Charley And Brown, Accompanied By Spring, Gave
Chase To Them, And Killed One, Which Was In Most Excellent Condition.
When We Came To The Camp, We Secured The Horses, And Watched The
Bullocks, As Was Usual On Such Occasions, And Fried And Enjoyed Our Fresh
Meat As Well As We Could.
To satisfy my companions I determined to
reconnoitre the country in advance by moonlight; and allowed them to
return to the lagoons of the Nicholson, should I not have returned by 10
o'clock next morning.
Accordingly, I started with Charley when the moon
was high enough to give me a fair view of the country, and followed the
star Vega as it declined to the westward. As we advanced, the country
improved and became more open. It was about midnight when Charley, in
passing a patch of thick scrub, noticed a slight watercourse, which
increased rapidly into large water-holes. These were dry, and covered
with withered grass, but, on resuming our westerly course, we came in a
very short time to a creek with a succession of rocky basins. It was
unaccountable how these deep holes could have become so soon dry, as
every one of them must have been full immediately after the rainy season.
After following the creek for about two hours, Charley remarked that the
cracked mud of one of the large water-holes was moist, and, on digging
about a foot deep, a supply of water collected, abundantly sufficient for
ourselves and for our horses.
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