42 BUSH HORSES 



lolling back on canvas deck-chairs, puffing their 

 tobacco smoke out of the head station verandah, 

 and staring at the vast expanse of bush which lay- 

 in front of them. Though the architectural struc- 

 ture of the wooden building did not call forth 

 admiration, still the hut they sat in had an appear- 

 ance of homeliness, and was not altogether un- 

 picturesque. It was strongly constructed of 

 unpainted wooden planks, and raised two feet 

 from the ground on piles. A corrugated iron 

 roof seemed a mere matter of form, for the rain 

 had not fallen for months ; though unquestionably 

 when it does come it makes up for lost time. 

 The main entrance looked out across the gigantic 

 plains, covered with coarse yellow tufts of grass. 

 Near the back door a large river-bed skirted the 

 edge of the scrub, thickly wooded with tall, white, 

 gum trees. The slatternly servant shared a small 

 hut with her drunken husband, and near to the 

 river bank the tame Australian aboriginals made 

 their rough camp and lay huddled up in blankets 

 close to a blazing fire. 



On off days, when there was no particular work 

 to do, it was good fun racing towards the nearest 

 Bush township, composed of a few public-houses 

 and general stores. In point of distance this 

 nearest approach to civilisation was only a mile 

 off; yet many an hour was spent catching a horse 

 and saddling it, in preference to walking in a 

 tropical climate. But, though loafing with the 

 consent of the manager was permissible during a 

 slack time, any slowness at certain busy seasons 

 of the year was severely censured in language 



