Steering a westerly, and then a north course, we reached the small waterhole at Mr. Kennedy's second camp on the return route; there was just sufficient water to supply the party for one night, and a few scattered tufts of grass near it, but quite insufficient for the supply of so large a number of horses. Close to the waterhole we found Mr. Kennedy's marked tree; it was a large box-tree, marked on the north side thus: K II. The cuts of the axe and chisel were still quite clear, though twelve years had elapsed; but the slow growth and decay of trees in the interior may be attributed to the dryness of the climate. 29th May. Steering north-west, after toiling nearly thirty miles across this fearful waste of dry mud, we at length reached a small patch of grass on a sandy hummock, but only just in time to save the horses, as many could scarcely keep on their legs, and we had to remove their loads to those which were less exhausted. 30th May. Long before the next morning our hungry animals had consumed every blade of grass, and the small patch round the camp was reduced to the same barren appearance as the surrounding plain. We therefore started in search of food for them, and were fortunate in finding a second patch of grass, about three miles to the south, and halted for the remainder of the day, which was Sunday, thankful that Providence had enabled us to make it a day of rest. PLAINS OF DRY MUD. 31st May. The running channel of the river being still to the west of our position, we steered south-west, over barren clay plains, to some low ridges of drift sand, beyond which we found the channel full of water, with a slight current; but it terminated in a large reach of water which had not yet filled, and the channel lower down was dry. Low ridges of red drift sand were now frequent on the plain, and appeared to be the higher points of the former sandy desert, the clay plains resulting from the deposition of mud in the hollows between which had in course of time filled it to one uniform level. Latitude 26 degrees 2 minutes. 1st June. The channels on the western side of the plain were very irregular, sometimes completely lost on the level surface, and again collecting into large hollows, with box-trees on the banks, in which fine sheets of water still remained, some 100 yards wide and more than a mile in length. We therefore did not experience so much inconvenience with regard to the supply of this necessary element as from the absence of sufficient grass, and the all but impracticable nature of the mud plains. 4th June.