MARKS OF FLOODS ON TREES.
About three miles to the north of our camp he came upon a chain of large lagoons extending in a westerly direction, and the drift marks on trees showed that at some seasons a considerable current of water flowed there to the westward, rising occasionally to the height of ten or twelve feet above the surface of these lagoons. He also saw a kangaroo, a circumstance which indicated that higher forest land was not far distant. Thermometer at six A.M. 67 degrees. Wind North-East high. Sky clear. At noon thermometer 87, clear sky.
We now looked with some anxiety for Mr. Finch's arrival and, in order to preserve our provisions as long as possible, I determined to make the abundance of fish available, by distributing fishing-hooks to the men, and to reduce their weekly ration of pork from 3 1/2 to 2 pounds.
In fishing we were tolerably successful; but flour was the article of which we stood most in need, and for this the country afforded no substitute, although I reduced the allowance of that also. The only starving members of the party were our unfortunate dogs, which had become almost too weak to kill a kangaroo--had any been seen there; neither did that region contain bandicoots which, in other situations, had been occasionally caught about dead trees, with the assistance of some of the watch-dogs. We were obliged to shoot hawks and crows, and boil them into a mess, which served, at least, to keep these poor animals alive.
January 29.
The cart was sent back about twelve miles for some of the callitris trees required for planking, none having been seen nearer to our camp.
MAN LOST IN THE WOODS.
William Woods, who had gone out in search of the spare cattle early in the morning, did not return by one P.M., and as he was a good bushman, we began to feel apprehensive that the natives had detained or perhaps killed him. I therefore proceeded in search with four men, and scoured the forest within five miles of the camp without discovering any traces either of the natives or of him. On returning however at sunset, we had the satisfaction to find that he had reached the camp about an hour before us, having during the whole day been unable to find his way back to our camp through the trackless forest.
Today the river fell another inch, and this failure of the waters, as upon the Namoi, added much to the irksomeness of the delay necessary for the completion of a boat. In the present case however more than on the Namoi, the expected arrival of Mr. Finch, and the exhausted state of our cattle, disposed me to give the party some days rest at so convenient a point, and towards which I had indeed looked forward with this view, in the efforts we made to attain it. The characters of my men were now better known to me, and I could not help feeling some sympathy for The Doctor, as the men called Souter. He was also what they termed a new chum, or one newly arrived. He left the mess of his fellow prisoners, and cooked and ate by himself. In figure he was the finest specimen of our race in the party, and as he lay by his solitary fire, he formed a striking foreground to the desert landscape. In his novitiate he was most willing to do anything his fellows required, and I felt often disposed to interfere when I overheard such words as "Doctor! go for a kettle of water, while I light a fire," etc. Worthington, in particular, I overheard, telling him he had been "a swell at home;" but a few days afterwards The Doctor came to me, stating that an immediate operation was necessary to save the life of Worthington, and demanding the dissecting instruments. On inquiry I found that this man, alias Five-o'clock, had a slight swelling in the groin, for which The Doctor's intended remedy, as far as I could make out, was an incision in the lower part of the abdomen. I gravely assured Five-o'clock that if The Doctor thought such an operation necessary it must take place, although I should defer lending him the instruments for a day or two. Thus I succeeded in establishing the importance of The Doctor's position, and we heard no more of his having been a swell--or of the swelling of Worthington who, on that pretext, seemed inclined to escape work.
January 30.