There Is No Animal More Susceptible To Kindness Than A Camel;
But In A Sandy Sea Of Scrub With The
Blazing sun almost boiling the water,
milk-like from zinc, in the tanks, loads dragged this way and that,
boilers
And pipes of condensers rolling, now forward, now back, eventually
to slip clattering down, bearing camel and all to the ground - with these
and other trials kindness was not in us.
Soon after sunset on the 27th, from the branches of a high gum tree we
sighted the Pinnacles almost dead on our course; and late that night we
reached the lake, and found to our joy a condenser already established, by
means of which two men earned a precarious livelihood by selling water to
travellers - for these lakes were on the direct track from Kurnalpi to the
Mount Margaret district. Thus enabled to assuage the seven days' thirst of
the camels forthwith, at the cost of a shilling per gallon, we lost no
time in setting up our own plant, and were fortunate in finding water
and wood easy of access. The next four days were spent in prospecting the
surrounding country, but no gold rewarded our efforts, though numerous
reefs and blows of quartz were to be seen in the hills which the lake
nearly surrounds.
Whilst camped here, I took the opportunity of breaking in Satan as a
riding-camel, and found him at first a most untameable customer, trying
all sorts of dodges to get the better of me.
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