Of Course I Addressed Them More In Sorrow Than In Anger, Although The Loss Of Eight Ducks Was A Frightfully Heavy One To All Of Us; But I Was Partially Consoled With The Thought That They Would Have To Bear Their Share Of The Loss.

A few hours afterwards I went after the ducks again, and by good fortune bagged six in one shot; one got away in the bushes, and the other flew away; and he seemed to me to have a very crooked flew at that.

These were the fattest birds I ever ate. We had a fine supper of ducks, their flavour being sup(p)er-excellent.

(ILLUSTRATION: DRAGGED BY DIAWAY.)

(ILLUSTRATION: ATTACK AT SLADEN WATER.)

The ants were terribly troublesome at this waterhole, although we slept on the damp sand; so we shifted the camp up to the sweet water-hole, and selected as open a piece of ground as possible, as I intended the camp to remain here for a week or two. More thunder and lightning, with great heat and a few drops of rain. Thermometer, 106 degrees. There were countless numbers of the little cockatoo parrots here; they are very shy, and even when Gibson or Jimmy lets off a gun at them, a dozen or two are sure to fall; it takes some time, however, before another shot can be had at them. I fancy they are migrating. The pigeons swarm at night to water. I intend to visit the ridges which I mentioned as lying to the south-west, from the west end of this range.

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