486 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



almost grassless camp. Beside the water-hole the NATIVES had 

 been MANUFACTURING SPEARS a few days before. (CAMP 23 : box, 

 broad arrow, J. 23.) 



August 23. The horses had gone back a good way in the night, 

 owing to the poorness of the grass, and it was about 9 o'clock 

 before we made a start. In 10 miles (W. 6 N.) through desert 

 country exactly like that of the previous day the last 4 miles 

 rather harder ground, with occasional outcrops of sandstone and 

 conglomerate we came again on Desert Creek, 1 here flowing to 

 the north-west. Having crossed to the left bank of the creek and 

 continued on our course for about a mile further, we found some 

 grass and water in a marshy bottom and camped for the night. 

 (CAMP 24 : bloodwood, broad arrow, J. 24.) There was a 

 thunderstorm with heavy rain during the night. 



August 27. Having dried our tents, we continued on the 

 same course. In 8 miles we came on two gins carrying a baby- 

 mother, daughter and grandchild probably the first NATIVES 

 we had seen near enough to speak to. The elder woman was 

 hideous by nature and was rendered still more so by having her 

 cheeks daubed with clay. The best that could be said of the younger 

 was that she was less repulsive. She wore a fringe about 4 inches 

 square, but her mother had no covering but mud. They were 

 very much scared at first, but soon became very loquacious. 

 Neither of our black boys understood a word of their language. 

 We made known by signs our anxiety to find water, and the gins 

 pointed to the west. As the gins had more luggage than two 

 could carry, they probably had companions, who may have seen 

 us and hidden themselves. We had the curiosity to overhaul 

 their swags, but I was careful that the boys should take nothing, 

 They had a well-made fishing net and line, about a score of long, 

 thin bamboos for making fish-spears, and a net full of miscellanies, 

 including two old jam- tins, some sea-shells (for drinking cups) 

 and part of an old tent or fly. The European articles were 

 probably spoils from the deserted Coen diggings. I was interested 

 in seeing that the gins had distinctly the instinct of sexual modesty, 

 as they kept getting behind trees and hiding behind one another 

 during their parley with us. When we turned to leave, they 

 followed us till we warned them that we did not desire their com- 

 pany. They seemed pleased at getting permission to retire, and 



1 In a school map issued by the Department of Public Instruction, this creek is 

 named " Jack River." The mistake must have arisen from my route having been 

 marked as parallel to the creek in a MS. map showing the courses of the various! 

 explorers. [The preceding note was added to the MS. before it was forwarded to the! 

 Minister for Mines in 1880. The name of Jack River has been erroneously attributed! 

 to Desert Creek in all subsequent maps. A recent correspondence with the Surveyor- 

 General, Mr. Allan A. Spowers, has resulted in that gentleman agreeing to restore thai 

 name Desert Creek to the creek so named by me, and to apply the name Jack River to I 

 a large branch of the Normanby River (Lat. 15 S.) on which Hann probably camped 

 on 1 5th September, 1872, and which I ran up for a few miles in 1879 (my Camp 28). 

 R. L. J.] 



