A short time before encamping, I had observed that Lake Torrens was trending more to the eastward, and that when we halted, it was not at any very great distance from us.
July 9 .-- One of our horses having got loose last night, pulled the cork out of the keg in which was our small stock of the dirty brackish water we had found yesterday, and rolling the keg over, destroyed its contents; we were thus deprived of our breakfasts, and consequently had but little delay in starting.

I intended to push on steadily for the hills, but after travelling six miles came to a puddle in the plains, with tolerable grass around, and at this I halted for the day, to rest the horses.

Our latitude was 31 degrees 25 minutes S.by an altitude of Arcturus, Mount Eyre then bearing S.7 degrees E.
July 10 .-- Our horses being much recruited I altered our course to-day to N.5 degrees E.being the bearing of the most distant range to the northward, (subsequently named Mount Deception).

We passed for the first ten miles through an open barren country, but found a puddle at which we watered our horses, and refilled the keg; we then entered heavy ridges of dense red sand lying nearly north and south, and having small barren plains between.
There were a few stunted bushes upon the ridges and occasionally some small straggling pines.

Lake Torrens still trended easterly, being occasionally seen from, and sometimes approaching near to our track.
Emerging from the sandy ridges we again entered upon vast level plains covered with rhagodia.