156 
THE CALIFORNIAN SALMON. 
62 deg., and were out of iced water at 55 deg., besides 
being very young and tender. Should any large portion 
of them be found to have perished from the heat, it would 
be of little use going further, and the experiment must 
fail. The news brought by Charlton set my fears at rest ; 
success now seemed certain, and soon we were on our road 
to the Buchan, the nearest tributary of the Snowy River. 
The road became more difficult as we advanced, deep 
gullies, with bad crossing-places, alternated with steep 
hills and bad sidlings. It was found necessary to tie up 
one or two wheels in going down the precipitous slopes, 
and occasionally all hands assisted in getting the waggon, 
with the load, up the steep ascent of some range. A 
spring was found to be broken in the express waggon, and 
we stopped to repair it as well as we could, and lessened 
the quantity of water in the fish cans, to lighten the load. 
On starting again, a splinter-bar of Mr. O’Brien’s buggy 
broke, in making the ascent out of Stony Creek. The 
waggon was not delayed, and by the aid of a sapling, some 
rope, and Mr. Howitt’s skill as a bushman, we were soon 
on the way again. 
It was thought at first that if the fry were put into the 
Buchan, a tributary of the Snowy, that they would find 
their way there in time, and so accomplish the desired 
object, but I felt that my undertaking would be incomplete, 
if I did not get a portion of them placed in the Snowy 
River. On inquiring we obtained Mr. Mackieson as guide, 
who promised to conduct us by a near way, but a bad 
road, to the Snowy River, near to its junction with the 
Buchan. 
Two bullock teams were camped on the road, and the 
drivers were sitting smoking on a log after eating their 
dinner. As we passed them Bovill got the bellows and 
tube and commenced blowing into the cans. One bullock- 
