RETURN TO YEER-KUMBAN KAUWE. 
287 
without provisions, I turned homewards, and by 
making a late and forced march, arrived at the place 
where we had left the bucket of water, after a day’s 
ride of forty-five miles. Our precaution as we had 
gone out proved of inestimable value to us now. The 
bucket of water was full and uninjured, and we were 
enabled thus to give our horses a gallon and a half 
each, and allow them to feed upon the withered 
grass instead of tying them up to bushes, which we 
must have done if we had had no water. 
January 12. — In our route back to “ Yeer-kum- 
ban-kauwe” we were lucky enough to add to our fare a 
rat and a bandicoot, w T e might also have had a large 
brown snake, but neither the boy nor I felt inclined 
to experimentalise upon so uninviting an article 
of food ; after all it was probably mere prejudice, 
and the animal might have been as good eating as 
an eel. We arrived at the water about noon, and 
the remainder of the day afforded a grateful rest 
both to ourselves and to the horses. 
January 13. — Our fire had gone out during the 
night, and all our matches being wet, we could not 
relight it until noon, when the rays of a hot sun had 
dried them again. Having eaten our slender dinner, 
I walked out to water the horses, leaving the boy in 
charge of the camp. Upon my return I found him 
comfortably seated between two of our friends the 
natives, who had just returned from a hunting ex- 
cursion, bringing with them the half roasted carcase 
of a very fine kangaroo. They had already bestow r ed 
