they drew their
supply of water, was in the centre of a broad shallow grassy channel,
that passed the point of the sand hill we had ascended, and ran up to the
northward and westward; we were, therefore, obliged to cross this
channel, and soon afterwards got on the plains. They were evidently
subject to flood, and were exceedingly soft and blistered; the grass upon
them grew in tufts, not close, so that in the distance, the plains
appeared better grassed than they really were. At length, we got on a
polygonum flat of great size, in the soil of which our horses absolutely
sunk up to the shoulder at every step. I never rode over such a piece of
ground in my life, but we managed to flounder through it, until at length
we got on the somewhat firmer but still heavy plain. It was very clear,
however, that our horses would not go a day's journey over such ground.
It looked exactly as I have described it--an immense concavity, with
numerous small channels running down from every part, and making for the
creek as a centre of union; nor, could we anywhere see a termination to
it. Had the plain been of less extent, I might have doubted the
information of the natives; but, looking at the boundless hollow around
me, I did not feel any surprise that such a creek even as the one up
which we had journeyed, should rise in it, and could easily picture to
myself the rush of water there must be to the centre of the plain, when
the ground has been saturated with moisture.

The day being far advanced, whilst we were yet pushing on, without any
apparent termination to the heavy ground over which we were riding, I
turned westward at 2 p.m., finding that the attainment of the object I
had in view, in attempting to cross the plain, was a physical
impossibility. We reached the water, at which the blind native visited
us, a little after sunset, and were as glad as our poor animals could
have been, when night closed in upon us, and our labours.

On the 5th, we passed the old man's camp, in going down the creek,
instead of crossing the plains as before, and halted at the junction of a
creek we had passed, that came from the north, and along the banks of
which I proposed turning towards the ranges. On the morning of the 6th we
kept the general course of this tributary, which ran through an
undulating country of rocks and sand. Its channel was exceedingly
capacious, and its banks were high and perpendicular, but everything
about it, was sand or grave