April 8.

It being Sunday I halted all the morning and only started late in the afternoon.  Our route lay through a mountainous country and consequently our progress was slow.  Quartz was here largely developed in rocks.  We halted this evening in a valley surrounded by mountains.

PASS MOUNT LYELL.

April 9.

We started at dawn and soon found that the valley we had encamped in was the true pass across the range of mountains.  It ran in nearly a south-west direction to the foot of Mount Lyell.  Here I halted for breakfast; and, on finding my position by cross bearings, which I was now able to do, and comparing it with my position by dead reckoning, was glad to find that the error only amounted to 150 yards.  The valley we travelled up in the morning was fertile, connected with several other large ones of similar character, and contained two small lakes, or large ponds of water, the least of which was elevated considerably above the low ground in the neighbourhood.  In the afternoon we crossed the mountains by a narrow neck, which is the best pass over this range of hills for anyone travelling to the south and east.  We crossed our old track twice in the afternoon and encamped in the evening under a conical hill.

April 10.

Started at dawn, travelling nearly north-west, and crossed the heads of all the streams which I had before seen emptying themselves into the river Glenelg in the opening lying between Mount Sturt and Mount Eyre.  Just under the point where we encamped for the night was a large marsh in which my horse got bogged and I had a severe fall.

CONTINUATION OF ROUTE.

April 11.

On starting this morning all the party insisted that they saw a hill, under which our old track had passed.  I felt convinced that such could not be the case; and, had it been so, an error of four miles must have existed in my map:  yet all were so positive of their correctness that I felt it would appear like obstinacy in me not to yield to the general opinion.  I therefore quitted our direct course to make for the foot of this hill, and there convinced myself that I was right; yet, even when we had now passed it, proceeding on our route, I heard several remark, “We shall soon march back here again.”  But this evening I had the pleasure of halting under the sandstone range, and the very hill we had wished to gain.

RECOVERY OF BURIED STORES.

April 12.

We marched early, and on the way passed more native tombs; when we came to the place where the horse had been left I found that, through inadvertence on the part of the man who led him, he had been starved to death, having been left tethered.  This discovery shocked me much.  Some of the stores which had been left where he fell and covered with a tarpaulinremained uninjured.  We proceeded onwards to the camp where I had lain so long wounded, and, on arriving found all our provisions in good order, the natives apparently not having since visited the spot.  We were not a little glad to find our preserved meats which had been left buried here.  Halted for the night, and enjoyed our repast.