protect them from its effects.  About noon a large tribe joined us from the S.W. and we had a fine opportunity to form a judgment of them, when contrasted with the natives of the Desert from which we had come.  Robust, active, and full of life, these hill natives were every way superior to the miserable half-starved beings we had left behind, if I except the natives of Cooper’s Creek.  During the day they kept falling in upon us, and in the afternoon mustered more than one hundred strong, in men, women, and children.  As they were very quiet and unobtrusive I gave them a couple of sheep, with which they were highly delighted, and in return, they overwhelmed our camp at night with their women.

I mentioned in a former part of this work, that Mr. Browne and I had succeeded in capturing a Dipus, when journeying to the N.W.  We had subsequently taken another, and had kept them both for some time, but one died, and the other springing out of its box was killed by the dogs.  From the habits of this animal I did not expect to succeed in taking it home, but I had every hope that some Jerboas, of which we had five, would outlive the journey, for they thrived well on the food we gave them.  I was, however, quite provoked at this place to find that two of them had died from the carelessness of the men throwing the tarpauline over the box, and so smothering them.  The survivors were all but dead when looked at, and I feared we should lose them also.

As the morning of the 19th dawned, and distant objects became visible, the plains of the Darling gradually spread out before us.  We commenced our journey to Cawndilla at half-past 7, and travelled down the creek until 2 p.m., when we halted for two hours during the heat of the day at Carnapaga.  At 4 we resumed our journey, and again stopped for an hour on the little sand hill at the lower part of the creek, to enable the men to take some refreshment.  At quarter-past 8 we turned from the creek and travelled all night by the light of a lamp, and at daylight were 18 miles from Cawndilla.  We had kept upon our former tracks, on which the cattle had moved rapidly along, but they now began to flag.  Mr. Browne was in front of the party with Mr. Stuart, but he suddenly returned, and coming up to my cart gave me a letter he had found nailed up to a tree by Mr. Piesse.  This letter was to inform me of his arrival on the banks of the Williorara on the 6th of the month, of his having been twice on the road in the hope of seeing us, and sent natives to procure intelligence of us, who returned in so exhausted a state, that he had given up all expectation of our being able to cross the hills.  He stated that we should find a barrel of water a little further on, together with a letter from head quarters, but had retained all other letters until he should see me; nevertheless, he had the gratification to tell me that he had seen Mrs. Sturt the day before he left Adelaide, and that she was well.  About a mile further on, we found the barrel of water, and relieved our suffering horses, and thus benefited by the prudent exertions of Mr. Piesse.  Nothing, indeed, appeared to have escaped the anxious solicitude of that zealous officer to relieve our wants.