July 2.—­We travelled ten miles south-west over a country exactly like that of yesterday; and encamped at a shallow water-hole in a creek, which headed in a tea-tree thicket, a grove of Pandanus being on its north side, and a small box-flat to the southward.  Though the country was then very dry, it is very probably impassable during the rainy season.  The tea-tree thickets seemed liable to a general inundation, and many shallow water-holes and melon-holes were scattered everywhere about the flats.  The flats and elevations of the surface were studded with turreted ant-hills, either forming single sharp cones from three to five feet high, and scarcely a foot broad at their base, or united into a row, or several rows touching each other, and forming piles of most remarkable appearance.  The directions of the rows seemed to be the same over large tracts of country, and to depend upon the direction of the prevailing winds.  I found Verticordia, a good sized tree, and a Melaleuca with clustered orange blossoms and smooth bark, which I mentioned as growing on the supposed Nassau.

July 3.—­We followed the tea-tree creek about four miles lower down, and encamped near some fine rocky water-holes, in which I discovered a yellow Villarsia, resembling in its leaves Villarsia inundata, R. Br.

Our day’s journey was a short one in consequence of our having started so late.  The delay was caused by Charley having captured an emu, a flock of which he met when fetching the horses.  By holding branches before him, he was enabled to approach so close to them, that he shot one dead with a charge of dust shot.  It was a welcome prize, and repaid us for the delay.  To our wounded friends the delay itself was a welcome one.

The mussel-shells of these water-holes appeared to be narrower and comparatively longer than those we had previously seen.  Pandanus was, as usual, very frequent; but a middle sized shady wide spreading tree, resembling the elm in the colour and form of its leaves, attracted our attention, and excited much interest.  Its younger branches were rather drooping, its fruit was an oblong yellow plum, an inch long and half an inch in diameter, with a rather rough kernel.  When ripe, the pericarp is very mealy and agreeable to eat, and would be wholesome, if it were not so extraordinarily astringent.  We called this tree the “Nonda,” from its resemblance to a tree so called by the natives in the Moreton Bay district.  I found the fruit in the dilli of the natives on the 21st June, and afterwards most abundantly in the stomach of the emu.  The tree was very common in the belt of forest along the creek.

The wind, during the last two days, was southerly, south-westerly, and westerly, freshening up during the afternoon.  The forenoon was very hot:  the night clear, and rather cool towards morning.  I observed many shooting stars during the two last nights.