146 JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY INTO 
order, and every preparation made for our return to the Swan, with 
provisions completed for twenty days. Every opportunity was taken 
of adding to my store of angles and other useful observations for my 
survey of the country; and for several hours on two successive days I 
watched from Cape Riche, and from the high land over it, for a covered 
reef of rocks which I was informed had been frequently seen by vessels 
three miles S.E. by S. from the Cape. Although my vigils were both 
during and after a fresh breeze, when this danger might be supposed 
to be visible, I could perceive no appearance of it with a good tele- 
scope, but have nevertheless no reason to doubt its existence. The 
latitude of Mr. Cheyne’s large barn, by three stars on the meridian, 
was 34° 36’ 31" S. 
. As the water on the face of the country was now fast drying up, oF 
becoming too salt for use, I hastened our preparations so as to have 
everything in readiness by the morning of the 7th of January; but it 
was then found that our native had become tired of the service on 
which he had been engaged, and had gone to rejoin his tribe. Finding 
it impossible to replace him without much loss of time, I had to aban- 
don my intention of taking a new route to the westward and through 
the middle of the Stirling Range, as all parties agreed in assuring me 
that fresh water was then extremely scarce along that line, and could 
. only be found by the aid of a native. 
. On January 7 we took leave of our hospitable friends Mr. and Mrs. 
Cheyne, to whom I felt greatly indebted for their kindness in facili- 
_ tating all our arrangements; and leaving poor old Smiler to be re- 
eruited and forwarded on (as he was then so reduced as to be searcely 
able to keep his legs), we proceeded along the beaten sandal-wood track 
on the eastern side of the Stirling Range, the remaining nine horses 
being much revived. 
.. Encamping on the 9th at the spring of Poilyenup, near the Pallinup. 
River, we were there joined by four teams engaged in carting sandal- 
wood to Cape Riche, for shipment to China, and next«day we proceeded 
up the river, passing through much good grassy country in its valley 
and various tributaries.. The branches of this river are numerous, and 
come chiefly from the eastward of north; but as I wished to make for 
the military post y Kojonup, we followed up what appeared to be the 
main stream coming from the N.W., and in twelve miles reached a 
loce called Myerup, where Mr. Maxwell had a sandal-wood cutting- 
