Page:Tracks of McKinlay and party across Australia.djvu/345

 soil. A creek to the left about two miles. Went into a low range, with bronze stone to the left, but plenty of food growing between. Saw innumerable traces of kangaroo, but none of the animals. Plenty of emu in the plains, but so wild that one cannot get within 500 yards of them. We shall never cease crossing small creeks to-day. The country is pretty; at least it is diversified with plain, river, and wood, and now and then a nice view—pastoral, decidedly, as I should say. There is plenty of permanent water; pigeons by thousands. Hodgkinson went and shot at some, and that's all, they are so wild. This country differs in that respect from Alexander Selkirk's, for there their tameness "was quite shocking to him;" and here the reverse is the case in every respect, their wildness being excessively disgusting to us. One wild turkey also made his appearance, and he had a shot from a revolver, but also with no effect: he flew away quite coolly. Had we only bagged him, just imagine the breakfast!

We came to a halt while Mr. McKinlay went to the top of a high hill to see the country on the other side. We soon got the "cooey," and off we were again, and soon camped on the creek down which we went a quarter of a mile. The last two miles rather miserable country, spinifex and porcupine grass, with detached conical white clay-slaty hills, timbered however with small white gum.