Having thus brought my narrative to a conclusion I shall trespass but little more on the patience of the reader.  It appears to me that a few observations are necessary to clear some parts, and to make up for omissions in the body of my work.  I have written it indeed under considerable disadvantage; for although I have in a great measure recovered from the loss of sight consequent on my former services, I cannot glance my eye so rapidly as I once did over such a voluminous document as this journal; and I feel that I owe it to the public, as well as to myself, to make this apology for its imperfections.

There were two great difficulties against which, during the progress of the expedition, I had to contend.  The one was, the want of water; the other, the nature of the country.  That it was altogether impracticable for wheeled carriages of any kind, may readily be conceived from my description; and in the state in which I found it, horses were evidently unequal to the task.  I cannot help thinking that camels might have done better; not only for their indurance, but because they carry more than a horse.  I should, undoubtedly, have been led to try those animals if I could have procured them; but that was impossible.  Certain however it is, that I went into the interior to meet with trials that scarcely camels could have borne up against; for I think there can be no doubt, from the facts I have detailed, that the season, during which this expedition was undertaken, was one of unusual dryness; but although the arid state of the country contributed so much to prevent its movements, I question whether, under opposite circumstances, it would have been possible to have pushed so far as the party succeeded in doing.  Certainly, if the ground had been kept in a state of constant saturation, travelling would have been out of the question; for the rain of July abundantly proved how impracticable any attempt to penetrate it under such circumstances would have been.

It is difficult to say what kind of seasons prevail in Central Australia.  That low region does not, as far as I can judge, appear to be influenced by tropical rains, but rather to be subject to sudden falls.  That the continent of Australia was at one time more humid than it now is, appears to be an admitted fact; the marks of floods, and the violence of torrents (none of which have been witnessed), are mentioned by every explorer as traceable over every