At Half Past Two We Again Moved Onwards, Keeping Along The Beach, But Frequently Forced By The Masses Of Sea-Weed To Travel Above High Water Mark In The Heavy Loose Sand.

After advancing ten miles the tide became too high for us to continue on the shore, and the scrub prevented our travelling to the back, we were compelled therefore to halt for the night with hardly a blade of grass for our horses.

I considered we were now one hundred and two miles from the last water, and expected we had about fifty more to go to the next; the poor animals were almost exhausted, but as the dew was heavy they were disposed to eat had there been grass of any kind for them. The overseer and I as usual watched them alternately, each taking the duty for four hours and sleeping the other four; to me this was the first sleep I had had for the last three nights.

Whilst in camp, during the heat of the day, the native boys shewed me the way in which natives procure water for themselves, when wandering among the scrubs, and by means of which they are enabled to remain out almost any length of time, in a country quite destitute of surface water. I had often heard of the natives procuring water from the roots of trees, and had frequently seen indications of their having so obtained it, but I had never before seen the process actually gone through.

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