The next day, becoming uneasy about his absence, I detained the party in
the camp, and sent Mr. Scott to search for him, who fortunately met him
almost immediately he had left us. The boy's detention had been
occasioned by the fagged condition of his horse, which prevented the
possibility of his overtaking me. As the day was wet, I did not move on,
but gave the party a day's rest, whilst I employed myself in meditating
upon the disappointment I had experienced, and the future steps it might
be most advisable to take to carry out the objects of the expedition. I
was still determined not to give up the undertaking,--but rather to
attempt to penetrate either to the eastward or westward, and to try to
find some other line of route that might afford a practicable opening to
the interior.

September 6.--Moving on the party early to-day, I pushed steadily towards
the depot near Mount Arden. In doing this, the favourable state of the
weather enabled us to keep more in the open plains, and thus both to
avoid a good deal of rough ground, and to shorten the road considerably.

Upon mustering the horses on the 9th, the overseer reported to me that
one of them was lying down with a broken leg, and upon going to examine
him, I found that it was one of the police horses kindly lent to the
expedition by the Governor. During the night some other horse had kicked
him and broken the thigh bone of the hind leg. The poor animal was in
great pain and unable to rise at all, I was therefore obliged to order
the overseer to shoot him. By this accident we lost a most useful horse
at a time when we could but ill spare one.

During our progress to the south we had frequently showers and
occasionally heavy rains, which lodging in puddles on the plains,
supplied us abundantly with water, and we were unusually fortunate enough