August 13.—­We proceeded at our usual hour; and did not halt till near sunset, but accomplished no more than six miles, in the course of which the horses were obliged to be unladen, and the men carried the loads upwards of half a mile before the horses could be got across the quicksands.  They are indeed properly so termed, consisting of two or three inches of light mould, on about eighteen inches of loose sand, the whole covering a rocky or stony bottom.  On treading on them, water would fly up several inches; and it was with difficulty men could pass over them, much less horses.  Quicksands of a similar nature prevented our reaching a small creek running under a high craggy ridge of hills; we therefore stopped at the edges of them, every body completely worn out.  The appearance of the country passed over was most desolate and forbidding, but quite open, interspersed with miserable rocky crags, on which grew the cypress and eucalyptus.  On the more level portions of the country, a new and large species of eucalyptus, and another of its genus (the iron bark), were the principal if not the only trees.  Many of the rocks were pointed and basaltic, but the general species was a coarse sandstone.  Miserable as the country was in other respects, it was fruitful in new plants.

August 14.—­As it rained hard during the night, and the rain still continued to fall in thick showers, I thought it advisable to rest.

August 15.—­Cloudy, with strong winds from the south-east.  We crossed the creek about two miles from our resting-place, but soon found that any attempt to advance in that quarter would be abortive, the morass and quicksands extending into the very water, and denying all egress.  We therefore recrossed the rivulet about a mile more northerly with better success, and succeeded in gaining some stony hills, which, with two or three intervening marshy valleys, continued for the rest of the day’s route; the latter part being up very high, rocky, barren hills, with narrow defiles.  From these heights we descended into a pretty valley of considerable extent, and, to our great joy, of sound, firm soil, with plenty of good grass:  the water however was strongly impregnated with iron, so that we could hardly drink it.  This valley, which we named Wiltden Valley, was enclosed on all sides except the north, by lofty, rocky hills of coarse sandstone, adorned with various species of acacia in full bloom, with a vast variety of other flowering shrubs of the most beautiful and delicate description, adding greatly to our botanical collection.  We accomplished in the whole twelve or thirteen miles, about six of which were in the direction of our proper course.