Part 25 (2/2)

The weather was now, and had been for several weeks--indeed ever since the thunderstorm which occurred the day we cahts cold but dewless When at Port Augusta, I heard that a Mr Moseley was out so, on a piece of country he had lately taken up, and that he was camped at or near some rain-water I was anxious to find out where he was; on the 31st of May I sent Alec Ross on the only track that est, to find if any water existed at a place I had heard of about twenty-five miles to the west, and towards which the only road fro, when he returned with Mr Moseley, who happened to be cousta He caht He informed me his men obtained water at soe of Lake Gairdner, another large salt depression si his horses' tracks they would lead, first to a here he had just succeeded in obtaining water at a depth of eighty-five feet, and thence, in seven lad to get this information, as even from coondambo the only water to the west beyond it, that I knew of, was Wynbring, at a distance of 160 or 170the Elizabeth on June the 2nd, ent sixteen miles nearly west, to a small clay water-hole, where we encamped On the 3rd we travelled twenty-five ing to Mr Litchfield about theopen, bare, stony ground, with occasional low, flat-topped table-lands, covered very sparsely with salsolaceous vegetation We next arrived at the north-east corner of Lake Hart, and proceeded nearly west along its northern shore; thence by the southern shores of Lakes Hanson and Younghusband, all salt lakes, where one of the party gerel rhy that:--

”We went by Lake Hart, which is laid on the chart, And by the Lake Younghusband too; We next got a glance on, the little Lake Hanson, And wished”

Goodness only knohat he wished, but the others conveyed to him their wish that he should discontinue such an infliction on them

On June the 6th we arrived at the place where Mr Moseley had just finished his well; but his one somewhere else, to put down another shaft to the north-eastwards The as between eighty and ninety feet deep, the water whitish but good; here we enca some horse tracks about south-west, they took us to the coondambo clay-pans; the water was yellow and very thick, but there was plenty of it for all our purposes, though I i Two or three of his horses were running at this water; here were several large shallow, cane-grass clay flats which are also occasionally filled with rain-water, they and coonda situated close to the northern shore of Lake Gairdner

We left coondambo on the 8th; on the 9th rain pretended to fall, and ere kept in ca fell, but was totally useless On the 11th we encaain near Lake Gairdner's shore; this was the last we should see of it Our latitude here was 31 degrees 5', and longitude 135 degrees 30' 10” We had seen no water since leaving coondambo, from whence we carried a quantity of the thick yellow fluid, which curdled disagreeably whenthe cheain in a scrubby region, and had been since leaving coondambo Our course was now nearly north-north-west for sixteen or seventeen ot to a low rocky hill, or rather several hills, enveloped in the scrub; there were nuot soh they had to cliet it, as there was seldoot some pure water for ourselves, and were enabled to dispense with the yellow clayey fluid we had carried

From these hills we travelled nearly west-north-west until, on the 15th, we fell in withOld Jiain in country which he knew soain see the summit of Mount Finke The only water I knew of in this wretched country being at Wynbring, I determined to follow my old route On the 16th we passed a place where we had formerly seen a small portion of bare rock, and now, in consequence of the late sprinkling showers on the 9th and 10th, there were a few thimblefuls of water on it This set Jiesticulated and talked to Toreat rate, and Tommy said, ”Ah, if you found water here, when you come before, Chester and Formby wouldn't die” ”Well,”

I said, ”To alive, even if it had been here then” He only sapiently shook his head and said, ”But if you got plenty water then that's all right” I found Touments were exactly sily co

Soon after this, I was riding in advance along the old track, when old Ji up behind my camel in aone watta, plenty watta, o this way,” pointing to a place on our left I waited until the caravan appeared through the scrub, then old Jimmy led us to the spot he had found There was a small area of bare rock, but it was too flat to hold any quantity of water, though soh for two or three camels, but I decided to camp there nevertheless What water there was, some of the camels licked up in no time, and went off to feed They seeed tree with fringelike leaves, soathered specienerally in the most desert places The botanical na out the ca down to dinner, we beca, and I was rather anxious as to what had becoland adrift in these scrubs would be very liable to lose hi been a sailor, and carrying a coht be able to recover us

