270 
Captain Sturt’s Expedition, fyc. 
the channel contracted, and the water became discoloured. The 
fall of the creek was from north to south, or nearly so, towards 
the stony desert—an evident proof that we had crossed the lowest 
part of the interior thereabouts. But however promising the creek 
was, it ran through a barren inhospitable flat, nor was grass to be 
procured any where but in its bed. The flat was bounded on 
either side by high sandy ridges, covered with spinifex, excepting 
at their summits, which were perfectly bare, and from them it was 
like looking over a sandy sea, so like waves did the ridges succeed 
each other. In lat. 25° 9' the creek makes a sudden turn to the 
north-east; and in order to shorten our journey we cut across the 
angle, and mounting a small hill, saw a lagoon of clear water 
beneath us, occupying the bed of a creek from the north-east, 
which we took to be a tributary to that on which we had been. 
We knew from the colour of the water that the lagoon was 
brackish, and so we found it. I therefore crossed the channel 
close to it, and amidst the grass Mr. Browne gathered two stalks 
of millet, the only tropical production found during the expe¬ 
dition. In hopes that we should find the main creek in the trees 
before us, I struck to the westward over a considerable extent of 
grassy land; but we passed from under the trees to plains of 
great extent, on which salsolaceous plants alone were growing. 
Nor could we see the slightest sign of the creek line of trees ; but 
travelling on till after sun-set halted under a sand-hill without 
either water or grass. On the following morning I detached 
Mr. Browne to the west, still thinking that the creek might be 
in that direction, whilst I led the party to the north. He soon 
rejoined me, however, with intelligence that he had been stopped 
by a salt-water creek about three miles to our left. Here there 
was a change of country, as unexpected as it was disheartening, 
many changes we had already experienced, but each succeeding 
one seemed to be for the worse. 
(To be continued.) 
