86 ADVANCE TO RECONNOITRE. 
observations valueless. I emptied the tubes and 
attempted to refill them, but in so doing I unfor- 
tunately broke one of them, and the other I could 
not get repaired in a satisfactory manner, not being 
able, after all my efforts, to get rid of some small air 
bubbles that would intrude, in spite of every care I 
could exercise. 
August 2. — Leaving early, I took with me a native 
boy, and a man on horseback, leading a pack-horse, to 
carry water, as I could not but be apprehensive, 
lest we might find none in the country into which 
we were advancing. In following down the Depot 
watercourse to the plains, we found a fire where the 
natives had encamped the previous night. This 
surprised us, because we were not aware that there 
were any so immediately in our vicinity. It however 
shewed us the necessity of vigilance and circumspec- 
tion in our future movements. 
Steering for the most western point of Mount 
Deception range, until we opened one still more 
distant to the north-west, and which I named Ter- 
mination Hill, we kept pushing on through barren 
stony plains, without grass or shrubs, and arrived 
late in the afternoon upon a large watercourse with 
gum-trees, but could find no water in its bed. Near it, 
however, in the plains, we were fortunate enough to 
discover a puddle of rain water, and at once halted 
for the night, though the feed was indifferent. We 
had travelled twenty-eight miles, and the pack-horse 
carrying twelve gallons of water, was considerably 
