far upstream. We are of course very wary and do not get into any deep holes. In about eight weeks from now we shall seriously be considering our return journey. I hope that when I get hold of last Wednesday's mail there may be some information which will enable us to make some definite arrangement and if there is not, we shall have another mail the day before we start from Iron Range. There has of course been no news of our shipment of goods, nor anybody to give us the news; matches are now running short and the original plan of leaving Van here with one or two of the blacks to continue hunting while the rest of us return to Iron Range to attend to the packing and shipping may have to be abandoned because we shall not have enough rations to leave with him. George and Van have gone out tonight to hunt along my gully; I was out last night and think I shall stay in camp this evening. A thing I have to consider carefully now is containers for the things I collect. I have to ration myself on some of the equipment and cannot go out and fill up vials and so on with the same thing over and over again. My nescafe bottles are a good and handy size and two of them are now doing duty as spider containers. We have only two more collecting days at Brown's Creek, before our return to Iron Range but the method of our return is still a matter of conjecture. It may be Charlie Taylor, who inherited Joe's job on the jetty or the Main Roads may crack through again. It made a difference as we shall have to pay Charlie but not the Main Roads lads. Saturday, 17 July 1948. I was a little previous in my entry last night; no sooner had I finished than we heard the noise of a truck coming down the trail. It turned out to be two of the Wenlock miners on their way in to Portland Roads. Word had been received of the arrival on Thursday of the Leisha and they were going in to get their supplies. It is good news for us as well, of course, provided our supplies are on board. We have two orders in with B-P, one for shipment to P.R., which should have been on the Wandana when I went in two weeks ago, and the other for delivery at Annie River Landing. Leisha called at Annie River and we are offering prayers that she did not land both cargoes there. Instead of staying here, it has been decided that Van and Moreton will go on to Wenlock tomorrow when the men return; our scheduled stay there is only for three days and it will give a little more collecting time there. Brown's is just about finished as far as mammal men are concerned. The Wenlock boys will also bring in our mail tomorrow, as well as news about our cargo, so in the morning I shall most likely finish my collecting for this area and devote the afternoon to packing and attending to whatever there may be in the mail. We move back on Monday, get things shipped out for Cairns and Cooktown and then start out for Wenlock ourselves. We have been informed that there are to be three or four parties shortly after we get there, birthdays and so on, and shall be in time for a rousing social season apparently. Wenlock has a population of twelve men and six women (I don't know how many children but have seen four so far); the men are all engaged in gold mining and I think one of their parties might be something to write about. I shall try anyway as I have an idea we shall be invited. Had an enjoyable time with my fishing this afternoon and got a better catch than yesterday but had to fall back on the unfair method of shooting a heavy rifle into the river, stunning the fish. In that way I took about fourteen of them.