164 AUSTRALIA AND THE AUSTRALIANS. 







me, part of which I devoured, and hoarded up the rest 

 for my better half. The men now saddled three horses, 

 and I mounted one, leading another for my wife, and 

 one of the men accompanied me. We started in quest 

 of the lost one. 



The search proved a difficult task, as I had left the 

 road when following the cattle, and all the country was 

 strange to me. We ultimately reached the spot, to find 

 her gone. We discovered her, however, further along 

 the road. It appears she fell asle'ep, and her mind 

 evidently wandered, for, upon awaking, she fancied 

 numerous black stumps were wild natives ; and in her 

 fear she ran down the road. The sight of a company 

 of horsemen also frightened her, as she failed to recog- 

 nize her husband in his new attire. Fortunately my 

 Crimean shirt attracted her attention, so, despite sou'- 

 wes'ter and moleskins, she acknowledged her chief. It 

 was a mixture of pain and amusement to see her tackle 

 the damper, dry and tasteless as it was ; but after 

 twenty -four hours' starvation and hardship in the open 

 air, her appetite was considerably sharpened, till the 

 coarsest food was a luxury. 



We now returned to the camp, where we found four 

 drays loaded with wool. The men usually slept under 

 these drays, and one dray was given up to us. The 

 first work was to gather long grass to make a bed, and 



