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Updated: May 26, 2025
As well as this roly-poly, we were delighted to see a few scattered plants of parakeelia, and lost no time in unloading and hobbling the camels, who in their turn made all haste to devour this life-giving vegetation. Camp made, we set to work on the well, sinking our boxes as before, our black friends watching us with evident interest.
At Warri Well, where the parakeelia grew, two gallons in the evening. September 8th. At Patience Well they were the last to be watered, eight gallons in the evening. September 18th. At Family Well, parakeelia again, three gallons at night. September 28th. Half a drink. Therefore between the 22nd of August and the 28th of September they had no more than thirteen gallons.
In the evening we watered the camels, and lucky it was that the parakeelia existed, and so satisfied them with its watery juice that they were contented with very little, Satan and Misery not swallowing more than two gallons each.
Lucky indeed, because even with another night's work we were only just able to get a sufficient supply to carry us on for a few days, and but for the parakeelia either we or the camels would have had to go short. We did not completely exhaust the water in the well not, I fear, because we studied the convenience of the natives, but because our makeshift appliances did not enable us to sink deeper.
Indeed, this plant is a wonderful provision of nature, and compensates a little for the hideous sterility of the country. I am not wide of the mark when I say that given "parakeelia" every second night or so a camel would never want to drink at all, though it is not really as serviceable as water not having the same lasting effect. A similar plant, also found in Central Australia, is "Munyeru."
The well itself resembled those already described, and appeared to have a good supply, so much so that we started at once to water the camels, which had had no drink since August 21st, a period of seventeen days, with the exception of two gallons apiece at Warri Well, where the parakeelia grew. By midnight all but three Satan, Redleap, and Misery had drunk as much as they could hold.
In the centre of this a little bag of black seeds grows; these seeds are crushed and eaten by the natives. Munyeru, Breaden tells me, is quite a good vegetable for human consumption. Why the locality of this well, "Warri Well," should be specially favoured by the growth of parakeelia I cannot guess. The well itself was sufficiently remarkable.
Here were camels, after an eight days' drought, travelling eight to ten hours daily in hot weather, over rough stones and gravel, actually turning away from water! The answer to this riddle was "Parakeelia." This is a local, presumably native, name in Central Australia for a most wonderful and useful plant.
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