Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/16

mines.—Wine-making in Australia.—Character of Australian Wines.—The Labor Question.—Polynesian and Chinese Laborers.—Population of Queensland.—Natives and Aborigines.—Peculiarities of the Black Race.—Cattle Trackers and their Abilities.—How the Aboriginals Live: their Homes, Weapons, and Mode of Life.—Australian Myths and Superstitions.—Curious Theories of Resurrection.—Smoke and Fire Signals.—How a Wandering White Man saved his Life.—Religious Ideas.—How the Eel made the Frog Laugh.—The Bun-yip and his Wonderful Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page 338

CHAPTER XVI.

Riding through the Bush.—Australian Hospitality.—Arrival at the Station.—The Buildings and their Surroundings.—A Snake in Fred's Bed.—Snakes in Australia.—Underwood's Remedy for Snake-bites, and what came of it.—Centipedes and Scorpions.—A Venomous Spider.—Nocturnal Noises at a Cattle-station.—Horses and their Traits.—Buck-jumping and Rough-riding.—How a "New Chum" catches a Horse.—Endurance of Horses.—Among the Herds of Cattle.—Ride to a Cattle-camp.—Daily Life of the Stockmen.—Caste in Australia.—Squatters and Free Selectors.—Horrible Accidents in the Bush.—A Man Eaten Alive by Ants.—Burned to Death under a Fallen Tree.—Chasing an Emu.—Rousing a Flock of Wild Turkeys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

359

CHAPTER XVII.

Cattle and Sheep Raising in Queensland.—Grass that Kills Sheep.—Profits of Raising Cattle.—Relative Advantages of the two Enterprises.—Increase of Flocks and Herds.—Statistics.—Live-stock in Queensland.—Visiting a Sheep-station.—Duties of a Good Shepherd.—Insane Tendencies of Shepherds.—Monotony op their Lives.—Disagreeable Work for Novices.—Sheep-shearing, and how it is Performed.—Packing and Shipping Wool.—Amusing Story of a Stolen Horse.—The Miner who Hid his Gold in a Horse-collar.—Bush-rangers and their Performances.—"Sticking up."—"Oliver, the Terror of the North."—Held by a Wooden Leg.—Trick of a Dishonest Genius.—Pearl-fishing in Australian Waters: how the Business is Conducted.—Alligators.—The "Cardwell Pet."—Sundowners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

382

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Plague of Flies in Australia.—Other Creeping and Flying Things.—Laughing-jackasses, Bower-birds, Lyrebirds, Parrots, etc.—Tricks of the Lyre-bird.—Origin of the Bower-bird's Name.—Black Swans and Wild-ducks.—Snipe, Quail, and other Birds.—Australian Rivers and their Peculiarities.—Return to the Coast.—Gympie and the Gold-mines of Queensland.—An Australian Gold Rush.—Down the Coast to Sydney.—The Great Barrier Reef: its extent and Peculiarities.—Sport in Northern Queensland.—Going Up-country in New South Wales.—A Kangaroo Hunt.—Difference between a Hunt and a Drive.—Australian Marsupials.—Shooting Wild Horses.—Killing an "Old Man" Kangaroo.—Dingoes.—Stories of Kangaroo Hunts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

407

CHAPTER XIX.

A Native Encampment and a Corroboree.—Riding Across-country.—Among the Blacks.—Native Dances.—A Weird Scene.—Aboriginal Music.—Stories about Corroborees.—Curious Customs.—How the Black Men obtain their Wives.—Testing the Stoicism of Youths.—An Alarm at Night.—Return to Sydney.—A Brickfielder.—Hot Winds from the Desert.—How a Picnic was Broken up.—Over the Blue Mountains.—Railways in New South Wales.—Salubrity of the Mountain Climate.—Goulburn.—Theatrical Gossip.—First Theatre in Australia.—A Convict's Prologue.—The Drama under Disadvantages.—The Riverina.—Albury and the Victorian Frontier.—Protection and Free-trade.—Fishing in the Murray River.—Australian Fishes.—From Albury to Melbourne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

429