Dan's sleep had in no wise lessened his faith in the
efficiency of dust-throwing, and as we set out he " reckoned '•
the missus would " learn a thing or two about surprise
parties this trip." We all did, but the black feUows
gave the instruction.
AU morning we rode in single file, following the river



We of the Never-Never 203

through miles of deep gorges, crossing here ajid there
stretches of grassy country that ran in valleys between
gorge and gorge, passing through deep Ti Tree forests at
times, and now and then clambering over towering lime-
stone ridges that blocked the way, with, all the while,
the majestic Roper river flowing deep and wide and silent
on our left, between its water-Uly fringed margins. It
would take a mighty drought to dry up the waters of the
Territory — permanent, we call them, sure of our rivers
and our rains. Almost fifty miles of these deep-flowing
waterways fell to our share ; thirty-five miles of the Roper,
twelve in the Long Reach, besides great holes scattered
here and there along the beds of creeks that are mighty
rivers in themselves " during the Wet." Too much water,
if anything, was the complaint at the Elsey, for water
everywhere meant cattle everjrwhere.
For over two hours we rode, prying into and probing
all sorts of odd nooks and crannies before we found any
sign of blacks, and then, Roper giving the alarm, every
one sat to attention. Roper had many ways of amusing
himself when travelUng through bush, but one of his
greatest delights was nosing out hidden black fellows.
