There
Was Nothing To Be Done But To Skirt The Edge Of The Lake, And If
Connected With Lake Wells To Skirt That Too, Until A Crossing Could Be
Found.
So we loaded up and steered East and then South-East to round the
swamps.
Due West of Point Katharine, four miles distant, we found a large
freshwater lagoon surrounded by stony banks and ridges. It contained only
a few inches of water, but is capable of holding it to a depth of six
feet. Beyond it is a stony cotton-bush flat, and on it numerous white
clay-holes of water, almost hidden by the herbage.
Water-hens were so numerous that we could not pass by so good an
opportunity, and camped early in consequence, spending the rest of the
day in shooting these birds. The rest was a good thing for Breaden, too,
who had been hurt by Kruger as he struggled in the salt-bog. The next
morning we struck South, and by night found the lake again in our way.
From a high bank of rocks and stones we could see the arm that had first
blocked us, running round the foot of the hills and joining a larger lake
which spread before us to the South. Across it some high, broken
tablelands could be seen. There was no doubt from our position that this
was Lake Wells, but I had expected to find a tableland (the Van Treuer of
Wells) fringing the Northern shore.
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