EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 17 



Collected rock specimen No. 31. Travelled over spinifex and oak 

 sandhills with broad valleys, in which were clumps of mulga and 

 kangaroo grass. Camped at 5 p.m., having found a fairly good 

 feeding patch for the camels. Travelled twenty-one miles. Bar. 

 27 , 875in., ther. 75° at 5 p.m. 



Friday, Ap> il 26th.— ( !amp No. 21 ; S. latitude 23° 47' 17". Bar, 

 27"900in., ther. 61° at dawn. — Cloudy all night. A considerable 

 amount of moisture in the atmocphere this morning. Started at 

 9 a.m. on the same bearing as yesterday, S. 67° W. for six miles, 

 continued in imdulating oak and spinifex country, the sandhills- 

 then became closer and mallee and mulga took the place of the oak 

 timber. At this point a peaked hill, which I take to be Mount 

 Peculiar, bears N. b° E. distant about thirty-five miles. Turned 

 S. 80° W. to avoid a sandstone ridge, kept on this bearing for 

 three miles and then turned on a bearing of S. 48° E., continued 

 along the foot of sandstone ridge for three miles, and then turned 

 N. 10° E. for one mile and camped on spinifex sandhills with 

 oaks. I think I am now in the neighborhood of Glen Edith, for 

 Mr. Gosse in his diary mentions a sandstone cliff such as I met 

 with before turning on the last bearing. Bar. 27 - 750in., ther. 78° 

 at 6 p.m. No birds or animals seen to-day. 



Saturday, April 11th.— Camp No. 21; S. latitude 23° 48' 25". 

 Bar. 27 - 825in., ther. 62°. — I was awakened at dawn by the sound 

 of heavy thunder to the westward. Called all hands to get saddles 

 and boxes together for the rain was commencing; had everything 

 snug and breakfast over when the rain set in so steadily that I 

 decided to remain for the day and had the tent put up ; it rained 

 steadily until midday. Fred Warman and Billy started off on foot 

 to look for Glen Edith and later in the day 1 went out on a cameL 

 to try and find it ; noticed a number of native tracks going south- 

 westerly, and shall follow them up to-morrow. Unfortunately, I 

 have not got Mr. Giles' journal, otherwise I should find it easily 

 enough, for I feel sure I am not a great distance away from it. 

 Noticed a few swamp hawks hovering over the camp, but which 

 flew off to the eastward. 



Sunday, April 28th. — Camp No. 22. Bar. 27-725in., ther. 62° 

 at dawn — Slight east wind, clear and fine. Started at 9 a.m. on a 

 bearing of S. 40° E. to intersect the black's tracks seen yesterday. 

 After travelling one mile turned upon the tracks S. 15° W. ; at two 

 miles sandstone hills, about which we rambled in endeavoring to 

 find the tracks, turned east as Billy had evidently lost the tracks 

 among the stones ; in three miles reached the sandstone cliff 

 spoken of by Mr. Gosse in his diary, but I imagine this must be 

 quite its eastern extremity. A few specimens of a species of mulga 

 that is rarely met with were growing here, their straight, elegant, 

 and slender tapering stems twenty feet high, with light horizontal- 

 lying limbs, like a Norfolk Island pine, presenting a very beautiful 

 appearance; the singular oak and spinifex undulations here set ia 



