to nine o’clock; Brown, Calvert, and Phillips follow in rotation; whilst I take that portion of the night most favourable for taking the altitude.  John Murphy has his watch from five to six.  We generally tethered three horses, and kept one bridled; and, with these arrangements, we slept as securely and soundly as ever; for I felt sure that we had nothing to fear, as long as our tinkling bell-horse, and perhaps a second horse, was moving near us.  The natives considered our animals to be large dogs, and had frequently asked whether they would bite (which I affirmed, of course); so that they themselves furnished us with a protection, which otherwise I should not have thought of inventing.

July 23.—­When Charley returned this morning with the horses, he told me, that a fine broad salt-water river was again before us.  I kept, therefore, at once to the southward, and feared that I should have to go far in that direction before being able to ford it.  After travelling about two miles, we came in sight of it.  It was broad and deep, with low rocky banks.  Salicornia grew along the small gullies into which the tide flowed; some struggling stunted mangroves were on the opposite side; and the plains along the right side of the river were occupied by a scanty vegetation, consisting of Phyllanthus shrubs, scattered box, and the raspberry-jam trees.  We had travelled, however, more than a mile on its bank, when we came to a broad rocky barrier or dam extending across the river, over which a small stream of brackish water rippled, and, by means of this, we crossed without difficulty.  I now steered again north-west by west, and passed at first some fine shady lagoons, and for the next six miles, over an immense plain, apparently unlimited to the north and north-east.  At its west side we again found Polygonum lagoons, which were swarming with ducks, (particularly Malacorhynchus membranaceus), and teal (Querquedula).  Box, raspberry-jam trees, and Acacia, (Inga moniliformis, D.C.) formed a shady grove round these lagoons, which continued towards the south-east.  Their latitude was 17 degrees 49 minutes 35 seconds.  Smoke was visible in every part of the horizon.  Charley, Brown, and John, shot fourteen ducks, and increased this number towards evening to forty-six ducks, five recurvirostris, one small red-shank, and two spoon-bills:  the latter were particularly fat, and, when ready for the spit, weighed better than three pounds; the black ducks weighed a pound and three-quarters.  The Malacorhynchus was small, but in good condition, and the fat seemed to accumulate particularly in the skin of the neck.

The south wind, as usual, visited us again last night, and made it exceedingly cold.  This intense cold is probably owing to the large plains, over which the wind passes.  We were never so much troubled by swarms of flies, as during the last two days; it was impossible to get rid of them by any means.