326 
FATIGUE OF THE PARTY. 
and withered grass around us. We now lay down 
to rest ourselves, and the boy soon fell asleep ; I was 
however feverish and restless, and could not close 
my eyes. In an hour and a half I arose, got up the 
horses and saddled them, and then, awaking my 
companion, we again pushed on by moonlight. At 
ten miles we crossed a well beaten native pathway, 
plainly discernible even then, and this we followed 
down towards the cliffs, fully hoping it would lead 
to water. Our hopes however had been excited but 
to render our disappointment the greater, for upon 
tracing it onwards we found it terminate abruptly at 
a large circular hole of limestone rock, which would 
retain a considerable quantity of water after rains, 
but was now without a single drop. Gloomily 
turning away we again pushed on for eight miles 
further, and at three in the morning of the 10th were 
compelled to halt from downright exhaustion and 
fatigue. The horses and sheep were knocked up. 
The poor boy was so tired and sleepy that he could 
scarcely sit upon his horse, and I found myself 
actually dosing as I walked : mechanically my legs 
kept moving forwards, but my eyes were every now 
and then closed in forgetfulness of all around me, 
until I w T as suddenly thrown down by getting en- 
tangled amongst the scrub, or aroused by a severe 
blow across the face from the recoil of a bough after 
the passage of the boy’s horse. I now judged we 
had come about ninety -three miles from Yeerkum- 
ban-kauwe, and hoped that we could not be very far 
