The mob they are taking to Longreach will soon be on the
move again.
Another working day for Jack Jones, a boss drover in
Queensland.
And for old Walrus who has already appointed himself
leader.
So the day starts just like any other.
The cattle have come from a station in western Queensland
through country mostly harsh and seldom kind.
550 fat cattle make up the mob and it's now over a week since
they left Vergemont.
That's a station of 1 million acres managed by Jack Jones'
father.
In every mob there emerges a leader, and old Walrus is still
the undisputed boss.
On the previous night, one of the cows had calved and the boss
drover decides she must be caught.
The calf had to be killed.
The cow is being hobbled with legropes made from green hide to
prevent her going back.
The mob has fared pretty well.
Apart from a 20-mile, dry stretch early on. They found
water every 10 miles or so.
As the morning wears on a sudden quickening in tempo means
they've sense that there's water close at hand.
They've been lucky too because grass is plentiful after a four
year drought.
In the early days, there were no dependable watering places.
But nowadays, most stockroutes are much better off.
There's a bit of shade on the sort of day when droving can be
pleasant.
But many a mob up goes through weeks of heat that really burned
in dust that can make a midday lunch break and ordeal.
Jack Jones believes cattle and liquor don't mix and he insists
on running a dry camp.
The main food for Bluey, Don and the others is beef, meat they
kill along the track.
Jack Jones already owns nearly 70 horses and is always adding
to his string.
'There's nothing worse than mucking about with engines', he
says.
But the motor drover has arrived.
Road trains cover great distances in a fraction of the
time though the cost is much higher than the traditional
drover.
It's estimated that nearly one third of the 70,000 head of fats
turned off the Northern Territory each year now travel
by roadtrain.
Petrol gets their fire going so as to save time during the short
breaks they allow themselves.
Each unit of the train carries 44 bullocks mustered from the
8000 square miles of Marion Downs Station on the Barkly
Tableland.
They will complete the 280 mile journey to Winton in a single
day.
The crew is Jim Hill, a one time drover who misses having a horse
under him, but who now prefers road train work.
In charge is Dick Smith, who's convinced road trains are here
to stay.
Their critics, and Jack Jones is one of them, argue that cattle
get bruised while traveling over the bumpy inland roads.
The gadget that man's carrying is a way of ensuring the cattle,
even if they fall, don't remain down for long.
It's called an electric dog.
As the name suggests, it deals out a mild shock which gets them
up again.
Despite the coming of the outback road train, Jack Jones
has no fears for his future.
He's confident they'll always be working for a good drover on
horseback.