THE DESIRE FOR ADVENTURE 21 



the cattle station at Coomooboolaroo, where I stayed 

 for some twelve months acting as a stockman on 

 wages in the main, but doing a great deal of collecting 

 of insects and birds in the brigalow scrub surrounding 

 the station. 



Then, partly with the idea of collecting in a different 

 type of country, partly moved by the roving spirit, 

 I took a job as stockman at the Peak Vale Station, 

 Peak Downs, in the far west of Queensland. I was 

 on an out-station called Keilambete, where Mr. 

 Walter Barnard, the son of my friend, was manager. 

 He, I, a Kanaka stockman and a Chinese cook, were 

 the staff at this out-station. The type of cattle 

 work there was much wilder than at Coomooboolaroo. 

 We would take pack-horses out for a three- or four- 

 days' trip, mustering in the scrub. There was only 

 one cattle yard used on the station, and most of the 

 cattle we went out after were "scrubbers," that is to 

 say, wild cattle used to life in the scrub. Our system 

 was to have near to the station a few quiet cattle 

 who acted as coaches or decoys to the wild cattle. 

 We would drive these quiet cattle to some place 

 suitable for a cattle camp, leave them there and then 

 scour the country for a mob of wild ones. When 

 the wild ones were mixed up with the tame cattle 

 we would drive the whole lot to the one cattle yard 

 which the station possessed, and there brand all the 

 " clean-skins," and also unsex all the beasts, male 

 and female. The cattle would then be turned out 



