I had rode fifty-five miles, and had been on horseback about thirteen hours, so that both myself and horse were well nigh knocked up.  The black boy had not arrived, nor did he come up during the night.

The next day, becoming uneasy about his absence, I detained the party in the camp, and sent Mr. Scott to search for him, who fortunately met him almost immediately he had left us.  The boy’s detention had been occasioned by the fagged condition of his horse, which prevented the possibility of his overtaking me.  As the day was wet, I did not move on, but gave the party a day’s rest, whilst I employed myself in meditating upon the disappointment I had experienced, and the future steps it might be most advisable to take to carry out the objects of the expedition.  I was still determined not to give up the undertaking,—­but rather to attempt to penetrate either to the eastward or westward, and to try to find some other line of route that might afford a practicable opening to the interior.

September 6.—­Moving on the party early to-day, I pushed steadily towards the depot near Mount Arden.  In doing this, the favourable state of the weather enabled us to keep more in the open plains, and thus both to avoid a good deal of rough ground, and to shorten the road considerably.

Upon mustering the horses on the 9th, the overseer reported to me that one of them was lying down with a broken leg, and upon going to examine him, I found that it was one of the police horses kindly lent to the expedition by the Governor.  During the night some other horse had kicked him and broken the thigh bone of the hind leg.  The poor animal was in great pain and unable to rise at all, I was therefore obliged to order the overseer to shoot him.  By this accident we lost a most useful horse at a time when we could but ill spare one.

During our progress to the south we had frequently showers and occasionally heavy rains, which lodging in puddles on the plains, supplied us abundantly with water, and we were unusually fortunate enough to obtain grass also.  We were thus enabled to push on upon nearly a straight course, which, after seven days of hard travelling, brought us once more, on the afternoon of the 12th, to our old position at the depot near Mount Arden.  I had intended to have halted the party here for a day or two, to recruit after the severe march we had just terminated; but the weather was so favourable and the season so far advanced, that I did not like to lose an hour in following out my prospective plans.

During the homeward journey from the Mundy, I had reflected much on the position in which I was placed, and spent many an anxious hour in deliberating as to the future.  I had one of three alternatives to choose, either to give up the expedition altogether;—­to cross to the Murray to the east and follow up that river to the Darling;—­or by crossing over to Streaky Bay to the westward, to endeavour to find