Wealth of the World's Waste Places and Oceania Part 23

He was to be ready at four the next morning with a horse and trap which he could obtain from the landlord. If he would take along an axe, a roll of string, and a newspaper, she would find his money for him, she said.

Though much in doubt about the power of such articles to find his money, Bob did as old Maggie had directed, and sharply at four in the morning the two started back to his bathing place. It took but a short time to drive back ten miles to the creek and the hollow log on which Bob sat when he pulled off his boots.

"Now, show me the place where ye put the money down," said Maggie.

After carefully looking around she seemed to be satisfied with the conditions.

"Now, gie me the paper and the twine," she said. Taking a portion of the paper and tying it with a long piece of twine she laid it down just where the notes had been placed. Then Maggie said, "Let us seek a shady place a short distance away and I'll play ye at cribbage." Bob took little stock in these seemingly foolish arrangements; nevertheless he determined to be game to the end.

She led the way to a cool place on the creek bank a hundred yards distant where they sat down. She then drew out of her pocket a dirty pack of cards and a bar of soap punched with holes to be used as a cribbage board.

Two games were leisurely played, both of which Maggie won. "Now," said she, "Come wi' me." She hobbled back to where the paper tied with a string had been left. No paper was in sight, but hanging out of the hollow log where Bob had removed his boots was the end of the string.

Maggie chuckled, and pointing to the log, cried, "Now rip it up wi' the axe."

Bob set to work with a will and soon had a big hole chopped out of the hollow log, and behold! there were the bank-notes and the newspaper, forming a cozy nest for some little speckled native cats calling for their breakfast, while farther in were seen two bright b.a.l.l.s of fire, the mother cat's eyes. The mother cat had run off with Bob's money to make a nest for her young ones.

Maggie accepted the ten-pound note but refused the silk dress, telling the lad that she had no use for such finery.

Soon after the English settled in Australia they introduced merino sheep, and during the last quarter of a century the breed has been constantly improved.

It is estimated that now there are not less than seventy-five million sheep in Australia. The two great drawbacks to this thriving industry are drought and disease. Some years, owing to the scanty rainfall, millions of sheep have starved for lack of food.

Two seasons prevail, the dry and the rainy, the climatic conditions being similar to those of California.

The eastern section of this continental island is the only part that is adapted both to grazing and to agriculture. New South Wales outranks all the other Australian colonies in sheep raising, and Queensland in cattle raising.

Almost the entire eastern sh.o.r.e section is well adapted to the production of lemons, oranges, and figs, while in the southeastern part all kinds of temperate-zone fruits flourish. The production of wheat also deserves important attention.

The development of cold-storage transportation has given a great impetus to the exportation of frozen mutton and beef to England.

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, situated on Port Philip Bay, near the mouth of the Yarra River, is the largest city of Australia and contains nearly half a million people. It is built chiefly upon two hills and the intervening valley. The streets are broad and cross each other at right angles. Many of the squares are devoted to public parks and gardens. There are splendid public and private buildings, including an excellent library and an art gallery, both of which are free to all.

Although less than sixty years old, this young city will compare favorably in regard to its buildings and general management with the largest cities in both Europe and America.

The oldest city in Australia, Sydney, is the capital of New South Wales and has a population of four hundred thousand. It is situated on Port Jackson and is said to have the finest harbor in the world. This is a completely landlocked sheet of deep water which can be entered only through a narrow pa.s.sage, thus affording protection to the shipping, even during the most violent storms, and so large that it could accommodate all of the fleets that sail the ocean and have room to spare.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Melbourne is the largest city of Australia and contains nearly half a million people]

Of Australia's thirteen thousand miles of railways all but five hundred miles belong to the colonial government, and are administered in the interests of the people. So low are the freight and pa.s.senger rates that often a tax has to be levied to meet the deficits. More than half of the public debt is due to government ownership of the railroads.

Among other prominent places may be mentioned Brisbane, the capital of Queensland; Adelaide, the capital of South Australia; and Perth, the capital of Western Australia.

CHAPTER XXVI

TASMANIA

In 1642 a Dutch navigator named Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered the island which now bears his name. Tasman did not know that he had discovered an island, but thought that he had discovered a part of the mainland of Australia; so he named it Van Diemen's Land, in honor of his patron, Anthony Van Diemen, Governor of the Dutch East Indies.

Tasmania was once one vast plateau, but in time nature worked away on its broad surface; mountains and valleys were chiselled in its face, making it a picturesque and diversified island. It is well watered; streams abound in every part, and many large lakes are found in the interior. The Derwent in the south is the largest river, and vessels may go almost to the head of its estuary.

On account of its beautiful mountain scenery, Tasmania is called the Switzerland of Australia. Deep winding valleys, clothed with groves of ferns, give added charm to its scenery. In recent years it has become a famous summer resort for Australians, many of whom pa.s.s a portion of the hot season in its wonderful forest solitudes and secluded fern-tree vales.

No attempt to colonize Tasmania was made until 1803. In that year four hundred convicts were brought there and the vessel containing the prisoners sailed up Derwent River and landed them where the city of Hobart now stands.

