In the evening I sent the man, who had been resting all day, to try and bring the two horses nearest to us a few miles on the road, whilst I was to meet him with water in the morning.

Native fires were seen to the north-east of us at night, but the people did not seem to have been at the water at the sand-hills for their supply, no traces of their having recently visited it being found.
December 7 .-- After giving the horses water we put ten gallons upon one of them, and hurried off to the animals we had left.

The state of those with us necessarily made our progress slow, and it was four o'clock before we arrived at the place where they were, about eleven miles from the water.
The man had gone on to the furthest of the three, and had brought them all nearly together; upon joining him we received the melancholy intelligence, that our best draught mare had just breathed her last--another lay rolling on the ground in agony--and the third appeared but little better.

After moistening their mouths with water, we made gruel for them with flour and water, and gave it to them warm: this they drank readily, and appeared much revived by it, so that I fully hoped we should save both of them.

After a little time we gave each about four gallons of water, and fed them with all the bread we had.