the down-river men took no notice; but after the
bottles had been drifting past with scarcely a break for a fortnight or
so, they began to get interested. Several whalers watched the procession
until they got the jimjams by force of imagination, and when their
bodies began to float down with the bottles, the down-river people got
anxious.

At last the Mayor of Wilcannia wired Bourke to know whether Dibbs or
Parkes was dead, or democracy triumphant, or if not, wherefore the
jubilation? Many telegrams of a like nature were received during that
week, and the true explanation was sent in reply to each. But it wasn't
believed, and to this day Bourke has the name of being the most drunken
town on the river.

After dinner a humorous old hard case mysteriously took us aside and
said he had a good yarn which we might be able to work up. We asked him
how, but he winked a mighty cunning wink and said that he knew all about
us. Then he asked us to listen. He said:

"There was an old feller down the Murrumbidgee named Kelly. He was a
bit gone here. One day Kelly was out lookin' for some sheep, when he
got lost. It was gettin' dark. Bymeby there came an old crow in a tree
overhead.

"'Kel-ley, you're lo-o-st! Kel-ley, you're lo-o-st!' sez the crow.

"'I know I am,' sez Kelly.

"'Fol-ler me, fol-ler me,' sez the crow.

"'Right y'are,' sez Kelly, with a jerk of his arm. 'Go ahead.'

"So the crow went on, and Kelly follered, an' bymeby he found he was on
the right track.

"Sometime after Kelly was washin' sheep (this was when we useter wash
the sheep instead of the wool). Kelly was standin' on the platform with
a crutch in his hand landin' the sheep, when there came a old crow in
the tree overhead.

"'Kelly, I'm hun-gry! Kel-ley, I'm hun-ger-ry!' sez the crow.

"'Alright,' sez Kelly; 'be up at the hut about dinner time 'n' I'll
sling you out something.'

"'Drown--a--sheep! Drown--a--sheep, Kel-ley,' sez the crow.

"'Blanked if I do,' sez Kelly. 'If I drown a sheep I'll have to pay for
it, be-God!'

"'Then I won't find yer when yer lost agin,' sez the crow.

"'I'm damned if yer will,' says Kelly. 'I'll take blanky good care I
won't get lost again, to be found by a gory ole crow.'"

. . . . .

There are a good many fishermen on the Darling. They camp along the
banks in all sorts of tents, and move about in little box boats that
will only float one man. The fisherman is never heavy. He is mostly a
wither