Part 6 (1/2)
Our friends were invited to make a journey on the line of the Great Northern Railhich is ultimately intended to reach the northern coast of Australia The distance across Australia, from north to south, is about seventeen hundred miles; about four hundredthirteen hundred reat deal of money to finish the railway, but the people are ambitious, and will probably accomplish it in the course of ti for the greater part of the way through a very desolate region For hundreds of miles there are no white people, except the operators and repairers at the stations, and in many places it is unlikely that there will ever be any inhabitants, as the country is a treeless waste, and, at soht from a considerable distance Artesian wells have been bored at many of the stations; at some of them successfully, while at others it was impossible to find water
The railway official who invited our friends to make the journey, told theraph coave an interesting account of some of the difficulties they encountered
”The desert character of the country,” said the gentleed to haul or carry provisions anddistances Where it was practicable to use wagons we used them, but where we could not do so we employed camels Cao, and they have been a great deal of use to us in parts of the country where water is scarce The conditions of Northern and Central Australia very ions of Northern Africa, where the cain, or, at all events, where it abounds to-day in greatest numbers Had it not been for the 'shi+p of the Desert,' it is possible that we raph line across Australia The caovernainly creatures, and their nu every year
”You know already about the scarcity of water in the desert region
Springs are few and far between, and rain is of rare occurrence It was frequently necessary to carry water thirty or forty reat heat it was i to the rapid evaporation Cases or cans of galvanized iron proved to be the best receptacles for water, so far as evaporation was concerned, but they have the disadvantage of becoh treatraph had to be hauled a long distance for a large part of the way Iron poles are generally used, owing to an insect that destroys ith great rapidity I wonder if you have yet seen any of the ravages of this little creature?”
This last reation, to which Harry responded that he had not yet observed anything of the kind, nor had his attention been called to it Ned remarked that he had been told of the destructiveness of this wor of its work
”If you had seen it you would reentleman ”The worm abounds more in the country districts than in the city, and it does not seeet so much into the city houses as it does into those of the rural districts Suppose you settle in South Australia, and build yourself a house or buy one already built, and proceed to take your co in your parlor you suddenly feel a leg of your chair going through the floor, and down you go with a crash Somebody runs to your assistance, and the additional strain put upon the floor causes the break to increase, and, together with the person who has co chasm in the floor, no matter whether your rooes of the worm have been quite concealed by the carpet; while in the latter case the surface of the wood presents the same appearance, while the whole interior of the plank or board has been turned to dust This sort of thing has happened in many an Australian house, and will doubtless continue to happen”
Harry asked if there was any way of preventing the ravages of this destroyer
His informant replied that there were two or three kinds of hich these insects would not touch Unfortunately, however, they were higher priced than ordinary wood, and consequently the temptation was to use the cheaper article Houses could also be built of cement, brick, or other substances which defied the orain, were expensive and could not be afforded by newly arrived eenerally very liraph,” the gentlereat deal of trouble with the insects destructive to wood, and then, too, we had considerable difficulty with the blacks, though less than we had anticipated We ed to inspire them with a very wholesoh the wires, and though they have burned stations, and killed or wounded quite a number of our people, they have never e to inspire them with such fear?” queried Harry
”We did it in this way,” was the reply ”Whenever a native visited us, we ive hiroup at once it was so ot two or more of their chiefs at stations hundreds of miles apart, and then let them talk with each other over the wires Where they ell acquainted, they were able to carry on conversations which none but themselves could understand Then ould have them meet half way between the stations and coreatly astonished the they cannot understand, and they very quickly concluded that 'His Satanic Majesty' was at the bottom of the whole business and it would be well for the happened one day ere putting up a portion of the line There was a crowd of native blacks watching us, and the principalthe line,a critical exa the distance between the posts
”When he had evidently made up his mind as to the situation he walked up to the fore party and said, with an accent of insolence:--
”'My think white fellow one big fool'
”When the fore conteraph line and said:--
”'That piece of fence never stop cattle'
”Before the fore was intended for, he walked off with his nose very ain, as far as we know”
After a short laugh over the incident, one of the youths asked how far apart the stations were
”The distances vary considerably according to circumstances,” said their informant ”In some places they are within thirty or forty miles of each other, and there are portions of the line where they are one hundred miles apart There are two operators and two repairers at each station
These are all white men, and some of them have their families with them
In addition to the white residents at the station, there are all the way froht or ten blacks The blacks in our service are generally faithful, and we put a great deal of dependence upon them
Sometimes they are treacherous, but not often, as treachery is not a part of their nature