My party were now once more all assembled together, after having been separated for nearly seven weeks; during which, neither division knew what had befallen the other, and both were necessarily anxious to be reunited again, since, in the event of any mischance occurring to either, the other would have been placed in circumstances of much difficulty, if not of danger; and the whole object of the undertaking would have been frustrated. The great delay caused by my having been obliged to send over from Port Lincoln to Adelaide for supplies, had thrown us very late in the season; the summer was rapidly advancing, the weather even now, being frequently intensely hot, whilst the grass was gradually drying up and losing its nourishment. Our sending to Adelaide had, however, obtained for us the valuable services of the WATERWITCH to assist us in tracing round the desert line of coast to the north-west, and had enabled us to procure a larger and more varied supply of stores, than we could possibly have brought up from Port Lincoln in a single dray. We were now amply furnished with conveniences of every kind; and both men and horses were in good plight and ready to enter upon the task before them. Chapter X. COUNTRY BETWEEN STREAKY BAY AND BAXTER'S RANGE--ITS SCRUBBY CHARACTER--GAWLER RANGE--MOUNT STURT--ASCEND A PEAK--SALT LAKES--BEAUTIFUL FLOWER--ASCEND ANOTHER HILL--MOUNT BROWN SEEN--EXTENSIVE VIEW TO THE NORTH--LAKE GILLES--BAXTER'S RANGE. During the time that I had been occupied in conducting my division of the party from Baxter's Range to Port Lincoln, the overseer had been engaged in guiding the other portion across to Streaky Bay, upon my former track from thence to Mount Arden, in September 1839. The following brief extracts from my Journal of that period, whilst crossing from Streaky Bay to Mount Arden, will convey an idea of the character of the country extending between these two points; and of the great difficulty, indeed almost the impossibility of forcing a passage, except immediately after the occurrence of heavy rains. 1839, Sept. 18.--We left the depot near Streaky Bay, at a course nearly due east, and passing through alternations of brush and of open grassy plains, upon the skirts of which grew a few casuarinae; halted after a stage of eighteen miles, at an opening in the brush, where we had good grass, but no water; we were consequently obliged to watch the horses during the night, to prevent their straying. From this camp Mount Hall bore S. 2 degrees E. and Mount Cooper S. E. the variation of the compass being 2 degrees 22 minutes E.