At Dark We Arrived There, But The Sand Had Fallen In, And We Had To Labour Hard To Clear Out

The hole again; it was eleven o'clock at night before we could get the horses watered, and we then had

To take them a mile and a half before we could get any grass for them. Returning from this duty, we had to collect and carry on our backs for more than a mile, a few bundles of sticks and bushes, to make a little fire for ourselves, near the water, the night being intensely cold. It was past two o'clock in the morning before we could lay down, and then, tired and harassed as we were, it was too cold and damp for us to rest.

December 3. - The scorching rays of the morning sun awoke us early, weary and unrefreshed, we had no trees to shade us, and were obliged to get up. After looking at the well, and congratulating ourselves upon its not having fallen in, we set off to look for the horses, they had wandered away in search of food, causing us a long and tiresome walk over the sand-hills in the sun, before we could find them; having at last got them and driven them to where the water was, we were chagrined to find that during our absence the well had again fallen in, and we had the labour of clearing it out to go through again.

The day was excessively oppressive, with a hot parching wind, and both we and the horses drank incessantly.

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