creek to the eastward, which
would take him to the Finke, and by the means of the same watercourse
we might eventually get round to the southern shores of Lake Amadeus,
and reach Mount Olga at last.

In our journey up the Finke two or three creeks had joined from the
west, and as we were now beyond the sources of any of these, it would
be necessary to discover some road to one or the other before Robinson
could be parted with. By dispensing with his services, as he was
willing to go, we should have sufficient provisions left to enable us
to hold out for some months longer: even if we had to wait so long as
the usual rainy season in this part of the country, which is about
January and February, we should still have several months' provisions
to start again with. In all these considerations Mr. Carmichael fully
agreed, and it was decided that I should inform Alec of our resolution
so soon as we returned to the camp. After the usual nearly three
hours' work to water our horses, we turned our backs for the last time
upon Glen Thirsty, where we had so often returned with exhausted and
choking horses.

I must admit that I was getting anxious about Robinson and the state
of things at the camp. In going through Worrill's Pass, we noticed
that scarcely a tree had escaped from being struck by the lightning;
branches and boughs lay scattered about, and several pines from the
summits of the ridges had been blasted from their eminence. I was not
very much surprised, for I expected to be lightning-struck myself, as
I scarcely ever saw such lightning before. We got back to Robinson and
the camp at 5 p.m. My old horse that carried the pack had gone quite
lame, and this caused us to travel very slowly. Robinson was alive and
quite well, and the little dog was overjoyed to greet us. Robinson
reported that natives had been frequently in the neighbourhood, and
had lit fires close to the camp, but would not show themselves.
Marzetti's mare had foaled, the progeny being a daughter; the horse
that was staked was worse, and I found my old horse had also ran a
mulga stake into his coronet. I probed the wounds of both, but could
not get any wood out. Carmichael and I both thought we would like a
day's rest; and if I did not do much work, at least I thought a good
deal.

The lame horses are worse: the poisonous mulga must be in the wounds,
but I can't get it out. What a pleasure it is, not only to have plenty
of water to drink, but actually t