oss to the
eastern hills, hoping that our father and Sam would start at once with
the cattle towards the more remote but seemingly more accessible ground
to the west. Just as we were shoving off he remarked--

"The water has not risen lately; we may still avoid a remove. Heaven
prosper you, my dear boys."

We hoped that his words would prove true--the sky was bright, the water
smooth, and it was difficult to believe that there was any danger.
Malcolm and I were expert with the use of the paddle, but in crossing
the river we were swept down some way, and narrowly escaped staving in
the canoe against stumps of trees or palings and remnants of buildings.
We persevered, however, and at length reached the eastern hills, or the
mountains as they were called. Here we found our neighbour and several
other families encamped. He told us that he had driven his cattle off
on the first day, and wished that we had done the same. The waters did
not appear to be rising, though we looked with anxiety towards our home;
but it was too small a speck to be visible among the wide expanse of
waters at the distance we were from it. We had put up our tent and were
intending to occupy it, when we recollected that there were several of
the other settlers' wives and daughters without so good a covering, so
we went and begged them to occupy it, while we slept under our canoe.

The night was bright and starlight, but we could not sleep much for
thinking of our father and Sam Dawes. We resolved as early as we could
see in the morning to go back to them. We were awoke early in the
morning by a peculiar murmuring and hollow sound. As soon as it was
daylight we looked out over the flooded country. We asked others if
they had heard the noise. They replied that they had, and that it was
caused by the water rushing over the land. "Then the flood must have
increased," exclaimed Malcolm and I with anxiety.

"No doubt about it, boys," was the unsatisfactory reply.

We were for starting off immediately, but one of the farmer's wives, to
whom we had given up our tent, insisted on preparing some breakfast for
us, and in putting a supply of food into our canoe.

"It is a long voyage, my boys, and you do not know what you may require
before you return," she observed.

We paddled on very anxiously. We had only the line of eastern hills we
were leaving and some high land to the south to guide us, but we thought
that we could not help hitting upon