124 degrees 48 minutes. This reckoning placed
Alexander Spring in a position agreeing very closely with that given it
by Forrest, which was very gratifying to me. This water was marked by
Forrest as "permanent." He says in his journal: "July 13th . . . Fine
water at this place. I have no doubt water is always here. I named it
Alexander Spring after my brother, who discovered it. Abundance of water
also in rock-holes." This was in 1874. Since that date this spot has been
revisited, first and not long after Forrest, by W. W. Mills, who was
commissioned to bring over a mob of camels from South Australia. He
followed Forrest's track from water to water, at first with no
difficulty; depending on Alexander Spring, he made a longish dry stage,
reached the spring only to find it dry, and had a bad time in
consequence. The second party to follow Forrest's route was that of
Carr-Boyd in 1896, whom Breaden accompanied, and who was prospecting for
an Adelaide syndicate. They passed by this spot, but having plenty of
water, as it was raining at the time, did not visit the spring. From
Mount Worsnop, Woodhouse, one of the party, sighted the lagoon; but
neither he nor any of the party had troubled to see whether it was
salt or fresh, or of what extent it was. I have named it after
Woodhouse, who first saw it. Breaden had told me of the fact of his
having seen it, but I had supposed that, as rain was falling, Woodhouse
was only looking on a shallow pool that could by no possibility hold
water for long.
Shortly after Carr-Boyd, there followed Hubbe's party. He was sent out by
the South Australian Government to follow Forrest's route, to ascertain
its suitability or otherwise for a stock route. Hubbe found the spring
dry, or practically so, and was much disappointed. He did not happen to
find the lagoon, and had a long stage before he found water. His party
arrived at Menzies shortly before we started. I was unable to get any
information from him beyond the opinion that the country was worthless
and a stock route impracticable. I put more faith, however, in Breaden,
whose life has been spent amongst stock and travelling cattle. When with
Carr-Boyd he came to the conclusion that as far as the Warburton Range
cattle could be taken without much trouble; and indeed in 1873, so I have
read, Gosse drove some bullocks as far as that point, which was the
furthest west he penetrated when attempting to cross the Colony.
From the Warburton Range to Lake Wells the awkward part came in, but now
this lagoon and the Empress Spring go far to bridge it over. I have no
doubt that a fortnight's work at both these places would be sufficient to
make splendid wells, supposing that the lagoon was found dry and the
spring too hard to get at.
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