occupied in preparing
pack-saddles, (all of which we had to make) extra bridles, new hobbles,
and in shoeing all the horses. I undertook the duty of new stuffing and
repairing the various saddles, making what extra clothes were required
for myself and the native boys for our journey; weighing out and packing
in small linen bags, all the rations of tea, sugar, etc. which would be
required weekly, preparing strong canvas saddle-bags, making light
oilskins to protect our things from the wet, etc. etc. These many necessary
and important preparations kept us all very busy, and the time passed
rapidly away. On one occasion, I attempted with one of my native boys, to
explore the country due north of Fowler's Bay, but the weather turned out
unfavourable, the wind being from the north-east, and scorchingly hot; I
succeeded, however, in penetrating fully twenty miles in the direction I
had taken, the first ten of which was through a dense heavy scrub, of the
Eucalyptus dumosa, or the tea-tree. Emerging from this, we entered an
open pretty looking country, consisting of grassy plains of great extent,
divided by belts of shrubs and bush; as we advanced the shrubs became
less numerous, the country more open, and salsolaceous plants began to
occupy the place of the grass. Had we been able to continue our
exploration for another day's journey, I have no doubt, from the change
which appeared gradually to be taking place as we advanced north, that
the whole country around would have been one vast level open waste,
without bush or shrub of any kind, and covered by salsolae. I felt
strongly convinced, we were gradually approaching a similar kind of
country to that I had been in between Lake Torrens and Flinders range;
the only difference was that as far as we had yet gone from Fowler's Bay,
the elevation of the country did not appear to have been diminished; its
average height above the level of the sea, I judged to be about 300 feet,
and forming doubtless a continuation of the table land, I had found
existing at the head of the Great Bight. The weather, however, was as
unfavourable as the country, for such researches, at this season of the
year, and the horses I had taken out with me suffered a good deal, even
in the short space of two days, during which I was engaged in this
attempt.

On some occasions the thermometer was 113 degrees in the shade, and
whenever the wind was from the north-east, it was hot and oppressive
beyond all conce