On the
latter day it rained heavily, commenced at five in the morning, and
continued pretty steadily throughout the day. The camel, Linda, got
knocked up owing to the wet, and having to cross numerous sand
ridges; and at four o'clock they had to halt at a clay-pan among
the sandhills.
On Wednesday, the 17th, my son notes the death of poor Gray: "He
had not spoken a word distinctly since his first attack, which was
just about as we were going to start." Here King mentions that they
remained one day to bury Gray. They were so weak, he said, that it
was with difficulty they could dig a grave sufficiently deep to
inter him in. This is not in the journal, but in King's narrative.
. . .
On the 19th, camped again without water, on the sandy bed of
the creek, having been followed by a lot of natives who were
desirous of our company; but as we preferred camping alone, we were
compelled to move on until rather late, in order to get away from
them. The night was very cold. A strong breeze was blowing from the
south, which made the fire so irregular that, as on the two
previous nights, it was impossible to keep up a fair temperature.
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