200 
Captain Sturt's Expedition into the 
which we were now distant 200 miles, crossing the nearer ranges, 
on the summit of which I found a small hole of water, between 
some rocks. I traversed an extensive plain—partly of flooded 
and partly of sandy soil. I proceeded towards a high rounded 
hill, the highest of the group to which it belonged ; and halted 
for the night 42 miles from the camp, without water. At twenty 
miles beyond this, we entered a sandy pine forest, through the 
mazes of which we wound our way for 15 miles, amidst dead 
trees of all kinds. The sand continued to the very foot of the 
hill, and pine trees were growing in its ravines; taking it altoge¬ 
ther, a more hopeless, inhospitable country cannot be imagined. 
On gaining the summit of the hill, an elevation of 2000 feet, we 
looked in vain for a break in the dark and gloomy brush that 
surrounded it on every side. There was a third line of hills to 
the eastward, apparently similar in formation to that on which we 
stood; but there was no prominent peak upon it. The rock 
formation was a close compact sandstone, traversed by veins of 
quartz. Fragments of this rock were scattered over the hill 
which was exceedingly bare ; a few stunted bushes of rhagodia 
being alone visible. A few casuarinsB were also growing on the 
summit of this eminence, but nothing else. There was no mis¬ 
taking the nature of the country between us and the Darling ; 
nor did I see a hope of finding water in the miserable brush 
which covered the country in the direction of that river, therefore 
determined on returning to the camp, and halted at sunset to 
rest the horses; but pushing on again at 3 a.m., I was fortunate 
in arriving at a small puddle of water in a creek about 10 a.m. 
It was in this dense and perishing forest that we first experienced 
the excessive heat, which we subsequently felt in traversing other 
brushes of the same kind. At this time the heat was daily 
increasing, the thermometer being seldom under 99 ; often up to 
112 in the shade, the midnight temperature being 86 and 90. 
Yet every thing round about us wore a green and fresh appearance, 
nor were the cereal grasses yet ripe. On the 25th, Christmas 
Day, Mr. Poole and Mr. Browne returned. They had been as 
high as latitude 29 a 14', and had crossed several creeks, but had 
not observed any improvement in the country; and although 
