Week Ten of the expedition
Week 10 of the expedition, 4 - 10 May, 1860
Where's Mr Stuart? Heading back to Mt Denison
Unable to cross the Tanami Desert to the Victoria River, the three men reluctantly retreated towards Mount Denison. The horses had gone a couple of days without water but fortunately Stuart, Kekwick and Head found another native well after travelling nearly 50 kilometres on 4 May. There was no water in it but the sand at the bottom was moist. They had a lot of difficulty keeping the thirst-crazed horses away from the hole while they deepened it. They had to dig down with a quart pot and a tin dish because they'd lost their shovel in the MacDonnell Ranges. The water seeped in at a very slow rate and so they had to work all night and until 11 am next morning to give all the horses a drink.
On 5 May they retreated further southeast, to the native well on the Lander River that they'd found on 1 May. Unfortunately the sides had collapsed and they were obliged to shore them up with stakes, rushes and grass. It was 3 am next morning 6 May before all the horses were watered. It was a bitterly cold night and the three men were exhausted. Nonetheless they got up at daybreak, only to find the horses had got at the well for more water, collapsing one side of it. Stuart decided to stay here for the day and let the horses drink as much as they wanted. He wrote in his journal how pleased he was with the conduct and cheerfulness of both Kekwick and Head. 'It is, indeed, a great pleasure,' he wrote 'to have men that will do their work without grumbling.'
They continued their retreat on 7 May reaching a creek east of Mount Denison where there was just enough water to meet their needs. The
horses were struggling and so Stuart decided to stay here for two days. He intended getting going again on 10 May but it was clear the horses had not yet recovered and so he decided to give them a third day to rest.
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