Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-10-27

walnut, rosewood, cedar, kauri. black
during the Easter holidays, the price
was advanced 90 FER cent The driver
was a man not long out from England,
but he claimed he knew the road. His
car was an old second hand Hupmobile,
the tires were not in very good condition
and he took gas enough for the trip one
way only.
I knew when we started that in the
whole 200 miles we would see only two
ranch houses and that between these two
ranches. or stations" as they call them,
we would cover q hundred miles with
out seeing a living soul. The driver was
lost from the time we got thirty iv@
miles away from the starting point. ]
knew the general direction he was keep
ing was all right because the sun was
north Of US and we were heading north
all the time and Cunnamuua lay that way.
DANGEROUS TRIP
THROUGH WOODS.
At many points we Travelled through
blush" country where no track was visi-
BILE. Our greatest danger was that of be-
coming mired In the banks or bottoms Of
the small creeks we had to cross. Il be
gan to get dark on US before o'clock
and we still had fifty miles to make.
From that point into Cunnamulla there
was a road with very deep ruts, cut by
the wheels Of wool wagons, drawn by
thirty oxen, and carrying loads Of from
six to eight tons of wool from the shear
ing pens to the railhead. This road was
hard to negotiate in the dark. All hands
frequently had to Chamber out and help
the driver back the car out Of ruts or
sand and once out Of mire.
We had started with q leg of mutton.
some corned beef, two loaves Of bread
and q full waterbag. We ate sparingly
ut lunch because we fully expected never
TO get through that day and We did not
know when we might have a breakdown
or get nired and some of US would have
to walk from twenty five to fifty miles to
get help. However, at 10 o'clock that
night we saw the lights Of the village
ahead and we pulled UP al the hotel just
as every one was going to bed and just
as the gasoline in our car gave out! A
little Greek restaurant in the town then
supplied US with the best ham and eggs
we ever ate"
The driver was going to return early
the next morning so 1 settled with him
that night The meter on the car reg
istered 1913 miles and 1 thought 200
miles was a close guess, but l was not
prepared for the drivers statement that
the meter ran slow and that he had ac-
tually covered sixty miles more than
was registered and for which we had
to pay at the rate Of 97H cents a mile
Altogether I paid s1T5 for bringing Us
200 miles. but it was worth it. In no
other way could We have gained the
personal Information necessary to under
stand the Merino wool sheep industry OF
Australia.
MANY GATES
TO BE OPENED.
The whole country is divided into pad
docks (ields) that may be one to I've
miles wide and running to some pOin;
where there is water, either creek or tank
(waterhole). Ben and Taylor took turns
about opening the gates. After the fifth
eth gate I lost count.
The last hundred miles we Travelled
through Queensland. We came into the
State through a gate in a 700-mile rabbit
fence, six feet high, which separates the
two states. This fence is patrol1ed from
one end to the other by outriders of one
state or the other and Is kept constantly
In repair. For years before I came to
Australia I had heard more about the
rabbits eating up the country than any
thing else But through this 200 miles
Of sheep and cattle country we never saw
a rabbit However, we did see a few
kangaroos and emus.
The New South Wales side Of the fence
is given over to sheep, but when we
got On the Queensland side we found
sheep for the first fifty miles, then
ran into country devoted TO both cattle
and sheep. The state Of Queensland is
the cattle country Of Australia. Here is
to be found fine gras for grazing, in
stead Of heritage. Sheep do very well
on heritage but cattle will eat 1t only
when they can get nothing else. The
average rainfall in Queensland, the tropi-
cal state extending from % degrees south
to 10 degrees south of the equator, is
plentiful except In the west and south
west part Of the state. In this state can
be grown every variety of food for man
and beast.
We had to lay over in Cunnamulla all
the next day because 1t is the end Of a
branch line and trains run only twice a
week. I was surprised to find when we
got to the station in the early morning
that the train had sleepers for the entire
600 mile run to Brisbane the state capital
on the east coast, and that 1t also was
carrying a dining car where neat girls
served us breakfast, lunch and dinner,
tea in the forenoon and tea in the after
noon and. If we still happened to be hun
CRY, sandwiches and light refreshme hts
between hours. Evidently, the depart
ment which administers the 5,6S5 miles
Of 3 foot, inch gauge state-owned rail-
ways in Queensland (tha greatest mileage