G'day Walter,

The words in the NG article are Paterson's original words.

...and who knows where the original ones are."

I do ... I've examined facsimiles of two different holograph copies, written out by Christina MacPherson and given to friends in 1895. They confirm Paterson's original text ... later published as a poem ... was unaltered. Marie Cowan's simplification of the Craigielea tune was accompanied by a glossing over and 'logocalisation' of Paterson's idiosyncratic original words.

One meaning of billabong is a bend in a river (partiularly, a dried up ananbranch) so "in" is not impossible ... in fact the floor of a dried up billabong is far more comfortable than the bank ... as long as the occasional flood (happens every few years ... ?) doesn't occur while you're sleeping there!

Paterson probably had other good reasons for "Policemen". It may be that he was making sure Bob MacPherson knew he had been looking hard at the circumstances of the alleged suicide of "Dutchy" Hoffmeister (who had set fire to the Dagworth Station Woolshed, during the Shearers' Strike) ... found by all three three policemen from Winton ... and investigated by MacPherson , as local coroner.

Regards,

Regards