CROCODILE COUNTRY

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20732, 16 February 1939, Page 6

CROCODILE COUNTRY

QUEENSLAND INTERIOR METHODS OF THE CATTLE MEN STRANGE ANIMAL JA FE FACTS (No. 4) [ln this and succeeding- articles Mr George Campbell tells or bis experiences in Northern Queensland In big-game bunting- and life among the Australian ing and life amongst the Australian aboriginals.]

"Coomooloobarloo’’ is only one of many big stations where c-attle are raise'd and where only the best horsemen are engaged, mostly “abos.” These fine men are trustworthy and intelligent, and it is really the only life that suits them, riding behind cattle, in fact living with them, as they take the cattle from one waterhole to another. Left alone the cattle would not leave the water and would soon eat themselves out of feed and starve. So they are kept moving all the time. All the water is from bores or artesian wells, and as this land is valueless without water, bores are sunk where there is fresh feed. This boring for water is an expensive business, costing iOs to £1 a foot for the first 300 feet and £1 a foot thereafter. At 1000 feet they may strike pure salt water; further down, 500 feet perhaps, they would strike mineral water, and further down still, blackwater, none of which is any good. Only about one in three produces fresh water that cattle will drink. Bore 9 7000 Feet Deep Some of these bores reach 7000 ft and may produce 100,000 gallons a day, a pure artesian if the supply is good, but with poor pressure an engine may be used to lift the water. So a station is valued by its wells, and the pressure of these underground rivers is showing a marked decrease each year, or maybe the pipes or casing are corroding. This may be a future nightmare for the next generation of Barnards. These station-holders do not travel much. They like the wide open spaces. City life has no attractions for them. They dress every night for dinner. They are fond of tennis and play a lot.

Mr Barnard told me that both he and his men often get lost on their own property. This is quite easily understood, as the trees look all alike and the country is flat and free of landmarks. Most cattlemen carry a compass, but the best guide is the ant that builds its nest about 10 feet high on the trees. The nest Is about twice as big as a large pumpkin, made of the usual cement-like mixture, and is always built on the north side of the tree. There are hundreds of them. They build on the north side to get the most heat or sun in the winter, and they miss the morning and afternoon sun in the heat of the summer, thus enjoying a more or less regular heat. Very brainy, those ants I Many a bushman owes his life to the ant nests. Oattle Droving On the oattle station the calves are never separated from»the cows and are used to dogs and men driving them. The men and dogs live and camp with the cattle. When the cattle are ready to cross the range to the coast, where they are driven to Vesty’s huge works, the men have trouble with a mob that has not seen or heard a train before, so they approach a railway very cautiously, and camp near a line to get the cattle used to the noise and sight

of a train before proceeding to the coast. Tiie drovers get so much per 100 head per 100 miles. A small' percentage is allowed for loss; after that they are charged half the loss. When a car is approaching a big herd camped for a night a rider, on seeing the headlights, will ride out and asl for the lights to he put out. and lie will guide the car in the dark through a big herd that is resting. Price on Dingo’s Head The dingo, or, to give him his “abo" ' name, warragil, is not such a pest on ! rattle land, but there is always a price ! on his head. Most of the shire conn- ! cils have a paid dogger io trap and •bait the dingo, but lie is wise to most j of their tricks and is a very difficult j fellow to handle. Many of the coun- i try people get their supply of fresh ■ milk from goats, and they have herds : of them. The dingo is very fond of i the kids and will risk even going into j the enclosures to get them. The dingo is a beautiful fellow, and can be tamed. He is very intelligent, but always shy and does not bark. His big bushy tail, like a fox’s, is the only thing that differs from the domestic dog. ancf his hair is split at the ends. As a pup he does not open his eyes for the usual eight days. Undoubtedly he was brought by early man to Australia as a pet. His natural diet is roc-k wallabies, snakes and goannas. A big “roo" is more than a match for a single dingo. He is seldom -seen in the daytime, and is shot on sight. Most cattle men carry rifles and they are mostly good shots. The dingo pelts are worth 30s, and in sheep country as much as £SO. Months Without Water We were discussing how long snakes could live without water, and one of Barnard’s men said he was out bringing in posts. He had his lunch in a tin with a pressed-on lid to keep it free of ants. Whilst having lunch he disturbed a snake about two feet long, which he held with his boot. So he emptied the lunch tin and put the live snake in the tin and pushed the lid on. With a knife he drove a couple of air vents into the tin and placed the tin in a fork of a tree. He forgot to take it back to camp that night; in fact it was six months later that he remembered it. Out of curiosity he fode to the spot, and there was the tin undisturbed. It had been there through a drought summer. When he removed the lid and shook the tin, out dropped the snake and wriggled off. Needless to say, he gave it its freedom. Rock wallabies seem to live for years without water. Hundreds of miles from water the small marsupials can be found. Scalpers and baiters who make a living from the sale of the pelts have wondered at this, but the fact remain?. ’For countless ages the animal life of Australia has had to face long droughts and water shortage, and no doubt Nature has helped them in a measure to live without water for long periods. Mr Barnard proved to the Zoological Society only last year that wombats are not extinct in Queensland by organising a small expedition and going out further west, where he was successful in capturing a good specimen, which is now in the museum at Brisbane.

Before I left “Goomooioobarloo” another car was added to their fleet. As I have said before, they were so hospitable that they would not let me go without an order for a new car.