This surprised us, because we were not aware that there were any so immediately in our vicinity.

It however shewed us the necessity of vigilance and circumspection in our future movements.
Steering for the most western point of Mount Deception range, until we opened one still more distant to the north-west, and which I named Termination Hill, we kept pushing on through barren stony plains, without grass or shrubs, and arrived late in the afternoon upon a large watercourse with gum-trees, but could find no water in its bed.

Near it, however, in the plains, we were fortunate enough to discover a puddle of rain water, and at once halted for the night, though the feed was indifferent.

We had travelled twenty-eight miles, and the pack-horse carrying twelve gallons of water, was considerably fatigued.

At the puddle, two teal were seen, which indicated the existence of a larger body of water somewhere in the neighbourhood, but our efforts to find it were unsuccessful.
August 3 .-- Crossing very heavy sandy ridges, we passed at intervals one or two dry watercourses, and the beds of some small dry lakes among the sandy ridges, in one of which was a little rain water which appeared to be rapidly drying up.