A small red root somewhat resembling in flavour a mild onion.) April 12.
Before dawn this morning our native neighbours, who doubtless were not pleased at our sleeping so near them, began to cooee to each other, which is their usual signal for collecting their forces; and, as our safety depended upon none of the party being incapacitated by a wound or other cause from proceeding with the utmost rapidity, I at once roused the men and we resumed our way.
CONTINUE OUR ROUTE.
In the course of the day we made a march of twenty-five miles in a south-south-east direction, the whole of this distance being across elevated undulating sandy plains, covered with a thick prickly scrub, about two and a half feet high; these plains were however occasionally studded with a few Banksia trees, but anything more dark, cheerless, and barren than their general appearance can scarcely be conceived.
About half an hour before sunset we came to the bed of a dry watercourse, the direction of which was from south-east to north, so that it was probably a tributary of the Arrowsmith.

We were fortunate enough to find a small pool of water in it, yet the large flights of birds of every description that came here for the purpose of drinking showed the rarity of water in these parts.

We made several attempts to get a shot at them but they were so wild, and we were so worn out and weak, that all our exertions were unsuccessful.

In the course of the evening one of the men made up my last pound of flour into a damper for me, and I supped on a spoonful of arrowroot.
SERIOUS ROBBBRY BY A RAT.
April 13.
On waking up this morning I found that in the night a rat had gnawed a hole in the canvas bag in which my little damper was placed, and had eaten more than half of it; this was a very serious misfortune as all my provisions were now reduced to three table-spoonfuls of arrowroot and the morsel of damper left me by the rat.

As I had shared my provisions with the native my situation was far worse than that of any of the others, and he, poor fellow, had become so dispirited and weak that he was incapable of searching for his food.