rything was ferried over in safety, till the last
cargo, when a little adventure occurred, which nearly cost the life
of one of the party. Cowderoy, being unable to swim, had to be taken
across holding on to the raft, and was, therefore, left to the last;
all went well with him until within 30 yards of the bank, when,
whether from trepidation, induced by visions of alligators (with
which the river indeed abounds), or from an attempt to strike out
independently, he "succeeded" in upsetting and sinking the raft, and
was with some difficulty got to the shore "quitte pour la peur." In
truth it requires some nerve for a man who can't swim to cross a wide
and rapid river. Without a confiding trust in the means adopted for
his transport, a catastrophe is not an unlikely result. The writer
has known instances of persons crossing broad rivers supported by a
spear held between two blacks, by holding on to a bullock's tail, and
even sitting on a horse's back, but in every case the success of the
attempt depends almost entirely on the coolness of the individual,
and even with this essential, he has known some fatal cases, so that
Cowderoy might congratulate himself on his safe transit. The packs,
etc., which formed the last cargo, were recovered after some time,
the distance from the shore being slight, and Cowderoy soon recovered
his accustomed good humor. By four o'clock everything had been
crossed in safety, save the four beasts before mentioned; but on
camping for the night it was found that the guides had decamped,
their unwonted high feeding, having, no doubt, induced an
indisposition to work, a result not confined to blacks alone.

'March' 10.--This morning the "Cowal," or watercourse, which had
detained the Brothers on their first trip, had to be swum over, and
here poor Ginger, one of the horses, got hopelessly bogged, and
though got out and put on his legs with saplings, was too exhausted
to go on,and had to be abandoned. The distance accomplished was 11
miles.

'March' 11.--The line marked by Mr. Jardine was followed to-day. A
scrub occurred on a creek called Wommerah Creek, through which it
took two hours to drive the cattle. Only 10 miles were made, and the
camp was pitched at about 4 miles from the mouth of the creek where
the corroboree was held. Three horses were knocked up during the
day, which prevented their gotting as far as intended.

'March' 12.--On counting the cattle it was found that 30 head ha