behind me, but I did not stop to pick up any of them, or even to look round to see what caused it.  Upon rejoining my companions, as we now seldom spoke to one another, I merely told them I had seen water and natives, but that it was hardly worth while to go back to the place, but that they could go if they liked.  Robinson asked me why I had ridden my horse West Australian—­shortened to W.A., but usually called Guts, from his persistent attention to his “inwards”—­so hard when there seemed no likelihood’s of our getting any water for the night?  I said, “Ride him back and see.”  I called this place Escape Glen.  In two or three miles after I overtook them, the Petermann became exhausted on the plains.  We pushed on nearly east, as now we must strike the Finke in forty-five to fifty miles; but we had to camp that night without water.  The lame horses went better the farther they were driven.  I hoped to travel the lameness out of them, as instances of that kind have occurred with me more than once.  We were away from our dry camp early, and had scarcely proceeded two miles when we struck the bank of a broad sandy-bedded creek, which was almost as broad as the Finke itself:  just where we struck it was on top of a red bank twenty or thirty feet high.  The horses naturally looking down into the bed below, one steady old file of a horse, that carried my boxes with the instruments, papers, quicksilver, etc., went too close, the bank crumbled under him, and down he fell, raising a cloud of red dust.  I rode up immediately, expecting to see a fine smash, but no, there he was, walking along on the sandy bed below, as comfortable as he had been on top, not a strap strained or a box shifted in the least.  The bed here was dry.  Robinson rode on ahead and shortly found two fine large ponds under a hill which ended abruptly over them.  On our side a few low ridges ran to meet it, thus forming a kind of pass.  Here we outspanned; it was a splendid place.  Carmichael and Robinson caught a great quantity of fish with hook and line.  I called these Middleton’s Pass and Fish Ponds.  The country all round was open, grassy, and fit for stock.  The next day we got plenty more fish; they were a species of perch, the largest one caught weighed, I dare say, three pounds; they had a great resemblance to Murray cod, which is a species of perch.  I saw from the hill overhanging the water that the creek trended south-east.  Going in that direction we did not, however, meet it; so turning more easterly, we sighted some pointed hills, and found the creek went between them, forming another pass, where there was another water-hole under the rocks.  This, no doubt, had been of large dimensions, but was now gradually getting filled with sand; there was, however, a considerable quantity of water, and it was literally alive with fish, insomuch that the water had a disagreeable and fishy taste.  Great numbers of the dead fish were floating upon the water.  Here we met a considerable number of