Il6 THE WOMBAT. 



We left this place at dark on our return journey, and 

 made good use of our lantern to guide us over the muddy 

 railway track, which brought us to the Queen Hotel, where 

 we again camped for the night. As I had exposed all the 

 plates my hand camera held, I re-loaded with the aid of my 

 ruby lamp, which I found very useful for that purpose. 



We left Strahan for Zeehan by the evening train, arriving 

 about 8 p.m. This is a busy mining centre, with a population 

 of about 5,000, and the recent revival of silver mining on the 

 Zeehan fields has given a fresh lease of life to this place. 



We spent Monday in visiting some of the mines, and 

 through the courtesy of the manager we viewed the under- 

 ground working of the Silver Queen Mine. We had to dress 

 for the occasion in the orthodox "oilers" before descending the 

 mines, and were amply rewarded for that extra trouble by the 

 interesting sights we saw below. 



Tuesday's programme was a trip to Mount Reid on horse- 

 back. We were accompanied on this trip by Mr. H. Marsh, 

 a Zeehan resident, to whom we are indebted for this day's 

 enjoyment. We were in the saddles by 8 o'clock, and off for 

 a 26 mile ride along a road which made all the bad road 

 previously passed seem good. We did not average over 5 

 miles an hour, and it was nearly 2 o'clock when we arrived 

 at our destination. We spent about an hour at the mines, 

 and then left for Zeehan, arriving about 8 p.m., fully rewarded 

 for the rough ride. 



On Wednesday we returned to Strahan, and experienced 

 an amusing incident in railway travelling on our journey, which 

 is worthy of record. When our train was approaching a very 

 steep gradient, the pace gradually slowed until it came to a 

 standstill. We were backed down the line for about h mile, 

 and a second attempt made to ascend the mount, which failed. 

 Back we went again, and after sand was put on the rails a 

 third attempt was made without success. " Never say die " 

 is the driver's motto, and a fourth attempt was made with 

 successful result, and off we went at full speed, arriving at 

 Strahan \ hour late, which is nothing out of the ordinary for 

 the Zeehan express. 



J. S. BAYLEY, 



FISHMONGER AND POULTERER, 



R/YRIB STREET. 



FAMILIES WAITED ON. -*- OYSTERS A SPECIALTY. 



