Although this journey of Forrest’s cannot strictly be called an exploring expedition, inasmuch as he repeated the journey made under such terrible conditions by Eyre travelling in the opposite direction, yet it is of first-rate importance, inasmuch as, owing to the greater facilities he enjoyed, he was able to pronounce a more final verdict than Eyre was able to give.  Forrest found that the gloomy thicket was a fringe confined to the immediate coast-line.  On every occasion that he penetrated it, he came on good pastoral land beyond.  He writes:—­

“The country passed over between longitude 126 degrees 24 minutes and 128 degrees 30 minutes East as a grazing country far surpasses anything I have ever seen.  There is nothing in the settled portion of Western Australia equal to it, either in extent or quality; but the absence of permanent water is a great drawback...The country is very level, with scarcely any undulation, and becomes clearer as you proceed north.”

On his arrival in Adelaide he received a hearty welcome, and a similar reception was accorded him on his return to Perth.  Unfortunately this expedition destroyed all hope of the existence of any river, the mouth of which might have been crossed unwittingly by Eyre.

We now come to that exploit which gained for Forrest a place in the foremost rank of Australian explorers.  The western central desert had long defied the explorers in their attempts to cross its dread confines.  But the young West Australian took his men and most of his horses through the very heart of the terrible desert.  We have seen how three expeditions had started from the east for the purpose of making this continental traverse, all differently composed —­ one with the aid of camels only, one with a composite equipment of both horses and camels, and the third with only horses.  The successful expedition to be now recorded travelled from west to east, and crossed the desert with horses only.

[Illustration.  Members of the Exploring Expedition, Geraldton to
Adelaide, 1874. 
Standing, left to right:  Tommy Pierre, Tommy Windich, James Kennedy,
James Sweeny. 
Seated, left to right:  Alexander Forrest (Second in Command), John
Forrest (In Command).]

On the 14th of April, 1874, Forrest left Yuin, then the border of settlement on the Murchison, accompanied by his brother Alexander, two white men, and two natives, to endeavour to cross the unknown stretch of desert country that separated the colonies of eastern Australia from the western settlements.  Their route at first lay along the Murchison River, following the upper course, which they found to run through well-grassed country, available for either sheep or cattle.  From the crest of the head watershed they had a view of their future travelling-ground to the eastward.  It appeared level, with low elevations, but there was a lack of conspicuous hills, which did not promise favourably for water-finding, though good pasture might be obtainable.