Because of the heat and drought, Sturt decided to rest the expedition there for six months. They dug an underground room to try and get away from the heat. It was so hot the lead fell out of their pencils, and the wood of their equipment boxes shrank so much that the screws fell out. The man who was second in charge, an Irish surveyor named James Poole, died from scurvy. His grave can still be seen. Sturt and his men stacked a large pile of rocks to create a cairn on top of Mount Poole. John McDouall Stuart was made second in charge to assist Sturt. When Sturt's eyesight got worse and he became nearly blind, Stuart took over the job of drawing up the maps.