DELUSION FROM MIRAGE. 373 tinctly traced on the unruffled surface. As we continued to advance, the water however constantly retreated before us, and at last surrounded us. I now found that we had been deceived by mirage; the apparent islands being really such only when these plains are covered by the sea. In many places the sandy mud was so moist that we sank deeply into it, and after travelling for fifteen miles on a N.E. course, I could still see no limit to these plains in that direction, nor could I either then, or on any subsequent occasion, find the channel which connected them with the sea. The only mode of accounting for their being flooded, is to suppose that the sea at times pours in over the low land which lies to the north of the Gascoyne, and flows northward through channels which will be seen in the chart of this part of the country; but I then believed, and still consider that there is hereabouts a communication with some large internal water. We saw no tracks of natives, and only a few of emus and native dogs. The few portions of rising ground which lay near the edge of these extensive plains, were sandy, scrubby, and unpromising; but what we saw was so little, that no opinion of the country could fairly be deduced from it. We dug in several places on the flats and in their vicinity, but all the water we could find was salt; whereas, in the narrow range of sand-hills separating them from the sea, we had discovered abundance of fresh water, only four or five feet below the surface of the valleys lying between these hills. As this As this range of more than thirty miles in length, offered many geological phenomena, I called it Lyell's Range, in compliment to the distinguished geologist of that name; the plains themselves I named the Plains of Kolaina (Deceit). On my return to the boats, I found that Mr. Smith was still unwell; several other men were also complaining; I, myself, was wearied from exertion and disappointment that my great discovery had dwindled away the place where we were was infested by land-crabs, who kept running over us continually, and the sand which drifted before the wind got into the pores of the skin, and kept most of us in a constant state of painful irritation. The night was therefore not a pleasant one. March 9.-Throughout the night the winds had howled loudly, and the surf broke hoarsely upon the shore. The grey dawn of morning brought no comfort with it: far out to seaward nothing but broken water could be seen, and half a gale of wind blew from the s. by E. The bad and insufficient food I had been compelled to eat, had brought on violent sickness, and other evil effects, and I found myself very ill. As the daylight advanced, report after report came to me that some one of the party had been attacked by the same diseases experienced by Mr. Smith and myself; I was only well enough to write and survey a little, but I sent off a party to a point which lay about six miles to the north of us, and they on their return reported that there was a continuation of a similar shore for the next fourteen DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 375 or fifteen miles, bordered in like manner by sandy muddy plains, similar to those behind the hills where we were. This party found one of the yellow and black water-snakes, asleep upon a piece of dry sea-weed on the beach, and killed it. The fact of this animal being found on shore proves its amphibious character. I saw them in one instance, in December, 1837, so far out at sea, as to be distant 150 miles from land. Sunday, March 10.-I spent a wretched night from illness and foul weather; the roaring of the surf on the shore was so loud and incessant, that to one feverish and in want of quiet and rest it was a positive distress, and both Mr. Smith, myself, and half the men, were at this time seriously indisposed. We had strong gales of wind all day from s. by E., but in the afternoon I walked out for five miles in an E.S.E. direction, with such of the men as were able to move; nothing, however, could be seen but a continuation of the same barren, treeless country; we observed no signs of natives, except tracks in the mud of a single man who had passed some months ago. It annoyed me now to find that the silvering of the glasses of my large sextant was so much injured from the constant wettings it had experienced, that this day it was almost useless. I had hoped, in the course of our walk, to have fallen in with some game, but we did not see a single bird, with the exception of some small ones, about the size of tomtits, which flew from bush to bush along the sand-hills. 376 SUFFERINGS FROM HEAT AND PRIVATION. We had a small quantity of portable soup with us, nearly all of which we used, and it in some degree restored us, but another miserable night was passed by us all, and in the morning I was grieved to see how ill many of the men looked. Their situation was really deplorable, and I had with me neither medicines nor proper food to give them. Abundance of these lay at our depot not more than forty miles from us, yet to reach it was impossible; and dawn this morning had only revealed to us a heavier surf and stronger gale from the southward, than we had yet experienced. None of the men were well enough to undergo the fatigue of another day's walking, so I busied myself with making observations and taking bearings, and thus the forenoon wore away. The point of the coast on which we were lay in 24° 30′ s. lat. and the mean temperature up to this period had been, At noon a portion of some disgusting damper and a small piece of pork was served out to each of us, and having soon disposed of this, the men lay down under the side of the boats, seeking some shelter from the burning rays of a tropical sun, which being reflected back from the white sand were very oppressive. I was occupied in sketching in a portion of the coast line, and whilst thus engaged I thought I saw the figures of two natives moving upon a hill a |