nd knowing it to be raised
by the party, after having taken bearings and tried the point of boiling
water, we descended to overtake it. In doing this we crossed several
spurs, and found tolerably wide and grassy flats between them. Following
one of these down we soon got on the open plains, and about half-past
seven met Mr. Poole, who had left the party to go to a fire he had
noticed to the eastward, which he thought was a signal from us that we
had found water; but such had not been our good fortune.

I now halted the party until the moon should rise, and we threw ourselves
on the ground to take a temporary repose, the evening being cool and
agreeable. At 11 we again moved on, keeping a north course, under Mr.
Poole's guidance, partly over stony plains, and partly over plains of
better quality, having some little grass upon them, until 8 a.m. of the
morning of the 29th, when we stopped for an hour. As day dawned, Mr.
Poole had caught sight of the hill, as he thought, to the base of which
he wished to lead the party, and under this impression we continued our
northerly course at 9, until by degrees we entered a low brush, and from
it got into a pine forest and amongst ridges of sand. Mr. Poole had
crossed a similar country; but the sandy ridges had soon ceased, and in
the hope that such would now be the case he pushed forward until it was
too late to retreat, for the exertion had already been very great to the
animals in so heated and inhospitable a desert. In vain did the men urge
their bullocks over successive ridges of deep loose sand, the moment they
had topped one there was another before them to ascend. Seeing that they
were suffering from the heat, I desired the men to halt, and sending Mr.
Poole and Mr. Stuart forward with the spare horses and sheep to relieve
them as soon as possible, I remained with the drays, keeping Mr. Browne
with me. We had not travelled more than half a mile, on resuming our
journey, when we arrived at a dry salt lagoon, at which the sheep had
stopped. I here determined on leaving two of the drays, in the hope that
by putting an additional team into each of the others we should get on,
although before this we had discovered that Mr. Poole had mistaken his
object, and had inadvertently led us into the thickest of the pinery. The
drivers, however, advanced but slowly with the additional strength I had
given them, and it was clear they would never get out of their
difficulties, unless some ot