CH. VII.] THE CARTS LIGHTENED. 277 



bush or scrub. To me the relief in travelling homewards 

 was considerable, as I was much more at liberty to attend, 

 to arrangements necessary for our defence, than w^hen the 

 direction of our route required my attention. This day we 

 cut off a corner, by which we shortened our way about a 

 mile ; and we reached our second encampment back, from 

 that which we left in the morning, thus effecting two days' 

 journey in one. We only got to our ground, however, by 

 eight o'clock at night; and before we arrived, one bullock, 

 which had been some time weakly, lay down to rise no 

 more, and we were compelled to shoot it. The camp we 

 reached was near the large native village on the river, and 

 the hill with the natives' tombs, (see July 8), and the same 

 spot, w'here the gin and the tall man first came up to us. 

 We approached the place with some caution, but found 

 nobody in occupation, and we encamped with a strong 

 guard on our cattle. 



JuIt/ 13. — As there was good food here, and our animals 

 M^ere much exhausted by the last journey, I considered it 

 highly advisable to halt this day. We examined the loads, 

 and, in order to lighten the carts as much as possible, we 

 burned some heavy articles no longer required. The morn- 

 ing was damp and cloudy, and at nine it began to rain 

 heavily. We had still to traverse about 400 miles of level 

 country, subject to floods, and peopled by cunning savages, 

 with whom we were now likely to be involved in war. About 

 1 1 o'clock, a long, loud cooy from the hill of tombs, announ- 

 ced that the natives had already overtaken us ; but we were 

 under arms immediately, and prepared for defence. Natives 

 were soon after seen to j^ass along the river bank, but as none 

 of them approached us, I sent four armed men towards the 

 huts or village, with orders to ascertain what number was 

 there, and in case they met a single native, to bring him to 

 me. I was desirous to prevent any messenger, whom the 

 tribe might have sent back to the country, through which 

 we had to pass, from arriving before we could dispel by our 



