We were all greatly fatigued, as our
rations now consisted of only one small Johnny cake and three
sticks of dried meat daily. We camped that evening about four
o'clock, intending to push next day until two o'clock P.M., and
then, should we not find water, to return. We travelled and found
no water, and the three of us sat down and rested for one hour, and
then turned back. We all felt satisfied that had there been a few
days' rain we could have got through: we were then, according to
Mr. Wills's calculation, forty-five miles from the creek. We
travelled, on the day we turned back, very late, and the following
evening reached the nearest water at the creek. We gathered some
nardoo and boiled the seeds, as we were unable to pound them. The
following day we reached the main creek; and knowing where there
was a fine waterhole and native gunyahs, we went there intending to
save what remained of our flour and dried meat for the purpose of
making another attempt to reach Mount Hopeless. On the following
day Mr. Wills and I went out to gather nardoo, of which we obtained
a supply sufficient for three days, and finding a pounding stone at
the gunyahs, Mr.
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