The course of the streams in a well-watered
country is of great use in guiding an inexperienced traveler, but
Australian streams, like most others, wind about a great deal, and make
the road along their banks a very long one.

"It was the rainy season of the year when this woman was lost, and the
streams were flooded. If she had followed the creek which would have led
her to her home, she would have been compelled to keep to the high
ground on either side of its valley, as the low, flat land was covered
with water. The weather was cold and wet and the winds were keen and
piercing. There was not the least supply of nourishment to be obtained
in the bush, and when we heard late on Monday what had happened, we all
felt that the unhappy wanderers must have perished from hunger and cold.
Still, there was a possibility that they might yet survive, and, as it
was too late for us to start that day, we determined to set out on
Tuesday morning in search of them. We sent off to the nearest police
station and obtained the assistance of several blacks who had been
trained to the police service. You have probably heard about the
wonderful skill of these people in following a track, and as soon as
they arrived on the ground we set them at work.

"All day Tuesday these native trackers sought diligently to find traces
of the missing ones, but none could be discovered. Then on Wednesday
morning we renewed the search, covering as much ground as possible and
examining it with the greatest care, occasionally discharging a revolver
in the hope that its sound might be heard, and frequently shouting the
Australian 'coo-ee,' which can be heard at a great distance. We returned
home completely discouraged and gave up the wanderers for dead, being
satisfied that any further search would be useless.

"But on reaching home we heard news that gave us encouragement. A
woodchopper returning from his work told us that he found on a hill,
some distance away, a rude mia-mia or wind shelter made of the branches
of a wild cherry tree. He said it was not like those usually put up by
the blacks, nor were there any traces of fire near it, which would
certainly have been the case if it had been a native mia-mia. We started
at once, under the guidance of the workman, to inspect the place for
ourselves, and on examining the shelter carefully we felt sure that it
had been put up by the lost woman. A few pieces of a Melbourne newspaper
were lying on the ground an