the human game.  This dog acquired great skill in seizing a blackfellow by the heel, throwing him, and worrying him until Campbell came up on his horse.  When the dog had thus expelled the natives from Glencoe, Campbell agreed to lend him to little Curlewis for three months in order to clear Holey Plains Station.  Curlewis paid ten heifers for the loan of the dog, and Campbell himself went to give him a start in the hunt, as the animal would not own any other man as master.  But the blacks soon learned that Campbell and his dog had left Glencoe unprotected, and the second night after his departure they boldly entered the potato patch near his hut, and bandicooted the whole of his potatoes.

When the sails were made, the two boats were provisioned with tea, sugar, flour, and a keg of whisky; the meat was carried in the shape of two live sheep, to be killed when required.  The party consisted of eight men, and each man was armed with a double-barrelled gun.  McMillan, McLennan, Loughnan, and Davy went in one boat, and in the other boat were William Pearson, John Reeve, Captain Orr, and Sheridan, who was manager for Raymond at Stratford.  Sheridan was a musical man, and took his flute with him.  When everything was ready they dropped down the river to Lake Wellington, and took note of the soundings during the whole of the voyage as they went along.  Wherever they approached either shore, they saw natives or found traces of them.  Every beach was strewn with the feathers of the ducks, swans, and other birds they had killed, and it was difficult to find sufficient dead wood near the water to make a fire, the blacks having used so much of it at their numerous camping places.

The gins had an ingenious system of capturing the ducks.  They moved along under water, leaving nothing but their nostrils visible above the surface, and they were thus able to approach the unsuspecting birds.  As opportunity offered they seized them by the legs, drew them quickly under water, and held them until they were drowned.  When they had secured as many as they could hold in one hand they returned to land.

One of the explorers always kept guard while the others slept, the first watch of each night being assigned to Davy, who baked the damper for the next day.  One of the sheep was killed soon after the voyage commenced; and the duty of taking ashore, tethering, and guarding the other sheep at each landing place was taken in turn by Pearson and Loughnan.  At the lower end of the lakes the water was found to be brackish, so they went ashore at several places to look for fresh water.  They landed on a flat at Reeve’s River, and Davy found an old well of the natives, but it required cleaning out, so he went back to the boat for a spade.  It was Loughnan’s turn that day to tether the sheep on some grassy spot, and to look after it; the animal by this time had become quite a pet, and was called Jimmy.  On coming near the boats Davy looked about for Jimmy, but could not see him and asked Loughnan where he was.