Thursday, 3d. Little delay was occasioned by our preparations for breakfast. The fourth part of a biscuit, which had been issued to each man on the preceding evening, and which was to furnish both supper and breakfast, would have required little time had all of it remained to be eaten, which was not the case. We were becoming somewhat impatient on account of thirst, having met with no water which we could drink for near twenty-four hours; accordingly, getting upon our horses at an early hour, we moved down the valley, passing an extensive tract, whose soil is a loose red sand, intermixed with gravel and small pebbles, and producing nothing but a few sunflowers and sand cherries, still unripe. While we should remain upon a soil of this description, we could scarcely expect to meet with water or wood, for both of which we began to feel the most urgent necessity; and as the prospect of the country before us promised no change, it is not surprising we should have felt a degree of anxiety and alarm, which, added to our sufferings from hunger and thirst, made our situation extremely unpleasant. We had travelled great part of the day enveloped in a burning atmosphere, sometimes letting fall upon {281} us the scorching particles of sand, which had been raised by the wind, sometimes almost suffocating by its entire stagnation, when we had the good fortune to meet with a pool of stagnant water, which, though muddy and brackish, was not entirely impotable, and afforded us a more welcome treat than it is in the power of abundance to supply. Here was also a little wood, and our badger, with the addition of a young owl, was very hastily cooked and eaten. Numbers of cow buntings had been seen a little before we arrived at this encampment, flying so familiarly about the horses that the men killed several with their whips. August 4th. We were still passing through a barren and desolate region, affording no game, and nearly destitute of wood and water. Its soil is evidently the detritus of a stratum of red sandstone and coarse conglomeratic, which is still the basis and prevailing rock. It appears to contain a considerable proportion of lime, and fragments of plaster stone and selenite are often seen intermixed with it.