ee horses, and the
rains having been heavier, we were continually digging the coach out of
bogs. At dark one evening I walked on to lessen the load, and on
crossing a plain I saw a log on the side of the road on which I decided
to have a rest. I sat on it in the dark, and feeling something move, I
put my hand down on the cold, clammy tail of a snake. His lordship
evidently had his head in a hole, or might have bitten me. The shock
gave me increased energy, and I reached the groom's change at 10.30 p.m.
The coach arrived an hour later. We were all thoroughly done up, and had
a supper of stewed galahs. The stage-keeper was without flour.

When we arrived at Normanton we were in a sad plight from our rough
experiences. The next day Bartholomew and myself were the only
passengers on the coach for Croydon. Unusually heavy rain had fallen
during the night, and the road was bad. We reached Creen Creek, half-way
to Croydon, that evening. Here we met the coach from that place on its
way to Normanton. The driver of this coach gave a bad account of the
road ahead. It was decided that Bartholomew and the driver should ride,
and pack the mail on horses to Croydon. Mr. Bartholomew arranged with
the other driver to take me back to Normanton. The coach was full, and I
had to sit on the splash board with my legs hanging over the two mules
which were in the pole. We had not gone far before we got into a bog.
The three horses in the lead were floundering so much that we had to
take them out, but the mules stood quietly up to their bellies in the
soft ground. The passengers were all males and turned to. By levering
the wheels on to the cushions, we got the coach on hard ground again.
This happened so often that I decided to walk on. I came upon a bullock
team loaded with timber, bogged. With it was Fred Shaw, who at one time
was connected with Cobb and Co., and who was taking the timber to
Croydon for building. I offered my help to get the waggon out of the bog
by assisting the driver on the off-side with a whip. We succeeded after
some time, but not without the use of some language.

In soft ground bullocks will stand up to their middle chewing their cud
whilst a clear passage is being cut through for the wheels, and if once
got to pull together they will invariably get through. Mules are
practically the same, hence Cobb and Co. using them. The moment a horse
loses his footing he commences to plunge about, and so turns the ground
into li