34 EXPLORATION IN WESTERN AUSTR.U.IA. 



day, when 1 was entirel}' successful, getting through wonderfully 

 well. A really good dray road could be made over this pass. It 

 is about eleven miles from one side to the other, and if so in- 

 clined a person could travel only a mile a day and get permanent 

 water at every camp. Standing on a range four miles from the 

 gorge after getting through, it was difticult to make out the 

 exit, as it looked like a perfect steep blufli', with no break in it. 



As soon as we left the range we found the country changed 

 rapidly for the worse. I have not seen the Barker, but I think 

 this must be the same river, judging by the course and the strong 

 running. Next day I ran the creek down, and camped to the 

 right of some granite hills in a gorge. It was the worst camp I 

 had yet had on the trip, as far as the horses were concerned. 

 The cretk here does not run, and the water is bad. Running 

 the creek down for four miles, we at last got out of the gorges. 

 Then came twenty miles of very sandy country. I never saw 

 such immense granite hills ; some of them were hundreds of 

 feet high, and all solid rock. That night we had to dig holes in 

 the sand to water our horses. What a change from the country 

 we had just passed through ! We were camped on one of the 

 strangest formations in the world, I shoidd think. There is a 

 line of very hard, sharp limestone, only 100 yards wide in places, 

 and here and there from 200 to 800 feet high. It rises out of 

 the level, sandy country, and runs generally north-north-west 

 and south-south-east for, I believe, about 150 miles. I should 

 like to hear Mr. Maitland's opinion of it when he sees it some 

 day. 



At last I arrived at Mr. Blythe's place, on the Lennard, 

 and my troubles were over. 



