Our riding-saddles and pack-saddles were made of good materials, but they were not fitted to the horses’ backs, which caused a constant inconvenience, and which would not have happened, had my means allowed me to go to a greater expense.  So long as we had spare horses, to allow those with sore backs to recover, we did not suffer by it:  but when we were compelled to ride the same horses without intermission, it exposed us to great misery and even danger, as well as the risk of losing our provisions and stores.  Our pack-saddles had consequently to be altered to the dimensions of the bullocks; and, having to use the new ones for breaking in, they were much injured, even before we left Mr. Campbell’s to commence our journey.  The statements of what a bullock was able to carry were very contradictory; but in putting 250 lbs. upon them the animals were overloaded; and my experience has since shown me that they cannot, continually day after day, carry more than 150 lbs. for any distance.  The difficulties which we met with for the first three weeks, were indeed very trying:—­the loading of bullocks and horses took generally two hours; and the slightest accident, or the cargo getting loose during the day’s journey, frequently caused the bullocks to upset their loads and break the straps, and gave us great trouble even in catching them again:—­at night, too, if we gave them the slightest chance, they would invariably stray back to the previous camp; and we had frequently to wait until noon before Charley and Brown, who generally performed the office of herdsman in turns, recovered the ramblers.  The consequences were that we could proceed only very slowly, and that, for several months, we had to keep a careful watch upon them throughout the night.  The horses, with some few exceptions, caused us less trouble at the commencement of our journey than afterwards, when our hobbles were worn out and lost, and, with the exception of one or two which in turns were tethered in the neighbourhood of the camp in order to prevent the others from straying, they were necessarily allowed to feed at large.  It may readily be imagined that my anxiety to secure our horses was very great, because the loss of them would have put an immediate stop to my undertaking.—­But I hasten to enter on the narrative of our journey.

CHAPTER I

Leave the last station—­fossil remains—­Darling downs—­enter the
wilderness—­Waterloo plains—­the Condamine—­heavy rains—­Charley’s
misconduct—­Murphy and Caleb lost—­Kent’s lagoon—­coal—­Murphy and Caleb
found again.

It was at the end of September, 1844, when we completed the necessary preparations for our journey, and left the station of Messrs. Campbell and Stephens, moving slowly towards the farthest point on which the white man has established himself.  We passed the stations of Messrs. Hughs and Isaacs and of Mr. Coxen, and arrived on the 30th September, at Jimba, [It is almost always written Fimba, in the Journal; but I have corrected it to Jimba.—­(Ed.)] where we were to bid farewell to civilization.