VAIN SEARCH FOR WATER. 
329 
we could whilst the sheep were with us. In a few 
miles we came to a well-beaten native road, and 
again our hopes were raised of speedily terminating 
the anxiety and suspense we were in. Following 
the road for ten miles it conducted us to where the 
cliffs receded a little from the sea, leaving a small 
barren valley between them and the ocean, of low, 
sandy ground ; the road ceased here at a deep rocky 
gorge of the cliffs, where there was a breach leading 
down to the valley. There were several deep holes 
among the rocks where water would be procurable 
after rains, but they were now all dry. The state 
of mind in which we passed on may be better ima- 
gined than described. We had now been four days 
without a drop of water for our horses, and we had 
no longer any for ourselves, whilst there appeared 
as little probability of our shortly procuring it as 
there had been two days ago. A break, it is true, 
had occurred in the line of the cliffs, but this ap- 
peared of a very temporary character, for we could 
see beyond them the valley again abutting upon the 
ocean. 
At dark we were fifteen miles from where we left 
the sheep, and were again upon a native pathway, 
which we twice tried to follow down the steep and 
rugged slopes of the table land into the valley below. 
We were only, however, fagging our poor horses and 
bewildering ourselves to no purpose, for we invari- 
ably lost all track at the bottom, and I at last 
became convinced that it was useless to try and 
