s, on whom he
lavished his coin; he hired a band of wandering minstrels to play his
favourite music, and invited the beauty an chivalry of the convict
capital to join him in his revels. When his money was expended he
was put on board a schooner bound for Port Albert, on which Davis (of
Yarram) and his family were passengers. For two days he lay in his
bunk sick and suffering. As the vessel approached the shore his
misery was intense. He demanded drink, but no one would give him
any. He began to search his pockets for coin, but of the 300 pounds
only one solitary sixpence was left. With this he tried to bribe the
cabin boy to find for him one last taste of rum; but the boy said,
"All the grog is locked up, and the captain would welt me if I gave
you a single drop."

So Long Mason landed at the Port with his sixpence, was dismissed by
his brother from Woodside Station, and became a wandering swagman.

The next overseer for Woodside voyaged to Port Albert in the brig
'Isabella' in the month of June, 1844. This vessel had been employed
in taking prisoners to Macquarie Harbour and Port Arthur until the
government built a barque called the 'Lady Franklin'; then Captain
Taylor bought the brig for the cattle trade. On this voyage he was
anxious to cross the bar for shelter from a south-east gale, and he
did not wait for the pilot, although the vessel was deeply laden;
there was not water enough for her on the old bar; she struck on it,
and the heavy easterly sea threw her on the west bank. It was some
time before the pilot and his two men could get aboard, as they had
to fight their way through the breakers to leeward. There was too
much sea for the boat to remain in safety near the ship, and Davy
asked the captain to lend him a hand to steer the boat back to Sunday
Island. The second mate went in her, but she was capsized directly.
The ship's boat was hanging on the weather davits, and it was no use
letting her down to windward on account of the heavy sea. Davy ran
out to the end of the jibboom with a lead line. He could see the
second mate hanging on to the keel of the capsized boat, and his two
men in the water. The ebb sea kept washing them out, and the heavy
sea threw them back again, and whenever they could get their heads
above water they shouted for help. Davy threw the lead towards them
from the end of the jibboom, but they were too far away for the line
to reach them. At length the ship's boat was l