Reminiscences of Queensland, 1862-1869Corfield, William Henry
History
Reminiscences of Queensland, 1862-1869
Corfield, William Henry
Frontier and pioneer life -- Australia -- Queensland; Queensland -- History
Previous to leaving Balgourlie Station we had lost a mob of horses, and
on our arrival at Mount McConnell Station, the two men who had been
despatched to look for them, returned without success. Carruthers then
sent me back with an Indian named "Balooche Knight" to make a search. We
had a riding horse each, and a pack horse to carry our blankets, tucker,
etc. After scouring all the scrubs on Mistake Creek, we arrived at
Lanark Downs Station, where a traveller informed me he had seen a number
of horses at Miclere Creek, 17 miles on the road to Copperfield. My
optimism suggested I should ask the owner of Lanark Downs to lend me a
fresh horse. He did so, and I rode away one morning, returning the same
evening with the whole of the 17 horses we had lost. I had now to travel
over one hundred miles to where I had left the sheep, which were still
continuing their journey. It was a most enjoyable ride with only one
drawback. The Indian's blankets and mine being together, I had gathered
a lively community in my head. Procuring a small tooth-comb at a
way-side place, I commenced operations, with the result that soon I had
quite a colony on a newspaper in front of me. With the aid of tobacco
water, I finally succeeded in driving the pests away.
In following down the Belyando River, I proved my expertness as a
tracker by recognising the track of a bullock crossing the road. I did
not know the beast had been lost, but the peculiarity of the track,
caused by the hind feet touching the ground ahead of the fore feet, led
me to follow the tracks through a scrub, and there I found him camped.
We had over 60 miles to overtake the sheep, and as he could not keep up
with the horses, I had to leave him.
We had passed St. Ann's and Mt. McConnell's Stations where Lieutenant
Fred Murray was stationed with his black trackers. Proceeding up the
Cape River, we overtook the sheep at Natal Downs, then owned by Wm.
Kellett. We left the Cape River here, and followed Amelia Creek through
a lot of spinifex country.
On the third camp, in my early morning watch, I noticed several of the
sheep jumping. At daylight we found about 60 lying dead on the ground.
We learnt that they had been eating the poison bush which abounds
throughout what is designated as the "Desert Country."
The leaf of this bush is shaped like an inverted heart, and in colour is
a very bright green. The flower resembles a pea blossom, and when in
bloom the bush is most deadly to all stock. This experience taught us to
be more careful, and in one place we cut a track through five miles of
it for the sheep to pass.
When we reached Torren's Creek, we saw a water-hole containing the bones
of some 10,000 sheep which had perished from the same cause. They were a
portion of 20,000, which, we were informed, were in charge of a Mr.
Halloran, who had preceded us for the Flinders, and owned by a Mr.
Alexander.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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