HISTORY OF FLOODS IN THE RIVER DARLING. 169 
river, in case afresh should come down. I got across the pontoon 
all right and camped on the reserve. Next morning there was 
such a fog as I have not seen in the salt-bush country before or 
since. It cleared up (7 to 8 inches: rain fell) about 11 o'clock, 
when I thought we were going to have some fine weather ; but on 
the 27th May, 1873, wet weather wie in, and during my thirty- 
three years in the colony I never have seen, before or since, so 
much rain in such a short time. The local rain alone put the 
Marra Creek a ‘banker,’ and the Barwon was fully 10 feet deep. 
I can safely say that for twenty-one days it rained incessantly, 
more or less; as all that time we never had a dry blanket, and 
many is the night I piled up salt-bush, not to get a dry place to 
lay on, but one “to stand on 0 
“There were heavy rains up to August. At what they call the 
Bogan Gates there was a terrific thunderstorm in the early part o 
July, 1873, so that there is no doubt the Darling was a ‘banker’ 
those months. 
“In the early part of January, 1874, I left Melbourne. I 
to Hay about the middle of mon nth. Wi thout the least 
warning rain set in while we were at lunch. I had ridden 30 
miles that morning, and it did not look the least like rain, It 
rained for about twenty-four hours. I then started through back 
country for Bourke. Found on passing Cobar that the rain had 
been terrific about the time I had been in Hay. I had to ride 
through 30 or 40 miles of water going to Bourke, the water 
having had no time either to evaporate or drain away. I found 
the Darling rising very rapidly. There were splendid rains also 
in Queensland up to the end of February. The winter of 1874 
was very dry ; no rains except a shower or two in August and 
September ; but nothing to speak of. The river was pretty low 
all the winter, althou gh 3 steamers were able to come up to Beemery 
for wool as late as the end of September or some time in mh 
a few showers ; but the Hier sik ine kept running more or 
less all through the summer, as well as the Barwon, and these 
kept a nice fresh in the river. We had some very nice rains 
through the winter Show ne and there were nice freshes 
came down, but nothing to speak o 
“There was a nice fresh in the river the early part of 1876, and 
and the steamers were able to run up to Brev a well into 
the early part of SN gpeie After this the river commenced to 
, and got very low 
« In 1877 there were raitis about Walgett and other places. In 
March the Barwon was well over its “bank, and all the other 
tributaries came down heavily until May. In July river fell 
