ther varied in his
account or hesitated in his reply to any question. I certainly feared
that some sad scene of butchery had taken place, and became the more
anxious to push my way up to the supposed spot, where it was stated to
have occurred, to save any one who might have escaped. I felt it my duty
also before leaving Lake Victoria to report what I had heard to the
Governor.

As the barometer fell before the rain, so it indicated a cessation of it,
by gradually rising. The weather had indeed cleared up the evening
before, but the morning of the 18th was beautifully fine and cool; we
therefore yoked up the cattle and took our departure from Lake Victoria
at 9 a.m. At first the ground was soft, but it soon hardened again.
Shortly after starting we struck a little creek, which trended to the
south, so that we were obliged to leave it, but we could trace the line
of trees on its banks to a considerable distance. We traversed plains of
great extent, keeping on the overland road until at length we gained the
river, and encamped on a small neck of land leading to a fine grassy
enclosure, into which we put our cattle. One side of this enclosure was
flanked by the river, the other by a beautiful lagoon, that looked more
like a scene on Virginia water than one in the wilds of Australia.

As we crossed the plains we again observed numerous cattle tracks, and
regularly beaten paths leading from the brushes to the river, to the very
point indeed where we encamped. The natives had previously informed us,
as far back as the place where we shot the first bullock, that we should
fall in with other cattle hereabouts; we did not however see any of them
during the day. Our tents were pitched on the narrow neck of land leading
to an enclosure into which we had turned our animals. It was so narrow
indeed that nothing could pass either in or out of it without being
observed by the guard, so that neither could our cattle escape or the
wild ones join them. It was clear, however, that we had cut off the
latter from their favourite pasture, for at night they were bellowing all
round us, and frequently approached close up to our fires. We had no
difficulty in distinguishing the lowing of the heifers from that of the
bullocks; of which last there appeared to be a large proportion in the
herd.

Some of our cattle were getting very sore necks, and our loads at this
time were too heavy for me to relieve them. Flood therefore suggested our
trying