60 
RETURN TO THE HILLS. 
beyond Lake Torrens, or led to some practicable 
opening to the north. 
With a heavy heart I turned towards the moun- 
tains, and steering N. E. for ten miles, halted at 
dark, where there was nothing for our horses to eat 
or drink, and we were consequently obliged to tie 
them up for the night. We had still a few oats left 
and gave each horse three pints. A short time 
before encamping, I had observed that Lake Torrens 
was trending more to the eastward, and that when 
we halted, it was not at any very great distance 
from us. 
July 9. — One of our horses having got loose last 
night, pulled the cork out of the keg in which was 
our small stock of the dirty brackish water we had 
found yesterday, and rolling the keg over, destroyed 
its contents ; we were thus deprived of our breakfasts, 
and consequently had but little delay in starting. 
I intended to push on steadily for the hills, but after 
travelling six miles came to a puddle in the plains, 
with tolerable grass around, and at this I halted for 
the day, to rest the horses. Our latitude was 
31° 25' S. by an altitude of Arcturus, Mount Eyre 
then bearing S. 7° E. 
July 10. — Our horses being much recruited I 
altered our course to-day to N. 5° E. being the 
bearing of the most distant range to the northward, 
(subsequently named Mount Deception). We 
passed for the first ten miles through an open barren 
country, but found a puddle at which we watered 
