THE KIMBERLEY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XII, Issue 1745, 28 June 1886, Page 4

THE KIMBERLEY.

; The Wood ville Examiner has received ihe following from Mr Bradford, winch will no doubt be read with interest : — (TO THE EDITOR.) . Silt, — As Beveral are going from here to Northern Australia for the first time, and. there are some queer notions going ' about, a few remarks from an old Northern Queenslander might be of some use. I have been the greater half ot my life m the bush of Australia, and a great deal of that m the north. .THINGS YOU WANT TO MAKE BBFOBE GOING. -.-■ . One or two pair of good ereen-hide ■ . pack bags sewed with green hide. They - Are everlasting, and when you are there • will do to pack wash-dirt m, to water, :■ and also as a bucket to hauld the dirt up, . but gome have a green hide bucket as well. Ten or twelve hobble straps, hide to be well stretched before made up, make them with a toggle or fancy knot ; .—they are far before the strap 3 you buy. A good-sized water bag, as yon will be . travelling slowly, and will often want it when following up a river, as you ': have to camp away from water for the . : , sake of feed for your horse. A water bag : ; is made of canvass with the neck of a bottle sewed m one comer — use a small ] . sail-needle and twine — it will only leak when first used for about twelve hours, and no matter how hot the weather the > water is always cool ; a fair-sized on? "■ would be about sixteen inches long »n> . 'ten inches deep, cut square with a hot ";.' torn sewed on about four inches wide, tapering off to nothing at the top, with a couple of D's or loops sewed on to sling it on to the saddle. A mosquito curtain — the handiest sort is to take a round piece of calico about 2ft 6in through; sew your curtain, say, 10ft long round Viis, tucking it m like a woman does her dress, sew on four strings at equal distances apart round the edge and one m the centre ; when m camp you tie two pieces of stick erossways to these four strings, and with your bridle or fishing line on to the centre one you can rig your - curtain when you like. You want several calico bags of all sizes to put rations m. The arms you want is a good shot gun— use it and save your rations — a muzzle loader is the best, as you can nearly always get a snpp.'v of ammunition for that ; if there are two of you going to stick together, let one have a rifle for bia 1 game, &c, and everyone should have a long barrel revolver (Colts), don't buy a short barrel one, they are only fit ■ for a house ; many tribes up north throw the spear with the waminera and then a small revolver is of no use, and never take you revolver off your belt when m a new c mntry ; you will want a gun bucket and straps to carry your gun or rifle m when travelling. v HEAT. I see where one writer says you want an umbrella. I never saw one used except by townspeople and Chinamen shepherds ; another writer says a white roan cannot work there on account ot the heat. Well, I did not go there with a sudden jerk as a New Zealander would, : ';,but I never found it so hot further north ■ ,ihan Kimberley as I have done m the when you have no bi^ rivers, arid the wind coming off great sandy deserts, and there .you will fiud men dam and tank making, and that is barj work, but they knock off from 11 *.m. until 3 r>.m. On Christmas morn, 1880, a black boy and I made a station, 'both; us and our horses hard up for : ' rwatJEtr, and I remember well, the glass *ta>wed 127 m the shade of a cool bark " T^V&ntfah, and bushmen don't let that interfere, .to stop them from doing any- "" thing they want to do. j;\ .' SNAKES. :■";" ;"■;'. You won't think much of them after yqnhave been m the country awhile. If one gets bit, the other must sacrify the :wound,then suck with all his might, and on no account let the patient go to sleep, but if you can procure grog and can make him drunk, that is a sure sign that the one poison has mastered the other. Never go behind a snake to kill him, and when you can, use a switch m preference to. a stiff stick. v6 ;: -x ' ANT s areiEar worse than snakes as they are jtfways after your sugar and meat. If you are m a permanent camp and can procure a bottle, jam the cork well m, break the bottom off, then run four or y^ive feet of your fishing line hajf way / through the cork, tie one end on to something, and your tucker on the other end, keeping it clear of everything, then put some water m the bottle and the ants are euchred. In the house they put the legs of tables into sardine tins or something that will hold water. ALLIGATORS ajre very often a long way up some rivers, a.nti when they are don't wash clothes or , r hfiDg about the edge of deep water, but Dick a shallow place, take your horses / d,Qwn, water then), and then hobble out. '- \c you have to ford a river with deep Water near, stop every few yards to beat -water and make a noise. There are few Jives lojSt by alligators, but still they are -~Vg}j customers when m the water. I . la/uve seen cattle and horses, terribly jnarked by their dreadful hands, a rifle bullet m the eye or under the arm will kill them. They often travel a considerable distance from the rivers to lagoons, and are very fond of dogs ; they catch -iiheir prey while drinking. Their eggs, which they lay m the dand are not good to eat, but the guanna, which is a miniature alligator that runs up trees when he sees you is very good eating. BLACKS seldom figh^ the. fighting is generally all on the white man's part, but their nature is to kill, and if you give them a chance they will take it. In a new country the blacks are always worse after a bit than they are at first, and they are always TjeaMy to kill you for another man's misdeeds. Bracks seldom travel at night, bu,t just &fc v break; o,f day is their favorite time. I hive had several acquaintances and f riendV JffcMedt owt-they have always been taker.' a disadvantage. HINTS. Pick op with a Queensland bushman, """ if you cm,, he will show you how to pro C^re food and o,t!ier things. Carry a bit 9jf ojl cloth, as often m virgin country i horse cannot get down to some . creeks^ as it is too soft. Then you place yog? o^lakin between three or four ~ tuft* of grass, making a basin of it, and fi f\\\ i£ with water for your liorso. If a ry amoker a burning glass will save your y^Miftatcheß, Buy your hobble chains over gsjthera us they nrehetter titan those m ■^tisjgnojjP^r thlfMtaa New Zealander hard^t&thereara^no to be had on\yp^of^fi\fat' penny- royal, and his blood is HRpp^ttiick. You cannot be too careful Pff#ith3your eyes, always use your own k towel and keep it to yourself, some sufE. f W very much with their eyes. >■' \':F^i MEDICINE. l. wl don't know much about that, bush- ' men generally take a dose of calomel when they find sickness coming on and drive it away, but to drink gum loaf wattfr and eat possums out of gum trees if ft. good thing. Dysentery is sometimes very hard to cure out there. I ••• enly know of a native arrowroot that i jjrotvs on big trees and chlorodyne as a r^ourei:- ■ pO >*t. If >tlns does anybody p.ny good aome I; fold-Will always be acceptable to a fel p: Jow m this country of supplu-jacks and I: taxcsyr-I am, etc., pi :\ ,;. : ■*''■:;■' G. B. BUAOKORD. Mi i -;jP"S<- -I think it will i>e very linrcl on a Pllewr Zealand horse, going ihere with ■ liiji winter coat on, ami having snub a ■rchange of fuo<J. I nev.-r liad any siek■^•is while there, but there has hc«n a especially at Burke Town, years ago.