; and
they were often present in such myriads as actually to hide the face of
the sun. I found them excellent eating when grilled on red-hot stones.

Yamba, of course, did all the cooking, making a fire with her ever-ready
fire-stick, which no native woman is ever without; and while she looked
after the supply of roots and opossum meat, I generally provided the
snakes, emus, and kangaroos. Our shelter at night consisted merely of a
small _gunyah_ made of boughs, and we left the fire burning in front of
this when we turned in.

When we had been fully three months out, a very extraordinary thing
happened, which to many people would be incredible were it not recognised
as a well-known Australian phenomenon. We had reached a very dry and
open grass country, where there was not a tree to be seen for miles and
miles. Suddenly, as Yamba and I were squatting on the ground enjoying a
meal, we saw a strange black cloud looming on the horizon, and hailed its
advent with the very greatest delight, inasmuch as it presaged rain--which
is always so vitally important a visitation in the "Never Never." We
waited in anticipation until the cloud was right over our heads. Then
the deluge commenced, and to my unbounded amazement I found that with the
rain _live fish as big as whitebait were falling from the clouds_! When
this wonderful rain-storm had passed, large pools of water were left on
the surface of the ground, and most of these were fairly alive with fish.
This surface-water, however, evaporated in the course of a few days, and
then, as the blazing sun beat down upon the fish-covered country, we
found the region growing quite intolerable on account of the awful
stench.

Talking of storms, I have seen it stated that the Australian natives are
in a state of high glee whenever they hear thunder. This is perfectly
true, but I have never seen any explanation of this joy. It is simple
enough. The natives know that thunder presages rain, which is always a
blessing of great price in that thirsty country.

I think this was the first time I had actually _seen_ it rain fish. But
I had often been surprised, to find water-holes, and even the pools in
grassy plains, literally alive with fish a few days after a storm. And
they grew with astounding rapidity, provided the water did not evaporate.
This was in the vicinity of my Cambridge Gulf home.

We remained in the neighbourhood for some time, living on a most welcome
fish diet.