contained some good pools of fresh water higher up.  To the southward of this creek, there were four very remarkable flat-topped cones of sandstone, which appeared like a plateau cut into four detached masses.  These I called the “Four Archers,” in honour of my excellent hosts Messrs. David, Charles, John, and Thomas Archer of Moreton Bay.  From the eastern one, I enjoyed a fine view, and distinguished distant ranges broken by a gap to the southward, and detached long-stretched ridges to the westward.

I went with Charley to examine the river, in order to find a fording place, in which we succeeded at about four miles south-west from our camp, in lat. 15 degrees 30 minutes 31 seconds; where a stony bar crossed the salt water, leaving a small channel in which the tide formed a shallow stream.  The bed of the river became very broad and sandy, covered with shrubs like those of the Lynd and most of the other rivers we had passed.

Oct. 14.—­We crossed the river, and travelled about ten miles north-west, over a succession of stony ridges, separated by fine open tea-tree and box flats.  Some fine shallow sandy watercourses, quite dry, went down to the north by east.  At the end of the stage, the uniform colour of the country was interrupted by the green line of a river-bed, so pleasing and so refreshing to the eye, with the rich verdure of its drooping tea-trees and myrtles, interspersed with the silver leaves of Acacia neurocarpa and Grevillea chrysodendron.  The river was formed by two broad sandy beds, separated by a high bergue, and was full 700 yards from bank to bank.  It contained large detached water-pools fringed with Pandanus, which were very probably connected by a stream filtering through the sands, I called it the “Wickham,” in honour of Captain Wickham, R.N. of Moreton Bay, who had recently commanded a survey of the north-west coast of New Holland, in H.M.S.  Beagle.

The red wallabi (Halmaturus agilis, Gould) was very numerous along the gullies of the river:  and we started a flock of red foresters (Osphranter Antilopinus, Gould) out of a patch of scrub on the brow of a stony hill.  Charley and Brown, accompanied by Spring, pursued them, and killed a fine young male.  I had promised my companions that, whenever a kangaroo was caught again, it should be roasted whole, whatever its size might be.  We had consequently a roasted Red Forester for supper, and we never rolled ourselves up in our blankets more satisfied with a repast.

Brown found a Eugenia, with large white blossoms and large coriaceous oblong lanceolate shining leaves; it was a tree of thirty or forty feet high, with a grey bark, and a good hard wood.  It was growing at the upper part of the creek on which we were encamped last night.  Its fruit was two inches in diameter, with longitudinal ribs, scarlet red, and very eatable when dropt from the tree, but when gathered on the tree, it had an aromatic pungency.  This tree was very common along the well watered creeks of Arnheim’s Land; particularly along the South Alligator River, and at Raffles Bay.  Brown brought from the same locality a Melastoma, which, according to him, was a shrub, three or four feet high.