day.  We found the position of this spring to be in latitude 30 degrees 25’ 30” and longitude 123 degrees 21’ 13”.  On leaving a depot and making a start early in the morning, camels, like horses, may not be particularly inclined to fill themselves with water, while they might do so in the middle of the day, and thus may leave a depot on a long dry march not half filled.  The Arabs in Egypt and other camel countries, when starting for a desert march, force the animals, as I have seen—­that is, read of—­to fill themselves up by using bullocks’ horns for funnels and pouring the water down their throats till the creatures are ready to burst.  The camels, knowing by experience, so soon as the horns are stuck into their mouths, that they are bound for a desert march, fill up accordingly.

Strange to say, though I had brought from Port Augusta almost every article that could be mentioned for the journey, yet I did not bring any bullocks’ horns, and it was too late now to send Tommy back to procure some; we consequently could not fill up our camels at starting, after the Arab fashion.  In order to obviate any disadvantage on this account, to-day I sent, with Mr. Tietkens and Alec Ross, three camels, loaded with water, to be deposited about twenty-five miles on our next line of route, so that the camels could top up en passant.  The water was to be poured into two canvas troughs and covered over with a tarpaulin.  This took two days going and coming, but we remained yet another two, at the Queen’s Spring.

Before I leave that spot I had perhaps better remark that it might prove a very difficult, perhaps dangerous place, to any other traveller to attempt to find, because, although there are many white sandhills in the neighbourhood, the open space on which the water lies is so small in area and so closely surrounded by scrubs, that it cannot be seen from any conspicuous one, nor can any conspicuous sandhill, distinguishable at any distance, be seen from it.  It lies at or near the south-west end of a mass of white-faced sandhills; there are none to the south or west of it.  While we remained here a few aboriginals prowled about the camp, but they never showed themselves.  On the top of the bank, above all the wells, was a beaten corroborree path, where these denizens of the desert have often held their feasts and dances.  Tommy found a number of long, flat, sword-like weapons close by, and brought four or five of them into the camp.  They were ornamented after the usual Australian aboriginal fashion, some with slanting cuts or grooves along the blade, others with square, elliptical, or rounded figures; several of these two-handed swords were seven feet long, and four or five inches wide; wielded with good force, they were formidable enough to cut a man in half at a blow.