1920.] Western Australian Birds. 683 



old friend. He was seriously unwell, and asked nie if I would 

 stay at the lighthouse and help tlie assistant keeper to keep 

 things going theie, while lie went in one o£ the whaling tugs 

 to see the doctor at Carnarvon, and either returned himsell: or 

 send up another man to take his place ; so I was " hung up " 

 there for three weeks, which delay in a great measure spoilt 

 the trip. I did not like to lose so much time from my 

 two months" hire of the huggy, but I was able to do some 

 collecting, and the horses, which were in poor condition, im- 

 proved very much before I proceeded north again on 17 July, 

 reaching the Yardie Creek on the 19th, where I camped for a 

 week, again without seeing a single Stipiturus or Eremiornis. 

 Much of my time was daily occupied in having to find my 

 horses, which were hobbled out to graze where they liked ; 

 then having to lead them two miles up the rugged stony 

 ranges and down a very nasty piece of broken cliff, as near 

 as I could get them to one of the pools of water, the 

 "nearest" being within about two hundred yards of 

 boulders and rocky steps. As these two horses were 

 frightened and nervous and would not go any further, I had 

 to cross this intervening space with a bucket, fill it at the 

 pool, and scramble and climb back to the horses with it. 

 They usually required four or five bucketsful between them, 

 and some water was always s})ilt, Then I had to fill my two- 

 gallon canvas water-bag for a day's supply for myself and 

 lead the horses back to the camp. I also had to shoot a 

 kangaroo, wallaby, or something for meat and do my own 

 cooking. Leaving the Yardie on the 26th, I went on north- 

 wards, having to dig down several feet in loose running- 

 sand near the beach for the next supply of water for the 

 horses and myself. The " digging " was done by a large 

 conch shell. I can reconnnend this work as a good test for 

 anyone's temper, as the sand invariably " caves ^' in several 

 times, just as the water is reached. The next day 1 was so 

 fortunate as to meet two old blackfellows who had been 

 " station hands "' for me at Point Cloates, and wished they 

 had turned up sooner, as they could have taken a lot of the 

 above work off my hands. Our next camp was nearly 



