Browne, to consult with him as to the best course to be adopted
in the trying situation in which we were placed, and a plan at length
occurred by which I hoped he might venture on the journey to Flood's
Creek without risk. This plan was to shoot one of the bullocks, and to
fill his hide with water. We determined on sending this in a dray, a day
in advance, to enable the bullock driver to get as far as possible on the
road, we then arranged that Mr. Browne should take the light cart, with
36 gallons of water, and one horse only; that on reaching the dray, he
should give his horse as much water as he would drink from the skin,
leaving that in the cart untouched until he should arrive at the
termination of his second day's journey, when I proposed he should give
his horse half the water, and leaving the rest until the period of his
return, ride the remainder of the distance he had to go. I saw little
risk in this plan, and we accordingly acted upon it immediately: the hide
was prepared, and answered well, since it easily contained 150 gallons of
water. Jones proceeded on the morning of the 27th, and on the 28th Mr.
Browne left me on this anxious and to us important journey, accompanied
by Flood. We calculated on his return on the eighth day, and the reader
will judge how anxiously those days passed. On the day Mr. Browne left
me, Jones returned, after having deposited the skin at the distance of 32
miles.
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