140 
ROUTE TO PORT LINCOLN. 
water, that I was induced to deviate from the course 
I had laid down, and steering S. 20° E. made for 
some hills before us. After travelling four miles 
upon this course, I observed a native fire upon the 
hills at a bearing of S. 40° E. and immediately turned 
towards it, fully hoping that it was at a native 
camp and in the immediate vicinity of water. 
At eight miles we were close under the hills, but 
found the dray could not cross the front ridges ; I 
therefore left Mr. Scott to keep a course parallel 
with the range, whilst I and the native boy rode 
across to where we had seen the fire. Upon arriving* 
at the spot I was greatly disappointed to find, in- 
stead of a native camp, only a few burning bushes, 
which had either been lit as a signal by the natives, 
after noticing us in the plains, or was one of those 
casual fires so frequently left by them on their line of 
march. I found the hills scrubby, barren, and rocky, 
with much prickly grass growing upon their slopes. 
There were no watercourses upon the west side of 
the range at all, nor could I by tracing up some 
short rocky valleys coming from steep gorges in the 
face of the hill find any water. The rock was princi- 
pally of ironstone formation. Upon ascending to 
the summit of the hill, I had an extensive but un- 
satisfactory view, a vast level field of scrub stretching 
every where around me, interspersed here and there 
with the beds of small dried up lakes, but with no 
signs of water any where. At S. W. by S. I saw the 
smoke of a native fire rising in the plains. Hurry- 
