122 
Excursion to the 
About 15 miles from Longford is Connorville, the 
residence of Mr. Roderick O’Connor. This estate com¬ 
prises 20,000 acres, and is at the base of the Western 
Range, the distance from Launceston being 30 miles. 
In every point of view it is worthy of notice, for there is 
a large proportion of good soil, and it is well watered ; 
while the scenery is in a high degree picturesque, and 
affords great diversity of hill and plain, of thick forest, 
and land but thinly timbered. The house is on the bank 
of the Lake River. 
I quitted Connorville on horseback, and proceeded up 
what is termed, from the circumstance of the Lake River 
flowing through it, the Lake Opening : and, after a con¬ 
tinual ascent for 12 or 14 miles, descended into a spot 
called the Den. The track had led through a forest of 
Eucalypti and Acacice , with an occasional opening, 
through which I had some good views of mountain 
scenery. 
I saw en route the only white hawk I had hitherto 
seen wild in this Colony, though I have had several in 
captivity. An occasional lordly eagle too soared above 
us, and a party of crows were regaling upon the remains 
of a kangaroo. As it may notbe generally known that the 
eagle sometimes hunts in company, I may as well men¬ 
tion two instances in which I know this to have occurred. 
In the first, three eagles attacked a healthy ewe, when 
the shepherd happening to arrive, they left the animal; 
it was, however, so much injured that he was obliged to 
kill it. In the second, two of these birds had just killed 
a large kangaroo, when a friend of mine rode up and 
secured the prize for himself. Of these destructive birds 
49 were killed at one farm in a very few weeks. The 
crow is a great thief, and very cunning, of which the fol¬ 
lowing may serve as an instance.—A gentleman, suspect¬ 
ing that two crows were about to commit some depreda* 
