prospect looked far more cheering. The far horizon, there,
was bounded by a very long and apparently connected chain of
considerable elevation, seventy to eighty miles away. One conspicuous
mountain, evidently nearer than the longer chain, bore 15 degrees to
the south of west, while an apparent gap or notch in the more distant
line bore 23 degrees south of west. The intervening country appeared
all flat, and very much more open than in any other direction; I could
discern long vistas of green grass, dotted with yellow immortelles,
but as the perspective declined, these all became lost in lightly
timbered country. These grassy glades were fair to see, reminding one
somewhat of Merrie England's glades and Sherwood forests green, where
errant knight in olden days rode forth in mailed sheen; and memory
oft, the golden rover, recalls the tales of old romance, how ladie
bright unto her lover, some young knight, smitten with her glance,
would point out some heroic labour, some unheard-of deed of fame; he
must carve out with his sabre, and ennoble thus his name. He, a giant
must defeat sure, he must free the land from tain, he must kill some
monstrous creature, or return not till 'twas slain. Then she'd smile
on him victorious, call him the bravest in the land, fame and her, to
win, how glorious--win and keep her heart and hand!

Although no water was found here, what it pleases me to call my mind
was immediately made up. I would return at once to the camp, where
water was so scarce, and trust all to the newly discovered chain to
the west. Water must surely exist there, we had but to reach it. I
named these mounts Ayers Range. Upon returning to our camp, six or
seven miles off, I saw that a mere dribble of water remained in the
tank. Gibson was away after the horses, and when he brought them, he
informed me he had found another place, with some water lying on the
rocks, and two native wells close by with water in them, much
shallower than our present one, and that they were about three miles
away. I rode off with him to inspect his new discovery, and saw there
was sufficient surface water for our horses for a day or two.

These rocks are most singular, being mostly huge red, rounded solid
blocks of stone, shaped like the backs of enormous turtles. I was much
pleased with Gibson's discovery, and we moved the camp down to this
spot, which we always after called the Turtle Back. The grass and
herbage were excellent, but the hors