time--it won't be a very hard case but much more pleasant and agreeable
if it can be obtained. It is very boisterous. Rain and wind from
east-south-east. The creek rising steadily; by the morning it will be
nearly or quite on a level with the way by which I shall have to travel
in the morning for the high ground. It has a current of about three miles
an hour, or similar to that of the Murray, for which reason I am led to
believe that its chief source is some considerable distance away,
although it receives innumerable tributaries on both sides above and
below where I now am. The rain as it falls upon these stone-clad hills
runs off at once into the small creeks, thence into larger ones on the
flat land, then into the main creek after filling the waterholes in their
respective courses. Towards evening it looks very dark and again
threatens much for a quantity of rain; if so by morning we shall have the
creek high.

Saturday, March 1.

At first blush of dawn wind from same quarter (east-south-east). Rained
heavily all night and to my astonishment, instead of the creek rising as
usual (three and a half inches per hour) it was now rising five and a
half inches and hourly increasing. Although the creek has in many places
overflown its banks, and consequently a much broader channel, we are
completely surrounded with at least five feet of water in the shallowest
place that we can escape from this by. After a breakfast by daybreak the
animals are immediately sent for and, as the men start for them, drive
before them our sheep for more than half a mile through a strong current,
and swimming three-fourths of the time; they went over splendidly and
were left on a piece of dry land until our camels and horses came and
removed the stores etc., which fortunately they did with not very many of
the things getting wet. The camels being brought in and loaded and out to
where the sheep were first, I had two of them unloaded and sent back to
carry to the dry ground any of the perishable articles such as
ammunition, flour, tea, and sugar, which they brought in safety; for had
it been put on the horses as usual, and not being able to keep them on
our track, the probability is they would have to swim and completely
destroy the ammunition and injure the other stores; the camels acted
famously and from their great height were as good as if we had been
supplied with boats. After getting all onto dry land they were repacked
and went on to a ve