330 Captain Sturt's Expedition into the 
bounded, in the direction we were going, by a long ridge or dune 
of sand traversing our course, that is to say, running from east to 
west, contrary to the usual lay of those remarkable deposits. On 
gaining the summit of this ridge the view extended over a country, 
the dip of which was again to the north. There were innu¬ 
merable lines of dunes shooting out parallel to each other from it, 
having a narrow valley between them, with a line of acacias, of a 
species never found near water, occupying the centre. Taking 
down one of these vallies, we pushed on our weary animals till 
sunset, when it became necessary to halt; but the country had 
become one of pure sand. Both valley and dune were covered 
with spinifex and mesembryanthemum, so matted together as 
scarcely to be forced through. There was a bright red streak on 
the summit of each dune, on which the sun’s last rays fell with 
singular effect. To the eastward and to the westward the dunes 
were in regular succession, as I have before remarked, like the 
waves of the sea; nor could we have penetrated in either of these 
directions. Northwards we could see to a distance of full twenty 
miles, the dunes running parallel to each other on the same line 
of bearing—342°—as at first. There was something appalling 
in the view which it is impossible to describe, but which was 
strongly felt by us all. I believe men never gazed on a scene of 
such absolute hopelessness, or one of so desperate a character. We 
were obliged to fasten our horses to stunted shrubs, as there was 
nothing for them this second night, either to eat or to drink, and 
it became a matter of painful necessity to me to fall back on the 
creek which had so unexpectedly failed us. There was indeed no 
alternative, for the horses were completely exhausted, and were 
scarcely able to get to water. We advanced on this occasion to 
lat. 24° 40', and long. 138°, the meridian I had been directed to 
gain. In a few days more and we should have been in the centre 
of the continent; as it was, we gained the meridian of Mount 
Arden, but 525 miles higher up to the north than that hill. It 
is not probable, therefore, that any range of mountains can exist 
in the direction supposed, or that the high lands seen by Mr. 
Eyre to the N. W. of Lake Torrens extend very far into the in¬ 
terior in a north-easterly direction. We had followed up the 
