loud cries of cockatoos attracted our notice; and, on going in their direction, we came to a water-hole in the bed of the river, at its junction with a large oak tree creek coming from the northward.  This water-hole is in latitude 22 degrees 11 minutes; the natives had fenced it round with branches to prevent the sand from filling it up, and had dug small wells near it, evidently to obtain a purer and cooler water, by filtration through the sand.  Pigeons (Geophapsscripta, Gould.) had formed a beaten track to its edge; and, the next morning, whilst enjoying our breakfast under the shade of a gigantic flooded-gum tree, we were highly amused to see a flight of fifty or more partridge pigeons tripping along the sandy bed of the river, and descending to the water’s edge, and returning after quenching their thirst, quite unconscious of the dangerous proximity of hungry ornithophagi.  The cockatoos, however, observed us, and seemed to dispute our occupation of their waters, by hovering above the tops of the highest trees, and making the air resound with their screams; whilst numerous crows, attracted by a neighbouring bush fire, watched us more familiarly, and the dollar bird passed with its arrow-like flight from shade to shade.

We continued our ride six miles higher up the river, without finding any water, with the exception of some wells made by the natives, and which were generally observed where watercourses or creeks joined the river.  In these places, moisture was generally indicated by a dense patch of green reeds.  The bush fire, which was raging along the left bank of the river on which we were encamped for the night, fanned by the sea breeze, which set in a little after six o’clock, approached very near to our tent, but died away with the breeze; and the temperature cooled down, although no dew was falling.  The fire, which was smouldering here and there along the steep banks of the river, was quickened up again by the morning breeze.

We observed a great number of very large dead shells of Limnaea and Paludina, in the dry water-holes and melon-holes along the scrub; some of them not even bleached; but every thing seemed to indicate this to be a more than usually dry season.

In the morning we returned to the camp.  As I had not discovered a more convenient spot for killing another bullock, I decided upon stopping at the rushy lagoon, until we had provided ourselves with a fresh stock of dried beef.  Accordingly, on the 17th February, we killed Mr. Gilbert’s bullock, which turned out a fine heavy beast, and gave us a large supply of fat meat and suet.  We had formerly been under the erroneous impression that fat meat would not dry and keep; and, consequently, had carefully separated the fat from the meat.  Some chance pieces, however, had shown us, that it not only dried and kept well, but that it was much finer than the lean meat.  We therefore cut up the fat in slices, like the lean; and it was found not only to remain sweet,