150 FIELD NOTES FOR THE YEAR. 



rowing, and help from the rope held by those on shore, we 

 were at length landed in a field, not across the real channel 

 of the river, but across the flooded land on the other side of 

 us, where the force of the water was less violent. Although 

 I have been in a good many situations of danger by water, I 

 never felt so helpless as 'whilst we were dashing about at the 

 mercy of the torrents, over bushes, banks, and stranded trees, 

 had we come in contact with any one of which, our small 

 boat must have been upset, and then all chance of escape 

 would have been out of the question. However, we landed 

 safely, and although we were not above a quarter of a mile 

 from my house, we had to walk round by the chain bridge, a 

 distance of five miles. We got home soon after dark, and 

 before our absence had caused any alarm. With us the rain 

 did not begin till the evening, but we afterwards heard that, 

 further to the west, it had rained in torrents for many hours 

 during the morning, accompanied by a most terrific thunder- 

 storm, and that a great deal of damage had been done by the 

 overflowing of different streams, which had broken up several 

 bridges, and injured a great extent of land. A poor woman 

 who happened to be wading the river a mile above us, at a 

 place where it is divided into several streams, was caught in 

 one of them, and although she managed to get upon a high 

 bank, the flood soon reached her, and she was kept a prisoner, 

 standing in the water, which at one time reached to her 

 middle, till the fishermen heard her cries, and succeeded in 

 rescuing her. Had we been in many spots where we fished 

 almost every day, nothing could have saved our lives. 



A singular instance of preservation from a similar danger 

 happened during the same flood, but on a different river. On 

 perceiving that the water was rising, a young man hurried 

 across a shallow part to an island, on which were a few sheep 

 grazing, intending to recross with them to the main land 

 before the flood had attained any serious height. He was, 

 however, out in his reckoning ; for he had scarcely set foot 

 on the island when the river became so swollen that it was 

 quite impossible for him to return. The flood soon covered 

 the island, and the man had great difficulty to keep his foot- 

 ing, being up to his waist in water. To add to his danger, 

 great pieces of timber and floating trees came sweeping past, 

 any one of which, had it struck him, would have at once 

 dashed him off the island. Several people who were on the 

 shore, although so near, could do nothing to assist him. 



