We Forced Our Way Through This Worse Than Desert Region, For About Fourteen Miles, And Arrived Early In The Afternoon,

With our horses quite exhausted, upon the shores of Smoky Bay, at a point where the natives had dug a

Hole in the sand hills near the beach to procure water, and from which the south end of the island of St. Peter bore W. 15 degrees S.

The WATERWITCH was already here, and supplied us with a cask of water, until the men had dined and rested a little, before entering upon the task of digging for water, which proved to be a most arduous undertaking, and occupied us all the afternoon. We had to sink through a loose sand for fifteen feet, which from its nature, added to the effect of a strong wind that was blowing at the time, drifted in almost as fast as it was thrown out. We were consequently obliged to make a very large opening before we could get at the water at all; it was then very abundant, but dreadfully salt, being little better than the sea water itself; the horses and sheep however drank it greedily, as we had been able to give them but little of that received from the vessel.

November 9. - Upon mustering the horses this morning I found they were looking so exhausted and jaded after the hard toil they had gone through in the last three days, that I could not venture to put them to work again to-day. I was consequently obliged to remain in camp, to rest both them and the men, all of whom were much fatigued. The well in the sand was even salter to-day than we had found it yesterday, and was quite unserviceable; the men had sunk the hole rather too deep, that they might get the water in greater abundance; but when the tide rose it flowed in under the sand and spoiled the whole. As the water, even at the best, had been so salt that we could not use it ourselves, and as it was far from being wholesome for the horses, I did not think it worth while to give the men the fatigue of digging another hole. I therefore put both horses and men upon a limited allowance, and got a cask containing sixty gallons from the cutter for our day's supply. I also took the opportunity of again lightening our loads by sending on board some more of the baggage and the light cart. This, by decreasing the number of our teams, would, I thought, enable me to change the horses occasionally in the others, and give me an extra man to assist in clearing a road through the scrub, Having completed my arrangements, I sent on the WATERWITCH to the north-east part of Denial Bay, to land water there, as I did not expect to get any until our arrival at Point Peter. Mr. Scott accompanied the cutter, having expressed a wish to take a trip in her for a few days.

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