The Slopes Of Flinders Range Are Steep And Precipitous To The Westward, And Composed Principally Of An Argillaceous Stone Or Grey Quartz, Very Hard And Ringing Like Metal When Struck With A Hammer.

There was no vegetation upon these hills, excepting prickly grass, and many were coated over so completely with loose stones that from the steepness of the declivity it was unsafe, if not impossible to ascend them.

At one or two points in our routs I climbed up to the top of high summits, but was not rewarded for my toil, the prospect being generally cheerless and barren in the extreme, nor did the account given by Mr. Brown of his ascent of Mount Brown in March 1802, tempt me to delay a day to enable me to view the uninteresting prospect he had seen from the summit of that hill - by far the highest peak in this part of Flinders range.

Having decided upon ridingon a head of my party to reconnoitre, as soon as the WATERWITCH should arrive, I at once commenced my preparations, and made the overseer put new shoes on the horses I intended to take with me. The very stony character of the country we had been lately traversing and the singularly hard nature of the stone itself, had caused the shoes to wear out very rapidly, and there was hardly a horse in the teams that did not now require new shoes; fortunately we had brought a very large supply with us, and my overseer was a skilful and expeditious farrier.

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