Thus it became known to us that we could no longer hope to be the first
to reach the shores of the Indian Ocean by land. Thermometer, at sunrise,
62°; at 4 P. M., 93°; at 9, 71°;--with wet bulb, 64°.

19TH APRIL,--I left the men with the cart, to follow while I rode forward
along its track, and sat down to peruse the newspapers sent me, until the
cart overtook me in the evening, the horses being quite exhausted by the
heat and the heavy sand. Thermometer, at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 86°; at
9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 59°.

20TH APRIL.--The men who brought the despatches yesterday having been
ordered to bring fresh horses this day from the depôt, I sent our tired
animals on thither at once, as we could give them but a limited quantity
of water. I rode forward also to the camp, and met the fresh horses about
half-way. I immediately ordered the repair of the wheels of another light
cart, determined to lose no time in exploring a passage towards the head
of Carpentaria. Thermometer, at sunrise, 48°; at noon, 95; at 4 P. M.,
93°; at 9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 58°.

21ST APRIL.--The cart came in about 9 A. M. The morning was cloudy, for
the first time this month, and a slight shower fell. Had three or four
days' rain fallen at that time, it would have enabled me to have explored
by much less circuitous routes, than along the bank of this great river,
the country to the north-west. In this case, the tour from which I had
just returned might have been continued, as I wished and intended, had it
been possible to find water, to the mountains or higher ground, whatever
it might be that formed the limits to this basin on that side.
Thermometer, at sunrise, 65°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P. M., 77°; at 9, 60°;
--with wet bulb, 53°.