lat, but finding the ground
very broken and stony, intersected by deep watercourses, and rendered
additionally impracticable by high grass and thick reeds, we were
compelled, after getting half across, to make the best of our way to the
river.

FATIGUE OF THE PARTY.

It was intensely hot, not a breath of air stirring, and to add to our
misfortunes, we had inadvertently dined off the contents of a canister of
salt meat. We reached the river at half-past five, being all of us pretty
well knocked up with heat, fatigue, and thirst: one of our party, I heard
afterwards, drank nearly TWO QUARTS of water at a draught.

Further on in this reach, I determined to occupy quarters for the night;
it was wide and deep, trending East by South, but shut in about a mile
above our present position by a dry patch of stones, with clear banks on
either side. As we were now in what appeared to be a rather thickly
populated district of the country, it was requisite to choose a position
beyond the reach of sudden attack. Having consulted our security as much
as possible in this particular, I took, before dark, the necessary
bearings and angles for the survey, and was delighted to observe that the
valley of the river again trended away to the southward. We had a cool
breeze after dark from the north-west, and the thermometer went down to
90 degrees. I had scarcely secured observations for latitude and
longitude, before a squall from the south-east, accompanied by heavy
rain, recalled the scene of last night.

CHARM OF DISCOVERY.

The same screams from the same kind of birds, disturbed in their roosting
places, and the same mournful howling of the wind, as it swept fitfully
through the trees that overshadowed us, broke the silence that had
reigned around our solitary fire, and exercised their wondrous power over
the imagination. In a few moments my thoughts were borne on to the very
heart of this mysterious country, over many a dreary plain, where thirst,
fatigue, and hunger were all forgotten. It is impossible to define the
exact nature of the charm which particular minds find in the perils and
adventures of discovery, whether on the shore or over the wave. Certain,
however, it is, that scarce any motive of human exertion can compete with
it in the powers of endurance it supplies to its votaries.

The squall served to clear the air, and was succeeded by a cool breeze
from the north-west. The thermometer down to 87 degrees.

THIRSTY FLAT