one man driving a cart loaded with
water; we had mustered all the casks and kegs in the party, holding
altogether 65 gallons, and to draw this I had our three best draught
horses yoked to the light cart, being determined to push as far as
possible to the N. W. before I returned. At first we passed over a good
road but stony, then over heavy red sand ridges, and at night encamped in
a gorge coming from Termination Hill, where we had excellent feed for the
horses, but no water. The traces of natives were numerous and recent, and
I imagine they must obtain their supply of water at puddles in the
plains, but we could find none at present. The weather was very hot and
the flies excessively annoying, even at this early period of the year. We
gave each of the horses three gallons of water out of the kegs, after
which they fed well; the hills, as we advanced were getting lower, and
the sandy ridges now wound close under them, and in some instances even
among them; still there were many birds around us, amongst which cockatoo
parrots were very numerous. Our stage was about 23 miles.

August 12.--Steering to the N. W. to a low range (the highest summit of
which I named Mount North-west,) we just kept far enough in the plains to
intercept the watercourses from the hills where they spread into the
level country, and by this means we got excellent feed for our horses;
generally the same rich succulent herbage I have mentioned before,
occasionally mixed with wild oats. It was only in places of this
description that we could expect to find anything for our horses. In the
plains or on the hills there was not a blade of of anything green; at
night we encamped upon a small dry channel with tolerable feed, but no
water, and we again gave each horse three gallons from our kegs.

The country we were traversing as yet under-went no alteration, the only
difference being, that the hills were getting lower and the watercourses
less numerous, and both apparently without water; the sand ridges came
more in among the hills, and the dry beds of small salt lakes were often
met with; the salsolae were more abundant, but the traces of natives were
now less frequent; whilst those we fell in with seemed for the most part
to have been left during the wet season. The rock formation still
continued the same, quartz, ironstone, slate, and grey limestone, with
saline crusts peeping above the ground in many places in the lower
levels; the sky was cloudy and