June 30.—Our road to day was much better, and less interrupted by gullies, though we still kept close under Flinders range. We traversed a great extent of plain land which was generally stony, but grassy, and tolerably well adapted for sheep runs. Several watercourses take their rise from this range, with a westerly direction towards the gulf, these were all dry when we crossed them, but their course was indicated by gum trees, and as some of the channels were wide and large, and had strong traces of occasional high floods, I rode for many miles down one of the most promising, but without being able to find a drop of water. At noon our latitude was 32 degrees 59 minutes 8 seconds, S.
Late in the afternoon we reached a watercourse, which I had previously named "Myall Ponds," [Note 4: Myall is in some parts of New Holland, the native name for the Acacia pendula.] from the many and beautiful Acacia pendula trees that grew upon its banks. There I knew we could get water, and at once halted the party for the night. Upon going to examine the supply I was again disappointed at finding it so much less than when I had been here in 1839. This did not augur well for our future prospects, and gave me considerable anxiety relative to our future movements.
For some days past the whole party had fully entered upon their respective duties, each knew exactly what he had to do, and was beginning to get accustomed to its performance, so that every thing went on smoothly and prosperously. My own time, when not personally engaged in conducting the party, was occupied in keeping the journals and charts, etc. in taking and working observations—in the daily register of the barometer, thermometer, winds, and weather, and in collecting specimens of flowers, or minerals. My young friend, Mr. Scott, was kept equally busy; for in many of these duties he assisted me, and in some relieved me altogether; the regular entry of the meteorological observations, and the collecting of flowers or shrubs generally fell to his share; independently of which he was the only sportsman in the party, and upon his gun we were dependant for supplies of wallabies, pigeons, ducks, or other game, to vary our bill of fare, and make the few sheep we had with us hold out as long as possible. As a companion I could not have made a better selection—young, active, and cheerful, I found him ever ready to render me all the assistance in his power. At our present encampment, several of a species of wallabie, very much resembling a hare in flavour, were shot by Mr. Scott, but hitherto we had not succeeded in getting a kangaroo.
July 1.—To-day we travelled through a similar country to that we were in yesterday, consisting of open plains and occasionally low scrub. Kangaroos abounded in every direction. Our stage was eighteen miles to a watercourse called by me the "Reedy water holes," from the circumstance of reeds growing around the margin of the water. Upon arriving at this place I was surprised to find a strongly running stream, where formerly there had only been a reedy pond, although the two last watercourses we had encamped at had been much reduced and dried up. When I had been here in 1839, they were the running streams, and this only a pool, whilst singularly enough there did not appear to have been more rain at one place than the other.
We were now in full view of Spencer's gulf, but as yet could observe no signs of the WATERWITCH, which was to meet us at the head of the gulf with additional stores. At night I observed the latitude by altitude of a Bootis to be 32 degrees 41 minutes 28 seconds S.
July 2.—We moved on for 15 miles over extensive plains, covered principally with Rhagodia, and in some places stony, and halted early in the afternoon at a large dry watercourse, coming out from Flinders range. Though there was no water in this channel below the base of the hill, on sending a party a mile and a half up it with spades and buckets, we got, by digging in the gravelly bed, as much as sufficed for ourselves and horses. At this camp I observed the variation to be 7 degrees 24 minutes E.
July 3.—During the night our horses had rambled a little, so that we could not get away early, and as we had a long stage before us we were obliged to push on to a late hour. At dark we arrived at my former depot near Mount Arden, and took up our old position in the dry bed of the watercourse, at the base of the hills from which it emanated; but we had still to send the horses a mile and a half further up the gorge, over a hilly and stony road, before we could either get water for ourselves or them; it was therefore very late when the men returned, and the whole party were a good deal fatigued, having travelled from Adelaide to Mount Arden in 14 days, (deducting the two days in camp at the Light.) I now ascertained the latitude of the depot to be 32 degrees 14 minutes S.
July 4.—Having mustered the horses this morning, I ordered an arrangement to be entered into for taking them to the water twice a day, and bringing down the supply required for the use of the party. Each person undertook this duty in turn, and thus the labour was divided. After breakfast I went up myself to examine the state of the water and found great abundance in its bed; there were strong traces of recent and high flooding, the drift timber being lodged among the bushes several feet above the ordinary channel. The grass I was sorry to find was rather old and dry, but still there was a very fair supply of it, a point of great importance to us at a time when it was necessary to detain the whole party for two or three weeks in depot, to enable me to examine the country to the north; my former experience having convinced me that it would be dangerous to attempt to push on, before ascertaining where grass and water could be procured.
We had now travelled upwards of eighty miles under Flinders range, from Crystal brook to Mount Arden, and hitherto the character of that range had varied but little. High, rocky, and barren, it rises abruptly from the plains, and so generally even is the country at its base, that we had no difficulty in keeping our drays within a mile or two of it. This was convenient, because we had not far to leave our line of route, when compelled to send up among the ravines for water. The slopes of Flinders range are steep and precipitous to the westward, and composed principally of an argillaceous stone or grey quartz, very hard and ringing like metal when struck with a hammer.
There was no vegetation upon these hills, excepting prickly grass, and many were coated over so completely with loose stones that from the steepness of the declivity it was unsafe, if not impossible to ascend them. At one or two points in our routs I climbed up to the top of high summits, but was not rewarded for my toil, the prospect being generally cheerless and barren in the extreme, nor did the account given by Mr. Brown of his ascent of Mount Brown in March 1802, tempt me to delay a day to enable me to view the uninteresting prospect he had seen from the summit of that hill—by far the highest peak in this part of Flinders range.