a nuisance in driving the horses by rushing among them on the march and out through them in front and on all sides, causing them to travel in an unsteady manner and assisting to further tear the bags.  All the patients getting on well.  Natives burning down this creek or river some little distance and ahead and a little to the left of our course today, the first we have seen for a few days.  I omitted to mention a couple of days ago falling in with a number of frameworks about six feet long by four wide and three high, risen by four forks placed on the ground, then side pieces, and the top covered with similar pieces closely all over lengthways, and on top of that grass; then fires at head, feet and both sides.  I should say to sleep on during wet weather.  Killed our bullock but little fat on him, but he is not of a fat kind.

Sunday, June 8.

Camp 14.  Wind from east and north of east in the morning.  Cutting up and drying the beef; the fat drying won’t detain us.  A great abundance of the River McKenzie bean here on the sandy parts of the watercourse.  Here the watercourse is about 100 yards broad, in many places bergues of sand separating it into different channels.  Wild dogs abundant.  Saw traces of kangaroo, emu, and wallaby on our way here yesterday.  Wind changed during the afternoon to south-east and south-south-east.  This sheet of water is from 250 to 300 yards long and twenty yards broad.  Kirby much better and the others getting quite convalescent.

Monday, June 9.

In Camp 14.  Drying the beef, shoeing, mending pack-bags, and various other little things etc.  No dew last night.  Still morning.  Most beautiful weather.  What little wind there is is from south by west but hardly perceptible.  I took Middleton with me to go out to reconnoitre and feel our way for next stage through the hills ahead.  Found that the watercourse comes from north or a little west of north from between the heavy-timbered ranges to north and west, and bald hills, or nearly so, to north and east, and probably winds round nearer its source more to the east.  A number of thinly-wooded hills with small creeks running from them to west and south appear to run round south for some distance, perhaps ten to fifteen miles or more.  Beyond the highest in the distance the natives are busy burning, and this leads me to suppose they are on the other or principal branch of the Flinders River; but I shall know more about it in a few days.  Abundance of water in the small creeks as far east and south as I went today and some lagoons in the flats.  The natives commence their range of fires from 20 degrees west of south to 30 degrees east of south, and I think I shall find that it will meet me on my course.  Wind in the afternoon from south by east, strong occasionally, towards evening it died away.  Beef now dry.  We start from here tomorrow if all is right and we have nothing more to detain us.  The horses are shod except one and that one, one of the best, no shoes being large enough.  I hope he will be able to get along.  Our food now consists of about 230 pounds of dry and salt beef, everything else in the shape of food gone but I think we will have sufficient to carry us into the settled districts of Queensland on the Burdekin River where we will be able to get a fresh supply.  We have a little salt and amongst the lot about half a pound of soap.