104 
WELL SUNK UNSUCCESSFULLY. 
however, nothing but the last extremity should ever 
induce me to act on the defensive.* 
When on my return to the depot, I had seen the 
natives creeping after me with their spears, I and the 
native boy at once halted, turned round and went 
slowly towards them, upon this they retreated. 
They would see by this that we did not fear them, 
and as the party at the camp had been increased in 
number by our return, I thought they might pro- 
bably be more cautious in their hostile demonstra- 
tions, which for the present was the case, for we saw 
nothing more of them for some time. 
During my absence, the overseer, according to 
my instructions, had put a party of men to dig for 
water in the bed of the creek, about four miles from 
the depot, in a westerly direction and down upon the 
plains. They were busy when I arrived at the 
depot ; the soil already dug through had been a very 
hard gravel, but as yet no water had been found, 
they had got to a depth of about ten feet ; but from 
the indurated character of the soil were proceeding 
very slowly. 
I was, however, too much fatigued to go and 
inspect the work immediately, the boy and myself 
as well as the horses being completely worn out. 
We had ridden in the last five days and a half, 
about two hundred miles, and walked about twenty 
* “ And they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw 
dust into the air.” — Acts xxii. 23. 
