100 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



his nephew, a sturdy boy, I made the trip in a small 

 flat-bottomed boat. The craft was heavy laden, and 

 once or twice, when crossing the current or rounding 

 a bend where the water swirled against snags, it 

 nearly capsized. Down Station Creek we paddled, 

 across a billabong, and on to the Murray. For a 



ABORIGINES' BARK CANOE. 



mile, before we gained the little creek that links Can- 

 talla to the river, we voyaged among giant gum trees 

 in a billabong, startling Black Duck [Anas super- 

 ciliosa~], Grey Teal [Nettium gibberifrons] , Pink-eared 

 Ducks [Malacorhynchus membranaceus], Pelicans, 

 Ibises, White-fronted Herons, Night Herons, and 

 other birds during the passage. The Black Ducks 

 and Grey Teal had broods, and when the boat came 

 near them the ducklings scattered in all directions. 

 There was a log in the way as one brood sought safety, 

 and, one by one, nine little birds steeplechased over 

 the obstacle. 



