Thring, Third Officer.
-- Ewart, Storekeeper.
-- Sullivan, Shoeing Smith.
-- Thompson, Saddler.
-- Lawrence.
-- Masters.
J. Woodforde.
-- Wall.
E.E. Bayliffe.
J. Thomas.

Shortly after starting, the horses that Mr. Finke sent up went off at a
gallop, taking with them one of the others; but, at about a mile, they
were headed by Ewart, Wall, and Lawrence, and brought back covered with
sweat. Not content with this gallop, in a short time afterwards they
bolted again. This last one seemed to content them, for they went very
quietly for the rest of the day; they had, however, lost a pick, which
could not be found. The party arrived at Mr. Ferguson's station, at
Hamilton Springs, that evening. Louden Spa was reached on the 8th of
January. The next day Mr. Stuart writes:

"Wednesday, 9th January, Louden Spa. I am obliged to leave two horses. I
thought that I should have been able to have got them down as far as Mr.
Levi's station. There are three others that I must leave behind; they are
now nearly useless to me, and cause more delay than I can afford. I shall
reduce my party to ten individuals, in order to lighten the horses that I
take with me. I shall take thirty weeks' provisions; the rest I shall
leave there (Mr. Levi's station). The two men who are to return are to
have a month's provisions to carry them down. They will be here two
weeks, and if the horses have not recovered by that time, they will
remain another week, when they will have one week's provisions to take
them to Chambers Creek, where they will get enough to carry them to the
mine."

Bayliffe and Thomas were the two men selected to return, and it may not
be without interest to follow them back to the settled districts. They
did not arrive at Melrose, Mount Remarkable, until the latter end of
March. Thomas was suffering severely from rheumatism, and had to be
conveyed in a cart for the last six miles of his journey from a place
where he and his companion had camped for the purpose of recruiting
themselves. They had been obliged to leave two of the horses at Mr.
Mather's station, and two more had died on the road. The men arrived with
one horse only, which they were using as a pack-horse.

But to return to the rest of the party, who reached Mr. Levi's station
the same evening (January 9th) on which they parted from the two men. On
Friday, January 11th, Mr. Stuart writes:

"I have now all put in order, and consider myself fairly started, with
thirt