My reckoning cannot be far out. I found, on taking out my
instruments, that one of the spare thermometers was broken, and the
glass of my aneroid barometer cracked; the latter I believe not
otherwise injured. This was done by the camel having taken it into
his head to roll while the pack was on his back.
Tuesday, 8th January, 1861.--Started at a quarter past five A.M.
with a load of water, determined to be independent of all creeks
and watercourses. At a mile and a half, found surface water in a
small creek, and at a mile farther, water in two or three places on
the open plains. The country we crossed for the first ten miles
consists of fine open plains of firm argillaceous soils, too stiff
and hard to be affected by the small quantity of rain that has
fallen as yet. They are subject to inundations from the overflow of
a number of small creeks, which intersect them in a direction
east-north-east to west-south-west. Nearly all the creeks are lined
with box trees and shrubs in a tolerably healthy state; of the
remains of dead trees there is only a fair proportion to the living
ones. After traversing a plain of greater extent than the rest, we,
at ten miles, reached the creek, proportionately large and
important looking.
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