IravolU'v’s c'yo. In (lu'so wixuls tliorn :m; not. many birds;
1 saw, luiwovor, .sonu' largo Monks of tlu- wliit.n nonkat,oo
t'onding in a norn-ticld, and a tow most- bciuil.irni parrots;
nrows liko our jaokdaws were not, nnnonnnoo, and anotlinr
bird sonu'lliing liko the inagpin. Tlic Mnglisli Inivc not
been very particular iu giving names to the productions of
Australia; trees of one geous (Casuarina) are called oaks
for no one reason tluit 1 can discover, without it is that
there is no one point of resemblance. Some (|uadruj)cds
arc calk'd tigers and hyenas, simply because they arc carnivorous,
and so on iu many other cases.
In the dusk of the evening 1 took a stroll along a chain of
ponds, which in this dry country represented tho course of
a river, aud had the good fortune to see several of the
famous Platypus, or Oniithorhi/iiciis varado.viis. They were
diving and playing about the surface of the water, but
showed so little of their bodies that they might easily have
been mistaken for water-rats. Mr. Browne shot o n e : certainly
it is a most extraordinary animal; the stuffed specimens
do not at all give a good idea of the recent appearance
of its head and beak; the latter becoming hard and
contracted.
A little time before this I had been lying on a sunny
bank, and was reflecting on the strange character of the
animals of this country as compared with the rest of the
world. An unbeliever in every thing beyond his own
reason might exclaim, “ Two distinct Creators must have
been at work; their object, however, has been the same,
and certainly the end in each case is complete.” While
thus thinking, I observed the hollow conical pitfall of the
hon-ant: first a fly fell down the treacherous slope and immediately
disappeared; then came a large but unwary ant;
its struggles to escape being very violent, those curious little
jets of sand, described by Kirby * as being flirted by the
in.sects tail, were promptly directed against the expected
* K irb y ’s E n tom o lo g y , vol. i., p . 42,5. T h e A u s tra lia n [litlall is only
a b o u t h a lf th e size o f th e o n e m ad e by th e liiuropeari sp ecie s.
.Mi :l
v ictim, l iu t (h e a n t en jo y ed a b e t te r fat.e tb a n th e My, and
e sc aped (.lie fata l jaws wbicb lay eoneealcfl a t tb e base of tin;
eonieal bollovv. 'I 'be re can be n o d o u b t b u t t b a t t in s p r e d
a c io u s larva biilongs 1;o t b e s ame g e n u s witb tlie Ku ro p e a n
kin d , tlinu gh to a dill 'erent species. N ow w h a t wo u ld th e
sc ep t ic s ay to tl iis ? W o u ld a n y two w o rkm e n ev e r h a v e bit
u p o n so b e au t i fu l , so .simjile, a n d y e t so artif icial a c o n t
r iv an c e ? i t c a n n o t be t h o u g h t s o : o n e H a n d h a s su re ly
wo rk e d t l i r o u g h o u t t b e unive r s e.
jA N i J A i r y 2 0 t i i .— A long day’s ride to Batliurst. Before
joining the high, road we followed a mere path tbrouffli the
forest; and the country, with tlie exception of a few srpuatter.-,’
huts, was very solitary. A “ squatter” is a freed, or “ ticket
of leave” man, who Imilds a hut with bark on unoccupied
ground, buys or steals a few animals, sells spirits without
a licence, receives stolen goods,—and so at last becomes
rich and turns farmer: he is the horror of all his honest
neighbours. A “ crawler” is an assigned com-ict, who runs
away, and lives how he can, by labour and petty theft. The
“ bush ranger ” is an open villain, who subsists bv hishwav
robbery and plunder: generally he is desperate, and will
sooner be killed than taken alive. In the countrv it is
necessary to understand these three names, for they' are in
common use.
This day we experienced the sirocco-like wind of Australia,
which comes from the parched deserts of the interior.
Clouds of dust were travelling in even,- direction; and the
wind felt like that which has passed over a fire, I afterwards
heard that the thermometer out of doors stood at 1 1 9 b
and in a room in a closed house at 9 6 b In the afternoon we
came in view of the downs of Bathurst. Tliese undulatinsr.
but nearly level plains are very remarkable in this connny.
from being absolutely destitute of a single tree. Tiiey supft
port only a very thin brown pasture. We rode some miles
across this kind of country, and then reached the township
of Bathurst, which is seated in the middle of what may be
called either a very broad valley or narrow plain.
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