fill his hide with water.  We determined on sending this in a dray, a day in advance, to enable the bullock driver to get as far as possible on the road, we then arranged that Mr. Browne should take the light cart, with 36 gallons of water, and one horse only; that on reaching the dray, he should give his horse as much water as he would drink from the skin, leaving that in the cart untouched until he should arrive at the termination of his second day’s journey, when I proposed he should give his horse half the water, and leaving the rest until the period of his return, ride the remainder of the distance he had to go.  I saw little risk in this plan, and we accordingly acted upon it immediately:  the hide was prepared, and answered well, since it easily contained 150 gallons of water.  Jones proceeded on the morning of the 27th, and on the 28th Mr. Browne left me on this anxious and to us important journey, accompanied by Flood.  We calculated on his return on the eighth day, and the reader will judge how anxiously those days passed.  On the day Mr. Browne left me, Jones returned, after having deposited the skin at the distance of 32 miles.

On the eighth day from his departure, every eye but my own was turned to the point at which they had seen him disappear.  About 3 p.m., one of the men came to inform me that Mr. Browne was crossing the creek, the camp being on its left bank, and in a few minutes afterwards he entered my tent.  “Well, Browne,” said I, “what news?  Is it to be good or bad?” “There is still water in the creek,” said he, “but that is all I can say.  What there is is as black as ink, and we must make haste, for in a week it will be gone.”  Here then the door was still open,—­a way to escape still practicable, and thankful we both felt to that Power which had directed our steps back again ere it was finally closed upon us; but even now we had no time to lose:  to have taken the cattle without any prospect of relief until they should arrive at Flood’s Creek, would have been to sacrifice almost the whole of them, and to reduce the expedition to a condition such as I did not desire.  The necessary steps to be taken, in the event of Mr. Browne’s bringing back good tidings, had engaged my attention during his absence, and with his assistance, that on which I had determined was immediately put into execution.  I directed three more bullocks to be shot, and their skins prepared; and calculated that by abandoning the boat and our heavier stores, we might carry a supply of water on the drays, sufficient for the use of the remaining animals on the way.  Three bullocks were accordingly killed, and the skins stripped over them from the neck downwards, so that the opening might be as small as possible.