More rain threatened, but the night was dry, and the morning clear and beautiful.  This creek was the Hamilton.  Two of its native lords visited the camp this morning, and did not appear at all inclined to leave it.  The creek is here broad and sandy:  the timber is small and stunted.  Towards evening the two Hamiltonians put on airs of great impudence, and became very objectionable; two or three times I had to resist their encroachments into the camp, and at last they greatly annoyed me.  I couldn’t quite make out what they said to one another; but I gathered they expected more of their tribe, and were anxiously looking out for them in all directions.  Finally, as our guns wanted discharging and cleaning after the late showers, we fired them off, and so soon as the natives saw us first handle and then discharge them, off they went, and returned to Balclutha no more.

(Illustration:  An incident of travel.)

Going farther up the creek, we met some small tributaries with fine little water-holes.  Some ridges now approached the creek; from the top of one many sheets of water glittered in stony clay-pans.  More westerly the creek ran under a hill.  Crossing another tributary where there was plenty of water, we next saw a large clay-hole in the main creek—­it was, however, dry.  When there was some water in it, the natives had fenced it round to catch any large game that might come to drink; at present they were saved the trouble, for game and water had both alike departed.  Mr. Tietkens, my lieutenant and second in command, found a very pretty amphitheatre formed by the hills; we encamped there, at some clay-pans; the grass, however, was very poor; scrubs appeared on the other side of the creek.  A junction with another creek occurred near here, beyond which the channel was broad, flat, sandy, and covered indiscriminately with timber; scrubs existed on either bank.  We had to cross and recross the bed as the best road.  We found a place in it where the natives had dug, and where we got water, but the supply was very unsatisfactory, an enormous quantity of sand having to be shifted before the most willing horse could get down to it.  We succeeded at length with the aid of canvas buckets, and by the time the whole twenty four were satisfied, we were also.  The grass was dry as usual, but the horses ate it, probably because there is no other for them.  Our course to-day was 8 degrees south of west.  Close to where we encamped were three or four saplings placed in a row in the bed of the creek, and a diminutive tent-frame, as though some one, if not done by native children, had been playing at erecting a miniature telegraph line.  I did not like this creek much more than the Alberga, and decided to try the country still farther north-west.  This we did, passing through somewhat thick scrubs for eighteen miles, when we came full upon the creek again, and here for the first time since we started we noticed some bunches