The party selected to accompany me, out of the numerous volunteers
on this occasion, consisted of Captain Sabine, Messrs. Fisher,
Nias, Reid, and Sergeant McMahon, of the marines, Sergeant Martin,
of the artillery, and three seamen and two marines belonging to
both ships, making a total of twelve, including myself. We were
supplied with provisions for three weeks, according to the daily
proportion of one pound of biscuit, two thirds of a pound of
preserved meat, one ounce of salep powder, one ounce of sugar, and
half a pint of spirits for each man. Two tents, of the kind called
in the army horsemen's tents, were made of blankets, with two
boarding-pikes fixed across at each end, and a ridge-rope along
the top, which, with stones laid upon the foot of the blankets,
made a very comfortable and portable shelter. These tents, with
the whole of the provisions, together with a _conjuror_ or cooking
apparatus, and a small quantity of wood for fuel, amounting on the
whole to eight hundred pounds, were carried upon a strong but
light cart constructed for the purpose: this method having been
decided on as the most convenient for the country in which we were
about to travel.

Each officer and man was also furnished with a blanket made into a
bag, with a drawing-string at each end, a pair of spare shoes, and
stockings, a flannel shirt, and a cap to sleep in. The clothing
and blankets were carried on our backs in knapsacks, those of the
officers weighing from seventeen to twenty-four pounds each, and
one between every two men weighing twenty-four pounds, to be
carried for half a day alternately.

At five P.M. we left the ships, accompanied by a large party of
officers and men from each, who were desirous of relieving us from