Cooper's Creek¹

From this point the creek appeared to be bounded by forest land, partly scrubby and partly grassed. To the south there were flats seemingly subject to floods, and lightly timbered, and beyond these were low sand hills. To the S.W. a high line of trees marked the course of a tributary² from that quarter. To the north the country was exceedingly sandy and low, as well as to the east; and the direction of the sand ridges³ was only 5 degrees to the west of north, so that from this point to our extreme west they gradually alter their line 17 degrees, as in 138 degrees of longitude⁴ they ran 22 degrees to the west of north. I was not able to take more than one bearing from the hill I had ascended⁵, to a remarkable⁷ flat-topped hill nearly N.E. I now crossed the creek on an east course, and traversed sandy plains, and low undulations, there being a tolerable quantity of grass on both; and at four miles changed the route a little to the northward⁸ for a small conical sand hill, from which the flat-topped hill bore 41 degrees, and from it some darker hills were visible, somewhat more to the eastward⁹, and as they appeared to be different from the sand ridges, I again changed my course for them, and crossing the bed of the creek at four miles, ascended a small stony¹⁰ range trending to the eastward, the creek being directly at their base. Following up its proper left bank I ascended another part of the range at three miles and a half, from which the flat-topped hill bore 24 degrees, and the last hill I had ascended 239 degrees. The channel of the creek had been dry for several miles, but we now saw a large sheet of water bearing due east, distant two miles, to which we made our way, and then stopped. From the top of this range the creek seemed to pass over extensive and bare plains in many branches, southward there were some stony hills, treeless and herbless, like those nearer to us. I was fairly driven down to the valley by the flies, as numerous on the burning stones on the top of the hill as any where else, and I left a knife and a pocket handkerchief behind me. Notwithstanding the magnificent sheet of water we were now resting near, I began thus early to doubt the character of this creek. It had changed so often during the day, at one place having a broad channel, at another splitting into numerous small ones, having a great portion of its bed dry, and then presenting large and beautiful reaches to view, that I hardly knew what opinion to form of it; I also observed that it was leading away from the hills and taking us into a low and

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