en before at Fremantle. By the
account Woods gave it appears that from the period of my departure much
disorder and discontent at the direction of their course prevailed among
the men. They frequently left the beach and wandered inland to procure
water and food, not sufficiently exerting themselves to advance
southward. They had succeeded, he said, in procuring upon the whole about
a dozen birds, a crab, and eighteen fish. On the 21st of April Mr.
Walker, who had frequently exerted himself in procuring firewood and
water for the weaker of the party, divided two dough cakes still
remaining in his possession among them all. They were then upon the
beach, and though still at a great distance from the appointed place of
rendezvous the men were very unwilling to distress themselves to reach
it, being persuaded they should be tracked, wherever they might be, by
the natives whom I should send to their help. Woods, being dissatisfied
with their slow progress, now quitted them at a place where, he says,
they had to go round two very deep bays close together, which took him a
whole day; and it was owing to his having obeyed my instructions more
strictly than the others that he was found by Mr. Spofforth. Woods, who
seemed to have a singularly accurate idea of the distance he was from
Perth when found, added that he thought he could have walked to it had he
not been discovered, although he had nothing to eat but a few native
figs; and that he thought the whole of the party were getting more
accustomed to native food and were latterly better than they had been at
first; he said he felt so himself.

SECOND PARTY IN SEARCH, UNDER MR. ROE.

Lieutenant Mortimer's party, having made every exertion but in vain to
find the five remaining persons, were compelled at the end of a fortnight
by want of provisions to return to Perth, where they arrived on the 6th
of May; and early the next morning the Surveyor-General, Mr. Roe,
accompanied by Mr. Spofforth (who again volunteered his services) four
men, and two native youths, with five horses, set out in search of those
still missing.

ARRIVAL OF MR. WALKER AT PERTH. JOURNAL OF MR. WALKER'S PARTY.

On the 9th of May, two days after the departure of Mr. Roe's party, Mr.
Walker came into Perth alone, and from his statement, together with what
was gleaned subsequently from the other men, I shall here briefly narrate
what befel them after my departure on the 10th of April.

NARRATIVE OF THEIR P