June 25,—­Proceeded down the river, and at three o’clock halted for the night, having performed about eleven miles; the country barren, even to the very verge of the stream, which continues to run nearly west.  We were obliged to keep at a small distance from the river, owing to large lagoons, partly full of water, which would have otherwise interrupted our course, or rather our multitude of courses; for I never saw a stream with such opposite windings, and no one reach was a quarter of a mile long, so that it may be said to resemble a collar of SS.  The opposite plains were named Butterworth Plains.

Several new plants were the result of to-day’s research, among them a new species of amaryllis, upon which the botanists prided themselves much; for in this country few were supposed to be in existence.

June 26—­The morning cold and frosty.  At nine o’clock we proceeded down the river, which inclined to the south of west for ten miles; when at three o’clock we stopped for the evening.  We passed through a country to the full as barren as any we had yet seen.  There were occasional clear spaces, but for the greater part thick cypress bushes, acacia, and other low shrubs, rendered it difficult for the horses to pass.  On the plain, the acacia pendula again made a very fine appearance.

The timber on the intermediate banks of the stream became scarcer and smaller; and from the marks on the trees in the swamps, it sometimes overflows them to the depth of two feet; but they have now apparently been long dry, the little water remaining in the hollows or holes being a milky white.

The abundance of white cockatoos and crows, which is constantly about the banks of the river, is astonishing; the other smaller birds appear to be also common to the east coast.  Since we have been on the river, no recent traces of the natives have been seen; here, as higher up the river, they rather seem to shun it, and frequent the higher grounds in preference:  perhaps their food is more easily procured on those grounds than on the river, particularly as they appear unacquainted with the method of taking the fish by hook and line.

As the horses were by no means in a condition to be forced, I determined to remain here to-morrow to refresh them, and set forward again on Saturday morning.

June 27.—­After breakfast, I sent two men down the river to examine our route for to-morrow:  one of them crossed over to the north side, to endeavour to reach some open spaces of plains which we saw from our tent.  In the course of the afternoon they both returned; one, who had gone a little way inland on this side, could make no progress for extensive swamps, covered with water of the depth of from two to four feet, and abounding with black swans and wild fowl.  The other man was also unable to reach the plains on the other side for water supplied from a creek of the river, and forming an extensive and deep morass.