was to be seen.  While on the sand hills, the general covering of which was spinifex, there were a few hakea and low shrubs.  On such ground as that whereon we were travelling, it would have been hopeless to look for water, nevertheless our search was constant, but we were obliged to halt without having found any, and to make ourselves as comfortable as we could.  All the surface water left by the July rain had entirely disappeared, and what now remained even in the creeks was muddy and thick.  It was indeed at the best most disgusting beverage, nor would boiling cause any great sediment.  Every here and there, as we travelled along, we passed some holes scooped out by the natives to catch rain, and in some of these there was still a muddy residuum; we moreover observed that the inhabitants of this desert made these holes in places the best adapted to their purpose, where if the slightest shower occurred, the water falling on hard clay would necessarily run into them.

The circumstances under which we halted in the evening of the 31st of August were very embarrassing.  It was evident that the country into which we were now advancing, was drier and more difficult than the country we had left behind.  It was impossible, indeed, to hope that the animals would get on, if it should continue as we had found it thus far.  There were numerous high ridges of sand to the westward, in addition to those on the plains, and so full of holes and chasms were the latter, that the horses would soon have been placed hors de combat, if they had continued to traverse them.  Moreover, I could not but foresee that unless I used great precaution our retreat would be infallibly cut off.  Whatever water we had passed, since the morning we commenced our journey over the Stony Desert, was not to be depended upon for more than four or five days, and although we might reckon with some certainty on the native well in the box-tree forest, the supply it had yielded was so very small that we could not expect to obtain more from it than would suffice ourselves and one or two of the horses.  Taking all these matters into consideration, I determined on once more turning to the north for a day or two, in order that by keeping along the flats, close under the ridges, I might get firmer travelling for the cart, and in the expectation, that we should be more likely to find water in thus doing, than by crossing the succession of ridges.  Accordingly, on the 1st of September, we started on a course of 6 degrees to the west of north, or a N. 1/2 W. course, that allowing for variation, being within 1 1/2 points of a due north course.  On this we went up the flat where we had slept.  By keeping close to the ridges we found, as I had anticipated, firmer ground, though the centre of the flat was still of the worst description.  There were a few small box-trees to be seen as we passed along, but scarcely any minor vegetation.  At about nine miles we were attracted by the green appearance