Nov. 13.—­The two horses ridden by Charley and myself yesterday, had suffered so severely, that I had to allow them a day of rest to recover.  In the mean time, I went with Charley and Brown to the spot where we had seen the greatest number of flying-foxes, and, whilst I was examining the neighbouring trees, my companions shot sixty-seven, of which fifty-five were brought to our camp; which served for dinner, breakfast, and luncheon, each individual receiving eight.  The flying-fox lived here on a small, blue, oval stone-fruit, of an acid taste, with a bitter kernel; it grew on a tree of moderate size.  Very small specimens of the Seaforthia palm were here observed for the first time; and the large scarlet fruit of Eugenia was found.

During the night, we heard the first grumbling of thunder since many months.

Nov. 14.—­We travelled about twelve miles north by west.  After crossing the river, we followed a rocky creek to its head, and passed over ten miles of level sandy country of stringy-bark forest, with Melalcuca gum and Banksia, interrupted only by a small Pandanus creek.  At the end of the stage, we came to rocky creeks, one of which headed in a drooping tea-tree swamp, with rich vegetation, but without water.  The creek, which we followed down for two miles, there changed its character, and meandered through sandy, well-grassed flats, and contained some good water-holes, on which we encamped.  John told me that he had found the ripe fruit of Exocarpus cupressiformis; which I doubted very much, as I had not seen the slightest trace of it since we left the Dawson, although Exocarpus latifolia was very frequent all over the sandy table-land.  But we gathered and ate a great quantity of gibong (the ripe fruit of Persoonia falcata), and some small yellow figs of the glossy-leaved fig-tree.  I observed a Eucalyptus of rather stunted growth, with broad, almost oval leaves, and long, narrow seed-vessels.

During the night, thunder clouds and lightning were seen in every direction; and the whole atmosphere appeared to be in a state of fermentation.  Heavy showers poured down upon us; and our tarpaulings, which had been torn to pieces in travelling through the scrub, were scarcely sufficient to keep ourselves and our things dry.  But in the morning of the 15th, all nature seemed refreshed; and my depressed spirits rose quickly, under the influence of that sweet breath of vegetation, which is so remarkably experienced in Australia, where the numerous Myrtle family, and even their dead leaves, contribute so largely to the general fragrance.  This day we travelled about six miles to the W. N. W.

Our course, however, was for three miles to the northward, over a sandy level forest, intercepted by several rocky creeks.  The third which we came to, I followed down to the westward, and came to a large creek, which soon joined a still larger one from the eastward.  Both were well provided with water; and we encamped at a very large hole under a ledge of rock across the bed of the creek; and which probably formed a fine waterfall during the rainy season.