Page:Victoria, with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong.djvu/74

 lost in the wilds and woods we had to go through, or injured, if not killed, by some of the ferocious attacks of the herds we encountered.

We started about daybreak, after a hurried breakfast, some thirty horsemen in number, the only weapon for the chase being what is termed a stock whip. It has a thick handle, of about 16 inches in length, and a very heavy tapering thong of 18 to 20 feet. It is most surprising with what dexterity and effect they are handled. At a hand-gallop we rode about six miles over the plain ere we entered the forest country where the herds were known to be. The horses we rode, as far as appearance went, did not seem of any great repute, but were without exception the best and most enduring that ever came under my experience in all the different parts of the world I have been in. In truth, the Bush horse of Australia bears a resemblance to the Arabian, to which it owes its extraction; though not so pretty, yet they are short, well-knit, and high-mettled, possessing an indomitable power of speed, endurance, and agility, with a brilliant eye and large nostril, and trained for this particular use beyond the power of description. For two or three hours we traversed the woods in all directions seeking for the main body; at length, in an open glade by the side of a little stream, as we gained a rising ground, we saw a large number beneath us, about a thousand. The practised eye of the owner soon discovered that several hundred were still wanting; so, retracing our steps a little