t may, it was impossible for me to remain in
such a place, and I therefore turned back towards the Darling, and
pitched my tents at its junction with the Williorara.

For three or four days prior to our arrival at Laidley's Ponds, the
upward course of the river had been somewhat to the west of north. The
course of Laidley's Ponds was exceedingly tortuous, but almost due west.
The natives explained to us that it served as a channel of communication
between two lakes that were on either side of it, called Minandichi and
Cawndilla. They stated that the former extended between the Darling and
the ranges, but that Cawndilla was to the westward at the termination of
Laidley's Ponds, by means of which it is filled with water every time the
Darling rose; but they assured me that the waters had not yet reached the
lake. It was nevertheless evident that we were in an angle, and our
position was anything but a favourable one. From the point where we had
now arrived the upward course of the Darling for 300 miles is to the
N.E., that which I was anxious to take, was to the W.N.W. It was evident,
therefore, that until every attempt to penetrate the interior in that
direction had proved impracticable, I should not have been justified in
pushing farther up the river. My hopes of finding the Williorara a
mountain stream had been wholly disappointed, and the intelligence both
Mr. Eyre and I had received of it from the Murray natives had turned out
to be false, for instead of finding it a medium by which to gain the
hills, I now ascertained that it had not a course of more than nine or
ten miles, and that it stood directly in my way. We were as yet ignorant
what the conduct of the natives towards us would be, having seen none or
very few who could have taken part in the dispute between Sir Thomas
Mitchell and the Williorara tribe in 1836. Expecting that they might be
hostilely disposed towards us, I hesitated leaving the camp, lest any
rupture should take place between my men and the natives during my
absence; much less could I think of fortifying the party in a position
from which, in the event of an attack, they would find it difficult to
retreat. I thought it best therefore to move the camp to a more distant
situation with as little delay as possible, and send Mr. Poole to visit
the ranges, and ascertain from their summit the probable character of the
N.W. interior.

Having come to this decision, I procured a guide to accompany that
o