He drank
greedily when water was given him, and ate voraciously, but whence he
came the men could not divine nor could he explain to them. He accepted
what was given to him, as a right expected by one fellow-being from
another, cut off in the desert from their own kin. While he stopped at
their camp he showed that he knew the use of the boat, explaining that it
was upside down, as of course it was, and pointing to the N.W. as the
place where they would want it, raising poor Sturt's hopes once more.
After a fortnight he departed as he came, saying he would come back, but
he never did.
"With him," says Sturt pathetically, "all our hopes vanished, for even
the presence of this savage was soothing to us, and so long as he
remained we indulged in anticipations as to the future. From the time of
his departure a gloomy silence pervaded the camp; we were, indeed, placed
under the most trying circumstances, everything combined to depress our
spirits and exhaust our patience. We had witnessed migration after
migration of the feathered tribes, to that point to which we were so
anxious to push our way.
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