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their geographical position, should I have only those 4 bullocks, I wished still to go down the Mackenzie and to find a good road to the Boyne.  Alas! all my plans were annihilated by the arrival in the camp where all my companions were sick and having fever and ague. I saw no other means but to give up all plans and to return to the downs. But next day our cattle was gone, our mules and horses were gone and nobody had looked after them. We fetched the cattle after a furious ride over the large plains to the Eastward about 6 miles distant. On the 9th (the next day) I went with Wommai for the horses, which I hoped to find at the next camp. Alas I was again mistaken. After 2½ days serious tracking ride over open country and most miserable scrub we found 6 mules and 1 horse; we took them down to the junction camp to which another lot of mules had gone. Here we camped but next morning I sent Wommai for the missing lot, whilst I herded the 7. He returned at sunset with the intelligence that they had crossed the river and had returned on our track.  I immediately followed them and rode 2 days through the scrubs without getting up to them the [?] remaining equally odd.  2 of the lot had lost themselves and returned almost 20 miles to the other side of the Mackenzie. I had been absent [?] days from the camp and had only provisions for one. Wommai shot for himself a bustard and Wallobi [wallaby] and 2 ducks and the dogs caught two old men kangaroos and drove a Wallabi [wallaby] into a hollow log, out of which we cut it with my tomahawk The [?] clouds gathered besides over our head and I was afraid that rain would set in.  I consequently returned next day about 40 miles towards junction camp and camped at a place where we had planted an old man kangaroo 2½ days before. It was perfectly sweet and we feasted on it, but were both severely purged. The next day we returned to the Mackenzie to look for the 7 mules

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