at the head of a deep little rocky gorge, whose entrance is guarded by a large fig tree, is a very fine rock-hole.  This was the promised water, and our native friend was free to return to his family; he was greatly pleased at the bargain being carried out, and had evidently not expected it.  Possibly what he has heard of the white-fella is not much to his credit!  The fig tree afforded a splendid shade from the burning sun, and in a recess in the rock close by we could sit in comparative coolness.  Here the native artist had been at work, his favourite subject being snakes and concentric rings.

A steep gorge, not very easy for camels to pass along, led up to the rock-hole, which lies under a sheltering projection of rock.  From the rock above a good view is obtained; sand-ridges to the West, to the North and East tablelands.  Most noticeable are Mounts Elgin, Romilly, and Stewart, bearing from here 346 degrees, 4 degrees, 16 degrees respectively.  These hills are named after three of my brothers-in-law.  They are of the usual form—­that is to say, flat-topped with steep sides—­Mount Elgin especially appearing like an enormous squared block above the horizon.  To the South-East of Mount Stewart are two smaller table-tops close together.

As I walked over the rocks I noticed numerous wallabies, of which Godfrey shot several later; they were excellent eating, not unlike rabbit.  Leaving the rock-hole, we steered for Mount Romilly, first following down the little creek from the gorge until it ran out into the sand in a clump of bloodwoods.  Then crossing a plain where some grass grew as well as spinifex, we came again into sand-ridges, then another plain, then a large, dry clay-pan West of Mount Stewart, then more ridges up to the foot of Mount Romilly.  It was here that we must have crossed the route of Colonel Warburton in 1873, though at the time I could not quite make out the relative positions of our two routes on the map.

Colonel Warburton, travelling from East to West, would be more or less always between two ridges of sand, and his view would therefore be very limited, and this would account for his not having marked hills on his chart, which are as large as any in the far interior of the Colony.  In his journal, under date of September 2nd, we read:  “. . .  There are hills in sight; those towards the North look high and hopeful, but they are quite out of our course.  Other detached, broken hills lie to the West, so our intention is to go towards them.”  Then, on September 3rd:  “N.W. by W. to a sandstone hill” (probably Mount Romilly).  “North of us there is a rather good-looking range running East and West with a hopeful bluff at its Western end” (probably Twin Head).  From the top of Mount Romilly a very prominent headland can be seen bearing 7 degrees, and beyond it two others so exactly similar in shape and size that we called them the Twins.  For these we steered over the usual sand-ridges and small plains, on which a tree (VENTILAGO VIMINALIS) new to us was noticed; here, too, was growing the hibiscus STURTII, whose pretty flowers reminded us that there were some things in the country nice to look upon.