I after him, but before it was finished he caet her on, so had tied her up to a tree and walked back, he having gone a long way on -camel with hi's ani, the 17th,bull camels was found to be poisoned, and could not ave hi clyster Both operations produced the saested Gyroste else in his inside He was a trifle better by night, but the following h this region before, was poisoned, and couldn't move I was now very sorry I had camped at this horrid place We dosed Mustara with butter as an e but the chewed Gyrostemon; the clyster produced the same It was evident that this plant has a very poisonous effect on the camels, and I was afraid some of them would die I was compelled to reot a little better, and I hoped the others would escape; but as they all seemed to relish the poisonous plant so reat quantities of it growing on the sandhills, I was in great anxiety during the whole day

On the 19th I was glad to find no fresh cases, though the two camels that had suffered were very weak and afflicted with spash they were scarcely able to carry their loads, which we lightened ashere, as others et affected

On this day's march we passed the spot where I had put the horse's packsaddle in the sandal-wood-tree, and where iven in The saddle was now of no use, except that the two pads, being stuffed with horsehair, -saddles; these we took, but left the fraht we calad to find that the two poisoned bulls had greatly recovered

The following day, Mr Young and I ascended Mount Finke, and put up a shest point The weather, now cool and agreeable, was so different from that which I had previously experienced upon this dreadful low of heat, but now the su for a feeeks only, a slight respite from the usual fiery temperature of the climate of this part of the world; but even now the nature of the country was so terrible and severe, the sandhills so high, and the scrub so thick, that all the new members of the party expressed their astonishot out of it alive ThisOn the 22nd of June, just as we got in sight of the rock, some heavy showers of rain descended; it caht at their feet, and they all got huddled up together in adown to enable the a breast-rope froround without hurting, and perhaps cutting, themselves The rain ceased for a bit, and weunder canvas just as another heavy shower ca, and water was lying about in all directions During the 23rd several smart showers fell, and ere confined to our canvas habitations for nearly the whole day

As this spot was so excellent for all kinds of aniave my friends a couple of days' rest, in the first place because they had had such poor feeding places for several nights before our arrival here, and I also wished, if possible, tonatives, and endeavour to find out from them whether any other waters existed in this country Old Jih Tommy Oldham, what I wanted the natives for, seeet information from them while he ith me in his own territories He said he would take me to several waters between here and Youldeh, by a more northerly route than he had previously shown; he said that water existed at several places which he enuers; their na, Poothraba, Pondoothy, and Youldeh I was very glad to hear of all these places, and hoped we should find they were situated in a h which we had for shot an emu, and we had fried steaks, which we all relished Saleh being a good Mussulman, was only just (if) in time to run up and cut the bird's throat before it died, otherwise his religious scruples would have prevented hi any of it All the meat he did eat, which was smoked beef, had been killed in the orthodox Mohaionists at Beltana It was cured and carried on purpose None of the natives I had formerly seen, or any others, made their appearance, and the party were disappointed by not seeing the charreatly raised their curiosity

(ILlustRATION: WYNBRING ROCK)

