ARRIVE AT THE DEPOT. 
73 
with a large pool of water in its bed, and well adapted 
for a halting place for the party on their route to the 
north : we had not seen this in our outward course, 
having kept further to the westward in the plains. 
From the water-hole, Mount Eyre bore W. 30° S. 
distant five miles. 
Upon leaving this pool I pushed on as rapidly 
as I could, being anxious to rejoin my party ; and 
after a hard and fatiguing ride of forty miles, ar- 
rived at the depot under Mount Arden, late in the 
day, having been absent sixteen days. I had been 
anxiously expected, and was cordially welcomed by 
the whole party, who were getting sadly tired of 
inactivity, and especially by my young friend Mr. 
Scott, whose eager and ardent disposition rendered 
him quite uneasy under the confinement and re- 
straint of a depot encampment; he would gladly 
have shared with me the difficulties and hazards of 
exploring the country in advance, but from the very 
embarrassing nature of the undertaking, I did not 
think it right to take more than a single native with 
me, as every addition to the number of a party, on 
such occasions, only tends to increase the difficulty 
and anxiety of the task. 
Having rested a little, and made innumerable 
inquiries, I was very much gratified to find that 
the whole party were in good health, and that every 
thing had been conducted in a satisfactory manner 
during my absence. No one had been idle, and 
every thing that I could have wished, had been pro- 
perly arranged. The stores had been safely brought 
