spreading on the grassy flat, collected again and found an outlet to the
southward, but found the ground rise in that direction; observed a slight
hollow to the west, for which we steered, but found it terminate on the
sandy plain, and the country became a perfect desert of red sand, with
scattered tufts of triodia and a few bushes of eucalypti and acacia. At
noon, finding it hopeless to proceed further into the desert, we turned
our steps to the north-north-east, and returned to our camp of last
night. In returning to the camp we ascended a slight elevation, from
which there was an uninterrupted view of the desert from east to
south-west. The horizon was unbroken; all appeared one slightly
undulating plain, with just sufficient triodia and bushes growing on it
to hide the red sand when viewed at a distance. The day was remarkably
cool and cloudy; the temperature at noon 86 degrees. Though the rain at
the camp had been abundant during the previous night, it had not extended
more than five miles into the desert, which is more remarkable, as the
clouds were moving to the south.

TURN TO THE WEST.

10th February.

As the horses required a day's rest, we remained at our camp, which
enabled us to repair our saddles and perform other necessary work.
Repaired the chronometer and one of the aneroid barometers, which had
been broken by the motion of one of the pack-horses. As there was no
practicable route to the south, and the sandstone hills to the north
seemed to diminish in elevation to the east, I decided on following the
northern limit of the desert to the west till some line of practicable
country was found by which to penetrate the country to the south. In
selecting a westerly route I was also influenced by the greater elevation
of the country on the western side of the Victoria, and the fact that all
the larger tributaries join from that side of the valley. It is also
probable that, should the waters of the interior not be lost in the sandy
desert, they will follow the southern limit of the elevated tract of
sandstone which occupies north-west Australia from Roebuck Bay to the
Gulf of Carpentaria, both of which points are nearly in the same latitude
as our present position, from which it may be assumed that the line of
greatest elevation is between the 17th and 18th parallels. None of the
rivers crossed by Leichhardt are of sufficient magnitude to drain the
country beyond the coast range, and therefore any streams de