194 
SINGULAR SPRING. 
time before and were looking out very anxiously for 
my arrival. The Water witch had arrived on the 
29th of October, but the master did not commu- 
nicate with my party before the 31st; so that until 
the last three days they had been quite ignorant of 
our movements, and uneasy at our so greatly exceed- 
ing the time originally fixed for rejoining them. 
Having sent back a man, and two fresh and strong 
horses to assist the dray, 1 reconnoitred once more 
our depot of 1839. Situated in the middle of some 
extensive grassy openings among the scrub, is a 
solid sheet of limestone of a very hard texture : in 
the centre of this rock is a small oblong opening, a 
foot deep and only just large enough to admit of a 
pint pot being dipped in it. This curious little hole 
contained water from five to seven inches in depth, the 
level of which was maintained as rapidly as a person 
could bale it out ; this was our sole supply for our- 
selves and horses, but it was a never-failing one.* 
The spring is situated in latitude 32° 49' 0" S. 
and about three miles south-east from the most 
southerly bight of Streaky Bay. About one mile 
* The water had not a pleasant flavour, as it was of a chaly- 
beate nature ; but in a country where water was scarce, it was 
invaluable. When I was here in 1839, it had even then this 
disagreeable taste, but now it was much worse, in consequence, 
probably, of the contaminating substance being washed off more 
abundantly than formerly from the rocks enclosing the reservoir 
by the rapid flow of water necessary to replace the large con- 
sumption of my party. 
