e
saddled and bridled and brought up to the front of the house. There were
seven of us altogether. Our host, Mr. Syme, and his two brothers, a
black fellow called Jack, Dr. Whitney, Harry, and myself. Our host and
the doctor led the way; John, the elder of his brothers, rode with
Harry, the younger, William, with me, and the black fellow by himself.
That is to say, the black fellow, Jack, brought up the rear, to be ready
for use in case of an emergency. We found our companions well informed,
and ready to give us any information in their power.

"For a mile or so we rode through an open, undulating region where the
grass was fairly abundant, though not densely so. One of our escorts
explained that the season had been a little dry, and the grass was not
appearing as well as usual. After passing this open stretch we entered
a forest principally of gum trees, whose white stems extended up a long
distance into the air before throwing out any limbs. From the gum forest
we passed into a stretch of scrub, and then entered a valley, through
which ran a small stream. The banks of the stream were fringed with
trees, and the open parts of it were thickly covered with grass. A mob
of some fifty or sixty cattle was grazing in this valley, and by the
orders of our host, the black fellow rode in among them, cracking his
whip loudly, and starting them off with heads and tails in the air.

"'They'll go straight to the cattle camp,' said Mr. Syme, 'and that's
where we want them.'

"I asked if each herd had its own cattle camp, and whether it was
possible to drive the animals to two or more different camps.

"'We never try to do that,' said the young man at my side; 'we think it
quite sufficient if they will go to one camp only. You must remember
they don't have much chance for education, and there is a limit to their
powers of understanding.'

"We chatted on various topics as we rode along, and in two hours from
the time of starting we reached the cattle camp. There was a herd there
of several hundred cattle, which pretty well filled the open space
forming the camp. Half a dozen stockmen were there with as many black
fellows, and there was also the Melbourne cattle dealer with two or
three assistants.

"At one side of the camp there was a little hill or mound, and Harry and
I went there, as it afforded a better view of the camp than the lower
ground. It was a very interesting sight that we had from the mound. The
mass of cattle was