Having in a previous number given the sad accounts of the murderous attacks by the natives on three of the Port Lincoln outstations, which caused horror and alarm to the inhabitants of that settlement and anxiety to the inhabitants in Adelaide, I am now enabled to continue this discouraging part of our history by the use of the diary of Mr. James Hawker, who started overland from Adelaide in the hope of meeting Mr. C. C. Dutton (once sheriff of the province), who was known to have broken up his station in consequence of the hostile actions of the natives, and had started with his people and stock to make his way round the head of Spencer's Gulf.

The party consisted of the following gentlemen, and started on the 14th of September, 1842, viz.: — Messrs. James Hawker, William Peters, James Baker, Charles Hawker, with a Sydney native (Billy). The Governor ordered Inspector Tolmer with four troopers to accompany and aid the volunteers, who had one saddle horse each and two pack-horses to carry about six weeks' rations of flour, tea, sugar, and a small quantity of bacon— trusting to fowling-pieces to procure some game in aid of the small supplies of meat. The troopers had three pack-horses to carry their necessaries. The furthest outstation from the town of Port Lincoln was Mr. Dutton's.

By sending the military previously some-thing of martial law had been introduced. The soldiers had been marched out a few miles, and in their incursions some natives had been shot. A corporal and three privates had been posted at one of the deserted stations, and they on the appearance of natives in their vicinity, abandoned their post, and made a hasty retreat on the township. Their report was not satisfactory, and they were punished.

Mr. Dutton had found his station quite untenable from the number of natives in that quarter, and in consequence started on his unfortunate overland journey. He left his station in July, 1842, escorted by part of the detachment of soldiers under the lieutenant as far as one day's journey.

When twelve weeks had elapsed after Mr. Dutton had moved off, and no tidings had reached even the outermost settlements on the Adelaide side of the Gulf, it was decided to start a light party to meet him or to obtain information as to what had befallen him and his party. Amongst other things feared was that he had been unable to reach the head of the Gulf from deficiency of provisions.

The relief party, which has been described, after making their way north to head the Gulf, on the 18th September had the misfortune to lose a pack-horse belonging to the volunteers, who left the other horses in the night. As every hour saved was an object no time was spent in seeking the absentee, the anxiety being to push on, hoping to find Mr. Dutton alive. To do this there was no alternative but to abandon part of the small supply of provisions, and this in the face of such a journey as they had to encounter, with the prospect of meeting a destitute party.

For the next five days in journeying along they found both feed for the horses and water growing scarcer and scarcer, and at the same time the weather proved exceedingly hot. They were one night without water for man and beast. The volunteers, after a consultation, decided to go on alone and to allow the police to return, as it was evident that water and feed could not to be depended on to be found in sufficient quantity for so many horses. On this account the police returned to head-quarters, and the volunteers pushed on alone.

On the 24th they reached Eyre's old Depot Creek, at Mount Arden, distance 236 miles from Adelaide. They found the feed during the last three days travel most wretched. They remained at the depot three days to rest and recruit the horses. Here was found Eyre's tarpaulin tent lying on the ground rotten, where it had been left two or three years before. Two pigeons were here shot, which were very acceptable, as the party had been reduced to about one ounce of bacon each man in 24 hours, and even with that small reduction it was seen it would not last many days. Diary now given: —

" On the 28th, we started, horses much refreshed. Had great difficulty now in crossing the channel above the head of the Gulf owing to the numerous quicksands which were found in its bed. No feed for the horses, except stunted salt bushes. After 25 miles advance found a dirty pool of water, which the horses would not drink.

" 29th— Pushed onto Baxter's Range, 40 miles over a wretched country. Found a small supply of water; could only give three quarts to each horse, poured into a basin formed by the use of Peter's mackintosh cloak. Barked a tree here, and wrote ' Volunteers in search of Mr. Dutton, 29th September.' We had found Mr. Eyre's tracks plain here, and conceived it possible Mr. Dutton by following the same might reach this place.

" 30th — As I and my brother could work the direct course we desired to take, it was decided to leave the guidance to us, and from this camp we struck out a course through a thick gum scrub, and could not make more than 18 miles. No water found; horses nearly done up.

" October 1 — Still a thick scrub in heavy sand. Crossed the dry beds of several salt lakes; the salt as fine as dust, most annoying to horses and men. A packhorse unable to travel, although all his load had been taken off his back; his tongue was hanging out. Large patches of skin peeling off our own faces; our mouths so dry we could hardly articulate a word, and were adopting signs. It now became to us a matter of life or death to the whole party, men and horses, and it was determined that I and Billy the Sydney black, whose horses were in best trim, should push forward and endeavor to reach a cluster of rocks, which according to Eyre's chart, which we had with us, should be ahead of us, and at which was shown a permanent spring.

" Providentially, before I and the black had proceeded more than a mile through scrub, we came upon the rocks, around which were green tussocks of grass, at sight of which our poor exhausted beasts were quite frantic. But imagine our horror, when on our first searching around the rocks, we could find no spring or water. The efforts of the horses to climb among the rocks, and their whinnying, assured us that there was water somewhere near; and shortly we found in a cleft of the rocks several gallons, about five feet down. We lowered our pannikins and got a small quantity up, and although it was full of insects, dead and alive, by us it was taken as nectar.

