ions I found the basin to consist, as far as I could
penetrate, of a mass of mud and sand, coated on the surface with a crust
of salt, but having water mixed with it beneath. At the most
north-westerly point attained by me, water was found in an arm of the
main lake, about two feet deep, clear, and salt as the sea; it did not
extend, however, more than two or three hundred yards, nor did it
continue to the bed of the main lake, which appeared, from a rise that I
ascended near the arm, to be of the same character and consistency as
before. The whole course of the lake, to the farthest point visited by
me, was bounded by a steep, continuous, sandy ridge, exactly like a
sea-shore ridge; those parts of its course to the north, and to the east
of Flinders range, which I did not go down to, were seen and laid down
from various heights in that mountain chain. Altogether, the outline of
this extraordinary feature, as thus observed and traced, could not have
extended over a circuit of less than 400 miles.

It is singular enough that all the springs found near the termination of
Flinders range should have been salt, and that these were very nearly in
the same latitude in which Captain Sturt had found brine springs in the
bed of the Darling in 1829, although our two positions were so far
separated in longitude. My furthest position to the north-west was also
in about the same latitude, as the most inland point gained by any
previous exploring party, viz. that of Sir Thomas Mitchell's in 1832,
about the parallel of 149 degrees E. longitude; but by my being about 600
miles more to the westward, I was consequently much nearer to the centre
of New Holland. It is, to say the least, remarkable that from both our
positions, so far apart as they are, the country should present the same
low and sterile aspect to the west and north-west. Since my return from
the expedition, a party has been sent out under Captain Frome, the
Surveyor-General, in South Australia, to examine the south-east extremity
of Lake Torrens; the following is the report made by that officer upon
his return.

"The most northern point at which I found water last year, was near the
top of a deep ravine of the Black Rock Hills, in lat. 32 degrees 45
minutes 25 seconds, where I left the dray and the larger portion of my
party on the 20th July, taking on only a light spring cart, the bottom
filled entirely with kegs containing sufficient water for our horses for
nearly thr