Page:Diary of ten years.djvu/404

 386 some bread and meat in my pocket, a worsted shirt, another pair of socks, and the pilot's hood, which, with the gun and ammunition, I found to be quite enough. It was two o'clock when we fairly started, and from that till this evening we had walked 39 miles, having walked to-day not less than 24. The ground was in some places very rough with rocks and fallen timber, and many rather steep hills. It was pretty hard work, and reminded me something of our old times of grouse shooting. We did not see a native all the time though we saw many fresh tracks, and perhaps twenty huts in different places. Yesterday evening, not long before sunset, our guides saw a fire at several miles distance. We hurried on to it over hills and dales at a breathless speed. It was supposed to be the fire of Wilban, who escaped from prison after conviction for murder. We approached the fire with great caution and circumspection, as it was now dark, when, to our ludicrous mortification, it turned out to be the remains of a burning tree, from which the natives had turned out an opossum. It served one good purpose, however, for as we could go no further in the dark, we availed ourselves of the ready-made fire, and halted there for the night. The early part of the night was fine, but it commenced raining afterwards, and continued so till morning, to our grievous discomfort. I got my head on a stone for a pillow, but it was rather too high, and I could not bruise it down, so I experienced the inconvenience of carrying too high a head at the expense of my neck. The morning soon brightened us up, and though walking through the wet bush was not comfortable, yet the day was very favourable. We have all reason to be thankful that in the very midst of winter we could spend a night out with little covering, without experiencing any bad effects—if it be not premature to say so.

July 26th.—Two other parties have also returned from pursuit of the natives, without having seen any. They must have gone to some out of the way place. I came home last