ed to Adelaide without having satisfied my mind on
the subject. I might, indeed, have had general ideas as to the past state
of the depressed interior, from what I had already seen of it; but the
Stony Desert was the key to disclose the whole,--and although I feared
again to tread its surface, its existence so far away to the eastward of
where I had first been on it, would at least tend to confirm my
impressions as to what it had been.

It was clear, indeed, from the character of the country through which we
had just passed, that we were again approaching the salt formation; more
especially when, from the highest ground near us, I observed its
generally dark aspect, and that there was the dry bed of a large salt
lagoon directly in our course. We here dug a fourth well: the water was
extremely muddy and thick, for the basin in which it was contained was
very shallow, and the wind constantly playing on its surface raised waves
that had stirred up the mud; but as there was more water than usual, I
hoped that by deepening, it might settle. This was nothing new to us, for
not only on our journey to Lake Torrens and to the N.W., had we subsisted
on similar beverage, but the water at the Depot at Fort Grey was half
mud, and perfectly opaque. However, it was a matter of necessity to
retain it here if possible, and we therefore took the best measures in
our power to do so.

On the 19th we resumed our journey on the former bearing, the wind
blowing keen from the south. At about a mile and a half we reached the
salt lagoon, as it appeared to be in the distance, but which proved to be
rather a flooded plain. It was about two miles broad, and three and
three-quarters long, and was speckled over rather than covered with salt
herbs. At this time, also, we had an immense barren plain to our left,
bounded all around, but more particularly to the north, by sand hills;
over these we toiled for nine miles, when at their termination the centre
of the plain bore 176 degrees to the east of north, or nearly south. At
five miles and a half further, having previously crossed a small stony
plain, succeeded by sand ridges and valleys, both covered with spinifex,
we ascended a pointed hill that lay directly in our course, and from it
beheld the Stony Desert almost immediately below our feet. I must
acknowledge, that coming so suddenly on it, I almost lost my breath. It
was apparently unaltered in a single feature: herbless and treeless, it
occupie