At 7.10 a.m. resumed our course south-east, along the eastern side of the grassy plain. The scrubby hills gradually approached on each side; at 9.30 the good land terminated, the estimate being 2,000 acres on the south bank of the Greenough River. The country then became sandy, producing little besides scrub and a few banksia trees. At 10.0 passed about one mile west of Mount Hill; passed a small pool of water in a watercourse trending south-west. At 12.50 p.m. altered the course to 170 degrees magnetic; at 3.0 entered a thick forest of York gum; at 3.25 changed the course to 130 degrees magnetic and entered a grassy flat extending to the Irwin River, which we reached at 3.55, and following it upwards till 4.15, bivouacked on the left bank in a large flat. Shortly before reaching the river a large party of natives came up with us, after tracking the horses for some distance. Seventy or eighty men came to the bivouac, and, with the exception of one man who shipped a spear, making a demonstration of throwing it at us, they evinced a desire for the more peaceable amusement of eating damper and fat bacon. A few of the natives spoke a little English, having been for a short time in the settled districts. At sunset they retired to the other side of the river, and all appeared quiet when my watch commenced at 10.30; but at midnight I detected a native crawling up amongst the thick grass about ten yards from the back of the tents. He lay quiet till I almost turned him out of his hiding-place with the muzzle of my gun, when he took to his heels, but I did not consider it prudent either to fire at or capture him. 2nd November. The natives being too numerous to allow any of the party leaving the camp to examine the country around without incurring greater risk than seemed prudent, we left our bivouac at 7.45 a.m. and steered north 170 degrees east magnetic over sandy hills, covered with short scrub. After two hours the country became nearly level, with small patches of swampy ground, which would be very wet in the rainy season, but was at present quite dry; the rising grounds were sand, covered with short scrub with a few scattered banksia trees. At 5.40 p.m. struck the left bank of the stream which has been considered to be the Arrowsmith River of Captain Grey, though I have now some reason to doubt its identity. The banks of the stream are sandstone and sand, and the channel scarcely three yards wide, with a strip of grassy thicket twenty yards in width along the stream, which is the only feed near the river, as the plain through which it runs produces nothing but scrub and banksia with a few grass-trees. We bivouacked a short distance below the spot where we first struck the stream, which was still running. 3rd November.