essary to remain stationary for a day. Our retreat had
been a most harassing one, but it admitted of no hesitation. Though we
had thus far, under the blessing of Providence, brought every thing in
safety, and had now only one more effort to make, Cawndilla was still
distant 69 miles, between which and our position there was not a drop of
water.

One of the women we found here, came and slept at our fire, and managed
to roll herself up in Mr. Browne's blanket, who, waking from cold, found
that his fair companion had uncovered him, and appropriated the blanket
to her own use. The natives suffer exceedingly from cold, and are
perfectly paralysed by it, for they are not provided with any covering,
neither are their huts of a solidity or construction such as to protect
them from its effects. About noon a large tribe joined us from the S.W.
and we had a fine opportunity to form a judgment of them, when contrasted
with the natives of the Desert from which we had come. Robust, active,
and full of life, these hill natives were every way superior to the
miserable half-starved beings we had left behind, if I except the natives
of Cooper's Creek. During the day they kept falling in upon us, and in
the afternoon mustered more than one hundred strong, in men, women, and
children. As they were very quiet and unobtrusive I gave them a couple of
sheep, with which they were highly delighted, and in return, they
overwhelmed our camp at night with their women.

I mentioned in a former part of this work, that Mr. Browne and I had
succeeded in capturing a Dipus, when journeying to the N.W. We had
subsequently taken another, and had kept them both for some time, but one
died, and the other springing out of its box was killed by the dogs. From
the habits of this animal I did not expect to succeed in taking it home,
but I had every hope that some Jerboas, of which we had five, would
outlive the journey, for they thrived well on the food we gave them. I
was, however, quite provoked at this place to find that two of them had
died from the carelessness of the men throwing the tarpauline over the
box, and so smothering them. The survivors were all but dead when looked
at, and I feared we should lose them also.

As the morning of the 19th dawned, and distant objects became visible,
the plains of the Darling gradually spread out before us. We commenced
our journey to Cawndilla at half-past 7, and travelled down the creek
until 2 p.m., when we halte