently at our outgoing horse tracks, along which they were slowly walking, with their backs towards us.  They neither saw nor heard us until we were close upon their heels.  Each carried two enormously long spears, two-thirds mulga wood and one-third reed at the throwing end, of course having the instrument with which they project these spears, called by some tribes of natives only, but indiscriminately all over the country by whites, a wommerah.  It is in the form of a flat ellipse, elongated to a sort of tail at the holding end, and short-pointed at the projecting end; a kangaroo’s claw or wild dog’s tooth is firmly fixed by gum and gut-strings.  The projectile force of this implement is enormous, and these spears can be thrown with the greatest precision for more than a hundred yards.  They also had narrow shields, three to four feet long, to protect themselves from hostile spears, with a handle cut out in the centre.  These two natives had their hair tied up in a kind of chignon at the back of the head, the hair being dragged back off the forehead from infancy.  This mode gave them a wild though somewhat effeminate appearance; others, again, wear their hair in long thick curls reaching down the shoulders, beautifully elaborated with iguanas’ or emus’ fat and red ochre.  This applies only to the men; the women’s hair