106 NIGHT MARCH — BIVOUAC. 



barren waste, we travelled until nearly dark, when we reached a 

 rocky promontory, constituting the southern point of a Iqw ridge of 

 hills jutting into the plain from the north. The rock was porous trap, 

 in which no stratification could be made out. The mules having been 

 without water or grass the whole day, and our stock of the former 

 being insufficient to give them even their stinted allowance of one 

 poor pint, we halted for a couple of hours, and drove them upon the 

 side of the mountain to pick what they could get from the scanty 

 supply of dry bunch-grass that grew in tufts upon its side. The 

 prospect of water now began to be rather gloomy; and I was 

 obliged to put the party upon allowance, lest we should be left 

 entirely destitute. At eight o'clock we replaced the packs upon 

 our mules, all of which began to show the effects of their unusual 

 abstinence, and rode on till near midnight by the light of the 

 moon, in a south-westerly direction, over a country similar to that 

 we had traversed during the day ; when, finding the indications of 

 water growing less and less promising, and that our animals were 

 nearly worn out, we halted, and, covered with our blankets, we 

 lay down on the ground till morning, regardless of a heavy shower 

 that fell during the night. 



Friday^ October 26. — The poor animals presented this morning 

 a forlorn appearance, having been now without a drop of water 

 for more than twenty-four hours, during eighteen of which they 

 had been under the saddle, with scarcely any thing to eat. I now 

 began to feel somewhat anxious. Should our mules give out before 

 we could reach the mountains west of us, to which I had deter- 

 mined to direct our course as speedily as possible, we must all 

 perish in the wilderness. Sweeping the horizon with a telescope, 

 I thought I discovered something that looked like willows to the 

 north-west, distant about four or five miles. Reanimated by this 

 gleam of hope, we saddled up quickly and turned our steps in 

 that direction. We soon had the lively satisfaction of finding our 

 expectations confirmed ; for, arriving at the spot, we found, after 

 some search, a small spring welling out from the bottom of a little 

 ravine, which having with some labour been cleaned out, we soon 

 enjoyed a plentiful, most needed, and most welcome supply of 

 excellent water for all. 



The whole party being much exhausted from their long absti- 

 nence and unceasing exertions, we halted here for the day, to 

 afford opportunity for our animals to recruit their wasted strength 

 upon the plentiful supply of grass which grew all around us. 



