CHAPTER XVI.
GO BACK TO MEET THE OVERSEER--PARTY ARRIVE AT THE WATER--LONG ENCAMPMENT--GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF THE CLIFFS--MOVE ON AGAIN--DIG FOR WATER--TRACES OF NATIVES--SEND BACK FOR WATER--PARROTS SEEN--COOL WINDS FROM NORTH-EAST--OVERSEER RETURNS--CONTINUE THE JOURNEY--ABANDON BAGGAGE--DENSE SCRUBS--DRIVEN TO THE BEACH--MEET NATIVES--MODE OF PROCURING WATER FROM ROOTS.
March 12 .-- THE first streak of daylight found us on our way to meet the party, carrying with us three gallons of water upon one of the horses, the other was ridden by the boy.

Upon passing the sandy valley, where I had been in such a state of suspense and doubt at seeing the sand-hills behind me, I determined to descend and examine them; but before doing so, I wrote a note for the overseer (in case he should pass whilst I was in the valley,) and hoisted a red handkerchief to attract his attention to it.
I was unsuccessful in my search for water; but whilst among the sand-hills, I saw the party slowly filing along the cliffs above the valley, and leaving the boy to look about a little longer, I struck across to meet them.

Both horses and people I found greatly fatigued, but upon the whole, they had got through the difficulty better than I had anticipated; after leaving a great part of the loads of the pack-horses about seventeen miles back, according to the written instructions I had left.

The sheep, it seemed, had broken out of the yard and travelled backwards, and were picked up by the overseer, twelve miles away from where we had left them; as they had got very tired and were delaying the horses, he left one of the natives, this morning, to follow slowly with them, whilst he pushed on with the pack-horses as rapidly as they could go.

After giving him the pleasing intelligence that his toil was nearly over for the present, and leaving some few directions, I pushed on again with the boy, who had not found the least sign of water in the valley, to meet the native with the sheep.