ad
taken the sheep back to a creek which is still known as "Corfield's
Creek." There the lambing took place.

We next moved down to Balgourlie Station, still on Mistake Creek, where
we had an early shearing, and left the wool to be taken by carriers to
Bowen.

I now had my first experience of what was called in those days,
"Belyando Spew." Everything one ate came back again and no one seemed to
know of an antidote to what appeared to be a summer sickness. The gidya
around seemed to accentuate the complaint, until I became a walking
skeleton.

In the meantime we received word that my uncle had purchased Clifton
Station from Marsh and Webster, of Mackay.

This country was situated on a billabong 12 miles from Canobie, where
Edward Palmer, as I have previously mentioned, had settled down.

The travelling away from the gidya scrubs down the Belyando River soon
dispelled all signs of the sickness.

Previous to leaving Balgourlie Station we had lost a mob of horses, and
on our arrival at Mount McConnell Station, the two men who had been
despatched to look for them, returned without success. Carruthers then
sent me back with an Indian named "Balooche Knight" to make a search. We
had a riding horse each, and a pack horse to carry our blankets, tucker,
etc. After scouring all the scrubs on Mistake Creek, we arrived at
Lanark Downs Station, where a traveller informed me he had seen a number
of horses at Miclere Creek, 17 miles on the road to Copperfield. My
optimism suggested I should ask the owner of Lanark Downs to lend me a
fresh horse. He did so, and I rode away one morning, returning the same
evening with the whole of the 17 horses we had lost. I had now to travel
over one hundred miles to where I had left the sheep, which were still
continuing their journey. It was a most enjoyable ride with only one
drawback. The Indian's blankets and mine being together, I had gathered
a lively community in my head. Procuring a small tooth-comb at a
way-side place, I commenced operations, with the result that soon I had
quite a colony on a newspaper in front of me. With the aid of tobacco
water, I finally succeeded in driving the pests away.

In following down the Belyando River, I proved my expertness as a
tracker by recognising the track of a bullock crossing the road. I did
not know the beast had been lost, but the peculiarity of the track,
caused by the hind feet touching the ground ahead of the fore feet, led
me to follow th