THE SQUATTER AND THE SETTLER. 205 



hunted animal knows what is happening to him, he finds himself edged 

 outside of the main herd, and driven to a separate little group. Other 

 men guard this group, and prevent them from rejoining the mass, plying 

 their stock-whips with terrible effect on any refractory beast. When the 

 selection is complete, the chosen herd is driven towards the head station 

 yards, and the main body of cattle allowed to disperse again. 



Cattle-raising is a pursuit full of excitement and danger. Chasing the 

 wild animals through the bush or down the steep sides of precipitous hills 

 is work that requires sure feet on the part of the horse, and cool heads and 

 firm seats on the part of the riders. Even more perilous is drafting in the 

 yards. The men who enter the great enclosures full of angry frightened 

 animals, to separate and drive them into different compartments, often run 

 quite as much risk as the Spanish bull-fighters. But they have quick feet, 

 sharp eyes, and cool heads, and fatal accidents seldom occur ; though it 

 often happens that a charging cow or bullock will send all the men in the 

 yard scrambling precipitately to the top rail of the strong high timber 

 enclosure. 



Drought is the great enemy that these pioneers have to dread. Nature 

 has fitted the grasses and herbage of the interior to withstand prolonged dry 

 periods. By many beautiful adaptations the herbs growing on the plain are 

 enabled to flower and mature their seed with great rapidity ; so that even 

 one soaking downpour will often suffice for the lifetime of a plant, and allow 

 it to shed its ripened seed, which lies hidden in the cracks of the arid, sun- 

 baked soil till the next favourable season occurs. The principal grasses have 

 a remarkable power of remaining in what seems like a state of suspended 

 animation. This is especially noticeable in the case of the Mitchell grass, 

 which becomes white and apparently dead, but still retains nourishment for 

 stock in its dried leaves, and vitality in its apparently withered stems. 



One great reason why the squatter is better off now than he ever was 

 before is that capital has confidence in the occupation. Thus the individual 

 is more secure than he was. And large institutions have been formed that 

 make it their business to finance for the squatter. These institutions have 

 their one, two, or three millions of English and Scotch capital, and they are 

 managed by men of great colonial experience, who know it is bad policy to 

 do other than support a deserving pioneer right through. Their capital is 

 indeed subscribed for the purpose of making stations drought-proof, and their 

 record shows that the system is highly profitable. An enormous amount of 

 the annexation of the desert which is now going on has English and Scotch 

 gold as its basis ; and this union of home capital and of colonial enterprise 

 is as happy and as effectual a form of federation as can be desired. 



The following remarks on squatting are contributed by Mr. G. A. 

 Brown, author of the standard work, Sheep Breeding in Australia : 'It is 

 curious that the first settlers in Australia firmly believed the country to be 



