d both sides by precipitous hills. The recent rain had
swollen the stream, and either obliterated or washed away the rough dray
track, which even at its best was not suited for the passage of a horse
team. We were therefore obliged to cut a way in and out of the nullah
wherever we crossed; so some idea may be formed of our day's work. We
were fortunate in being accompanied by the fresh dray, indeed without
it, and the assistance given by a number of the diggers who kept with
us, and with whom we shared our food, I do not think we would have
succeeded in getting over the Lindis Pass, at any rate not nearly so
expeditiously as we did. When we came to an exceptionally difficult and
steep pull, the drays were taken over one at a time with three horses
yoked, and all hands helping them.

On the morning of the second day we were still four miles from the pass,
and it took very severe work from men and horses to negotiate the
remainder of that fast narrowing, steep and rugged bed, and late in the
afternoon to reach the summit. It was, as we anticipated, covered with
snow.

The cold that night was intense, and we had difficulty in procuring
before dark set in enough brushwood to keep up a small fire for more
than a few hours. It was here we discovered the loss of the "Old Tom"
which we had meant to save for just such a special occasion as this. Now
that we were half-frozen and without means of bettering our condition
for the night, it was proposed to open the first bottle, and have a nip
round for ourselves and comrades. Our chagrin and disappointment may be
imagined when we found the twelve bottles to contain only water.

I often wondered how we got through that night; one or two of us alone
must surely have perished. Our safety lay in our number. We rolled our
blankets tightly round us and lay down close together on the wet and now
fast freezing ground, and lit our pipes, and then we slept. Tired as we
were, nothing could keep sleep from us--even if we were to be frozen
during it.

For the horses we had collected a little grass and carried it on the
drays, but they had a bad time of it, and the icicles hung from their
manes and tails in the morning as they stood shivering with their backs
turned to the keen mountain blast.

However, we all survived, and were none the worse, and as soon as it was
light we gathered enough brushwood to make a rousing fire, by which we
melted the frozen snow and ice from our blankets, and fr