20 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



experience had taught him that, on such an expedition as ours, 

 one or more of the horses is certain to cast a shoe ; and, more- 

 over, we had very rocky ground to travel over. As a matter of 

 fact, the shoeing operation had to be performed twice during the 

 trip — we need hardly add, by our all-accomplished leader. For 

 mending the harness (which was in a parlous condition, even at 

 the start) we had a good supply of kangaroo leather boot laces. 



We took an ordinary tent, 8x6, capable of holding two or 

 three comfortably, and which one wet night sheltered the four of 

 us, and a small fly-tent open on the fire side. When folded up,^ 

 the tent and fly served as covers for two of the packs. Before 

 starting we had provided ourselves with a large supply of 

 American leather, for some of us knew by previous experience 

 that a first, second, and third necessity in the Gippsland bush is 

 waterproof. We found four yards of the leather each not too 

 much, and manufactured out of it various strange and uncouth- 

 looking garments to be worn on horseback in case of wet weather, 

 and to lay on the ground at night to keep the damp from the 

 blankets. We each had a " poncho," consisting of a large 

 square of American leather with a slit cut in the middle to put the 

 head through, and also an apron of the same material to protect 

 the knees, and a valise of size convenient for strapping in front of 

 the saddle in which to stow the private kit, consisting of change of 

 linen and sundries. The balance of his leather was used by Mr.. 

 Lucas to secure his press from damp, and by Dr. Dendy to form 

 a case of elegant shape for his gun. Of course we all had large 

 blankets. 



As to provisions, we were well supplied with flour and baking 

 powder, beef and bacon, tongues and sardines, cheese and butter, 

 figs and prunes, jam and marmalade, tea, coftee and cocoa, with 

 sugar but no mill?. As we unfortunately took some of these in 

 tins instead of putting them all in linen or canvas bags, things did,, 

 we must own, get a trifle mixed, but we were well out in the bush and 

 hungry before we found the coffee in the butter, the prunes in the 

 marmalade, and the shoeing tools in the bacon. To all who 

 propose to similarly sojourn in the wilderness we strongly com- 

 mend our friends the prunes and figs. The only culinary utensils 

 we took were a spoon, a tin-opener, and three sizes of " billy," 

 so that the smaller packed in the larger. W^hen our leader had 

 occasion to bake he manufactured a beautifully clean white 

 bread-board on the spot out of the bark of a white gum or other 

 convenient tree by the deft use of a tomahawk. Each carried a 

 pocket knife of formidable appearance. Our leader disbelieves 

 in ardent spirits of any sort, and though the others each took a 

 flask in case of emergency, neither of them was opened on the 

 journey. 



We took two cameras. Mr. Howitt's was a half-plate with a lens 



