damsel, we were glad to renew our acquaintance with her.  We learnt from them that the second hut belonged to an absent native who was out hunting, the father of a pretty little girl who now obeyed their signal and came forth.  They said the water on the plain had dried up, and that the only water-holes remaining were to the west, viz. at our camp, and to the south, where they said there were two water-holes.  As they had informed us, the absent native made his appearance at sunset, but his bag was very light, so we once more gave them all our mutton; he proved to be the man Mr. Browne chased on the sand hills, the strongest native we had seen; he wanted the front tooth, but was not circumcised.

In the evening we had a thunder storm, but could have counted the drops of rain that fell, notwithstanding the thunder was loud and the lightning vivid.  We returned to the Depot on the 13th, and on crossing the plain Mr. Browne had well nigh captured a jerboa, which sprang from under my horse’s legs, but managed to elude him, and popped into a little hole before he could approach sufficiently near to strike at it.  On reaching the tents we had the mortification to find Mr. Poole still worse, but I attributed his relapse in some measure to a depression of spirits.  The old man who had come to the camp the day before we left it, was still there, and had apparently taken up his quarters between the cart and my tent.  During our absence the men had shewn him all the wonders of the camp, and he in his turn had strongly excited their anticipations, by what he had told them.

He appeared to be quite aware of the use of the boat, intimating that it was turned upside down, and pointed to the N.W. as the quarter in which we should use her.  He mistook the sheep net for a fishing net, and gave them to understand that there were fish in those waters so large that they would not get through the meshes.  Being anxious to hear what he had to say I sent for him to my tent, and with Mr. Browne cross-questioned him.

It appeared quite clear to us that he was aware of the existence of large water somewhere or other to the northward and westward.  He pointed from W.N.W. round to the eastward of north, and explained that large waves higher than his head broke on the shore.  On my shewing him the fish figured in Sir Thomas Mitchell’s work he knew only the cod.  Of the fish figured in Cuvier’s works he gave specific names to those he recognised, as the hippocampus, the turtle, and several sea fish, as the chetodon, but all the others he included under one generic name, that of “guia,” fish.

He put his hands very cautiously on the snakes, and withdrew them suddenly as if he expected they would bite him, and evinced great astonishment when he felt nothing but the soft paper.  On being asked, he expressed his readiness to accompany us when there should be water, but said we should not have rain yet.  I must confess this old native raised my hopes, and made me again anxious for the moment when we should resume our labours, but when that time was to come God only knew.