l. Its bed was perfectly level, and its
appearance at once destroyed the hope of finding water in it.

The ground over which we rode, was, as I have stated, a mixture of gravel
and rocks, and our horses yielded under us at almost every step as they
trod on the sharp pointed fragments. At eight miles we reached the outer
line of hills, as they had appeared to us in the distance, and entered a
pass between two of them, of about a quarter of a mile in width. At this
confined point there were the remains and ravages of terrific floods. The
waters had reached from one side of the pass to the other, and the dead
trunks of trees and heaps of rubbish, were piled up against every bush.

There was not a blade of vegetation to be seen either on the low ground
or on the ranges, which were from 3 to 400 feet in height, and were
nothing more than vast accumulations of sand and rocks. At a mile, we
arrived at the termination of the pass, and found ourselves at the
entrance of a barren, sandy valley, with ranges in front of us, similar
to those we had already passed. I thought it advisable, therefore, to
ascend a hill to my left, somewhat higher than any near it, to ascertain,
if possible, the character of the northern interior. The task of
clambering to the top of it however, was, in my then reduced state,
greater than I expected, and I had to wait a few minutes before I could
look about me after gaining the summit. I could see nothing, after all,
to cheer me in the view that presented itself. To the northward was the
valley in which the creek rises, bounded all round by barren, stony
hills, like that on which I stood; and the summits of other similar hills
shewed themselves above the nearer line. To the east the apparently
interminable plains on which we had been, still met the horizon, nor was
anything to be seen beyond them. Westward the outer line of hills
continued backed by others, in the outlines of which we recognised the
peaks and forms of the apparently lofty chain we first saw when we
discovered the creek. Thus, then, it appeared, that I had been entirely
deceived in the character of these hills, and that it had been the effect
of refraction in those burning regions, which had given to these moderate
hills their mountain-like appearance.

Satisfied that my horses had not the strength to cross such a country,
and that in it I had not the slightest chance of procuring the necessary
sustenance for them, I turned back to Coope