134 



THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA. 



enjoying my coffee I noticed that one of my most 

 valuable dogs had a fit of lethargy upon him, which 

 I could not account for. He evinced no indications 

 of pain, but showed an evident dislike to move 

 about or to be in the society of his comrades. 

 The cause of this sudden alteration in the animal's 

 character I was at a loss to account for ; never- 

 theless it was very marked, for, without exception, 

 he was always the most light-hearted and demon- 

 strative of the pack. Being very busy getting 

 the cattle " inspanned," and seeing the horses 

 started with the rest of the live stock, I for- 

 got all about this dog and his ailments till 

 we had travelled about five miles, when I discovered 

 that he had been left behind. I had one man 

 especially told off to look after the dogs, and this 

 was his sole duty, so the reader may imagine that 

 I gave him a rating of words that were very forcible. 

 I then rode back in search of the lost one, and 

 where I expected to find him, there he was. I 

 could not have made a mistake in my search, for 

 upon every ant-hill in the vicinity of where the 

 poor beast lay were a couple of southern corbivan 

 (Corvultur albicolis], birds as large as, and probably 



