Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-04-16
DAPHNE.

Tall, angular and peculiarly plain
she was the wife of a Queensland bush
carrier; and it is, believe, an accepted
fact that, ladies of that station are not
noted either for their culture or their
refinement
Crawling with heavily laden bullock
wagons across plains and never-ending
scrubs would not appear to be an ex-
istence possessed of many charms, and
yet l believe there is no case on record
of man or woman who, having once
served his or her apprenticeship to the
trade, has ever returned to a civilized
life again.
In the Queensland bush carrying
trade, you must understand, there are
three main arteries, the townships of
| Hughenden, Longreach and Charleville
and from each of these places there
! flows continually stream of enormous
! table-topped wagons, bound for stations
in the remote west, all more or less
remote from what is generally supposed
to make life worth living.
The existence of the carrier Is rough
to terrible degree, and must in no
way be COMPOUNDED with that of the
respectable, jogtrot class who ply their
trade in English rural districts. Let
me picture for you nights camp of
one of these nomad families.
Imagine a treeless plain, say some
200 o. 800 miles from civilization, as
far as the eye can reach on every side.
In the foreground you will probably
have a fair-sized water hole, up to the
side of which, as you look, numbers an
enormous wagon, piled with loading
of every kind and description, and
drawn by perhaps twenty bullocks
Wearied after their long days march,
the team drags up to the water, and
then comes to a halt, with a deep grunt
of satisfaction. The sun, which
throughout the day has caused them
untold agonies, now lies low upon the
horizon, turning the dreary plain into
| the GkeEess of a waveless sea, and
painting the placid water hole with
colors of ever changing beauty. Once
at a standstill, the work of unyoking
begins and after this is ACCOMPLISHED
the Outsider, or drivers assistant, bells
certai' bullocks and conducts the herd
to water and the best grass; the driver
meanwhile places the yokes in proper
order preparatory to an early start up
on the morrow
The carriers wife has by this time
descended from her perch on the sum-
NIT of the load, and, with crowd of
! nut-brOwn children at her heels. has
set about her preparation of the even
ing meal. Ere it is eaten the sun has
packed his pillows in the west and
dropped into his crimson bed.
AS daylight disappears, and without
an interval of light, darkness descends
upon the plain, and one by one sundry
jewels drop out Of the treasure house
OF night to deck the canopy of heaven.
The stiffness is almost remarkable. and
later on, when each member of the tiny
party has found a resting place among
the loading or beneath the wagon, it
becomes even more intense, till only
the whistle of a curlew, the cry of
marauding dingo, or the distant boot
of the bullock jars upon the sleeping
night.
/ By daybreak the community is once
more astir and when breakfast has
been eaten, the team is yoked up. Then
( the woman places herself and children
upon the top of the wagon, the carrier
takes his place and cracks his heavy
whip, the buIlocks sway forward. and
once more the journey is resumed
across the same interminable plain.
! So, week in and week out, from years
END to years end, the same life goes
forward, never varying save when rain,
or scarcity of grass makes the track i'm
passable. Small wonder therefore, that
/ the women grow to be hard and rough,
oonsorting, as they do, with none but
the sterneSt of the opposite sex, and
daily doing work that would test the
patience and endurance Of the strongest
man. These are some Of the folk who
in reality do the building up of our
colonies, although the credit goes to an
other noisier, uglier and far less useful
class. But to get back to my story.
AS l have said at the beginning, she
was tall, angular and peculiarly plain,
and, in spite of the glazing incongruity
of it, it must be recorded that her
baptismal name was Daphne. Her
husband was a carrier Oh the Hidgeree-
Kalaba track, and she was at once the
brain and mainstay of his business.
My first acquaintance with them oc-
CURED on the edge of a Boree scrub,
dismal place, and more than 100 miles
removed from either of the above town
ships. They were camped beside a big
water hole, and on dismounting from
my horse I was introduced by the car
rier, with becoming ceremony, to his
wife. Great were the proofs of friend
ship they showed to me, and long will
I cherish the memory of that rough
hearty hospitality. Next morning
went my way, they theirs, and it was
not for nearly a year that we met
again.