It was the 6th of May when we got back to where he had left the right line.

As long as he had remained on the other horses' tracks it was practicable enough to follow him, but the wretched man had left them and gone away in a far more southerly direction, having the most difficult sand-hills to cross at right angles.
We found he had burnt a patch of spinifex where he had left the other horses' tracks.
"Whether he had made any mistake in steering by the compass or not it is impossible to say; but instead of going east, as he should have done, he actually went south, or very near it.
"I was sorry to think that the unfortunate man's last sensible moments must have been embittered by the thought that, as he had lost himself in the capacity of messenger for my relief, I, too, must necessarily fall a victim to his mishap.
"I called this terrible region, lying between the Rawlinson Range and the next permanent water that may eventually be found to the north, 'Gibson's Desert,'-- after this first white victim to its horrors.
"In looking over Gibson's few effects, Mr.Tietkins and I found an old pocket-book, a drinking-song, and a certificate of his marriage.

He had never told us he was married." And now to resume my own narrative.

You will remember that I had settled down for a considerable time on the shores of the lagoon, where I had made everything around me as comfortable as possible.

Yamba had no difficulty whatever in keeping us well supplied with roots and vegetables; and as kangaroos, opossums, snakes, and rats abounded, we had an ample supply of meat, and the lagoon could always be relied upon to provide us with excellent fish.