THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 169 



assisted by Mr. Carstairs and his friends. Bidding good-bye to 

 these kind people, we were not long in choosing our camping 

 ground, our previous insular experience being of great assistance 

 to us. Unfortunately, water was at an inconvenient distance 

 away from us, but we soon made satisfactory arrangements with a 

 resident to supply us during our stay, which ended our little 

 difficulty. The remainder of the day was spent in pitching our 

 tents and arranging the luggage for convenient use. We found 

 three tents necessary — one for sleeping accommodation, one for 

 stores, and the third for cameras, ammunition, specimens, &c. 

 Early to bed was the first order from the leader. A stretcher for 

 five had been built by one of the party, making a very comfortable 

 make-shift for a bed, and doing away with any fear of damp 

 ground and snakes, which one of our members dreaded so 

 much. 



14TH November. — Our sportsman was off early with " Dave " 

 Maynard (a half-caste, whose dwelling was some little distance 

 from our camp) duck-shooting, or rather swamp-wading, and 

 came back a few hours afterwards very disappointed, no ducks 

 having been seen. Another party went exploring round Trousers 

 Point, and after a few hours returned with little better result, 

 shooting merely a Yellow-bellied Parrakeet and a Long-tailed 

 Superb Warbler, a male bird in full nuptial plumage. They found 

 the scrub in many places difficult to penetrate. 



15TH November. — Shooting party out again with no results. 

 Breakfast over, we formed a party of four and ascended one of 

 the peaks of Flinders (1,500 feet above sea level and unnamed), 

 where we took several photographs of Strzelecki and other peaks. 

 During our ascent we gathered several botanical specimens, Mr. 

 Campbell finding, on a rocky ledge, a fine clump of the orchid 

 Dendrohium striolatum in full bloom. At the foot of this peak 

 was a nasty belt of scrub ti-tree, which had been under the 

 influence of fire or something else, and had been blown down 

 with the branches the wrong way. We had to go through about 

 half a mile or more of this belt, being relieved occasionally by 

 wallaby tracks, and we were extremely glad when we got through 

 it. The return, of course, was not so difficult, the branches this 

 time lying the right way, and all we had to do was simply slide 

 down them. On the way back we heard the pretty notes of the 

 Grey-tailed Thickhead [Pachyce^jhala glaucura), and soon found 

 out the nest with three eggs, beautifully placed in the fork of a ti- 

 tree. On getting back to camp we found Mr. Gundersen with a 

 friend had come round from Pat's River. 



I 6th November. — Our sportsman, not to be beaten, left again 

 at daybreak, this time returning with three species of beautiful 

 ducks, which made a welcome addition to our larder. Mr. 

 Ashworth departed with our visitors for Pat's River to try and 



