Proceeding on our journey, we ascended the range, and travelled between four and five miles on its level summit, which was covered with open forest, interspersed with thickets of Acacias and Casuarinas.  From the extremity of the range we enjoyed a very fine and extensive view.  Ranges of mountains with conspicuous peaks, cupolas, and precipitous walls of rock, were observed extending at various distances from west by north to north-west.  The most distant range was particularly striking and imposing; I called it “Expedition Range,” and to a bell-shaped mountain bearing N. 68 degrees W., I gave the name of “Mount Nicholson,” in honour of Dr. Charles Nicholson, who first introduced into the Legislative Council of New South Wales, the subject of an overland expedition to Port Essington; and to a sharp peak N. 66 degrees W., the name of “Aldis’s Peak,” in acknowledgment of the kind assistance received from Mr. Aldis of Sydney.  We then descended, with great difficulty into a broad valley, bounded on either side by fine slopes and ridges, openly timbered with silver-leaved Ironbark.  On the small well-grassed flats along the watercourse, the flooded-gum and apple-trees grew to a considerable size.

The morning was cloudy, with occasional drops of rain; but it cleared up towards noon, and, near sunset, a wall of dark clouds rose in the west, over the ranges.  Thunder-storms very generally come with westerly cloudy weather, with north-westerly, and northerly winds.  We busied ourselves in extracting the oil from the skin of the emu:  this operation was performed by suspending it on sticks before a gentle fire, the oil dripping from it into a shallow vessel.  It is of a light amber colour, and is very useful in oiling the locks of our fire-arms; it has been considered a good anti-rheumatic, and I occasionally used it for that purpose.

Mr. Gilbert skinned the tail of the kangaroo to make a bag for holding fat; but it broke and ripped so easily when dry, as to render it unfit for that purpose.  We used the skins of the kangaroos to cover our flour-bags, which were in a most wretched condition.  Our latitude was 25 degrees 19 minutes 19 seconds.

Nov. 28.—­Charley and Brown informed us that they had followed the watercourse, and had come to a broad river with precipitous banks, which would not allow any passage for our horses and cattle; they also stated that the watercourse on which we were encamped, became a rocky gully, and that it would be impossible to cross it lower down.  From this information I supposed that a river, like the Robinson, rising in many gullies of the north-east ranges, and flowing in south-west direction was before us; I, therefore, decided upon heading it.  It was, however, very difficult to find a leading spur, and we frequently came on deep and impassable gullies, surrounded by a dense thicket of cypresspine, and a great variety of shrubs peculiar to sandstone rock.  After travelling about nine miles in a N. 15 degrees E. direction,