nough to kill a calf. This they were not able to
effect; for, while lying in wait for the whole herd to pass (which now
consisted of upwards of sixty young and old) they were furiously set upon
by a bull, which brought up the rear, and which in their own defence they
were compelled to kill. This however answered the purpose better perhaps
than a calf might have done; for he had all the marks of the Cape cattle
when full grown, such as wide-spreading horns, a moderate rising or hump
between his shoulders, and a short thin tail. Being at this time seven or
eight and thirty miles from Parramatta, a very small quantity of the meat
only could be sent in; the remainder was left to the crows and dogs of
the woods, much to the regret of the governor and his party*, who
considered that the prisoners, particularly the sick at the hospital, had
not lately received any meat either salt or fresh.

[* Captain Waterhouse and Mr. Bass (surgeon) of the _Reliance_, and the
writer of this Narrative.]

The country where they were found grazing was remarkably pleasant to the
eye; every where the foot trod on thick and luxuriant grass; the trees
were thinly scattered, and free from underwood, except in particular
spots; several beautiful flats presented large ponds, covered with ducks
and the black swan, the margins of which were fringed with shrubs of the
most delightful tints, and the ground rose from these levels into hills
of easy ascent.

The question how these cattle came hither appeared easy of solution. The
few that were lost in 1788, two bulls and five cows, travelled without
interruption in a western direction until they came to the banks of the
Nepean. Arrived there, and finding the crossing as easy as when the
governor forded it, they came at once into a well-watered country, and
amply stored with grass. From this place why should they move? They found
themselves in possession of a country equal to their support, and in
which they remained undisturbed. We had not yet travelled quite so far
westward; and but few natives were to be found thereabouts; they were
likely therefore to remain for years unmolested, and securely to
propagate their species.

It was a pleasing circumstance to have in the woods of New Holland a
thriving herd of wild cattle. Many proposals were made to bring them into
the settlement; but in the day of want, if these should be sacrificed, in
what better condition would the colony be for having possessed _a h