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by rain water, which becomes extremely muddy and even 

 soupy, but never having the mineral flavour so pronounced 

 in some of the springs and soakages, is always regarded as 

 drinkable. The claypans are usually very shallow, and the 

 water speedily evaporates, but in some of the deeper ones 

 time is permitted for the growth or deposit of organic matter 

 whose presence is revealed, when dry, by it curling and peeling 

 off the surface layer of the pan. 



The Mirage. 



The most common phenomenon met with was an apparent 

 separation of the horizon from the nearer land by a clear 

 space, producing the appearance of a sheet of water. The 

 difference of a few feet, it may be inches only, in the vertical 

 position of the observer may make or entirely destroy the 

 effect, thus a mirage invisible to a rider may present a 

 magnificent spectacle to a man on foot. The general effect 

 is to apparently greatly increase the height of objects in the 

 distance : thus a narrow belt of mist or fog becomes 

 an extensive lake; a low bush is elevated to the dimensions 

 of a stately tree ; whilst a narrow clay bank assumes the 

 appearance of a cliff. 



The following ungarnished description made on the spot 

 as we approached Hergott on the return journey, will serve 

 to illustrate this : — The houses were increased in height to 

 apparently several stories, and were reflected in the clearest 

 water, spread out into a large lake, wherein the high distant 

 hills were faithfully mirrored. On the right was a row of 

 tall trees, and to the left the water was spanned by a long 

 viaduct ; the colouration was extremely subtle and tender, 

 eminently Turneresque. It may be added for the benefit of 

 those who have not witnessed a mirage that the above picture 

 was not drawn by any effort of the imagination, it was 

 absolutely real, could stand for nothing else, and was seen 

 identically by all members of the party. A downward slope 

 of a few feet and the picture vanished, leaving in its place 

 a most prosaic setting of houses and desert : the lofty 

 mansions resolved themselves into the typical single-storied 

 houses of a bush town, the water had absolutely vanished, 

 the lofty hills dwindled to an insignificant sand ridge, while 

 the majestic trees turned out to be but some stunted bushes. 

 I was interested to learn what had been responsible for the 

 magnificent viaduct, and was really surprised to find that it 

 had been projected from a row of spaced salt bushes, the 

 stems elongated into the buttresses, and the spreading tops 

 joined to form the arches. 

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