Journals Of Expeditions Of Discovery Into Central Australia And Overland From Adelaide To King George's Sound In The Years 1840-1: Sent By The Colonists Of South Australia By Eyre, Edward John
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- Getting up as soon as the day dawned, I found that some of the
horses had crossed the sand ridge to the beach, and rambled some distance
backwards.
I found, too, that in the dark, we had missed a patch of
tolerable grass among the scrub, not far from our camp. I regretted this
the more, as during the night a very heavy dew had fallen, and the horses
might perhaps have fed a little.
Leaving the overseer to search for those that had strayed, I took a
sponge, and went to try to collect some of the dew which was hanging in
spangles upon the grass and shrubs; brushing these with the sponge, I
squeezed it, when saturated, into a quart pot, which, in an hour's time,
I filled with water. The native boys were occupied in the same way; and
by using a handful of fine grass, instead of a sponge, they collected
about a quart among them. Having taken the water to the camp, and made it
into tea, we divided it amongst the party, and never was a meal more
truly relished, although we all ate the last morsel of bread we had with
us, and none knew when we might again enjoy either a drink of water, or a
mouthful of bread. We had now demonstrated the practicability of
collecting water from the dew. I had often heard from the natives that
they were in the habit of practising this plan, but had never before
actually witnessed its adoption.
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