This was done, and though the blood did not allay the pangs of thirst to any great extent, it restored our strength very much." The exhausted men then lay down to rest; but whilst they slept their thirsty beasts scented a faint smell of damp earth on a wandering puff of wind, and stampeded off to windward.

Too weak to follow on at once, the men, after an hour or two, staggered after them and tracked them to a half-dry swamp, which still maintained a little mud and water.

It was brackish, but palatable enough for men in their exhausted condition, and saved the lives of all.

After some trouble in crossing the Murray, they reached Adelaide in safety with the stock.
When the news of their arrival reached Port Phillip, many other Overlanders were encouraged by Bonney's example to try the shorter route, and the trade in shipping cattle across the straits from Tasmania almost ceased.
Bonney had been born at Sandon, near Stafford, and educated at the Grammar School, Rugby.

He had come out to Sydney in 1834, as clerk to Sir William Westbrooks Burton; but the love of adventure prevailed over his other inclinations, and in 1837, he joined Ebden in squatting pursuits, and eventually distinguished himself as one of the leading Overlanders.
He subsequently settled in South Australia.