evaporation that was going on, but I did not deem it right to unburden my
mind, even to Mr. Stuart, at this particular juncture.

On the morning of the 2nd of November the horses strayed for the first
time, and delayed us for more than two hours, and we were after all
indebted to three natives for their recovery, who had seen them and
pointed out the direction in which they were. It really was a distressing
spectacle to see them brought up, but their troubles and sufferings were
not yet over. The Roan was hardly able to move along, and in pity I left
him behind to wander at large along the sunny banks of the finest
water-course we had discovered.

Starting at 10 a.m. we crossed the creek, and traversed a large sandy
plain, intersected by numerous native paths, that had now become as wide
as an ordinary gravel walk. From this plain we observed a thin white line
along the eastern horizon. The plain itself was also of white sand, and
had many stones upon it, similar in substance and shape to those on the
Stony Desert, but there was, not withstanding, some grass upon it. A
little above where we had slept, we struck a turn or angle of the creek
where there was a beautiful sheet of water, but of a deep indigo blue
colour. This was as salt as brine, insomuch that no animal could possibly
have lived in it, and we observed water trickling into it from many
springs on both sides. At four miles when we again struck the creek,
after having crossed the plain, the water was perfectly fresh and sweet
in a large pool close to which we passed. Here again there were several
sea-gulls sitting on the rocks in the water, and a good many cormorants
in the trees, yet I do not think there were any fish in this basin; I
have no other reason for so thinking, however, than that we never saw
any, either swimming in the water or rising to its surface in the
coolness of evening on the sheets of fresh water. There might, however,
have been fish of large size in the deep pools of this creek, although I
would observe that I had two reasons for believing otherwise. The first
was, that, the meshes of the nets used by the natives, of which we
examined several hanging in the trees, were very small, and that among
the fish bones at the natives' fires, we never saw any of a larger size
than those we had ourselves captured, and it was evident that at this
particular time, it was not the fishing season. I was led to think, that
the water in which we noticed s