352 
Captain Sturt's Expedition into the 
in this. A bullock was accordingly shot, and his skin, containing 
150 gallons of water, sent in advance. Mr. Browne left me on 
the 28th Nov., with Flood, who was to remain with the cart 
after he should leave it. He left me full of hope on this doubtful 
journey, and was absent for eight days, during the whole of which 
time the weather wa9 most oppressively hot—as I have described 
it to have been. The very elements seemed to have combined to 
punish us for having resisted tlieir power so long. The reader 
will judge how anxiously the days passed during which Mr, 
Browne was away. Helpless on my mattress I counted the hours 
as they slowly passed, and those eight days appeared to me to 
have a month’s length. But on the eighth day a cart was seen 
clearing the scrub on the road homewards, and every eye but my 
own was fixed upon it. Gradually it neared the tents, and Mr. 
Browne at length appeared, and gave me the glad tidings that 
water still remained in Flood’s Creek, but that it would not hold 
out many days longer, and that what little remained was as black 
as ink. “ We must make haste (he said) or we shall not suc¬ 
ceed.” But it was a difficult journey we had to perform, and one 
full of risk. Where should we again find water? It would be 
necessary to send on from Flood’s Creek to the rocky glen; and 
if no water should be obtainable there, our difficulties and distress 
would be the greater. However, we had to trust to Providence, 
and determined to run all risk. Four more bullocks were shot 
and their skins prepared. The boat and our heavier stores were 
abandoned; and on the 7th of December we left the dep6t at 
sunset, with 600 gallons of water on the drays. We had 276 
miles to travel from the depdt to the Darling. The evening on 
which we started was most oppressively hot. We commenced 
our journey at 5 p.m.; the night closed in upon us, but we did 
not dare to rest. At noon on the 8th, we had gained the muddy 
lagoon and creek, at which we had stopped after pushing through 
the pine forest; and here we offered the bullocks some water to 
drink, but they would not touch it. At four we again started, 
keeping more to the eastward, in order to avoid as much as pos¬ 
sible the sandy forest, in which we had once been so perplexed, 
following the line Mr, Browne had judicionsly taken on his recent 