On the 26th of June we departed fro its isolated and water-giving rock, in the silence and solitude of its enveloping scrubs, abandoning it once again, to the occupation of priem in a desolate waste, where the footsteps of the white man had never been seen until I came, where the wild emu, and the wilder blackrock, where the aboriginal inhabitants will again and again indulge in the wild revelries of the ht corroborree dance, and where, in an existence totally distinct from ours of civilisation, men and women live and love, and eat and drink, and sleep and die But the passions are the sareatof all the actions ofwas now behind us, and Jiuide, philosopher, and friend He see an important member of the expedition, and he and To-cah the scrubs, in the direction of about west-north-west In seven or eightin the scrub, where Jimmy showed us some bare flat rocks, wherein was a nearly circular hole brimful of water It was, however, nearly full also of the debris of ages, as a stick could be poked into mud or dirt for several feet below the water, and it was impossible to say what depth it really was; but at the best it could not containtowards the next watering-place, which old Jimmy said was close up, in a ratherlate, as we had not left Wynbring until aftercome about fifteen miles It is next to impossible to make an old fool of a black fellow understand the value of the economy of time I wanted to come on to Edoldeh, and so did old Jimmy; but he made out that Edoldeh was close to Taloreh, and every ot so late I ordered the party to ca that the camels could eat Of course it was useless to try andthousands of reat object to et them bushes or other food that they could eat, so as to keep the journey that was before thely ravenous aniet that, will lie down all night and starve, if they are too short-hobbled to allow them to wander, otherwise they will ra to find plenty of good bushes at Edoldeh, two ht have coht before To-day, however, I determined to keep on until we actually did reach the next oasis; this Jimmy said was Cudyeh, and was of course still close up We travelled two and a half hteen miles beyond it, and reached Cudyeh early in the afternoon This place was like ood place for a ca that it consisted of a flat bare rock of some area, upon which were several circular and elliptical holes in various places The rock lay in the lowest part of the open hollow, and whenever rain fell in the neighbourhood, the water all ran down to it

In consequence of the recent rains, the whole area of rock o feet under water, and the extraordinary holes or wells that existed there looked like antediluvian cisterns Getting a long stick, and wading through the water to the mouths of these cisterns, we found that, like lected native state, they were almost full of soil and debris, and the deepest had only about three feet of water below the surface of the rock Soht be found to be permanent wells if cleaned out

Next day we passed another little spot called Yanderby, with rock water, at ten , a ht it superior to Wynbring It lies about north 62 degrees west fro and is fifty rees 10' 30” At this place there was a large, bare, rounded rock, very si, except that no rock-holes to hold any surface water existed; as obtainable being in large native wells sunk at the foot of the rock, and briht be obtained here There were plenty of good bushes in the neighbourhood for the ca As usual, this oasis consisted a acacia ast the sandhills and the scrubs

The day after, ere led by old Ji, which was dry; it lay about south-west fro

Round at the southern shore of this lake Jiallons of water in it In consequence of Mr Young not being well, we enca nine miles This also was a rather pretty caht showers of rain fell, and we had to erect our tarpaulins and tents, which we only do in times of rain

More showers fell the next day, and we did not shi+ft our quarters A very shallow sheet of water now appeared upon the surface of the lake bed, but it was quite salt We made some little dams with clay, where the water ran into the lake, and saved enough water to indulge in a sort of bath with the aid of buckets and waterproof sheeting This was the last day of June Unfortunately, though Chairman of the Company, I was unable to declare a dividend for the half-year

The 1st of July broke with a fine and beautifulnone the worse for our compulsory delay I was anxious to reach Youldeh so soon as possible, as I had a great deal of work to do when I arrived there To-day we travelled nearly west seventeen or eighteen miles, and encamped without an oasis On the 2nd we passed two rocky hills, named respectively Pondoothy and Poothraba, Pondoothy was an indented rock-crowned hill in the scrubs Standing on its suh the scrubs, which ran east by north, and was probably intended by the natives for a true east line The scrub timber was all cut away, and it looked like a survey line Upon asking old Jiave the usual reply, that cockata black fellow make 'em It was so in March last, and no doubt it is used for a si Poothraba, which is in sight of it, we continued our nearly west course, and camped once more in the scrubs The country was very difficult for the loaded caes or hills of sand that we could only traverse it at a snail's pace It was of course still covered with scrubs, which consisted here, as all over this region, mostly of the Eucalyptus dumosa, or mallee-trees, of a very stunted habit; occasionally some patches of black oaks as we call thea in the hollows, here and there a stunted cypress pine, callitris, some prickly hakea bushes, and an occasional so called native poplar, Codonocarpus cotinifolius, a brother or sister tree to the poisonous Gyrostemon The native poplar is a favourite and harmless food for camels, and as it is of the saues that I must be mistaken in the poison plant which affected the camels He thinks it must be a plant of the poisonous farows in these regions, and which I have collected specimens of, but I cannot detect it

