of the natives.

November 8.--Having given each of the horses a bucket of water from the
well, we moved on again through the same dense scrub we had encountered
yesterday, but, if possible, more harassing, from the increased steepness
of the sandy ridges and the quantity of dead timber lying on the surface,
and causing a great impediment to our progress. We forced our way through
this worse than desert region, for about fourteen miles, and arrived
early in the afternoon, with our horses quite exhausted, upon the shores
of Smoky Bay, at a point where the natives had dug a hole in the sand
hills near the beach to procure water, and from which the south end of
the island of St. Peter bore W. 15 degrees S.

The WATERWITCH was already here, and supplied us with a cask of water,
until the men had dined and rested a little, before entering upon the
task of digging for water, which proved to be a most arduous undertaking,
and occupied us all the afternoon. We had to sink through a loose sand
for fifteen feet, which from its nature, added to the effect of a strong
wind that was blowing at the time, drifted in almost as fast as it was
thrown out. We were consequently obliged to make a very large opening
before we could get at the water at all; it was then very abundant, but
dreadfully salt, being little better than the sea water itself; the
horses and sheep however drank it greedily, as we had been able to give
them but little of that received from the vessel.

November 9.--Upon mustering the horses this morning I found they were
looking so exhausted and jaded after the hard toil they had gone through
in the last three days, that I could not venture to put them to work
again to-day. I was consequently obliged to remain in camp, to rest both
them and the men, all of whom were much fatigued. The well in the sand
was even salter to-day than we had found it yesterday, and was quite
unserviceable; the men had sunk the hole rather too deep, that they might
get the water in greater abundance; but when the tide rose it flowed in
under the sand and spoiled the whole. As the water, even at the best, had
been so salt that we could not use it ourselves, and as it was far from
being wholesome for the horses, I did not think it worth while to give
the men the fatigue of digging another hole. I therefore put both horses
and men upon a limited allowance, and got a cask containing sixty gallons
from the cutter for our day's supply. I also took t