The
morning still continued showery, and I was anxious to have remained in
camp for the sake of the horses; but as we had consumed at breakfast the
last of our kangaroo, it became necessary to find some means of renewing
our resources, or else lose no time in making the best of our way
onwards. Having sent Wylie to try and get crabs, I went out with the
rifle, but could see nothing to shoot; and upon returning to the camp, I
found Wylie had been equally unsuccessful among the rocks, the sea being
too rough; there was no alternative, therefore, but to move on, and
having got up the horses, we proceeded behind Cape Arid for ten miles, at
a course of W. 15 degrees N., and encamped at night amid a clump of
tea-trees, and bastard gums, where we got good grass for our horses, but
no water. The day had been intensely cold, and I could not persuade Wylie
to ride at all. At night we had abundance of firewood, and a few of the
long narrow yams were also found at this encampment, the first vegetable
food we had yet procured. Grass trees had been abundant on our line of
route to-day, and for the first time we met with the Xamia. In the
evening, the kangaroo fly (a small brown fly) became very troublesome,
annoying us in great numbers, and warning us that rain was about to fall.
At night it came in frequent though moderate showers. We got very much
wetted, but our fire was good, and we did not suffer so much from the
cold as the damp, which affected me with cramp in the limbs, and
rheumatism.

May 29.--After breakfasting upon a spoonful of flour a-piece, mixed with
a little water and boiled into a paste, we again proceeded. At ten miles
we came to a small salt water stream, running seawards; in passing up it
to look for a crossing place, Wylie caught two opossums, in the tops of
some tea-trees, which grew on the banks. As I hoped more might be
procured, and perhaps fresh water, by tracing it higher up, I took the
first opportunity of crossing to the opposite side, and there encamped;
Wylie now went out to search for opossums, and I traced the stream
upwards. In my route I passed several very rich patches of land in the
valleys, and on the slopes of the hills enclosing the watercourse. These
were very grassy and verdant, but I could find no fresh water, nor did I
observe any timber except the tea-tree. After tracing the stream until it
had ceased running, and merely became a chain of ponds of salt water, I
returned to the camp a good