We Had
Great Trouble In Cleaning Off From Their Backs The Clay With Which They
Were Smeared, Having Rolled In Some Shallow Clay-Pans Near The Lakes.
It
was most necessary to scrape it off somehow, as otherwise sore backs
would have resulted; and, indeed, Stoddy's sore back started in this way
by the friction of the saddle and the caked mud.
The country ahead looked so bad that I decided to take the two bucks with
us for as long as they knew the waters, so secured the one to the other
by the neck, with plenty of spare chain between. They marched with us
apparently perfectly happy, and even anxious to point out the directions
of various native wells. My object was to make as much Southing as
possible whilst we could; so having two natives and one hundred gallons
of water (of which the horses were given three gallons each nightly), we
steered due South from the soaks, and had a long day of tremendously steep
sand-ridges, up the North side of which the camels climbed with
difficulty. Riding the camels was out of the question, so we took the
horses in turn, Breaden and I steering hour about. Though crossing fresh
tracks and though the bucks were most anxious to follow them, we did not
turn from our course, for we had only left water the day before, and as
our rations were calculated to just, and only just, last out, no time
could be wasted.
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