We were now nearly in the latitude of Youldeh, and had only to push west to reach it; but the cow ca, had not travelled well for soood deal of trouble to find her of a et her to Youldeh before she calved, as I intended to for which tih to travel On the ht up to the cast the the others to co, Saleh, and To I found Youldeh much the same as when I left it, only now the weather was cool, and the red sandhills, that had forhtly encrusted with a light glitteringlegu Herr Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit had fallen to 28 degrees My old slabbed well had got filled up with sand, and it was evident that many natives had visited the place since I left on the 24th of March, 103 days ago We ed to water our camels, as they lay down on the top of the well, and stretched their long necks down into it We then quietly waited till long pastto do, and nothing to eat; we could not dig out the well, for we had no shovel At last Mr

Tietkens got alarmed at the non-arrival of the party, and he went back to the ca-camel with him, as she would not rery, and made soht be in the neighbourhood I have before remarked that the natives can make different coloured smokes, of different for a separate nal fires are nals were returned, and I sat upon a sandhill, like Patience on aalone with ment sufficient forcaravan; darkness began to creep over this solitary place and its h I had no bedding, to pass the ti I coiled myself up under a bush and fell into one of those extraordinary waking dreainative mortals, e know that we are alive, and yet we think we are dead; when a confused ju back into the vistas of the es of future things upon the quivering curtains of the ination can revel only in the marvellous, the mysterious, and the mythical The forelic shapes The faces of those we have forgotten long, or else perchance have lost, once ht The lovely for eyes and alluring smiles of women we have loved, the beautiful countenances of beloved and admired youth, once more we seem to see; the youthful hands we have clasped so often in love and friendshi+p in our own, once ed by fate, beckoning to us lovingly to follow the caress and youthful smiles to lead us to their shadoorld beyond O youth, beautiful and undying, the sage's drea and lovely, is centred still in thee! O lovely youth, with thine arrowy form, and slender hands, thy pearly teeth, and saintly s eyes and radiant hair; all, allhours and daily toil we cannot always greet thee, yet in our dreams you are our own As the poet says:--

”In dreahtness!

We hear your voice in still shtness, Where those who loved on earth together dwell”

Then, while lying asleep, engrossed by these ht I heard celestial sounds upon h an heavenly choir were near, dispensing s, of harps ethereal o'er s, while thus the voices sweetly sung: ”Be bold of heart, be strong of will, for unto thee by God is given, to roam the desert paths of earth, and thence explore the fields of heaven Be bold of heart, be strong of will, and naught on earth shall lay thee low”

When suddenly I awoke, and found that the party with all the camels had arrived, my fire was relit, and the whole place lately so silent was now in a bustle I got up, and looked about me in astonishment, as I could not at first remember where I was But I soon discovered that the musical sounds I had heard were the tintinabulations ofair, as they came closer and closer over the sandhills to the place where I lay drearoove

We were safely landed at the Youldeh depot once reeable journey frousta

Jilad to find she had delayed; now the calf will be allowed to live, as she will be here for so I christened the calf Youldeh, after her birthplace; she was not er than a cat On the 6th, 7th, and 8th, we all re and re-slabbing the well, hs for the ca some covers and alterations to sos I had some camels to deliver at Fowler's Bay, and soistrate, which compelled one away to the north to endeavour to discover another depot in that direction But now I committed this piece of work to , while Alec Ross and I went south to the Bay Both parties started from Youldeh on the 9th I took old Jimmy with me to return hi took Toentleman had no desire whatever to return or to leave ot him in February, I had caused hiinal law, for he was then on probation and not allowed to come near woreat chignon, which irl than a boy This I cut off and threay, much to the horror of the elders of his tribe, who, if they could catch, would inflict condign punishment upon him