26 
CROSS AND RE-CROSS 
dure to their very summits. The herds that were scattered 
over the first were almost lost in the height of the vegeta- 
tion, and the ranges served as natural barriers to prevent 
them from straying away. 
On the following morning, we started for the place at which 
it had been arranged that we should cross the Morumbidgee, 
but, though no more than five miles in a direct line from 
Wbaby’s house, in consequence of the irregularity of the 
ground, the drays did not reach it before noon. The weight 
and quantity of our stores being taken into consideration, 
the task we had before us was not a light one. Such, how- 
*ever, was the industry of the men, that before it became 
dark the whole of them, including the drays and sheep, 
were safely deposited on the opposite bank. We were en- 
abled to be thus expeditious, by means of a punt that we 
made with the tarpaulins on an oblong frame. As soon as 
it was finished, a rope was conveyed across the river, and 
secured to a tree, and a running cord being then fastened 
to the punt, a temporary ferry was established, and the re- 
moval of our stores rendered comparatively easy. M'Leay 
undertook to drive the horses and cattle over a ford below 
us, but he did not calculate on the stubborn disposition of 
the latter, and, consequently, experienced some difficulty, 
and was well nigh swept away by the current. So great 
was his difficulty, that he was obliged to land, to his great 
discomfiture, amidst a grove of lofty nettles. Mulholland, 
who accompanied him, and who happened to be naked, was 
severely stung by them. The labour of the day was, how- 
