96 distress for want of fresh W'ATER. 
them, we had no difficulty in guessing at their nature : 
in fact, they were brine springs, and I collected a quantity 
of salt from the brink of them. 
After such a discovery, we could not hope to keep oui 
position. No doubt the current we had observed on first 
reaching the river, was caused by springs that had either 
escaped our notice or were under water. Here was at length 
a local cause for its saltness that destroyed at once the an- 
ticipation and hope of our being near its termination, and, 
consequently, the ardour with which we should have pressed 
on to decide so interesting a point. 
Our retreat would have been a measure of absolute neces- 
sity ere this, had we not found occasional supplies of fresh 
water, the last pond of which was now about eighteen miles 
behind us. 
Whether we should again find any, was a doubtful ques- 
tion, and I hesitated to run the risk. The animals were 
already, from bad food, and from the effects of the river 
water, so weak, that they could scarcely carry their loads, 
and I was aware, if any of the bullocks once fell, he would 
never rise again. Under such circumstances, I thought it 
better to halt the party at the edge of the scrub, though 
the feed was poor, and the water not diinkable. Our situ 
atioii required most serious consideration. It was necessary 
that we should move either backward or forward in the 
morning. Yet we could not adopt either measure with 
satisfaction to ourselves, under such unfavorable circum- 
stances. I determined to relieve my own mind by getting 
