The Precaution Came Too Late, For Before Evening Five Of Them Besides The Missing One ("Rasper") Were Dead.

It was supposed that "Rasper" must have got into the river and been drowned, as one of the effects of the poison is complete blindness.

The symptoms are thus described. Profuse sweating, with a heaving of the flanks, the ears droop, the eyes glaze, set, and the animal finally turns stone blind. He then lies down, struggles fitfully for several hours, and never rises again. This was a heavy blow. Ten of their horses were now gone, eight of which were picked, and the best of the whole number, besides being the best conditioned, one peculiarity of the poison being that it appears to attack the fattest animals. A careful search was made to detect the plant that caused this fearful loss, but unsuccessfully. The number of horses being now reduced to twenty-one, and those the poorest and worst, it became necessary to take only what was actually wanted of their baggage, and to abandon the remainder. A cache was accordingly dug, and 25 sets of horse-shoes, a lot of nails and other miscellaneous articles were buried at the foot of an iron acacia on the top of the ridge and facing the creek, on which was marked in a sheild F J over LXVII. over DIG in heart. The horses were kept in the yard all night, and the rest of the day and evening spent in disposing of the reduced loading, and making preparations for leaving this fatal camp.

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