Page:Journals of Several Expeditions Made in Western Australia.djvu/61

 miles, during which we frequently met with a good soil; we twice crossed what we supposed to be the Helena, but which here was only a chain of pools unconnected by any stream, the bed lying S. and S.E. through a valley of three quarters of a mile in length and half a mile in breadth, and having also passed several dry beds of streams, we ascended a hill shaped like the one for which we had been steering, and had a view to the E. for ten miles, bounded by high hills; bivouaced at a quarter past 4, p.m., near a small stream running E.S.E. Our walk to-day was frequently over a grassy country, with good soil; and although generally hilly and rocky, produced trees of great height and large dimensions.—Third day's journey sixteen miles.

Dec. 10th.—At $6 1/4$ a.m. ascended a steep hill and came to a generally level and sandy country, appearing to decline to the S.E.; after proceeding about eleven miles came to a dry swamp, which we followed for a mile in an easterly direction, and changed our course to S.E. for half a mile further to endeavour to find water, but without our being able to procure any, when we again steered E. for the distance of four miles, to the top of a hill; from its summit the country appeared pretty level to the S.E., and a valley in that direction lying not far off, we directed our course to it to obtain water, which we found there in a swamp, being the first we met with after leaving a pool a mile from last night's bivouac; here we halted for the night. The most perceptible change to-day was from a hilly to a more level country, our course frequently lying over small plains, the soil on which was commonly of a sandy nature—Seventeen miles extent of fourth day's journey.

Dec. 11th.—At half-past 6 left our bivouac and