So Gregory retraced his tracks up the Sturt Creek, and when one remembers that he had horses, one can only say, “And a good judge too.”

Leaving Mount Wilson we steered East and cut the creek that I had seen, and were glad to find feed near it for both horses and camels.  I walked it up to its head, and found a little rocky pool of water, returning after dark.  Breaden and Warri had been out too, but found nothing.  Having watered the animals, next morning, the 22nd, I steered a course to take us through a piece of country previously traversed by Warburton, with Lake White (a dry salt-lake) as our goal, for round it I hoped to find creeks and clay-pans.  I depended on none of Warburton’s waters, though he had some marked on his chart, since I knew that doubts existed as to the accuracy of his positions, and I preferred to rely upon our own methods of finding water rather than to waste time in hunting for wells that we might not find.  For the next few days we were crossing spinifex plains and passing distant hills and tablelands of sandstone.  The days were very hot, but since rising from the hollow of the lake the nights had become very much cooler.  We had come so suddenly into desert country that the animals gave us great trouble, being unable, poor things, to find any food.  Late starts were the order of the day, camels having wandered miles in one direction followed by Breaden and Warri, and the horses in another followed by me.

On the 23rd we found ourselves again amongst the sand ridges, high, red, and steep; we were now in lat. 20 degrees 30 minutes, and from that date and point this awful country continued almost without a break, ridge succeeding ridge with perfect regularity and running, as before, dead across our route, until we reached lat. 24 degrees 45 minutes on June 2nd—­a period of forty one days, during which we travelled 451 miles.  Thus it will be seen that in the far eastern portion of the Colony the ridges of drift-sand extend over a greater length of country than in the centre; and consequently our return journey was accomplished with greater difficulties before us, and with an almost total lack of feed for our stock—­less even than on the first trip but to balance these drawbacks we had cool nights, lighter equipment, and the advantage of previous experience—­and the incentive of knowing that our rations would not last out unless we made all speed.

On the 24th we crossed a range of barren hills, which I named the Gordon Hills, after our friends of Flora Valley.  In the neighbourhood Godfrey picked up a perfectly white egg, somewhat resembling that of an emu, which lay upon a hummock of spinifex; presumably it had been bleached by the sun.  From the hills to the S.S.W., across high ridges of sand, can be seen a range apparently of some altitude, distant some twenty-five miles; this I named the Stretch Range, after our kind host of Denison Downs Station.  From the Gordon Hills we continued on our course for a smoke we had sighted the day before, and before long picked up two fresh tracks, which we followed.  From some stony rises a large, prominent hill came into view, as if formed of three great steps of bare rock.  This I named Mount Elphinstone, after my cousin, and towards it we shaped our course, still on the tracks.