" We lost no time in returning to our comrades, and found them considering whether they should kill a packhorse, and drink his blood, to save human lives. The news we brought saved the life of the horse, and all hastened on to the rocks. Here we afterwards found other clefts, but all the water in such a polluted state that we had to strain it through saddlecloths, long used beneath the saddles (think of such a remedy to render water purer!), so we did not swallow insects. We remained here two days, and turned off for the Gawler Ranges. After making our way through scrub, and travelling 18 miles without finding any traces of Mr. Dutton, and discovering neither feed nor water, we returned to the rocks. The weather was fearfully hot.

" On our return we perceived the place had been visited by a considerable body of blacks. Their fires were still alight, so that they must have bolted in alarm on hearing the clatter of our approach. After dark we set a watch. At this time the ammunition which we had retained was nearly exhausted. During the night the men on guard heard a black fellow among the horses, who had a narrow escape from a shot fired at him.

" 5th — Made an early start, the country all around us being alight with native signal fires. This day we were without water, but at night came upon a little grass for the horses, which were suffering much for the want of water.

" 6th - Started at 6am, travelling still in scrubs, with occasional bare ridges. After riding 23 miles came on a green patch, like an oasis in a desert. Here was a puddle of water on a clay pan, to which the horses could get themselves, and was quickly used up by them. Before this Peters's mackintosh had been the only means by which we could give them water for the last nine days.

" 7th— A shower fell here, during which we caught water in our pannikins, from the drippling grass. We found dense scrub in travelling all day, and came upon no feed or water.

" Two days after this we came upon a good supply of both, such a treat as we have not met with for 11 days, and during that time, until this improvement in our prospects, we had not experienced the indulgence of a wash (think of this, ye daintily nurtured stay-at-homes!). The skin was still peeling from our faces in flakes, caused by the scorching rays of the sun and the hot sand drifting against our exposed countenances. The poor horses had suffered from the same causes, and their heads had been denuded of hair as if they had undergone a close shave. We this day rationed upon gruel composed of flour and the addition of the remains of mutton suet which we had brought with us to lubricate our firearms to prevent rust. With the exception of two pigeons our daily allowance of meat had been during the previous seven days one inch of bacon to each man. On the second day after this we shot an emu and made a good meal out of the liver.

" In the afternoon we made the bare and deserted station of poor Dutton. Although we found no traces of him, it was afterwards ascertained through some of the natives that he and all his party were killed by a murderous tribe, and such of his cattle as were not used by them were dispersed and scattered through this wild and scrubby country. It is sad to relate that the bodies of the slaughtered men have never been found.

" We had now a difficult matter to arrange, viz., how we were to appear in decent costume and to present ourselves to the Port Lincoln inhabitants. Our garments were in the last stage of dilapidation. We had not made any change of clothing for 16 days; we had been under the necessity of abandoning all our spare changes. The gum scrub had torn our nether garments to ribbons, and patches had to be made of pieces of blankets of any color obtainable ; it might be dingy scarlet, deep blue, striped, or dirty white, or in some cases with fancy colored, much-worn saddle-cloths. These had, in a great measure to take the place of the original materials left behind on the bushes. Our inventive faculties had to be taxed to the greatest possible extent, for the work was a crying necessity, and the fact was we were none of us experienced or skilful in such work. I must not omit to mention that the legs of our boots had remained to us to our great benefit, but the soles had parted company.

" Well, in this motley array, the party started next morning for the Residency, a distance of 32 miles, and many a laugh we indulged in on the way. But I must change the subject to one of grief, for on our way we first came to the deserted and destroyed stations of the murdered, Brown and Biddle; here a more melancholy sight could not be imagined than met us. The flowers in one of the gardens were in full bloom, displaying the beauties of peaceful nature, growing up around the shattered furniture, recklessly destroyed and cast about here and there. There was one table standing on its legs, with its top stuck full of nails, which had been driven into it for amusement. On the legs and other parts were still to be seen dried blood and human hair clinging, as they had been dashed from the mangled heads of the already dead bodies. We shuddered on viewing such devastation on peaceful stations.

" The first inhabited station we reached was the Hawson's, three miles from the township, and here ourselves and horses were most hospitably received and treated.

" In the evening we reached Port Lincoln, and surely such a grotesque troop breaking the stillness of the quiet town ship never was seen ; nor such a reception — with barking of dogs, rejoicing shouts mingled with peals of laughter — as greeted the arrival of our volunteer relief party, supposed to be lost and dead. We were here detained some days as there was no vessel leaving the bay for Port Adelaide.

" One evening, to our astonishment and great surprise, a party came in overland from Adelaide, which proved to be under the command of Mr. Eyre, who, on the return of Mr. Tolmer and the troopers who had left our small body of men, had been, speedily equipped and ordered by the Governor to follow the volunteers, to aid and lead them, and to seek for Mr. C. C Dutton and his servants and stock. It had been rumored that we had been all killed, as well as the unfortunate gentleman whom we went out to save; but our proposed rescuers, instead of finding our remains, discovered us with a jolly party discussing egg-flip.

" Mr. Eyre had suffered more severely than we had ; for on finding the waters exhausted by us, he had to push for the beach of the Gulf, after losing one horse. His party consisted of three troopers and one black man."

The great anxieties and troubles which had occurred even up to the date of the circumstances already related in the "Early Experiences" will give some idea of the impolicy of the course pursued by Captain Grey in cutting down the police force in numbers and pay to one half, as he reported in one of his earliest despatches to Lord Stanley, which was soon found to be a grave error. The report of Mr. Eyre hereafter. (To be continued.)