The rain ceasing, we again resumed our journey, but had not proceeded far when we were overtaken by a second storm from the north-east, still more violent than the first, and attended with such pelting hail that our horses refused to proceed in any direction except that of the wind, so that rather than suffer ourselves to be carried off our course, we were compelled to halt, and sit patiently upon our horses; opposing our backs to the storm, we waited for its violence to abate. As soon as the hail ceased we moved on, the water pouring in streams from our mockasins and every part of our dress. The rain continued until dark, when, being unable to find wood, and having no occasion for water, we halted, and without the delay of cooking supper, or eating it, we set up our tent, and piled ourselves together under it in the most social manner possible. During the day the mercury had fallen from 70° to 47°, indicating a change of temperature, which was the more severely felt, as we were hungry, wet, and much fatigued. As we had neither dry clothing or blankets, we could find no other method of restoring the warmth to our benumbed bodies than by placing them together in the least possible compass. We spent a cheerless night, in the course of which Mr. Peale experienced an alarming attack of a spasmodic affection of the stomach, induced probably by cold and inanition. He was somewhat relieved by the free use of opium and whiskey. 30th. We left our comfortless camp at an early hour on the ensuing morning, and traversing a wide plain strewed with fragments of greenstone, amygdaloid, and the vesicular substance already mentioned as the pumice-stone of Bradbury, we arrived in the middle of the day in the sight of a creek, which, like all the watercourses of this region, {272} is situated at the bottom of a deep and almost inaccessible valley. With the customary difficulty and danger, we at length found our way down to the stream, and encamped. We were much concerned, but by no means surprised, to discover that our horses were rapidly failing under the severe services they were now made to perform. We had been often compelled to encamp without a sufficiency of grass, and the rocky travelling, to which we had for some time accustomed them, was wearing out and destroying their hoofs. Several were becoming lame, and all much exhausted and weakened. Verplank, our faithful and indefatigable hunter, was so fortunate as to kill a black-tailed deer at a distance from our course. A horse was, however, sent for the remainder of the meat, Verplank having brought the greater part of it on his shoulders; and we once more enjoyed the luxury of a full meal.