low shrubs. On such ground as that
whereon we were travelling, it would have been hopeless to look for
water, nevertheless our search was constant, but we were obliged to halt
without having found any, and to make ourselves as comfortable as we
could. All the surface water left by the July rain had entirely
disappeared, and what now remained even in the creeks was muddy and
thick. It was indeed at the best most disgusting beverage, nor would
boiling cause any great sediment. Every here and there, as we travelled
along, we passed some holes scooped out by the natives to catch rain, and
in some of these there was still a muddy residuum; we moreover observed
that the inhabitants of this desert made these holes in places the best
adapted to their purpose, where if the slightest shower occurred, the
water falling on hard clay would necessarily run into them.

The circumstances under which we halted in the evening of the 31st of
August were very embarrassing. It was evident that the country into which
we were now advancing, was drier and more difficult than the country we
had left behind. It was impossible, indeed, to hope that the animals
would get on, if it should continue as we had found it thus far. There
were numerous high ridges of sand to the westward, in addition to those
on the plains, and so full of holes and chasms were the latter, that the
horses would soon have been placed hors de combat, if they had continued
to traverse them. Moreover, I could not but foresee that unless I used
great precaution our retreat would be infallibly cut off. Whatever water
we had passed, since the morning we commenced our journey over the Stony
Desert, was not to be depended upon for more than four or five days, and
although we might reckon with some certainty on the native well in the
box-tree forest, the supply it had yielded was so very small that we
could not expect to obtain more from it than would suffice ourselves and
one or two of the horses. Taking all these matters into consideration, I
determined on once more turning to the north for a day or two, in order
that by keeping along the flats, close under the ridges, I might get
firmer travelling for the cart, and in the expectation, that we should be
more likely to find water in thus doing, than by crossing the succession
of ridges. Accordingly, on the 1st of September, we started on a course
of 6 degrees to the west of north, or a N. 1/2 W. course, that allowing
for variation,