10 ON THE FEONTIBE. 



harnessed ; horses saddled, bridled, and tied behind the 

 waggon ; pipes lit, and away we went, each happy as the 

 proverbial sand-boy. 



After going ten to fifteen miles as the case might be 

 our noon halts were made, when possible, where the three 

 camp requisites, wood, water, and grass, were to be had ; 

 dinner cooked, and the animals grazed, watered, and rested 

 for four hours ; then we drove to our halting-place for the 

 night, hobbled, and turned out the mules, and gave the 

 horses a small feed of grain we were not able to carry 

 enough corn to give large ones, but as they had many a 

 hard gallop before them, some was necessary ; supped, 

 chatted, smoked, and rolling ourselves in our blankets, 

 slept soundly in our big room. The tent was only for wet 

 weather of which we had none while en route and for 

 permanent camps. 



A night guard was regularly mounted, each one taking 

 by rotation a two hours' watch ; the chief amusement while 

 standing guard being star-gazing, with the very useful result 

 that ere long any of us knew by them the time to a quarter 

 of an hour at any period of the night. 



We were a well "healed " party, the armament being two 

 good double-barrels, five rifles twelve balls to the pound 

 gauge every one of them, not toys and to each man a brace 

 of six-shooters, a bowie and a tomahawk. 



Any of us was ready to shoot "against creation " and to 

 " all eternity " for a dollar a shot. 



We were full of health, strength, and confidence, and 

 voted civilised life to be a nuisance and a bore. 



