from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. 49 
small fan-leaved palm is very abundant. The little gooseberry- 
tree becomes a low shrub. 
The tracks of buffaloes became more and more numerous as we 
advanced on the neck of the Peninsula. They formed at last a 
regular broad path along the sea coast, sometimes skirting the 
mangrove swamps, in which all the western and eastern creeks 
end, sometimes entering into the swamp itself. Farther on other 
paths turned off into the forest or along creeks, and formed a 
meshwork which rendered it impossible for me to keep to the 
principal black fellows’ footpath, leading from Nywall’s Lagoon 
to the settlement. We frequently saw buffaloes as we went on, 
and they were very numerous at Baki Baki’s Creek, which joins 
Mountnorris Bay. In riding along it I saw three and four at the 
time hurrying out of the deep holes of water within the creek to 
which they come in the heat of the day to cool themselves. About 
seven miles from Nywall Lagoon, we succeeded in shooting a fine 
beast, of about three years old, which fortunate accident enabled 
me to bring my last pack bullock to the settlement. The buffa¬ 
loes are equally abundant between Raffle’s Bay and the harbour; 
and the whole country, particularly round the Baki Baki Bay 
and on the neck, is as closely covered with buffalo tracks as a 
well-stocked cattle run of New South Wales could be. 
I entered Victoria with one pack bullock and with eight horses. 
We had killed fifteen of our bullocks, and had dried their meat. 
Along the east coast, and at the east side of the gulf, they kept in 
very good condition, and yielded a fine supply of fat meat; but 
at the west side long stages, bad grass, and several waterless 
camps, rendered them very weak, and compelled me to kill them ; 
the heaviest bullock of the lot scarcely yielding a fortnight’s sup¬ 
ply of meat. My horses did exceedingly well. They got several 
times foot sore in passing a very rocky country, but they soon 
recovered on soft flats. At the Burdekin one broke its thigh¬ 
bone. We killed it and dried its meat. At the Lynd another 
died suddenly, probably by the gripes. At the Roper four, the 
finest of the whole lot, were drowned, the banks being very steep 
and boggy, and the river very deep. The loss of these was very 
heavy. I had to throw away the greatest part of my botanical 
vot,. hi. no. i. e 
