1 6 Australian Life 



reputation in the Old World. There is a true 

 story told of a young squatter who, to provide 

 for the comfort of his guests in hot weather, had 

 two tons of ice packed in new blankets and 

 despatched from Sydney. On its arrival at the 

 railway terminus, the ice was transferred to a 

 teamster's waggon, and a journey of two hundred 

 miles under a hot sun so reduced its bulk that 

 only a few small blocks reached their destination; 

 yet with this return for his very expensive experi- 

 ment, the squatter professed himself more than 

 satisfied. 



In time, the demand for pastoral holdings 

 caused boundaries to be strictly defined, and runs 

 had to be fenced. The increase of his flocks and 

 the limitation of his runs caused the squatter to 

 feel the pressure of those dry seasons when stock 

 dies from want of food and water. The throwing 

 open of the pastoral districts to the "selector" 

 struck another blow at the prosperity of the 

 squatter, as we shall presently see. Then came 

 the plague of rabbits, devouring the grass, and 

 leading to legislation which involved the pas- 

 toralist in heavy expense for rabbit extermination. 

 Squatting was no longer a sure road to fortune, 

 but a speculative undertaking, the squatter being 

 dependent upon the uncertain rainfall and the 

 fickle climate for his profits. Such is the position 

 of some of the pastoralists at the present time. 

 Many of the descendants of the squatting pio- 

 neers, it is true, have inherited holdings in 



