prudent in men who had been for so
long a time compelled to subsist upon very scanty fare, and in
consequence had been nearly all affected with violent sickness; and, as
six of the party, including Mr. Lushington and myself, were now ill, we
did not start very early; the remaining ponies were also so weak that
they could scarcely carry themselves, and we therefore were only able to
place very light loads upon them.

I have already described the very difficult nature of the country we had
to traverse; but the roads we had previously constructed through it
proved extremely serviceable. So little had they been injured that they
formed a very fair and passable line of communication. Early in the
evening we crossed the Lushington and halted at the summit of the cliffs
which formed its northern bank.

April 14.

I sent the most efficient of the party back with the horses for the
remaining stores whilst with four men I remained in charge of the tents.

ANXIETY ON APPROACHING HANOVER BAY.

Sunday April 15.

Our anxiety to ascertain if any accident had happened to the schooner now
became very great: since such a circumstance was of course by no means
impossible. As our position would then have been very precarious, and our
only chance of ultimate safety have rested on the most exact discipline
and cautious rules of conduct being observed from the very first, I
thought it would be most prudent not to allow such a calamity (had it
occurred) to burst too suddenly upon the men when they were quite
unprepared for it.

Two of them were therefore selected and, accompanied by these, I started
before daylight for the sandy beach in Hanover Bay; leaving the party to
make the best of their way to the heights above the valley where we had
first encamped, and where plenty of food and water could be found for the
ponies; these, in the event of anything having happened to the schooner,
would become the mainstay of our hopes.

These arrangements having been made we moved off through the rocky
difficult country we had first encountered: every step we took was over
well-known ground, in which no change had taken place save that there
were evident marks of bodies of natives having been in the neighbourhood
since our departure.

As I proceeded nearly in a direct line to Hanover Bay we encountered some
difficulty from the broken character of the ground, but about eleven
o'clock had gained the hilly country at the back of the beach, from