16 A NATURALIST IN CANNIBAL LAND 



he was extremely careful. I am afraid that I had 

 picked up from my last boss some rough ideas of 

 my duties to a horse. At any rate I did not satisfy 

 the manager of this cattle station, being accused by 

 him of riding a horse too hard and spoiling it. Yet 

 in those days in Australia (it was before the Indian 

 trade had been well worked up), a good horse could 

 be got for 2 or 3. 



I had now reached the age of eighteen. I had had 

 four months of the most jolly life possible as a guest 

 at Coomooboolaroo Station and then a few weeks of 

 experience as a Bush worker, during which time I 

 had earned dismissal, or what the Australians call 

 the " sack," twice. At least if I had not earned it 

 I had got it, and now at the age of eighteen I was 

 called upon to face the future without any very 

 definite prospects ahead of me. It was of course 

 possible for me to go back to my friends at Coomoo- 

 boolaroo, but that was open to the objection that I 

 would appear rather as a failure. So I dismissed that 

 idea from my mind. It was also possible for me to 

 seek a post in connection with a museum where my 

 entomological knowledge would have been valuable, 

 but that idea was not entertained for a moment. I 

 was in love with the wild life of the " back country " 

 of Australia. I had a few pounds in my pocket and 

 I cheerfully went out on the tramp to look for 

 work. 



In Australia this tramping in search of work is 



