rses to the next water, I determined to proceed
myself in advance, with the sheep, that by travelling slowly, at the same
time that we kept steadily advancing, every chance might be given to them
of accomplishing the journey in safety. I was anxious too to precede my
party, in order that by finding out where the water was, I might be on
the look out for them, to guide them to it, and that thus when in their
greatest difficulty, no time should be lost in searching for water.
Having given the overseer orders to keep the tracks of my horses, when he
had travelled about seventy miles along the coast, I set off on the 7th
March, with the youngest of the natives to assist me in driving the
sheep, leaving the two elder ones with the overseer, to aid in managing
the pack-horses. As before we took two horses with us, one to carry our
provisions and water, and the other to ride upon in turn, the boy
however, being young, and incapable of much fatigue, the greater portion
of the walking naturally fell to my share. The day was cool and
favourable, and we accomplished a stage of twenty-four miles; the
afternoon became dark and lowering, and I fully expected rain, but
towards sunset two or three drops fell, and the clouds cleared away. Our
horses fed tolerably upon the little withered grass that we found, but
the sheep were too tired to eat, and lay down; we put them therefore into
a yard we had made for them for the night.

March 8.--Having turned the sheep out of the yard three hours before
daylight, I was in hopes they would have fed a little before we moved on,
but they would not touch such food as we had for them, and at six I was
obliged to proceed onwards; the morning was dark and looked like rain,
but as was the case yesterday, a drop or two only fell. We made a stage
to-day of twenty-six miles, through a level country, generally open, but
near the sea covered with a very low dwarf tea-tree, small prickly
bushes, and salsolae, and having the surface almost every where sprinkled
over with fresh-water shells; further from the coast the plains extending
to the north were very extensive, level, and divided by belts of scrub or
shrubs. There was no perceptible inclination of the country in any
direction, the level land ran to the very borders of the sea, where it
abruptly terminated, forming the steep and precipitous cliffs, observed
by Captain Flinders, and which it was quite impossible to descend
anywhere. The general elevation o