EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 63 



away at 7*50, Billy volunteers to act as guide, being now in the 

 country that is known to him. He seems to think this to be his 

 post by every possible right of precedence, and as he promises to 

 go straight I allow him to do so, though I would have preferred 

 taking up the course myself. Billy did not go straight or any- 

 thing like it, but the outcome of all his eccentricities, when plotted 

 up, resulted in a general bearing of S. 40' W. for five miles, S. 36° 

 "W. four miles. Here we reached a long narrow salt lagoon trending 

 east and west ; near here was a claypan at which 1 replenished the 

 kegs, albeit the water was very sufficiently yellow and thick. Con- 

 tinuing westerly for three miles, we reached the west extremity of 

 the salt lake ; following this down for half an hour and then came 

 to a gully, down which in times of rain water would run from the 

 adjacent sandhills into the lake. Some two or three chains away 

 from the lake and up this gully was a small hole surrounded by 

 rushes and shaded by a small acacia bush. This was the spring, 

 evidently a very good one ; the water is of most excellent quality, 

 and it simply requires deepening to water any quantity of stock. 

 From this spring we travelled S. 58° W. for two miles and arrived 

 at Koolida Spring. Here are four or five mound springs with tall 

 reeds round them ; they are situated upon the south-western end of 

 a small salt lagoon. The springs are choked up with black mud 

 and reeds, but a small stream of beautiful water runs from them 

 into the lake. Continuing upon a course of S. 30° W., we reached 

 the Elinburra Springs in one and a half miles, the most southerly 

 spring of the Goyder group and by far the best of them all. Like 

 all the rest, it is situated at the edge of a salt lagoon, and three 

 strong streams of beautiful water run into the lake. The adjacent 

 country is of an undulating character and to the southward is espe- 

 cially well grassed. From a low limestone hill a few hundred 

 yards westerly from the spring I expected to have been able to 

 take a bearing to Mount Connor, but was disappointed, no hills 

 being in sight but the Basedow and Erldunda Ranges, the former 

 bearing 321° 10', and the latter 2o° 50'. Travelled sixteen miles. 

 Bar. 28-650in., ther. 64° at 5 p.m. 



Sunday, August \th. — Camp No. 75 ; S. iat. 25° 36' 46". Bar. 

 28-600in., ther. 22°.— Started at 9 on a bearing of S. 65° 30' E. 

 I was not by any means well, and I availed myself of Billy's 

 knowledge of the country to travel in the lead and keep the course 

 while I took a place in the rear, where the travelling is much easier 

 than in the lead, there being actually nothing to do but sit still 

 and be carried along. For five or six miles travelled over really 

 very splendid and well-grassed country ; limestone rises occa- 

 sionally appeared and these were well clothed with saltbush and 

 bluebush. Mulga scrub and a poorer class of country then set in ; 

 at eleven miles entered into a settled sandy mulga scrub country 

 with occasional sandhills. From one of these I observed a low 

 range of hills bearing S. 9° E., distant about twenty-five miles ; 



