it continued, more especially as we had so great a distance to travel without water.  I kept the party in readiness, however, to move at a moment’s notice.  On the 27th we had thunder, but no rain fell, and the heat seemed rather to increase than to decrease.  On the 28th, at 2 p.m., the wind suddenly flew round to the south, and it became cooler.  In hopes that it would continue, I ordered the tents to be struck, and we left Flood’s Creek at half-past 4.  As soon as I had determined on moving, I directed Mr. Poole to lead on the party in the direction he thought it would be best to take, and mounting my horse, rode with Mr. Browne and Mr. Stuart towards the ranges, to take bearings from a hill I had intended to visit, but had been prevented from doing in consequence of the extreme heat of the weather.  I did not, indeed, like leaving the neighbourhood without going to this hill.  The distance, however, was greater than it appeared to be, and it was consequently late before we reached it; but once on the top we stood on the highest and last point of the Barrier Range; for although, as we shall learn, other ranges existed to the north, there was a broad interval of plain between us and them, nor were they visible from our position.  We stood, as it were, in the centre of barrenness.  I feel it impossible, indeed, to describe the scene, familiar as it was to me.  The dark and broken line of the Barrier Range lay behind us to the south; eastward the horizon was bounded by the hills I had lately visited, and the only break in the otherwise monotonous colour of the landscape was caused by the plains we had crossed before entering the pine forest.  From the south-west round to the east northwards, the whole face of the country was covered with a gloomy scrub that extended like a sea to the very horizon.  To the north-west, at a great distance, we saw a long line of dust, and knowing it to be raised by the party, after having taken bearings and tried the point of boiling water, we descended to overtake it.  In doing this we crossed several spurs, and found tolerably wide and grassy flats between them.  Following one of these down we soon got on the open plains, and about half-past seven met Mr. Poole, who had left the party to go to a fire he had noticed to the eastward, which he thought was a signal from us that we had found water; but such had not been our good fortune.

I now halted the party until the moon should rise, and we threw ourselves on the ground to take a temporary repose, the evening being cool and agreeable.  At 11 we again moved on, keeping a north course, under Mr. Poole’s guidance, partly over stony plains, and partly over plains of better quality, having some little grass upon them, until 8 a.m. of the morning of the 29th, when we stopped for an hour.  As day dawned, Mr. Poole had caught sight of the hill, as he thought, to the base of which he wished to lead the party, and under this impression we continued our northerly course at 9, until by degrees we entered