a few miles, when one of the party fell suddenly down, the heat of the day having overpowered him. This caused us some alarm, but he soon recovered. It was proposed that we should now take up our night quarters, and renew our journey at daylight; but, being aware that it would not do, to be idle or indifferent, in the beginning of our expedition, and wishing to show an example, I took the invalid's burden over my own shoulder, and marched off,—the poor fellow following, and begging me to let him carry it; but, as he really appeared fagged, I did not accede to his pressing solicitation. Thus we proceeded until the evening, when we bivouacked in the vicinity of an extensive but shallow lagoon, the water of which we found excellent.
On Thursday, at daylight, we resumed our journey N.N.W., all well; at nine o'clock we arrived at a large lagoon, from three to six feet deep, where we halted, kindled a fire, and took breakfast; an empty preserved-meat-canister serving the double purpose of tea-kettle and tea-pot.
Being refreshed by a cup of strong tea, and a cold bath in the lagoon, we renewed our journey, to the westward. In a short time, we perceived an extensive sheet of water, a few hundred yards on our right: from appearances, we judged that this was permanent, which supposition Mokărē confirmed by informing us, that the natives came hither when, from long-continued drought, the smaller and shallower lagoons were dried up.
