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It was very probable we should get no water, as none is known to exist where we should touch upon its shores. Thus we were, after coming 120 miles from Wynbring, still nearly 200 miles from the Finniss Springs, the nearest water that I knew. It was now a matter of life and death; could we reach the Finniss at all?
I must push on to-morrow for Finniss Springs, and trust to find water on the way. Wednesday, 20th April, Same Place. Started at 7.30 on a bearing of 275 degrees over a stony, undulating country with plenty of grass and salt bush, but no water. At twenty miles we saw a smoke raised by the blacks to the south of our line, under the range.
I now decided to return by a new and more southerly route to the depot, hoping to find some other waters on the way. At this dam we were 160 miles from Eucla Harbour, which I visited last February with my black boy Tommy and the three horses lost in pushing from Wynbring to the Finniss. North from Eucla, running inland, is a great plain.
At sunrise started Campbell for Oratunga with tracings, letter, etc., with orders to proceed to Finniss Springs, thence to Herrgott Springs, thence to St. A'Becket's Pool, thence to Mount Glenns, thence to Mount Stuart, and thence to Oratunga, taking six days to perform the journey. Preparing my other plans for a start to-morrow for the north-west, to see what the Davenport range is.
The Hermit Hill. Black shepherds and shepherdesses. The Finniss Springs. Victims to the bush. Footprints on the sands of time. Alec Ross. Reach Beltana. On the 2nd April we departed from this friendly depot at Wynbring Rock, taking our three horses, the two camels and the calf.
Saturday, 23rd April, Finniss Springs. Started at 8 a.m. with Herrgott to examine the country south of this. Between this and the range the land is good in places. It is a little rotten and stony, but the range is a beautiful grass country to the very top. In the creeks the grass and other plants are growing luxuriantly, but we could find no water.
We continued on our former course until we touched upon and rounded the north-western extremity of Lake Torrens. I then changed my course for the Hermit Hill, at the foot of which the Finniss Springs and Sir Thomas Elder's cattle station lies. Our course was now nearly north.
On Monday I shall start again to the south-west, and leave the examination of the range to the south-east until my return. Sunday, 24th April, Finniss Springs. Latitude, 29 degrees 33 minutes 30 seconds. Rested. Monday, 25th April, Finniss Springs. As it seemed likely to rain, in which case the country would be very soft, I started at 9.30 on a bearing of 242 degrees for Chambers Creek.
This was the eighth day of continued travel from Wynbring; our water was now all gone, and we were yet more than 100 miles from the Finniss Springs. I had been compelled to enforce a most rigid and inadequate economy with our water during our whole march; when we left the camp where the last horse died very little over three pints remained; we were all very bad, old Jimmy was nearly dead.
John Knott, Esq. Charles Bonney, Esq. Duncan M'Farlane, Esq. John Brown, Esq. David McLaren, Esq. Edward Eyre, Esq. John Morphett, Esq. John Finniss, Esq. Chas. Mann, Esq. J. H. Fisher, Esq. R. F. Newland, Esq. Lieutenant Frome, Dr. Rankin. Esq. Surveyor-general G. Stevenson, Esq. O. Gilles, Esq. F. Stephens, Esq. Captain Grey W. Smilie, Esq. J. B. Hack, Esq. T. B. Strangwaya, Esq.
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