CHAPTER VII.
THE GREAT STONY DESERT.
Editor's Remarks on the features of the Desert—Repeated Traces of Burke's Party—February 10th, McKinlay seriously ill; and, 19th, also Middleton—25th, Burke's Creek—27th, 28th, Very heavy Rains—March 1st, Around Camp all Flooded; Difficult Extrication—8th, Named "Escape Camp"—Fine Weather and extraordinary Vegetation—Features of the Country—13th, Elliott's Knob—16th, McKinlay's description of the Country; Browne Creek; Ellar's and Warren's tiers of Tabletops—Goat's hair Head-ornament and part of a Greatcoat in a Native Whirlie—Diminishing Rations and sorry Substitutes.
The reader, in entering upon this long chapter, may conjecture that there is nothing before him but a wearying uniformity of arid wastes. The account we have given in the last chapter, extracted from Mr. McKinlay's journal, of his four days' excursion into the Desert, will have done nothing to prevent such a conjecture. The description given by the travellers of a scene so wonderfully different in its character when they had entered this Desert, is most striking, and is well worthy of the attention of those who would know of all the peculiarities
