"there's clouds of rain and clouds of dust  we've heard of them before, and sometimes in the daily press we read of 'clouds of war': but  if this ain't the gospel truth i hope that i may burst that cloud that came to narromine was just a cloud of thirst. "it wasn't like a common cloud, 'twas more a sort of haze; it settled down about the streets, and stopped for days and days, and now a drop of dew could fall and not a sunbeam shine to pierce that dismal sort of mist that hung on narromine. "oh, lord! we had a dreadful time beneath that cloud of thirst! we all chucked up our daily work and went upon the burst. the very blacks about the town that used to cadge for grub, they made an organised attack and tried to loot the pub. "we couldn't leave the private bar no matter how we tried; shearers and squatters, union men and blacklegs side by side were drinkin' there and dursn't move, for each was sure, he said, before he'd get a half a mile the thirst would strike him dead! "we drank until the drink gave out, we searched from room to room, and round the pub, like drunken ghosts, went howling through the gloom. the shearers found some kerosene and settled down again, but all the squatter chaps and i, we staggered to the train. "and, once outside the cloud of thirst, we felt as right as pie, but while we stopped about the town we had to drink or die. but now i hear it's safe enough, i'm going back to work because they say the cloud of thirst has shifted on to bourke.
Australia