According To Charley's Account, Salt-Water
Existed A Mile Lower Down.
Though our arrival at the camp was very late,
we set immediately to work, and cut up the four emus, which I put on
ropes and branches to dry.
Fortunately, a cold dry south-east wind set
in, which very much assisted us in the operation of drying. The sea
breeze was strong, as usual, during the day; clouds gathered very
suddenly about 11 o'clock, P. M. to the southward and south-east, and
rose very quickly with a strong south-east wind; they passed as quickly
as they came; when the wind ceased. Another mass of clouds formed, and
rose quite as suddenly, and, having passed, the sky became quite clear,
and a cold strong wind set in from the south-east, which lasted for the
next two days, and rendered the nights of the 16th and 17th August cold,
dry, and dewless.
We had forgotten to drive our bullocks to the water, which they had
passed not five yards off, and in sight of which they had been unloaded;
the poor brutes, however, had not the instinct to find it, and they
strayed back. Charley started after them the same night, and went at once
to our old camp, supposing that the bullocks had taken that direction;
but they had not done so; they had wandered about seven miles from the
camp, without having found water.
August 16. - We travelled about twelve miles west-north-west, first over
plains, but afterwards, and for the greater part of the stage, over
openly timbered well-grassed box-flats, which seemed to bound the plains
to the southward; they were drained by no watercourse, but contained many
melon-holes.
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