met with, and the very small party I should have with me; lastly, the
course of the river itself, which trending so much to the eastward, would
take us from, rather than towards the centre of this Continent. On the
other hand, by crossing to the westward, I should have to encounter a
country which I knew to be all but destitute of water, and to consist,
for a very great distance, of barren sandy ridges and low lands, covered
by an almost impenetrable scrub, at a season, too, when but little rain
could be expected, and the heat would, in all probability, be intense;
still, of the two, the latter appeared to me the least objectionable, as
we should at least be going towards the point we wished to reach, and
through a country as yet quite unknown.

"After mature and anxious consideration, therefore, I decided upon
adopting it, hoping that my decision may meet with the approbation of the
Committee.

"Previous to our arrival at Mount Arden, we experienced very showery
weather for some days, (otherwise we could not have attempted a passage
to the westward); and as there were no longer any apprehensions of water
being found on the route to Streaky Bay, I sent two of my teams across
upon our old tracks, in charge of my overseer, whilst I conducted the
third myself, in company with Mr. Scott, direct to Port Lincoln, to
procure the supplies we required. In crossing from Mount Arden, towards
Port Lincoln, we travelled generally through a low barren country,
densely covered by brush, among which were scattered, at considerable
intervals, a few small patches of grass, with here and there some rocky
elevations; in the latter, we were usually able to procure water for
ourselves and horses, until we arrived at the districts already explored,
in traversing which we passed (to the N. E. of Port Lincoln) some rich,
well watered valleys, bounded by a considerable extent of grassy hills,