234 
COUNTRY AROUND DEPOT. 
as it would occasion great delay in reaching the 
one we had left tied in the scrub. I directed the 
overseer to hurry back as rapidly as possible, and by 
travelling all night to endeavour to make up for lost 
time, for I greatly feared that if not relieved before 
another day passed away, it would be quite impossi- 
ble to save the animal alive. 
After resting myself a little I walked about to 
reconnoitre the neighbourhood of our camp, not 
having seen it before. The situation was at the west 
side of the upper extreme of Point Fowler, imme- 
diately behind the sand -drifts of the coast, which 
there were high, bare, and of white sand. The 
water was on the inland side, immediately under the 
sand-hills, and procured in the greatest abundance 
and of good quality, by sinking from one to three 
feet. It was found in a bed of white pipe-clay. To 
the north-west of us were some open grassy plains, 
among which our horses and sheep obtained their 
food, whilst here and there were scattered a few salt 
swamps or beds of lakes, generally, however, dry. 
The whole country was of fossil formation, and the 
borders of the lakes and swamps exhibited indurated 
masses of marine shells, apparently but a very recent 
deposit. Further inland the country was crusted 
on the surface with an oolitic limestone, and for the 
most part covered by brush ; a few open plains 
being interspersed here and there among the scrubs, 
as is generally the case in that description of 
country. 
