Part 35 (1/2)

When Verney left the camp he found a bushy tree, as I had told hi as to which of those weapons he should choose, being on the west side of the bush, he suddenly found himself surrounded by a host of stealthy wretches,doards the camp Some ran to this bush for their weapons, and were in the act of rushi+ng down on to the camp, and would have speared us as we sat at supper, at their ease, fro-trees' shelter Verney was so astounded at seeing the him, that it coht ere all there, and when Verney fired, it so far checked the advance coluuard ran up

Then soh the bush at Verney He fired again, and called to us, and we arrived in time to send the enemy off, as fast as, if not faster, than they had coular circuone for the spears, they could have sneaked upon, and killed us, without any chance of our escape We ists, for they were fairly out-generalled by chance, while they n

After the dispersion, they reappeared on the top of the rocks some distance away, and threw spears down; but they were too far off; and e let theave several parting howls and disappeared

I decided to keep watch to-night; there was a star passing the meridian soon after eleven, and I wished to take an observation by it

I told the others to turn in, as I would watch till then Nearly at the ti the north, taking my observation with the sextant and artificial horizon, when I thought I saw so at the corner of my left eye I kept the sextant still elevated, and turned my head very slowly half way round, and there I saw the enea ti theht night I dared not ht hand froside A second of tied, and just ready balancing their spears, and in another instant there would have been a hundred spears thrown into the ca the rifle alrabbed it suddenly with my left hand and fired into the thickest ht air Seizing Verney's rifle that was close by, I fired it and dispersed the foe All the party were lying fast asleep on the tarpaulin, but my two shots quickly awoke the, with orders to fire two rifle cartridges every half hour, and the agony of suspense in waiting to hear these go off, kept hbours' fowls

Our foes did not again appear At the first dawn of light, over at soht,their ca chant arose It afted on the hot ain by the rocks and hills above us, and was the most dreadful sound I think I ever heard; it was no doubt a death-wail From their caround, and see a funereal march all round the central mass, as the last tones we heard were from behind the hills, where it first arose

To resume: we left the almost exhausted channel of the Ferdinand, and pushed on for the Telegraph Line In the sandhills and scrub we carees 35' 34”, and found a shalloell, at which we encaoing nearly east by north, the nature of the country entirely altered; the scrubs fell off, and an open stony country, having low, flat-topped ridges or table-lands, succeeded

This was a sure indication of our near approach to the Telegraph Line, as it is through a region of that kind, that the line runs in this latitude I turned a, called Appatinna, but we found it quite dry There were two decrepit old native woave theone to eat Fro south-easterly, we came upon the Neale's River, in forty miles At twenty miles farther down the Neale's, which was quite dry as far as we travelled on it, going easterly, we arrived at Mount O'Halloran, a low hill round whose base the Trans-Continental Telegraph Line and road sweeps, at what is called the Angle Pole, sixty raph Station

We were very short of water, and could not find any, the country being in a very dry state We pushed on, and crossed the stony channel of a watercourse called the St Cecilia, which was also dry The next water that I knew of, between us and the Peake, was a spring near Hann's Creek, about thirtyHann's Creek, we found sufficient water for our requireain we reached the Peake Telegraph Station on the 23rd of August, and were most cordially received and welcomed by my old friend Mr Chandler, Mr Flynn, the police trooper, and every one else at that place

CHAPTER 55 FROM 23RD AUGUST TO 20TH SEPTEMBER, 1876

Depart for the south

Arrive at Beltana

Camels returned to their depot

The Blinman Mine

A dinner

Coach journey to the Burra-Burra Mines

A banquet and address