154 Overland Expedition 
beyond what had been calculated upon ; and it became im¬ 
perative not merely to economise the provisions we had brought 
with us, but eventually to destroy two of our horses, as an 
additional supply of food to the party. 
I arrived at the head of the Great Australian Bight on the 
3rd March. Here we halted four days to rest our horses, as 
they had been three days without water previous to our arrival 
at the head of the Bight. From this point we had 135 miles 
to travel without water, until we had passed the first of the 
remarkable line of cliffs mentioned by Captain Flinders. In 
effecting this passage, our horses were five days without water ; 
and, consequently, much reduced in strength and condition. 
The line of cliff's now receded some miles from the coast, but 
still continued running nearly parallel to it inland, and forming 
a perfectly level bank, visible beyond the low and barren 
country intervening between it and the sea; until, as we ad¬ 
vanced, the whole merged in a succession of high sandy or 
stony ridges, covered by a dense impenetrable scrub, and 
reaching even to the very borders of the sea. To attempt a 
passage through such a tract of country was quite out of the 
question, and we were consequently obliged to keep very near 
the coast, and frequently to trace round its shores for many 
days; thus considerably increasing the distance we should 
otherwise have had to traverse. For four days we continued 
to travel steadily, without finding water; on the 5th our 
horses were much exhausted, and, one by one, three of our best 
dropped behind, and we were compelled to leave them to their 
miserable fate. The other poor animals still continued to 
advance with us, although suffering much from the almost 
total want of food as well as water. This dreadful state of 
suspense and anxiety continued until the afternoon of the 
seventh day, when, by God's blessing, w'e were once more 
enabled to procure water by digging among the sand drifts of 
the coast—after having accomplished a distance of 1G0 miles, 
throughout which not a drop of water could be procured even 
by digging. 
We naa now' seven horses left, but they were barely alive. 
For eight months previous to our leaving Fowler's Bay, they had 
almost incessantly been occupied in the labours of the expedi¬ 
tion to the northward, and in that space of time had travelled 
over a distance almost incredible; and it required far more 
than the short month w*e were able to afford them at Fowler's 
Bay to recruit their exhausted strength, or renew a spirit that 
was almost broken by incessant toil. It may readily there¬ 
to] e be imagined, that the severe privations they endured in 
rounding the Great Bight had reduced them to perfect skele¬ 
tons, without either strength or spirit. To me it was only a 
matter of surprise that a single horse should have survived such 
extremity of suffering. We were now at a place where we 
