ing the time that I had been occupied in conducting my division of the
party from Baxter's Range to Port Lincoln, the overseer had been engaged
in guiding the other portion across to Streaky Bay, upon my former track
from thence to Mount Arden, in September 1839. The following brief
extracts from my Journal of that period, whilst crossing from Streaky Bay
to Mount Arden, will convey an idea of the character of the country
extending between these two points; and of the great difficulty, indeed
almost the impossibility of forcing a passage, except immediately after
the occurrence of heavy rains.

1839, Sept. 18.--We left the depot near Streaky Bay, at a course nearly
due east, and passing through alternations of brush and of open grassy
plains, upon the skirts of which grew a few casuarinae; halted after a
stage of eighteen miles, at an opening in the brush, where we had good
grass, but no water; we were consequently obliged to watch the horses
during the night, to prevent their straying. From this camp Mount Hall
bore S. 2 degrees E. and Mount Cooper S. E. the variation of the compass
being 2 degrees 22 minutes E.

September 19.--Travelling east through the same kind of country for
fifteen miles, we halted upon a high scrubby ridge; having a few grassy
openings at intervals, and with large sheets of granite exposed in some
parts of its surface. In the holes among these rocks we procured a supply
of water that had been deposited by the late rains; but which a few warm
days would have dried up. The latitude of the water was 32 degrees 48
minutes S. and from it Mount Hall bore S. 38 degrees W., Mount Cooper S.
15 degrees W. Before us to the north-east were visible many peaks of a
range, with a high and broken outline, which I named the Gawler range,
after His Excellency Colonel Gawler, the Governor of South Australia. One
very high peak in this range I named Mount Sturt, after my friend Captain
Sturt; it bore from our present camp E. 10 degrees N. and had been
previously seen from the summit of Mount Hall.

September 20.--Our route to-day was through a perfect desert, very
scrubby and stony, with much prickly grass growing upon the sand ridges,
which alternated with the hard limestone flats; there were very few clear
intervals of country upon our whole course; and for the last five miles
the heavy sand and dense scrub made it very difficult to get on at all.
After a long stage of twenty-five miles nearly due east, we halte