The little grass we found was so dry and
withered that the parched and thirsty animals could not eat it after the
second day."
From this camp Eyre started in the hope of shortly coming to a second
supply of water that the natives had told him of, and lured on by this
idea, he got forty miles from his camp without having made the provision
that he should have done before entering on a very long stage. Coming to
the conclusion that he must have passed the water, he decided to send the
horses back to the last camp for a fresh supply before venturing further
on. At midnight the overseer and the natives started back, leaving Eyre
to mind the baggage with the scanty allowance of six pints of water to
last him for six days until their return. On the 26th of March they again
started, and at night reduced their baggage still more in the hope of
getting the tired horses through; and the next day everything was
abandoned, for still there was no prospect of water ahead.
On the night of the 29th the last drop of water that they had with them
was consumed, and the next morning water was obtained by digging in the
sand drift--their seventh day out, after travelling, by Eyre's
computation, one hundred and sixty miles.
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