The Land of the Kangaroo / Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through the Great Island Continent

by Thomas Wallace Knox

“There is a class of men going about the country whose business it is to break horses at so much a head; usually two pounds, or ten dollars. The whole herd is driven into the yard, and then the horse breaker proceeds to his work. With the aid of two or three black fellows he lassoos a horse and puts a strong halter on him. Then, while the black fellows hold the animal, he is saddled and bridled, and the breaker gets on his back. The halter is gathered up around the horse’s neck, and at the word of command the black fellows jump away from him.

“Then begins a lively performance of bucking and jumping, the rider all the time clinging to the saddle with his knees. Sometimes the horse tries to lie down and roll in order to free himself from his incumbrance; he succeeds occasionally, but as a general thing he does not. Even should he manage to shake off his ride, the latter is on the creature’s back again before he gets fairly on his feet, and then the kicking and jumping are renewed. The rider keeps at the horse until he has subdued him and ridden him several times around the yard; possibly he may take a spin out into the paddock and back again, but he does not always do so. The great point is to conquer at the first riding, and a good horse-breaker never stops until he has done so.

“After this lesson is over the horse is left with the saddle on his back, and it is not taken off until he is turned into the paddock at night. The next day he receives another lesson of the same sort, and after a few days of this kind of training he is pronounced properly broken, and fit ‘for a lady to ride.’ I shouldn’t want any lady of my acquaintance to venture on the back of such an animal.

“I mustn’t forget a trick that these horse-breakers have, and that is, of getting on the back of a bucking steed, placing a half-crown piece between each thigh and the saddle, and allowing the animal to go through all the performance she chooses to, without once displacing the coins. Exactly the same thing is done by the rough riders of our western States and Territories, with the difference that they use half dollars instead of half crowns.

“We found the morning air around the station very agreeable. A gentle breeze was blowing, and we caught the odor of the fragrant eucalyptus mingled with that of the numerous flowers which ornamented and brightened the grounds near by. We could hear the notes of several birds, and louder than all the rest of their voices was that of the laughing jackass, which has already been described. One of these birds perched on the fence of the yard where the men were catching horses, and Ned and I approached within twenty feet of him before he flew away. Before doing so he treated us to a very jolly laugh, and both of us laughed, too, in concert with him.

“Breakfast was announced, and we went in to enjoy it. We had oatmeal, mutton chops, and ham and eggs, with plenty of bread and butter, and honey. I looked around the table for coffee, but saw none. There was a large pot of tea, and Ned and I took it without a word of objection, though we would have preferred coffee. We were already aware that coffee is but little used in the country districts of Australia, tea being the almost universal beverage, for the reason that it is more stimulating than coffee and better for a steady diet. It is carried about and prepared much more easily than coffee, and this, no doubt, is one cause of its popularity. In the old days of placer mining, every miner carried at his waist a ‘billy,’ or tin cup for drinking purposes, and he regarded a billy of tea as a very important part of any meal. At the present day, a goodly proportion of sundowners and other Australian pedestrians carry billies at their waist belts and treasure them with great care.”

We will listen to Ned as he tells the story of their ride among the cattle.

“While we were at breakfast,” said Ned in his journal, “the horses were saddled and bridled and brought up to the front of the house. There were seven of us altogether. Our host, Mr. Syme, and his two brothers, a black fellow called Jack, Dr. Whitney, Harry, and myself. Our host and the doctor led the way; John, the elder of his brothers, rode with Harry, the younger, William, with me, and the black fellow by himself. That is to say, the black fellow, Jack, brought up the rear, to be ready for use in case of an emergency. We found our companions well informed, and ready to give us any information in their power.

“For a mile or so we rode through an open, undulating region where the grass was fairly abundant, though not densely so. One of our escorts explained that the season had been a little dry, and the grass was not appearing as well as usual. After passing this open stretch we entered a forest principally of gum trees, whose white stems extended up a long distance into the air before throwing out any limbs. From the gum forest we passed into a stretch of scrub, and then entered a valley, through which ran a small stream. The banks of the stream were fringed with trees, and the open parts of it were thickly covered with grass. A mob of some fifty or sixty cattle was grazing in this valley, and by the orders of our host, the black fellow rode in among them, cracking his whip loudly, and starting them off with heads and tails in the air.

“‘They’ll go straight to the cattle camp,’ said Mr. Syme, ‘and that’s where we want them.’