to keep the senses on the _qui vive_.

The early morning was the hour chosen for our visit to one of these
forest glades, while the dew was yet upon the grass. Our companion--a
resident full of enthusiasm and intelligence, and withal a good
horseman--hurried us into the saddle to reach the woods betimes. "At
noon," said he, "you might hear a leaf drop anywhere hereabout, for at
that hour, bird, insect, reptile, even the flies and mosquitoes of the
Queensland 'scrub,' take their siesta; but in the morning and the
gloaming they vie with one another in their vocal demonstrations." The
morning was cloudless; the advancing day was already tempered by the
warmth of the sun, but in the shade of the trees there was a cool
fragrance and only a dim cathedral light.

Flying foxes greatly abound in this vicinity as well as in other parts
of the country, often appearing in surprising numbers, especially on
moonlight nights. They prove most destructive to choice fruits, and are
said to be an increasing nuisance. The leaves of the gum-tree seem to
form their principal food; but at times they visit a cultivated section
in such marvellous numbers as to sweep away every green leaf and tender
shoot in the gardens and fields, like an army of locusts. The natives
and Chinese eat them, but the more civilized inhabitants would as soon
eat rats and mice. These flying foxes are unable to take flight from the
ground, and when they are found there can easily be captured. Neither
can they run rapidly, but waddle toward the nearest tree-trunk, which
they ascend rapidly by means of their long, sharp claws, and from the
branches of which they throw themselves into the air, where they skim
about like a bird on the wing. They are rarely seen until evening,
always performing their depredations by night. It is a remarkable fact
that these peculiarly awkward creatures, whose legs seem utterly
unavailable for ordinary service, unless it be for climbing, will carry
large fruit, weighing nearly a pound, long distances to their nests.
During the day they retire to secluded places in the woods, where they
sleep hanging head downward from the branches by the natural hooks
attached to their shoulders. As with common bats, which they resemble in
some respects, secluded caves are a favorite resort of the flying foxes.

We are reminded in this connection of another remarkable animal found
here, called the flying 'possum,--a creature which does not actually
fly,