The hole was about 150 links broad, and * [Footnote:  Blank in original.] feet deep in most places.  In many places the temperature of the water was almost incredibly high, which induced me to try it at several points.  The mean of two on the shady side of the creek gave 97 4/10 degrees.  As may be imagined this water tasted disagreeably warm, but we soon cooled some in water bags, and thinking that it would be interesting to know what we might call cool, I placed the thermometer in a pannikin containing some that appeared delightfully so, almost cold in fact; its temperature was, to our astonishment, 78 degrees.  At half-past six, when a strong wind was blowing from south, and temperature of air had fallen to 80 degrees, the lowest temperature of water in the hose, that had been exposed to the full effect of evaporation for several hours was 72 degrees.  This water for drinking appeared positively cold, and is too low a temperature to be pleasant under the circumstances.  A remarkable southerly squall came on between five and six P.M., with every appearance of rain.  The sky however soon cleared, but the wind continued to blow in a squally and irregular manner from the same quarter at evening.

Wednesday, 19th December, 1860.—­Started at a quarter-past eight A. M., leaving what seemed to be the end of Cooper’s Creek.  We took a course a little to the north of west, intending to try and obtain water in some of the creeks that Sturt mentioned that he had crossed, and at the same time to see whether they were connected with Cooper’s Creek, as appeared most probable from the direction in which we found the latter running, and from the manner in which it had been breaking up into small channels, flowing across the plains in a north and north-north-west direction.  We left on our right the flooded flats on which this branch of the creek runs out, and soon came to a series of sand ridges, the directions of which were between north half-west and north-north-west.  The country is well grassed and supports plenty of salt bush.  Many of the valleys are liable to be inundated by the overflow of the main creek.  They have watercourses and polygonum flats bordered with box trees, but we met with no holes fit to hold a supply of water.  At about ten miles we crossed a large earthy flat lightly timbered with box and gum.  The ground was very bad for travelling on, being much cracked up and intersected by innumerable channels, which continually carried off the water of a large creek.  Some of the valleys beyond this were very pretty, the ground being sound and covered with fresh plants, which made them look beautifully green.  At fifteen miles we halted, where two large plains joined.  Our attention had been attracted by some red-breasted cockatoos, pigeons, a crow, and several other birds, whose presence made us feel sure that there was water not far off; but our hopes were soon destroyed by finding a claypan just drying up.  It contained just sufficient liquid