er and this morning's
breakfast he had got through six-and-a-half pounds of solid cooked flesh,
weighed out and free from bone, and he then complained, that as he had so
little water (the well had fallen in and he did not like the trouble of
cleaning it out again), he could hardly eat at all. On an average he
would consume nine pounds of meat per day. I used myself from two to
three when undergoing very great exertions. After dinner I ascended one
of the sand-hills, and set the hill I had seen in the morning at W. 17
degrees S.

May 12.--I intended this morning to have walked down to the beach, but
was suddenly taken ill with similar symptoms to those I had experienced
on the 19th, and 21st of April; and, as formerly, I attributed the
illness entirely to the unwholesome nature of the meat diet. Wylie was
ill too, but not to so great a degree; nor was I surprised at his
complaining; indeed, it would have been wonderful if he had not,
considering the enormous quantity of horse flesh that he daily devoured.
After his feasts, he would lie down, and roll and groan, and say he was
"mendyt" (ill) and nothing would induce him to get up, or to do any
thing. There were now plenty of sting-ray fish along the beach again, and
I was desirous, if possible, to get one for a change of diet; my friend,
however, had so much to eat, that though he said he should like fish too,
I could not get him to go about a mile to the back of the sand-hills, to
cut a stick from the scrub, to make a spear for catching them.

May 13.--After breakfast, Wylie said he thought he could catch some
bandicoots, by firing the scrub near the sand-hills, and went out for an
hour or two to try, but came back as he went. During his absence, I was
employed in repairing my only two pair of socks now left, which were
sadly dilapidated, but of which I was obliged to be very careful, as they
were the only security I had against getting lame. In the afternoon I
walked down to the beach, to try to spear sting-ray, but the sea was
rough, and I saw none. In my ramble, I found plenty of the beautiful
white clematis, so common both to the north and south of Sydney.

May 14.--I was again seized with illness, though I had been particularly
careful in the quantity of flesh which I had used. For many hours I
suffered most excruciating pains; and after the violence of the attack
was over, I was left very weak, and incapable of exertion. Wylie was also
affected. It was evident th