280 WEAK STATE OF THE CATTLE. [CH. VII. 



miles. We encamped near a bare hill, beyond which the 

 river was about a mile distant. There was scrub all round 

 us, and I did not like our position ; but it was impossible to 

 drive the wearied cattle further. As we approached this 

 camp, I heard the voice of one of the gins answered by that 

 of a male, and " wite ma" was the subject of conversation ; 

 they might have been two miles from us, as the voices of the 

 natives, in the woods, are audible, as just stated, a long way 

 off, in a still evening. 



Juli/ 16. — After a cold frosty night, the morning was fine, 

 and we continued our journey. At about a mile and a half, 

 we entered on our former track, and after five miles more we 

 encamped on the ground, which we had occupied on the 4th 

 instant. By this short journey, I hoped to refresh the cattle 

 a little, and to make out a better one next day, by getting 

 through the brush, and past the natives' bivouac. This 

 camp of ours was a good mile from the river, and it was 

 very necessary to send a separate party to remain on its bank 

 all night with the cattle. 



July 17. — In these times, when I saw the animals brought 

 up by the men all safe, from the river in the morning, I was 

 wont to thank God in my heart, for their preservation. This 

 morning, I set out on a direct line for our former camp, not 

 so much for the sake of cutting off two miles, which we did, 

 as to avoid the very soft and heavy ground, through which 

 we had travelled with difficulty in the journey down. In 

 this last and more direct line, we found excellent firm plains 

 for nearly the whole of the way ; and we fell in with our old 

 route, where I wished, exactly at our former camp. Thus 

 we had got over a day's stage by half-past one o'clock. The 

 cattle were tired, but as we should be here, in the midst of 

 scrub and brush, and close to a large camp of natives, we 

 continued oui* route about five miles fui'ther, to the spot where 

 we had before repaired the wheels, and we reached it at five 

 o'clock. One poor bullock laid down by the way, and we 

 were obliged to leave it. Wc heard no natives on the river. 



