YOUNG EMUS CAUGHT. 131 
me, and pushing the horses on as well as circum- 
stances would allow, succeeded in retracing ten miles 
of my course by a little after dark, having com- 
pleted a stage of fully forty- five miles during the 
day. Here there was tolerable good grass, and 
plenty of water from the late rains, so that the 
horses were more fortunate on this excursion than 
usual. I observed the variation to be 4° E. 
September 3. — Travelling early, we made a long 
stage of about forty miles, and encamped with good 
grass and water. During the day we caught four 
young emus in the plains, which we roasted for 
supper, being very hungry, and upon short allow- 
ance, as I had not calculated upon remaining out so 
long ; the black boy enjo}^ed them exceedingly, 
and I managed to get through one myself. They 
were about the size of full grown fowls. 
September 4. — Making a very early start, we 
travelled twenty miles to the watercourse, where we 
had encamped on the 31st of August, striking it a 
little lower down. As I had left one or two trifles 
here, that I wished to take on with me, I sent the 
black boy for them, telling him to follow my tracks 
while I went slowly on. Upon finding that he did 
not overtake me so soon as I expected, I halted for 
some time, but still he did not come up, and I again 
proceeded ; for as I had left my former track, I 
concluded he had taken that line, and thus missed 
me. Steering, therefore, across the hills, some 
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