THROUGH THE BIG SWAMPS 105 



snakes infested the swamp, but had forgotten the fact 

 in the excitement of nest-hunting; the frog had 

 jumped from the reeds, probably to escape from a 

 snake. One of my companions laughed at the in- 

 cident, but shortly afterwards some slimy thing 

 brushed across his legs, and he plunged forward. 

 It is not unusual to see a venomous snake in a swamp, 

 an unpleasant creature to encounter when one is at 

 a disadvantage. A piece of fencing wire is the best 

 weapon, as it cuts the water easily, but with a stick an 

 effective blow cannot be delivere'd. 



Towards sundown we emerged from the swamp, 

 sorry-looking figures; muddy water dripped from our 

 garments, and the "weed was on our knees." Clad 

 in dry clothes again, we felt fit for the homeward 

 journey. The Reed-Warblers were still singing as 

 we drove away, and the sun was setting in a golden 

 haze. King Swamp is only a memory ; the water was 

 drained from the hollow soon after our visit, and 

 wheat grows now where of old the Coot dived for its 

 dinner and Reed-Warblers sang. 



***** 



Years after that day among the Reed-Warblers 

 I had a more memorable experience, a cruise in a 

 flattie through one of the vast Murray swamps in New 

 South Wales. 



Lake Boga, the centre from which I made excur- 

 sions to swamps and lakes in the nesting season of 

 1912, is an interesting place. Boga is a fine sheet of 

 water whose shores were frequented by aborigines, 

 perhaps for thousands of years. Mr. A. C. Stone, dur- 

 ing a residence of eighteen years at Lake Boga, 

 gathered facts regarding the customs and manners of 

 the Gourrmjanyuk (along edge of trees) tribe, which 

 formed a distinct section of the Gnarryboluk nation, 

 and I am indebted to him for the following notes. The 

 last full-blood of the tribe, Hamilton Orr (Myarramin) 

 was drowned in the lake owing to a squall capsizing 



