Having seen no water since then, it was out of the
question to attempt bringing the cattle across at this point. It was
determined therefore that they should return and mark a line from the
Einasleih to the lagoons they had camped on last night, along which
cattle could travel slowly, whilst the brothers again went forward to
look for a better road from that point, and ascertain definitely
whether they were on the Lynd or not. Turning west they travelled 28
miles to the creek they had left in the morning, striking it more
than 40 miles below their camp, when, to their surprise it was found
running nearly due south and still dry. Here they camped and caught
some fish and maramies (cray-fish) by puddling a hole in the creek,
which, with three pigeons they shot, made a good supper. At night a
heavy thunder-storm broke over them, which lasted from 9 till 12.
Frank Jardine here states himself to have been exceedingly puzzled
between Leichhardt and Mr. Richardson; one or the other of these he
felt must be wrong. Leichhardt describes the stream in that latitude
(page 283 Journal) as stony, and with conical hills of porphyry near
the river banks, "Bergues" running into it on each side. They had
not seen a rise even, in any direction for miles, whilst the creek
presented only occasional rocks of flat water-worn sandstone, and the
screw-palm 'Pandanus Spiralis' occurred in all the water-courses, a
tree that from its peculiarity would scarcely have been unnoticed or
undescribed. As it was quite unlikely that he should have
misrepresented the country, the natural presumption was, that Mr.
Richardson must have been in error as to their true position; this
was in reality the case, the error in his assumed longitude at
starting causing his reckoning to overlap the Lynd altogether. This
is easily seen and explained now, but was at that time a source of
great uncertainty and anxiety to the explorers.

'October' 26.--Crossing over to the west bank of the river, the
brothers followed it up the whole day along its windings, the general
course being from South-east to East for above 36 miles. They saw
none of the porphyry cliffs described by Leichhardt, or stone of any
kind. The country traversed, consisted of scrubby flats, and low
sandy ridges, timbered with bloodwood, messmate, mimosa, melaleuca,
grevillea, and two or three species of the sterculia or curriijong,
then in full blossom. Thick patches of a kind of tree, much
r