18 CENTKAL AUSTKALIAN 



and continued for five miles. The rest of the day was spent in 

 working a passage through dense mulga scrub and porcupine sand- 

 hills, trending N. and S. Camped at 5 p.m., having travelled 

 twenty-one miles. At this point the Gardiner Range is distant six 

 miles to the N.W., and it is quite evident that I have missed Glen 

 Edith and the probabilities are that we were close to it the night 

 we were overtaken by the rain. Bar. 27 # 575in., ther. 74° at 5 

 p.m. No birds or animals seen to-day. 



Monday, April 29th.— Camp No. 23, Glen Edith. Bar. 27-580in., 



ther. 62° at dawn. — Started at 8, returning upon my tracks to the 



point where the unusual mulga trees were seen, which is the 



eastern extremity of the cliff spoken of by Mr. Gosse ; kept along 



the foot of this for six miles when Billy left us to reconnoitre, he 



soon came back from the southwards telling us that he had found 



it, but that there was not much water. Turning down a small 



watercourse that ran to the southwards among low sandstone hills 



we arrived at Glen Edith, but not until Billy had taken me right 



up to the " Tarn " could I see any spot likely to hold water. 



Everything here is in miniature — the hills, the creek, the Glen, 



and I am sorry to say the water ; at present it is eighteen inches 



deep, five yards wide, and twenty yards long ; and by the time 



twelve camels have had one drink, not much will remain. The 



weather is moderately cool and after the first drink they may 



not come for more for a day or two, but it is evident more will soon 



be required. The camels were unloaded at a spot where traces of 



an old fireplace were observed, and where were several marked 



trees. It took a long time to water the camels only two being able 



to water at one time, the waterhole or tam being pinched up 



between two large masses of rock, leaving only one end available 



for watering at. Round about this very pretty little spot are a 



number of white gum trees, the largest may be three feet in 



diameter, while on the rocks are dwarf pines. I looked about for 



a long time before I could find a tree that would be likely to be 



marked by Mr. Gosse, for I knew that he used rather large 



characters, but Fred found one which showed a long narrow strip 



of exposed and blackened wood, by very carefully chipping upon 



the new bark, which showed a faint line where the bark had been 



taken off when the tree was first marked, and by exercising the 



greatest care the overgrowth of wood and bark was removed upon 



each side leaving the tree branded and fully exposed as upon the 



day it was done. The tree marked by Mr. Giles, Glen Edith, with 



date, was so grown over and rotted away that the overgrowth came 



away in small fragments ; the tree branded C ARMICHAEL showed 



the whole name with the exception of the two first and last letters. 



Mr. Chewings' tree marked in 1886 was, of course, quite complete. 



no overgrowth worth mentioning having taken place. A small tree 



marked by Mr. Gosse with a broad arrow was so overgrown that 



only the shaft of the arrow remained. Of any seeds of plants that 



