86 Australian Life 



arrival, as they hop along, by the thud of their 

 great tails. After them come birds: parrots of all 

 kinds, gorgeous in green and blue and scarlet; 

 screaming cockatoos, all gleaming white, or 

 modest in pink and grey; magpies, kookaburras, 

 crows, and doves in hundreds, with countless 

 smaller birds. Screaming and chattering, they 

 fly away as a drove of scudding emus reaches 

 the edge of the water, peering suspiciously on 

 this side and on that before lowering their heads 

 to the water. The imported rabbit is everywhere, 

 and makes a good fight against the drought, as 

 against every means devised for his destruction. 

 But before the sun is well up, the wild animals 

 have taken their toll of the water-holes, and the 

 procession of sheep, cattle, and horses begins to 

 arrive. It is only in very severe years that the 

 wild birds and animals die by reason of the 

 drought, but that occurred in 1902. It was no 

 uncommon thing in that year to find birds dead 

 of starvation, for, although these could usually 

 procure water, the supply of insect and other food 

 was so scanty that they haunted the camps of 

 men, on the look-out for scraps of food. In 1903, 

 an Act was passed by the Parliament of New 

 South Wales making the destruction of kanga- 

 roos, opossums, and other wild animals illegal 

 for some years, the reason being that, owing to the 

 drought, these animals had become so scarce that 

 their total extermination seemed imminent. The 

 last effect of this great drought was the destruc- 



