o, when we lay down for the night.

January 9.--The morning set in cold, dark and rainy, and as much wet had
fallen during the night, we had been thoroughly drenched through, our
fire had been extinguished, and it was long before we could get it lit
again, and even then we could hardly keep it in; the few bushes among the
sand hills were generally small, and being for the most part green as
well as wet, it required our utmost efforts to prevent the fire from
going out; so far indeed were we from being either cheered or warmed by
the few sparks we were able to keep together, that the chill and
comfortless aspect of its feeble rays, made us only shiver the more, as
the rain fell coldly and heavily upon our already saturated garments.
About noon the weather cleared up a little, and after getting up and
watering the horses, we collected a large quantity of firewood and made
waterproof huts for ourselves. The rain, however, was over, and we no
longer required them.

Chapter XIV.

PROCEED TO THE WESTWARD--CLIFFS OF THE GREAT BIGHT--LEVEL NATURE OF THE
INTERIOR--FLINTS ABOUND--RETURN TO YEER-KUMBAN-KAUWE--NATIVES COME
TO THE CAMP--THEIR GENEROUS CONDUCT--MEET THE OVERSEER--RETURN TO
DEPOT--BAD WATER--MOVE BACK TO FOWLER'S BAY--ARRIVAL OF THE GUTTER
HERO--JOINED BY THE KING GEORGE'S SOUND NATIVE--INSTRUCTIONS RELATIVE TO
THE HERO--DIFFICULTY OF FIXING UPON ANY FUTURE PLAN--BREAK UP THE
EXPEDITION AND DIVIDE THE PARTY--MR. SCOTT EMBARKS--FINAL REPORT--THE
HERO SAILS--OVERSEER AND NATIVES REMAIN--EXCURSION TO THE NORTH--A NATIVE
JOINS US--SUDDEN ILLNESS IN THE PARTY--FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR LEAVING THE
DEPOT.

January 10.--WE left Yeer-kumban-kauwe early, and proceeding to the
westward, passed through an open level tract of country, of from three to
four hundred feet in elevation, and terminating seawards abruptly, in
bold and overhanging cliffs, which had been remarked by Captain Flinders,
but which upon our nearer approach, presented nothing very remarkable in
appearance, being only the sudden termination of a perfectly level
country, with its outer face washed, steep and precipitous, by the
unceasing lash of the southern ocean. The upper surface of this country,
like that of all we had passed through lately, consisted of a calcareous
oolitic limestone, below which was a hard concrete substance of sand or
of reddish soil, mixed with shells and pebbles; below this again, the
principal portion of the cliff consiste