There were neither trees nor shrubs, nor grass, nor vegetation of any kind except salsolaceous plants, and these every where abounded.
In the midst of these barren miserable plains I met with four natives, as impoverished and wretched looking as the country they inhabited.

As soon as they saw us they took to their heels, apparently in great alarm, but as I was anxious to find out from them if there was any water near, I galloped after two of them, and upon coming up with them was very nearly speared for my indiscretion; for the eldest of the two men, who had in his hand a long, rude kind of spear with which he had been digging roots or grubs out of the ground (although I could not see the least sign of anything edible) finding that he was rather close pressed, suddenly halted and faced me, raising his spear to throw.
The rapid pace at which I had been pursuing prevented my reining in my horse, but by suddenly spurring him when within but a few yards of the native, I wheeled on one side before the weapon had time to leave his grasp, and then pulling up I tried to bring my friend to a parley at a less dangerous distance.
Finding that I did not attempt to injure him, the native stood his ground, though tremblingly, and kept incessantly vociferating, and waving me away; to all my signs and inquiries, he was provokingly insensible, and would not hear of anything but my immediate departure.

Sometimes he pointed to the north, motioning me to go in that direction, but the poor wretch was in such a state of alarm and trepidation that I could make nothing of him and left him.

He remained very quietly until I had gone nearly a quarter of a mile, and then thinking that he had a fair start, he again took to his heels, and ran away as fast as he could in the direction opposite to that I had taken.
Continuing our course northerly I steered for what appeared to be a small lake not far away to the N.W.and crossed over some heavy ridges of white sand; upon reaching the object of my search it proved to be a winding arm of the main lake (Torrens) at first somewhat narrow, but gradually enlarging as we traced it downwards.

The bed of this arm was coated over, as had been the dry part of the bed of the main lake, with a very pungent salt, with mud and sand and water intermixed beneath the upper crust.
Following the arm downwards I came to a long reach of water in its channel, about two feet deep, perfectly clear, and as salt as the sea, and I even fancied that it had that peculiar green tinge which sea-water when shallow usually exhibits.
This water, however, was not continuous; a little further on, the channel again became dry, as it increased in width in its approach to the main lake, the bed of which, near its shores, was also dry.