14 THE JARDINES' EXPEDITION 



camped and spent the rest of the day in drying their arms, 

 saddles, etc., and in jerking the beef of one of the beastg 

 which they had been unable to rescue from the bog. At 

 night they again had heavy rain. On the following day 

 the brothers slushed ahead of the cattle for two miles to the 

 Batavia River, which was "a banker," 25 yards across. 

 By the time the cattle overtook them, they Jiad cut a track 

 through the scrub on either bank and had also felled a tall 

 melaleuca across the stream ; by means of this impromptu 

 bridge, above which a guiding rope was fastened, they were 

 able to carry over the saddles, stores, etc., on their heads. 

 The cattle they got safely across with the exception of one 

 cow which was drowned, but in spite of all their efforts, 

 two horses were also drowned. They were obliged to 

 abandon their intention to push forward, because of the 

 bogginess of the country and the continual rain, and they 

 camped rather higher up the river.. They went on the 

 following morning after some of the horses which had been 

 left in the bog. These they brought to the camp where 

 further misfortunes awaited them. To their dismay they 

 found that a number of horses had been poisoned ; fiva 

 of these died the same evening, and another, supposed 

 also to have been poisoned, was missing. One effect of 

 the poison was complete blindness, and the fattest were 

 the first affected. 



Having now only 21 horses, and these the poorest and 

 worst, they buried a number of horseshoes, nails, and 

 heavy material and redistributed their loading ; the rain 

 continued aJl day. In spite of all their difficulties they 

 camped next night 10 miles away from Poison Creek. 

 The journey was not easily got through, for the horses had 

 to be driven witli the cattle, while the explorers, trouoerless 

 and bootless, had to walk. Some of the horses were unable 

 to reach the camp, but these were brought on next morning. 

 They had to exercise the greatest vigilence, for the blacks 

 were hanging on their tracks. This day was a repetition 

 of the last, horses having to be dragged out of bogs, packs 

 removed and carried over the running streams, and at 

 its close two more horses dying from poison' It poured with 

 rain as they pitched their camp, and while doing so the 

 blacks attacked them ; they were easily driven off, however, 

 only two shots being fired, and they were not further 



