acquired sufficient power to draw the cattle from the forest towards the water. The horsemen separate into parties of two or three together, and skirt the boundaries of the pasture, driving down the cattle in every direction towards the "rendezvous" by crack of "stock whip," an implement of peculiar construction, the handle being little more than a foot in length, while the thong, which is made of plaited hide, varies from twelve to seventeen feet; it is only used in New South Wales, and when cracked, makes a report which may be heard at a very considerable distance, while its powers of flagellation are formidable even to a wild bullock.

The cattle, thus roused, make off towards the low grounds, where they are met by other horsemen, whose business it is to keep them together upon the rendezvous until the whole party are reassembled, and then, after a few minutes' breathing time, they again start off for the enclosures. The labour now begins in earnest, for cattle seem to have some instinctive anticipation of what is in store for them, and when they are inclined to be refractory, nothing but the most persevering exertions will drive them to their place of destination.

As they proceed the scene becomes more and more animated. From the main body of the herd, dimly seen through a dense cloud of dust, a succession of furious animals break off on all sides, some making back towards the "rendezvous," others to their old haunts in the forest: these are instantly pursued, and hunted back by the stock-men, who may be seen belabouring them with their long whips in every direction, until, driven to desperation by over-driving and the severe discipline of the lash, they frequently turn the tables, and become themselves the purThe air meanwhile is filled with the report of the stockwhips, the barking of dogs, and the cries and shouts of the men, mingled with the heavy, tramping sound of many thousand hoofs, as the herd rushes on towards the enclosures.

suers.

The speed and activity displayed by these half-wild cattle would astonish a stranger, who had been brought up in the belief that the ox is naturally a slow and clumsy animal. On a level plain, or down a gentle slope, which is most favourable to the action of cattle, it is often as much as a horse, and a tolerably fast horse too, can do to head some of them for the first hundred

or two hundred yards; and as for agility, it is no small leap that a cow or bullock will "refuse" when hotly pursued. In many herds there are animals whom the enclosures will not hold, though six or seven feet high, even at a time when the yards are so filled with cattle that they are obliged to take a standing jump.

Some of them show excellent bottom, and instances are known of horses having been run to a stand-still by them even in open country. In addition to the gallop, which is their usual pace, they have a long, swinging trot, which enables them to get very fast over the ground.

Cattle-hunting in Australia is excellent sport, and many go out merely with the view to a day's amusement; with less speed than in horse-hunting, there is more variety, and from the constant sharp turning and close contact to which you are brought with the animal pursued, greater skill in the saddle is requisite. Serious accidents are not so frequent as might be expected, and generally occur from fool-hardiness or want of experience. However, it is never safe to trust the half-wild cattle too far; if closely pressed they are always apt to wheel. round and charge at a moment's notice, when, as their pursuer is close behind, some disastrous accident may occur, if his horse should chance to be hard in the mouth, or unused to the work; but this is seldom the case, for perhaps no animal in man's employment more thoroughly understands what he is about than the "stock-horse" of New South Wales. From the earliest period of his breaking, he is taught to wheel instantly when at full speed, on any ground; and from the innate sagacity which horses have in discerning their rider's object, one that has been "after stock" for a year or two reaches such perfection in this point as almost to justify the ordinary recommendation of an Australian horse-dealer, that he can turn upon a cabbage-leaf." The best exemplification of this faculty is in the process of driving, or, as it is called, "cutting out" a single bullock, to which he will not submit without a sharp tussle, from the instinctive dislike to separation which all the bush cattle exhibit. At first starting he trusts wholly to his speed, but finding, after a trial of two or three hundred yards, that his retreat to the herd is still intercepted, he doubles short round in the rear of his pursuer, who, were he to continue his onward career, would thereby lose a great

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deal of ground; but such is the agility of the stock-horse that he simultaneously wheels round, and still keeps on the inside, without losing an inch this sort of thing is repeated again and again, until the baffled animal, by this time exhausted with rage and well scored with the whip, is fain to single out, and take any course that his tormentor may direct.

The purchase and wear and tear of working horses, and of saddlery, forms a considerable item in the expenses of a cattlestation. A stock-keeper in charge of a large herd must be supplied with three or four good horses throughout the year, and at busy times, such as mustering, branding, &c., more are required. The best horses seldom hold out long, as their work is peculiarly distressing; from constant sharp turning when at speed, they are always liable to strains, and their fast down-hill galloping, which is rendered necessary by the invariable propensity of cattle, when pursued, to take the falling ground, divides the weight unfairly, by throwing it all upon their fore-legs, which seldom remain sound after two years' work. But this is a secondary consideration; where horses are so plentiful much trouble is seldom taken to cure an old one, which consequently has to work on, whether sound or unsound, as long as he can "head a bullock."

