328 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



being, that if he had only followed the Jardine down a few miles 

 beyond his " furthest west " of 1st February, he would have found 

 the river doubling back to the east coast. He had, he imagined, 

 proved that there was no way for the cattle across the ESCAPE, and 

 made up his mind that the only thing to be done was to drive them 

 down the (Jardine) river and get them round its supposed elbow. 



It is not for a moment suggested that the Leader of the expedi- 

 tion was " bushed " during his wanderings in the little peninsula 

 east of the Escape River. If proof were needed, it would be found 

 in the fact that, having turned back on the loth, he found himself 

 on the nth on the right bank of the Jardine River, opposite 

 Camp 82. This, however, was due rather to the mysterious 

 instinct of locality known as bushmanship than to steering a course. 



By the time they reached the camp their horses were incapable 

 of a greater pace than a mile and a half an hour with the assistance 

 of their now dismounted riders. They were left on the right bank 

 of the river, while the Brothers and Eulah swam across to the camp. 

 A very heavy thunderstorm had flooded the little creeks during the 

 last part of the day's journey. It was found that another of the 

 HORSES had DIED at the camp from exhaustion. 



RICHARDSON agreed with the Brothers. His diary of nth 

 February says : " There is no doubt that the river near which we 

 are encamped is the ESCAPE, and our best plan is to follow it until 

 it bends to the eastward." Richardson's sextant had already 

 become an object of suspicion. On overhauling it at Camp 82 he 

 found that it had been injured by the rough travelling, and it could 

 not be corrected for some time, as the sun was invisible (and so 

 presumably were the stars), " both days and nights being now 

 rainy not heavy rain, but continuous." He comforted himself 

 with the thought that after all the error in latitude could not be 

 more than fifteen miles ! By $th February, however, he had got 

 the instrument into some sort of adjustment and gave the latitude 

 as 11 II 7 30". 



On i lib February, when the Brothers returned to the camp, it 

 was found that 1 1 Ib. of FLOUR was all that remained of the pro- 

 visions. Henceforth the menu was restricted to JERKED BEEF AND 

 WATER, with the addition of as much game as could be caught. 



Owing to preparations for the journey, the necessity for rest 

 to the horses and the temporary loss of some cattle, it was not till 

 \\ih February that a start was made. That day another HORSE had 

 to be ABANDONED, leaving the party with only thirteen. CAMP 83 

 was pitched n miles down the river, perhaps 7 miles NW. 

 More of the luggage was left behind ; all that now remained con- 

 sisted of jerked meat, ammunition, tents and personal swags. 



Although the expedition followed the footsteps of the Brothers 

 on their first reconnaissance, it was found that taking the CATTLE 

 over the sodden ground was a very different matter from travelling 



