From the 9th to the 22nd of October, I was occupied a good deal at the camp, having only one man and a native boy to attend to the tent, the horses and the sheep, so that I was in a great measure confined at home, occasionally only making short excursions to the town to superintend the preparation of a large supply of horse-shoes, or visiting the stations of some of the nearest country settlers.  I had lately bought a kangaroo dog, from the captain of an American whaler, and in these rambles had frequent opportunities of trying my new purchase, both after emus and kangaroos, but he was quite useless for hunting either, and did little credit to the honesty of the person who sold him to me, and who had asked and received a high price, in consideration of the animal being, as he assured me, of a better description than ordinary.  Of the natives of the district I saw nothing whatever; the death of young Hawson, and the subsequent scouring of the country by police, had driven them away from the occupied parts, and forced them to the fastnesses of the hills, or to the scrubs; I was, however, enabled by the kindness of Mr. Schurman, a German Missionary, stationed at Port Lincoln, to obtain a limited collection of words and phrases in the dialect of the district, and which I hoped might be of some use to me hereafter.  Mr. Schurman has since published a copious vocabulary and grammar, of the language in use in this part of Australia.

On the 22nd, upon going into the settlement, I found the Government cutter Waterwitch at anchor in the harbour, having Mr. Scott on board, and a most abundant supply of stores and provisions, liberally sent us by his Excellency the Governor, who had also most kindly placed the cutter at my disposal, to accompany and co-operate with me along the coast to the westward.

Mr. Scott had managed every thing confided to him most admirably; and I felt very greatly indebted to him for the ready and enterprising manner in which he had volunteered, to undertake a voyage from Port Lincoln to Adelaide in a small open boat, and the successful manner in which he had accomplished it.  Among other commissions, I had requested him to bring me another man to accompany the expedition in the place of the one (R.  M’Robert) who had driven the dray to Port Lincoln, and with whom I was going to part; as also to bring for me a native, named Wylie, an aborigine, from King George’s Sound, whom I had taken with me to Adelaide on my return in May last, but who had been too ill to accompany me at the time the expedition started; the latter he had not been able to accomplish, as the boy was in the country when he reached Adelaide, and there was not time to get him down before the Waterwitch sailed.  The man, however, he had procured, and I was glad to recognize in him an old servant, who had been with me in several of my former expeditions, and who was a most excellent carter and tent servant.  His name was Thomas Costelow.