Page:Tracks of McKinlay and party across Australia.djvu/321

 with flowers of all colours and tints. One native was seen to-day on the top of one of the hills, but we could not get within speaking distance. We found to-day a quantity of the vegetable before alluded to: the native name is "adley."

Several ducks' and pigeons' eggs found to-day. Bell and Hodgkinson left camp directly after they came in for the purpose of shooting, and they brought home some ducks and pigeons. One or two new birds were seen to-day; flies very bad.

14th. Started early this morning on eastern course, to avoid the flood, and went some miles along stony ridges, then through swamp and water. On our left a small but pretty lake, and a long sandy range on our right; in the distance there is a well-watered creek, which seems to supply this small lake. We came to camp on a sand hill close to a claypan, with shallow water. The flood is seen some four miles off to the west of north. There seem to be interminable sand hills ahead. Country to-day was pretty, with much fine feed for the animals, and the "adley" in abundance, with its elegant little yellow blossom. The sand hills were covered with various flowers of all colours. The smell of the flowers is delicious, so no one must tell me any more that the flowers of this country have no smell.

15th. (Camp xii.) Off again, but detained a little, as one of the camels' saddles was wrong; it