Sunday, March 9.

At Escape, or Number 7, Camp—­will be all ready for a start in the morning.  Wind north-east.

Monday, March 10.

Wind north and east, fresh breeze.  Bullocks rather refractory at being packed, consequently late before we started.  The journey today was over stony hills and flats, crossing several small creeks from the more remote hills, some running tributaries of Burke Creek for twelve and a half miles, and for three and three-quarter miles further over similar country, but more flat as we are now approaching the creek, and camped on the outside of a flat with some water and a fair supply of feed.  I was here before the pack animals arrived but, after waiting for them a short time, found that in some of the small watercourses the water seemed to be driving, as I thought with the strength of the wind as is not unusual, and took for the time no further notice; the horses came up first and were unpacked, the camels were some time after and did not arrive until after I had returned from a ride to the top of a hill further up the creek, and at which place I went down to the water and to my astonishment found that the whole valley was a perfect sea, rising fast; on my return to where I had fixed the camp I found that the water had approached rather too close to be comfortable, and on the arrival of the camels had them unpacked some distance out on the top of a mound of stones and had all the horse gear removed there also; the bullocks did not get to camp till a little after sunset—­one of them was so much trouble that I will do without him rather than be pestered with him, and put his load on one of the horses.  The camels travelled over the stones with their loads apparently quite unconcerned; they are undoubtedly the best of all animals for this kind of work, they eat anything nearly, from the gumtree down to the smallest herb, and then come and lie down beside you, whereas horses and bullocks, if there be any lack of feed, will ramble all over the country; with sheep and camels one could travel all over any practicable part of the continent and keep them in condition.

Tuesday, March 11.

Where we had the packs removed from last night and all over the flats is a perfect sea of water, and even up within less than a foot of where I slept.  From the creek having fallen not far from our last camp some days since I was under the impression that I would find it considerably down the further I advanced up its course; but now I find that the cause of its fall then was purely local from the tributaries immediately about and above having ceased with the rain to throw in a supply to keep it up.  It now shows me that this creek must come from some very considerable distance; and I trust it may turn out to come from the north instead of too much east.  It appears from where I was last night to incline towards the north.  Wind from east-south-east.  Started for a gap in the range over top of a stony range to a creek.