VI. IN'I'UUDUCTIOX. 



jiui'isuit. (.)f a. liutturily liarkcd his shins ayaiiist a iiu,i;g(;t of gold, ]\v woulil liaVL' 

 rcrogiiisfd, and having rccogiuscd, would have "coUccIchI" it, although his claim 

 would probahly have been disputed by tlie geological section of the Expedition. 

 l>ut the real olijects of the E.xpediticjn were as set out in the articles uniler which 

 they started, \'iz., tlu^ scieutilic exanunatiou of the c(»untiy from (Jodnadatta to 

 the McDonnell llange ; the collection of specimens illustrati\e of the fauna, llora, 

 and geological stiucture and minei'alogical resources of that region, and the 



try ^ o o ' 



illustration by phtjt^)graphy of any remarkable natural features of the country 

 ti'aversed ; the securing oi photographs of the aboi'igines in their primitive state, 

 the collection of information as to their manner.s, customs, and language, and the 

 reproduction of their mural paintings. 



We made our iinal start fioni Oodnadatta, which is the northern terminal 

 jioint of the railway from Adelaide, on Gth JNIay, 1894. Our party consisted of, 

 in addition to the scientific gentlemen already named, two Afghan and two 

 European camel-di'ivers, two collectors, two prospectors, one aboriginal Idack 

 tracker, and one cook, making si.xteen in all, with twenty-six camels and two 

 horses Without preteJiding to any gi'eat amount of scieutilic knowledge myself, 

 I have had considerable experience in bush life, extending over many years, and 

 had done a good d(!al of exploring work in the Ereniian region ; and, at the 

 solicitation of several members of the party, I accompanied them to a point lUUU 

 miles north of Adelaide, and, finding that they were all working together with the 

 utmost hai'inony and enthusiasm, I started on my lonely return journey. When 

 leaving I tried the new experiment of having no autocratic leader, but gave each 

 scientific mendjer of the party one vote, so that all (juestions as to the route to be 

 taken, the length of time to be spent at one spot, or any kindi'cd (juestions, were 

 decided Ijy the majority. The safe-conduct of the party to such points as they 

 wished to visit was entrusted to Mr. AVinnecke. 



The continent of Australia extends from the 38th to the 12tli parallel of S. 

 Lat., and from the 113th to 153rd degree of Longitude. Now, if we take Aycrs 

 llock as the centre of an ellipse which has a length of 1,G00 miles by a width of 

 cSUO mile-s, we have an area which comprises practically the whole of this Erennaii 

 I'egion, which has an average rainfall of from five to twelve inches ; but this rain- 

 fall is very irregular, as long jieriods of drought, sometimes of two years' duration, 

 frequently intervene, and much of the country is reduced to the condition of an 

 almost impassable desert, thus rendering the close examination of the central 

 poi'tion a task of no small difiiculty and occasional danger, firstly from the 

 scarcity of permanent water, and secondly from the presence of occasionally 

 hostile natives. 



