‘February’ 2.—­The main camp was reached this morning early, and everything found safe and right, save in one particular, that deserves recording.  In looking over the ration account, Mr. Jardine found a deficiency of 30 lbs. of flour, accruing in the interval of the four days of his absence.  All denied any knowledge of it, and all were equally certain that the allowance had not been exceeded; “so” writes Frank Jardine, “where it is gone to, I am never likely to know,” and there the matter dropped.  It is humiliating to think, that amongst white men banded together in exploring parties, where the success and safety of the enterprise are much dependent on the good conduct of each individual member, there should be found individuals so ignoble, as to appropriate an undue share of the common stock of food on which the health, and perhaps the life of each equally depends; and yet, sad to say, such instances are not singular.  The well-proved charge against Gray of cooking flour for himself privately, for which he was chastised by poor Burke, is one instance.  Gray’s excuse was that he was so ill, and his apologists point to the fact that he subsequently died.  Either Burke or Wills would have died on the spot, rather than have taken an ounce more than their meanest companion, and yet it has been asked why this man has had no monument.  Again, in the unfortunate expedition of poor Kennedy (not far from their present camp), the storekeeper of the partyof the name of Niblett, was discovered to have largely pilfered from the stores for a considerable time previously.  Who knows that, but for the deficiency his greed caused, more of that ill-fated party might have held out until the succour arrived, guided by the heroic black, Jacky, who risked his own life to save that of his master, and whose name is as worthy of being held up for honour as that of the white man’s for contempt.

‘February’ 3.—­This day was spent by the Brothers with their black-boys in hunting for a good crossing place, or as they described it, “doing a little water dogging.”  The river being two hundred yards wide, and running rapidly, made it a difficult matter, and after trying a number of places, it was found that as they were all alike, deep and wide, they might as well cross opposite the camp.  This would not be without risk and danger, but the exigency of the party made it necessary.  Their flour was nearly exhausted, and they had nothing else but the jerked meat of the beef they killed, and what they could catch in the bush, to depend on.  In this last, however, as old hunters and bushmen, they were generally pretty successful, supplementing and eking out their ordinary rations very largely.  The day previous their larder had been recruited by three iguanas’ eggs, a brush turkey (’Megapodius Tumulus’), and nine turkeys’ eggs.  The rain came down as usual at intervals during the day, which, added to the almost incessant rain of the four previous days, brought the river down during the night, increasing its volume and current so much as to make it dangerous to attempt crossing.