From the time of his departure a gloomy silence pervaded the camp; we were, indeed, placed under the most trying circumstances; every thing combined to depress our spirits and exhaust our patience.

We had gradually been deserted by every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air.

We had witnessed migration after migration of the feathered tribes, to that point to which we were so anxious to push our way.

Flights of cockatoos, of parrots, of pigeons, and of bitterns, birds also whose notes had cheered us in the wilderness, all had taken the same high road to a better and more hospitable region.
The vegetable kingdom was at a stand, and there was nothing either to engage the attention or attract the eye.

Our animals had laid the ground bare for miles around the camp, and never came towards it but to drink.
The axe had made a broad gap in the line of gum-trees which ornamented the creek, and had destroyed its appearance.