As the soaks at which we were camped have the appearance of being more permanent than the usual native well, it may be useful to give directions for finding them from Mount Elphinstone.  Leave hill on bearing 230 degrees, cross one sand-ridge close to hills, then spinifex plain, then another sand-ridge running East and West, from the crest of which can be seen three gaps in the next one—­steer for most Westerly gap, and seven miles from the hill the soaks will be found.  Having no time for further investigation, we returned to camp, and to ensure an early start tied the camels down for the night, since they had been feeding all day.  Bluey again proved to be a vicious brute, and kicked me in the chest, knocking me down; but the other new camels daily improved in their manners.  We had great trouble in cleaning off from their backs the clay with which they were smeared, having rolled in some shallow clay-pans near the lakes.  It was most necessary to scrape it off somehow, as otherwise sore backs would have resulted; and, indeed, Stoddy’s sore back started in this way by the friction of the saddle and the caked mud.

The country ahead looked so bad that I decided to take the two bucks with us for as long as they knew the waters, so secured the one to the other by the neck, with plenty of spare chain between.  They marched with us apparently perfectly happy, and even anxious to point out the directions of various native wells.  My object was to make as much Southing as possible whilst we could; so having two natives and one hundred gallons of water (of which the horses were given three gallons each nightly), we steered due South from the soaks, and had a long day of tremendously steep sand-ridges, up the North side of which the camels climbed with difficulty.  Riding the camels was out of the question, so we took the horses in turn, Breaden and I steering hour about.  Though crossing fresh tracks and though the bucks were most anxious to follow them, we did not turn from our course, for we had only left water the day before, and as our rations were calculated to just, and only just, last out, no time could be wasted.  For the same reason we were travelling longer hours.

Our camp of the 28th was in lat. 21 degrees 4 minutes long. 128 degrees 33 minutes, and ahead of us to the South-West three miles distant was a range of barren sandstone hills, for which we steered; the old man, though contradicted by the young one, promising “gilli nappa,” or creek water.  However, he fooled us, and after much climbing we reached a small, dry well in a narrow gorge, quite inaccessible for camels.

It was now the young man’s turn, who, seeing that we were not best pleased with his mate’s efforts, by every sort of sign assured us that water existed in another range to the East.  So turning in that direction over monstrous high ridges, crossing them obliquely, in five miles we cut a small watercourse, and following it up to its head found ourselves on the top of a range of barren sandstone hills, over which were dotted white-stemmed stunted gums—­a most desolate place.  The travelling was very trying to the camels, who were continually missing their footing on loose boulders and stones, in the bed of the creek.  Sheer steps in the rock on either hand precluded us from marching over the hills, excepting up the watercourse.