I suppose paid us the compliment of sending their wives to us as soon as it became dusk, but as we did not encourage their advances they left us after a short visit.  The native who had killed the talpero, skinned it the moment he arrived in the camp, and, having first moistened them, stuffed the skin with the leaves of a plant of very astringent properties.  All these natives were very poor, particularly the men, nor do I think that at this season of the year they can have much animal food of any kind to subsist on.  Their principal food appeared to be seeds of various kinds, as of the box-tree, and grass seeds, which they pound into cakes and bake, together with different kinds of roots.

On the 15th we started at 7 a.m., and crossing at the head of the water, pursued a south course over extensive flooded plains, on which we again lost the channel of the creek, as, after winding round a little contiguous sand hill, it split into numberless branches; but although the plains hereabouts were well grassed, the soil was not so good as that on the plains above them.  At six miles we ascended a sand hill, from which we could see to the extremity of the plain; but it had no apparent outlet excepting to the E.S.E.  I therefore proceeded on that course for three miles, when we lost sight of all gum-trees, and found ourselves amongst scrub.  Low bushes bounded the horizon all round, and hid the grassy plains from our view; but they were denser to the south and east than at any other point.  Mount Lyell, the large hill south, bore 140 degrees to the east of north, distant between forty and fifty miles.  A short time after we left the grassy flats we crossed the dry bed of a large lagoon, which had been seen by Mr. Poole on a bearing of 77 degrees from the Magnetic Hill.  In the richer soil, a plant with round, striped fruit upon it, of very bitter taste, a species of cucumber, was growing.  We next proceeded to the eastward, and surveying the country from higher ground, observed that the creek had no outlet from the plains, and that it could not but terminate on them.

As I had no object in a prolonged journey to the south, I turned back from this station, and retracing my steps to the water where we had left the natives, reached it at half-past six.  All our friends were still there; we had, therefore, the pleasure of passing another afternoon with them, during which they were joined by two other natives, with their families, who had been driven in from the south, like ourselves, by the want of water.  They assured us that all the water in that quarter had disappeared, “that the sun had taken it,” and that we should not find a drop to the eastward, where I told them I was going.  All these men, excepting one, had been circumcised.  The single exception had the left fore-tooth of his upper jaw extracted, and I therefore concluded that he belonged to a different tribe.  I had hoped to have seen many more natives in this locality; but it struck me, from what I observed, that they were dispersed at the different water-holes, there being no one locality capable of supporting any number.