Kaiber however now came up and remonstrated against this, assuring me that I was wrong and that we were, at this moment, two or three miles to the south of Leschenault, and that if I persisted in going on in this direction we should all die for want of water.

As I put great faith in his knowledge of the country I halted and ascended a hill to try and get a view along the coast; I could not however succeed on account of the haze; and believing then that I must be in error I turned north.

We trudged on, hour after hour; the sun got higher and more intensely hot, whilst, having been four-and-twenty hours without water, the greater part of which time had been spent in violent exercise under a burning sun, the pangs of thirst became very annoying.

A short period more convinced me that I was right, and that Kaiber was in error; and, as we soon after fell in with two native wells now dried up, we dug another in a promising-looking spot near them, and obtained a little water, very muddy and stinking; but I never enjoyed a draught more in my life.

We here halted for breakfast and by degrees obtained water enough for the horses as well as ourselves.
ESTUARY OF THE LESCHENAULT.
The evening was consumed in retracing our steps of the morning, and at night we halted near the head of the Leschenault estuary, being again without water.
January 23.
Our route this morning was along the estuary of the Leschenault.