ssioned officers of the Sappers and Miners
were ready to proceed. It was found however impossible to procure the
necessary horses for us before the next day, and our departure was
consequently delayed until the morning of the 9th.

Before entering into the details of this expedition it is requisite to
give a short outline of the circumstances under which we started. The
Williams River, from which Mr. Elliott had proceeded, is distant about
seventy miles from Leschenault in a direct line. The Williams is in the
interior, and the Leschenault on the sea-coast, and between the two
places lies the Darling Range, a high chain of mountains which had never
before been crossed at this point. Now, under ordinary circumstances Mr.
Elliott might have been expected to have reached Leschenault in three or
four days. He had therefore only carried with him a supply of provisions
calculated to last for that period. His party consisted of two men
besides himself, and he had with him a mare and filly.

His absence had however now unaccountably extended to a period of twenty
days; and the only rational conclusion that could be arrived at was that
he had either been murdered by the natives or had lost his way.

The Williams is distant from Perth in a direct line about one hundred and
twenty miles, and I had thus a considerable journey to perform before I
could get upon Mr. Elliott's tracks; and as this was the bad season of
the year there was but little hope that we should be able to follow them
for any great distance, if we ever succeeded in finding them.

Notwithstanding these various discouraging circumstances I still however
felt warm hopes for his ultimate safety. He was well acquainted with the
bush, having been ten years in the colony; and the same articles of food
which formed the subsistence of the natives would at least enable him to
maintain life for a considerable period. He had moreover with him two
horses, which past experience had taught me not only to be a nutritious,
but even an agreeable article of food. I imagined therefore that no
immediate danger of starvation need be apprehended; and in order that I
might have the best possible chance of finding his traces three
intelligent natives, Miago, Denmar, and Ninda, were engaged to accompany
me.

On the morning of the 9th however, when the party were all ready to
start, these natives were not forthcoming. The length of the journey and
the danger of falling in with hostile