It was found however impossible to procure the necessary horses for us before the next day, and our departure was consequently delayed until the morning of the 9th.
Before entering into the details of this expedition it is requisite to give a short outline of the circumstances under which we started.

The Williams River, from which Mr.Elliott had proceeded, is distant about seventy miles from Leschenault in a direct line.

The Williams is in the interior, and the Leschenault on the sea-coast, and between the two places lies the Darling Range, a high chain of mountains which had never before been crossed at this point.

Now, under ordinary circumstances Mr.
Elliott might have been expected to have reached Leschenault in three or four days.

He had therefore only carried with him a supply of provisions calculated to last for that period.