When the convicts landed, they found a very dark-skinned race of natives in possession of the land. The natives were low of stature, with ugly broad faces, flat noses, and frizzly hair. Their habits were repulsive, but they were inoffensive. They lived chiefly on sh.e.l.l-fish and what they could obtain from the sea. Occasionally they hunted the kangaroo, and unfortunately a kangaroo hunt led to their undoing.

One morning a newly-arrived commander of the convict colony saw a large number of natives making toward the camp. He did not know their customs and mistook a chase after a kangaroo for an attack on the camp. So he ordered the soldiers to fire on the crowd, and, as a result, fifty or more were killed.

This was bad enough, but worse was to come; for escaped convicts began to rob and murder the natives whenever they could do so. So in time there began a bush warfare that almost exterminated the poor natives.

Finally, the remnant, about two hundred, were put on a transport and carried to Flinder Island, where they gradually decreased in number. The last native died in 1874.

In 1853, the English government ceased to send convicts to the island, and within a few years afterward the blackest plague spot in the world became one of the most beautiful colonies on the face of the earth.

Tasmania is far enough south of the tropics to have a much greater rainfall than most of Australia, but it is not far enough to have a cold climate. The generous rainfall covers the whole surface with green.

There are forests of eucalyptus, or "gum tree," tree ferns, beech, and acacia--just about the same kinds that one finds in Australia.

The animals, too, are much the same as in Australia, and some species of them are pouched, like the opossum. Many of them are now rarely to be found near the settlements, but one kind is pretty certain to be found at all times and seasons--the Tasmanian devil. This ugly beast is a terror to any neighborhood. An English hunter described it by saying that it was more bear than wildcat, and more wildcat than bear--and bear-cat it is frequently called. The tiger-wolf is another pest that makes great havoc among herds and flocks. Still another pest, also called "devil," has bands of black and white on its neck and shoulders, a thick heavy tail, and a bulldog mouth. It is a cowardly little night prowler with a fondness for young lambs.

As was the case in Australia, the success of sheep-growing and the finding of rich gold-mines put an end to the convict colony. Even before the mines became profitable the ranchmen were trying to stop the sending of convicts to the island; but when the gold fields were found, it was stopped in short order.

Very shortly gold-mining became the leading industry. Then tin ore was found at Mount Bischoff. Tasmania now produces more tin than all the rest of Australasia. In addition to the tin and precious metals, there are great beds of excellent coal--enough for all the smelteries and manufactories in the island.

Next to the mines the sheep and cattle ranches bring the chief profits to Tasmania. But another industry is growing and bids fair to become more profitable than either mining or cattle-growing. The fruit of Tasmania is of the very finest quality. Moreover, when the fruit is ripening in an Australasian spring and summer, all England is shivering in midwinter storms. What better business could there be than to ship apples and pears fresh from the Tasmanian orchards? Those same apples can be shipped half-way round the world and sold in England for a lower price than the apples shipped from Buffalo to New York City!

Then there are the peaches, cherries, and strawberries. They find a ready market in Australia, a matter of only a few miles away. So in time Tasmania is bound to be one of the great fruit-growing countries in the world.

Where once the first convict colony made its camp the beautiful city of Hobart stands. It is every bit an English town. The business part of the city consists of fine, substantial buildings; most of the residences are low-built and half hidden in gardens of roses. The school-houses are as good as those in any American city of the same size, and the schools themselves are equal to the best anywhere. Kindergarten, grammar school, high school, and university are within the reach of all who desire.

It is said that an enterprising man can go to Tasmania, make his fortune in fifteen years, and return to England rich, to spend the rest of his days. But why should any one desire to leave such a beautiful island to spend the rest of his life in London smoke and fog?

CHAPTER XXVII

NEW ZEALAND

By digging at London right through the centre of the earth one would emerge about a day's ride, in an automobile car, from the capital of New Zealand--if only the automobile could ride on the water. That is to say, England and New Zealand are almost exactly opposite each other on the earth. That is the short way, however, and the trip would be eight thousand miles. As a matter of fact, the trip by the only available route is not far from sixteen thousand miles; for, go either east or west as one may choose, the route from London to New Zealand is a very roundabout way, and New Zealand is Great Britain's most remote colony.

When Tasman was cruising about the Pacific, or South Sea, he skirted the coast of the islands. That was in 1642. About one hundred and forty years afterward Captain Cook called at the islands and annexed them as an English possession, but the English government refused to take them.

Early in the nineteenth century missionaries brought the Bible to the native Maoris, and at the same time lawless traders carried liquor and firearms to those same natives. What was still worse, they kept on supplying them with liquor and firearms until there were but a few thousand natives left.

The Maoris are the most remarkable native peoples of the Pacific. They were not the original people of New Zealand, however, for they drove away the black race--probably like that of New Guinea--which they found there. Like the Hawaiians and Fijians, the Maoris came from Samoa about five centuries ago. Their traditions about their journey are clear and exact; even the names of the canoes, or barges, in which they made the journey are preserved in Maori history. First they went to Rarotonga, an island of the Cook group; then they went to New Zealand.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Maori pa, or village]