The natives have been reconnoitring us:  we have several times heard them, but have been unable to see them.  At sunset their fires were seen about two miles to the south-west.

May 27.—­At day-light, despatched the other two men and horses to the assistance of the rest, who remained out all night.

A native was seen about half a mile from our fires:  the dogs attacked him, and when called off, he ran away shouting most lustily; he was a very stout man, at least six feet high, entirely naked, with a long bushy beard:  he had no arms of any kind.  At two o’clock, two of the men who had been out all night returned, after an unsuccessful search, leaving three more out to pursue it in every possible direction.  Water is evidently the reason of their straying, as several patches of burnt grass have been passed by them, and they would naturally return to the place where they last found it, if they could find none nearer.  At sunset the men returned with nine of the horses, five being still missing:  they were found ten miles on the road back, and near the place where they fed on the 24th.

May 28.—­At daylight despatched four men on horseback to resume the search for the missing horses, taking with them two days’ provisions.

May 29.—­At four o’clock in the afternoon the men returned, still unsuccessful.

May 30.—­At seven o’clock I proceeded to the north-east with two men, whilst Mr. Evans went to the north-west.  At ten I was fortunate enough to fall in with the horses about eight miles from our camp; returned with them, and prepared every thing for setting forward to-morrow morning.  In one of the brushes an emu’s nest was found, containing ten eggs; our dogs also killed two small birds.  Mr. Evans returned about three o’clock, having seen nothing remarkable:  the country was very thick and brushy, and he was much impeded by creeping vines.

Mr. Cunningham here planted the seeds of quinces, and the stones of peach and apricot trees.

May 31.—­Fine weather as usual, and at nine o’clock we set off with renewed hopes and spirits.  Our first nine miles afforded excellent travelling through an open country of very indifferent soil.  The trees thin and chiefly cypress, with occasionally a large sterculia, but no water whatever:  at the ninth mile we entered a very thick eucalyptus brush, overrun with creepers and prickly acacia bushes.  We continued forcing our way through this desert until sunset, when, finding no hopes of getting through it before dark, we halted in the midst of it, having travelled in the whole nearly twenty miles, and for the last mile been obliged to cut our way with our tomahawks.

Both men and horses were quite knocked up, and our embarrassment was heightened by the want of water for ourselves and them, as this desert did not hold out the slightest hope of finding any.  No herbage of any kind grew on this abandoned plain, being a fine red sand, which almost blinded us with its dust.  It was with some little hesitation that we affixed a name to this brush; but at length nothing occurred to us more expressive of its aspect than EURYALEAN.  This was the first night which we had passed absolutely without water.