340



Mr. Charles Barrett,



On the return journey to Jerilderie we again called at the

boundary riders’ huts where we had spent the night on the way to

the creek. We learned that White Cockatoos (C. qalerita) were

nesting in the vicinity, but could not spare the time for a side

excursion to the spot. As we neared the town a dust storm over¬

took us, and for at least three minutes pony, jinkerand ornithologists

were enveloped in darkness. The dust was so thick that we could

hardly breathe, and when the storm had passed we were coated in

grey from head to feet. The dust swooped on us like a moving wall

that towered into the sky. On the plains in summer these storms

frequently occur.


Max Egger, during portion of the year, followed the occupation

of bird-trapping; he sent large numbers of Galahs and Warbling

Grass-Parrots (Melopsittacus undulcctus) to dealers in Sydney, re¬

ceiving for the former birds about ninepence each, and less for the

Budgerigars. He asked me to accompany him and two assistants

on a trapping expedition, and I accepted the invitation. My friend

explained that if he did not trap the Galahs the birds would be

poisoned or shot in thousands, as they were regarded as pests by

men on the land. And I found that the trappers were welcomed

wherever land was devoted to wheat-growing. I did not actually see

a Galah attacking wheat, but was shown a field where the ears had

been stripped and the stalks were mostly broken ; this was declared

to be the work of Cockatoos. The evil of poisoning is that not

only Galahs, hut other birds, that are certainly not pests, suffer.


The trapper’s outfit consisted of a waggon surmounted by a

large cage, divided into compartments, a jinker, nets, stakes, call

birds, and so forth. The large vehicle was drawn by two horses.

Leaving Jerilderie early one morning, we travelled slowly northward

across the plains, and towards sundown entered a farm paddock,

where we outspanned for the night. The farmer welcomed us, and

said that the “ Galahs were eating him out.” In the evening, nets

and poles, bagging, and other articles were carried to a crop paddock,

and the trappers soon had everything ready for operations next day.


We were astir before sunrise, for only in the early morning

can trapping be carried on with a good chance of success. Each net

is controlled by a long rope, and the trapper, crouched behind a



