LIFE ON A SHEEP STATION. 213 



All travellers were stopped and taken to the camp, 

 as many as forty-two being captured in one after- 

 noon. The majority of these men were willing 

 prisoners. The average bushman does not, as a rule, 

 require much pressing to partake of a free meal, 

 especially when he sees the prospect of two or three 

 weeks' board for nothing. All this is at the expense 

 of the Union. 



In order to complete the shearing men had to be 

 wired for to Sydney. Winbar was made a '^'^test 

 shed'' by the Union on this occasion. Of sixteen 

 men sent from Sydney to Bourke, five deserted in 

 the town. The remainder were sent to the station 

 by special boat. The Unionists were informed by 

 wire from their Bourke agents, and knew when to 

 expect the steamer at Campadore. The Unionists 

 were fully determined to cause a disturbance. 



The garrison of police, reduced to fifteen, were 

 on the alert, however, and this, combined with a 

 little manoeuvring on the part of the captain of the 

 steamer, prevented a riot. The Unionists expecting 

 the steamer early in the evening had waited round 

 their camp fires uutil midnight. No boat arriving 

 caused them to conclude it would not come before 

 morning, as cargo-laden steamers are not allowed to 

 travel down stream at night. No doubt the Unionists 

 thought the captain of the steamer would adhere to 

 the rules^ for they turned in and evidently slept 



