ed and, whilst
the party prepared themselves, I went below to arrange with the master
the precise spot at which the vessel was to anchor in order that no
mistake might occur upon so vital a point. This done, I returned once
more on deck, and found all ready for departure.

The party to land consisted of Mr. Lushington, Mr. Walker, and three men
who were selected to accompany us. I also brought away three of the dogs,
to whom I was anxious to give a run after their long confinement on
board.

The shore for which we pulled was not more than half a mile distant, and
we soon gained the edge of a sandy beach, on which I sprang, eagerly
followed by the rest; every eye beaming with delight and hope,
unconscious as we were how soon our trials were to commence.

DISTRESSING MARCH.

I soon found that we had landed under very unfavourable circumstances.
The sun was intensely hot. The long and close confinement on board a
small vessel had unfitted us all for taking any violent or continued
exercise without some previous training, and the country in which we had
landed was of a more rocky and precipitous character than any I had ever
before seen; indeed I could not more accurately describe the hills than
by saying that they appeared to be the ruins of hills; composed as they
were of huge blocks of red sandstone, confusedly piled together in loose
disorder, and so overgrown with spinifex and scrub that the interstices
wore completely hidden, and into these one or other of the party was
continually slipping and falling.

The trees were small, and their foliage so scant and slight that they
afforded no shelter whatever from the burning rays of the sun; which
appeared to strike up again from the sandstone with redoubled heat, so
that it was really painful to touch or to stand upon a bare rock: we
therefore kept moving onwards in the hope of meeting with some spot
favourable for a halting place; but the difficult nature of the ground
which we had to cross rendered our progress slow and oppressively
laborious.

A feeling of thirst and lassitude such as I had never before experienced
soon began to overcome all of us; for such a state of things we had
unfortunately landed quite unprepared, having only two pints of water
with us, a portion of which it was necessary to give to the dogs; who
apparently suffered from the heat in an equal degree with ourselves.
These distressing symptoms I can only ascribe to the extreme heat of the
sun