192 » Captain Sturt's Expedition into the 
well, under a gum tree. This we were obliged to clean out for a 
scanty supply of water, the bed of the creek being still gravel 
and sand with all the appearance of a mountain torrent. Topar 
called this well, at which we slept, Murnco-Murnco; but as the 
horses had fared badly, we started early on the following morning, 
to reach another well, in which, he assured us, there was plenty 
of water, and we certainly found more than in the first, although 
little enough. We kept on the proper right bank of the creek, 
with the ranges to our left, and a barren, stony, undulating 
ground between us and them. Some undulations in front of us 
assumed a more regular form, and fragments of quartz and con¬ 
glomerated rock cropped out of the ground. At five miles on 
our former course, Topar showed us a well that was worthless, 
but soon after led us to the one he had spoken of, and which, 
certainly, was better than either of the others. W hilst at break¬ 
fast, we saw a smoke in the creek towards the hills ; on seeing 
which, nothing could exceed the irritable impatience of our guide 
to communicate with the natives; but they had decamped before 
we got to the place, and Topar insisting upon it, that there was 
no more water in the creek, turned from it to the N.E. From 
the conduct of this young stripling, I began to have suspicions of 
him, and, therefore, determined on taking the helm into my own 
hands ; however, just at the time, a smoke again ascended from 
the creek, when Topar was just as impatient to return to it. We 
again missed the natives, however, but found a fine pond of 
beautiful water, from which, it was clear, Topar had purposely 
led us. On the following day, we ascended the ranges, but did 
not find them so rugged as we had been led to anticipate. From 
the summit, we saw a plain to the west, surrounded by hills, but 
no indications of a creek or any cheering object. I therefore 
returned to the water-hole, and passed a second night at it. The 
next morning, I resolved, against Mr. Topar’s expostulations, to 
run the creek up; in doing which, we passed several water-holes 
that were slightly brackish, and at length found that we had 
risen to a level with the plain we had overlooked from the summit 
of the range, the day before. The channel of the creek, greatly 
diminished in size, trended to the west, and Topar almost cried, 
