farewell to the Lindis diggings, and once more started on our uncertain
and adventurous travels.

I omitted to mention that during our residence on the Lindis we were
sadly troubled with rats. There must have been millions in the locality,
and it was very difficult to guard our food from their depredations.
During the day they mostly disappeared until sundown, when they came in
swarms to the tents. Sitting by the fire in the evening I have
frequently killed a dozen with a short stick as they approached
fearlessly in search of food, and during the night we got accustomed to
sharing our common bed with a goodly number of the rascals.

CHAPTER XIII.

WE LEAVE THE LINDIS--ATTEMPT TO DRIVE FAT CATTLE TO THE
DIGGINGS AND FAIL--RETURN TO DUNEDIN.

On the return journey we had as much company as when we came, and the
road was even worse, but the dray being almost empty we experienced less
difficulty in proceeding. The first day took us out of McLean's run, and
the second saw us at nightfall on Miller and Gooche's side of the pass,
which was still snowed over, but the traffic had worked the track up
into deep slush and mud, and late in the evening we were near losing the
dray and horses in a swamp we had inadvertently entered while seeking a
better passage. With the assistance of some friendly diggers we
succeeded in extricating them, but the unfortunate accident prevented
our proceeding further that night, and we passed it on the borders of
the swamp where not an atom of firewood could be obtained. The ground
was in a puddle of melted snow and mud, not a dry spot to be found. We
were muddy and wet from head to foot, without the means of making even a
pannikin of tea, and the night was pitch dark. We just crouched down
together by the dray, hungry, shivering, and fagged. Sleep, of course,
was out of the question, and we had constantly to clap our arms to keep
the blood in circulation. Towards midnight intense frost set in. We
smoked incessantly; in that, I think, was to a great extent our safety.

We did not remove the harness from the horses, which were tied to the
dray without any food for the night. The following morning at eleven
o'clock we arrived at Miller and Gooche's, where we had to melt the ice
off our leggings and boots before we could remove them--and what a
breakfast we ate! Nobody who has not experienced what it is to starve on
a healthy stomach for thirty hours and spend most of that time on