of some low polygonum bushes, to which we went, and under them found two small puddles of water, that we might easily have passed.  They must have been three feet deep after the rains, but were now barely five inches, and about the size of a loo table.  However, we had no choice, and as the horse had suffered so much from the rickety motion of the cart, caused by the inequalities of the ground, and there was a silky kind of grass growing sparingly around, I stopped here for the rest of the day to effect necessary repairs.  When, however, we came to examine the wheels, we found that so many of the spokes were shivered and had shrunk, that Lewis got on but slowly, renewing only such as were found absolutely useless; we were consequently detained at this point another day, but on the 3rd resumed our journey up the flat, and at two miles crossed a small sandy ridge into the opposite flat, and at five miles stopped at a second ridge of some height for Lewis and Joseph, who were a good way behind with the cart.  On coming up, they informed us that they had fallen in with a tribe of natives, twelve in number, shortly after starting, and had remained some time with them.  They were at a dirty puddle, such as we had left, and were at no great distance from our little bivouac.  Joseph good-naturedly gave one of them his knife, but he could not understand a word they said.

After crossing the sand ridge, we kept on the edge of the flats, as I have said, for the sake of the horses.  The ridges had now become very long, and varied in breadth from a few hundred yards to a mile.  Box-trees were scattered over them, and, although generally bare, they were not altogether destitute of grass or herbage; the ridges of sand, on the contrary, still continued unbroken, and several were covered with spinifex; but on the whole the country appeared to be improving, and the fall of waters being decidedly somewhat to the eastward of south, or towards the Stony Desert, I entertained hopes that we had crossed the lowest part of the interior, and reached the southerly drainage.  We were again fortunate in coming on another pond at 20 miles, where we halted, the country round about us wearing an improved appearance.  Still our situation was very precarious, and we were risking a great deal by thus pushing forward, for although I call the hollows (in which we found the water) ponds, they were strictly speaking the dregs only of what had been such, and were thick, black, and muddy; but the present aspect of the country led us to hope for a favourable change, and on the morning of the 4th we still held our northerly course up the flat, on which we had travelled the greater part of the day before.  As we advanced, it became more open and grassy, and at three miles we found a small supply of very tolerable water in the bed of a shallow watercourse.  We had ridden about ten miles from the place where we had slept, and Mr. Browne and I were talking together, when Flood, who was some little