"CUTTING OUT."
"Unruly cattle in Australia are termed 'rowdy;' 'drafting' is the process of selecting animals from the herds, and when they are rowdy, as they generally are, the performance is by no means free from danger. Not infrequently drafting is called 'cutting out.'
"The word 'squatter' in Australia has a meaning almost the reverse of its American one. In America a squatter is the occupant of a small area of land on which he has 'squatted,' or settled, with a view to acquiring title under the homestead laws, or perhaps to being bought off by somebody else. In Australia the squatter is the holder of a run which he obtains by lease from the Government for a term of years, paying an annual rental of ten shillings per square mile, with a privilege of renewal, and also with the right of pre-emption or actual purchase.
"What we call a squatter in America is here a 'free selector;' he has the privilege of selecting land not already occupied for agricultural purposes, and between the squatters and the free selectors there is a feeling of great hostility. The laws of the colony have been subject to a great deal of change in the last twenty years; the squatters feel that they have been unfairly treated, and we heard many stories of down-right hardship.
"Into this question of the rights of land-owners in Australia we will not enter, as the discussion would be an interminable one. More interesting to the boys at home will be the performance of drafting cattle from the herd.
MUSTERING CATTLE.
"A small mob of cattle was separated from the herd and driven away a little distance to serve as the nucleus of the draft-mob. Then the cattle-dealer and two of the stockmen rode into the herd and selected the animals they wanted; each man was mounted on a good 'camp-horse,' one used to cutting out cattle, and it was interesting to see the intelligence of the horses in their work. The men selected the bullocks they wanted, and then edged them out in the direction of the draft-mob; most of the bullocks were rowdy, and gave the men a lively chase before they submitted to be separated from their fellows.