ection. Hastily throwing on my clothes, I rushed out, and was
surprised to see Jones's dray on fire; the tarpaulin was in a blaze, and
caused the noise I have mentioned. As this dray was apart from the
others, and at a distance from any fire, I was at a loss to account for
the accident; but it appeared that Jones had placed a piece of lighted
cowdung under the dray the evening before, to drive off the mosquitos,
which must have lodged in the tarpaulin and set it on fire. Two bags of
flour were damaged, and the outside of the medicine chest was a good deal
scorched, but no other injury done. The tarpaulin was wholly consumed,
and Jones lost the greater part of his clothes, a circumstance I should
not have regretted if he had been in a situation to replace them.

Flood returned on the 25th, at 2 p.m., having found water in several
places, but none of a permanent kind like that in the creek. He had
fallen on a small and shallow lagoon, and had seen a tribe of natives,
who ran away at his approach, although he tried to invite them to remain.

About an hour before sunset Mr. Poole and Mr. Browne returned, to the
great relief of my mind; for, with every confidence in their prudence, I
could not help being anxious in such a situation as that in which I was
placed, my only companions having then been many days absent. They had
nearly reached the 28th parallel, and had discovered an abundance of
water, but Mr. Poole was more sanguine than Mr. Browne of its permanency.

The first water they found at the commencement of their journey, was at a
distance of 40 miles and upwards, and as I felt assured we should have
great difficulty in taking the cattle so far without any, I sent Flood,
on the 26th, to try if he could find some intermediate pool at which I
could stop. Mr. Poole informed me that the ranges still continued to the
north, but that they were changed in character, and he thought they would
altogether terminate ere long.

He also reported to me that the day he left the camp he pursued a N.N.E.
course, skirting an acacia scrub, and that arriving at a small puddle of
water at 12 miles, he halted. That on the 12th he started at six, and
after travelling about three miles first got a view of distant ranges to
the north; he soon afterwards entered an acacia scrub, and at 15 miles
crossed a creek, the course of which was to the S.W., but there was no
water in it. At five the party reached the hills, the acacia scrub
continuing