232 
LEAVE A HORSE, 
prospect of procuring water a-head, and that our 
horses were scarcely able to move at all, I felt it 
necessary to retrace our steps as speedily as possible, 
to try to save the lives of the animals we had with 
us. In order that we might effect this and be en- 
cumbered by no unnecessary articles, I concealed, 
and left among some bushes, all our baggage, pack- 
saddles, &c. After passing about five miles beyond 
the sand-drifts where I had seen the cockatoos and 
pigeons, one of the horses became completely ex- 
hausted and could not proceed any further ; I was 
necessitated therefore to tie him to a bush and push 
on with the other two to save them. 
When I left my party on the 22nd, I had directed 
them to remove to some water-holes behind Point 
Fowler, but, as I had not seen this place myself, I 
was obliged to steer in the dark in some measure at 
random, not knowing exactly where they were. 
The greatest part of our route being through a 
dense brush, we received • many scratches and 
bruises from the boughs as we led our horses along, 
to say nothing of the danger we were constantly in 
of having our eyes put out by branches we could 
not see, and which frequently brought us to a stand 
still by painful blows across the face. At last we 
arrived at the open plains I had crossed on my 
outward track, and following them down came to 
two deep holes in the limestone rock, similar to the 
one behind Point Brown. By descending into these 
holes we found a little water, and were enabled to 
