t point, therefore,
I was not apprehensive; and, as to the bullocks, they were now accustomed
to feed at large, and we seldom had any difficulty in recovering them in
the morning. I shall here particularise the routine of one of our days,
which will serve as an example of all the rest. I usually rise when I
hear the merry laugh of the laughing-jackass (Dacelo gigantea), which,
from its regularity, has not been unaptly named the settlers' clock; a
loud cooee then roused my companions,--Brown to make tea, Mr. Calvert to
season the stew with salt and marjoram, and myself and the others to
wash, and to prepare our breakfast, which, for the party, consists of two
pounds and a-half of meat, stewed over night; and to each a quart pot of
tea. Mr. Calvert then gives to each his portion, and, by the time this
important duty is performed, Charley generally arrives with the horses,
which are then prepared for their day's duty. After breakfast, Charley
goes with John Murphy to fetch the bullocks, which are generally brought
in a little after seven o'clock a.m. The work of loading follows, but
this requires very little time now, our stock being much reduced; and, at
about a quarter to eight o'clock, we move on, and continue travelling
four hours, and, if possible, select a spot for our camp. The Burdekin,
which has befriended us so much by its direct course and constant stream,
already for more than two degrees of latitude and two of longitude, has
not always furnished us with the most convenient camps for procuring
water. The banks generally formed steep slopes descending into a line of
hollows parallel to the river, and thickly covered with a high stiff
grass; and then another steep bank covered with a thicket of drooping
tea-trees, rose at the water's edge; and, if the descent into the bed of
the river was more easy, the stream frequently was at the opposite side,
and we had to walk several hundred yards over a broad sheet of loose
sand, which filled our mocassins, when going to wash. At present, the
river is narrower, and I have chosen my camp twice on its dry sandy bed,
under the shade of Casuarinas and Melaleucas, the stream being there
comparatively easy of access, and not ten yards off. Many unpleasant
remarks had been made by my companions at my choice of camping places;
but, although I suffered as much inconvenience as they did, I bore it
cheerfully, feeling thankful to Providence for the pure stream of water
with which we we