This sort of riding is at first very difficult, even to one who has long been at home on his horse under other circumstances; the stock-keepers are generally well practised in it, and, indeed, as it is their trade, one that was not so would be useless. Their style of riding, however, does not exactly answer the usual idea of excellence: they have generally a long and loose seat, with the foot home, and the toe pointed to the ground in a line with the knee, and they have seldom a good hand on their horse; but notwithstanding this they are very expert at sticking on under difficulties, and have a most astonishing knack of getting along fast in broken country, and especially down hill, in which perhaps they are unequalled. The native youths particularly excel in bush-riding, to which they are accustomed from boyhood, and pride themselves not a little upon their feats while "after stock." Early practice, however, is not indispensable; many stockowners who have arrived in the colony late in life, become themselves excellent cattle-hunters; and one of the best I remember to have

seen was an ex-pickpocket from London, who before he was transported had hardly ever been in the saddle.

The half-wild cattle have a constant tendency to acquire bad habits, or what a sportsman would call to run riot, and to counteract these forms a great part of the stock-keeper's daily labour, as any of them, if confirmed by time, become insurmountable, and then the only remedy is removal to new pastures, which is an expensive affair, and not always practicable. The most frequent and troublesome habit is that of breaking off from the main body, or "splitting;" this, if not checked at first, gradually spreads through the whole herd, and is so infectious, that if a single animal, when the herd draws near the enclosures, singles off, and is not soundly hunted back there and then, he is pretty sure to repeat it on the next occasion, with the additional annoyance of taking several others in his company. The memory of the half-wild cattle, which is at all times retentive, is never more so than under these circumstances: they seldom forget a bad trick, if once found to be successful. The value of a herd of cattle is of course considerably lessened by these refractory habits, as they necessitate a great addition of horses and labour.

As an instance of the extent of annoyance to which this evil may come at last, I may mention what occurred on a station in one of the large grazing districts to the southward of Sydney. On and about the pastures, which were very extensive, there were supposed to be about 4000 head of cattle, speaking in round numbers, or, as the auctioneers say, more or less," for, as will be shown by the sequel, they were more easily seen than counted.

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From original mismanagement they had become so wild, and had acquired so confirmed a habit of "splitting," that to muster them was an impossibility; and notwithstanding that all the assistance was obtained that could be got for love or money in the neighbourhood, often amounting to treble the number of horsemen usually requisite in such cases, the party considered themselves lucky if they reached the enclosure with a third of the drove with which they had started from the rendezvous, a distance of three or four miles, the whole extent of which presented one continued scene of confusion, covered with men galloping helter-skelter after numberless cattle, which were making off at all points, determined to go in every direction but the right one.

The luckless proprietor of this lively stock, a man well versed in such matters, tried every scheme that long experience could suggest to gain the control once more over his cattle, but in vain; and, in short, to use the colonial expression, "they would not have gone into the enclosures for the governor and all the legislative council." His last attempt to muster them, at least showed that his failure did not arise from lack of energy. Finding that his cattle had become too cunning by day, he resolved to try if he could not outwit them in the dark, and laid his plans accordingly. It was arranged that the pastures were to be undisturbed during the day, but shortly before sundown the whole party were to sally forth as silently as possible, driving before them some quiet cattle, which, being thoroughly under control, might be easily driven into the enclosures, and thus serve as a decoy for the wild herd.

I forget how it happened, but so it was, that business took me in that direction with one companion, and as we were pushing on across the bush, unconscious of the busy times that were awaiting us, we came full upon the party in question, where they were encamped at sundown, at a distance of four or five miles from home, eager for nightfall to open their campaign. As we were neighbours, and, what was more to the purpose, well mounted, our arrival was hailed with joy. We were pressed at once into the service, and thus we had an opportunity of witnessing, and taking part in, a scene which was unusual, even in a country so thoroughly pastoral as Australia-a "muster by moonlight."

Accustomed as we then were to life in the interior, this sort of work differed as much from anything we had previously seen in the usual routine of cattle-hunting as night from day, and no less different was the plan of operations. All noise was strictly prohibited; the crack of the stock-whip, which by day is indispensable, would here have been treason; and we hardly ever had occasion to put our horses into a gallop, but placed all our hopes upon stratagem.

Driving the decoy-herd before us, we skirted the edge of the plains, and whenever we were led to suspect the vicinity of other cattle, we halted, and, dismounting, so as to be less liable to observation, awaited their arrival in silence.