190 
RECENT AUSTRALIAN EXPLORATIONS. [March 22, 1858. 
He again started, but was again delayed by tbe continued illness 
of the same servant whom he was obliged to send back to the coast, 
and finally left Yarwandutta on the 21st of July. At Warroona 
there is permanent water in a creek ; and in every direction, limited 
only by the scrub to the southward, the view from the hills extends 
over good grass and salt bush. The salt lakes still continued, but 
trended farther away from the range. About 25 miles to the north 
was a large range with a similar line of salt lakes under it. It 
seemed to be a feature of this country that the drainage of the hills 
was received by these salt lakes. 
Bound Toondulya there was grass country in all directions, and 
a fine permanent spring. Hearing from the black that there was 
only one more permanent water on this course, at Yarlbinda, he 
rode there, and found the features of the country to continue the 
same along the route, and ten miles onward to a detached hill to 
the north-west, but no other mountains were visible to the north or 
north-west, and the black guides asserted that there was no water 
for horses for a very long distance in that direction. Very far off 
is a country called Naralla, but on this course horses cannot be 
taken there. As viewed from the highest hill of Yarlbinda, the 
distant country appeared a level sea of scrub, without a hill or rise 
of any sort to indicate the existence of water in one place more 
than another. Mr. Hack felt that he might have gone as far into 
this scrub as the horses could have lasted without water, and then 
have returned to Yarlbinda ; but such a course would have knocked 
the horses up, and crippled the future operations of the expedition ; 
and he considered that the letter of his instructions should be 
departed from, and a practicable route sought out in another direc- 
tion. The guide recommended that the party should go ten stages 
to the eastward, to a great salt lake, whence probably an opening 
would be found to the north. Beports were heard of several per- 
manent waters and good country to the southward, but these were 
left for future examination, and Mr. Hack adopted the advice of his 
guide. Shortly after leaving Yarlbinda he passed through second- 
rate salt-bush country, and then through large alternate tracts of 
scrub, grass, and again scrub, to Murnea, whence he obtains a 
fair view of the Great Salt Lake, and again comes upon Major War- 
burton’s tracks. To the north, from the highest hill near, nothing 
could be seen but a perfect horizon of salt ; thence, until arriving 
at Yardea, the country is of variable goodness, and much of it is 
bad, but at Yardea itself it is excellent. In country of this descrip- 
tion, that is to say, where sometimes there is excellent grass, and 
sometimes scrub, but with frequent watering-places, many of which 
