speed, and were reminded of previous rides in the newly opened regions of the Rocky Mountains and in California. Coaching in Australia is less famous than formerly, owing to the rapid extension of the railway, but there are still many interior lines where the old system is maintained. Coaching in Australia owes its development to some enterprising Americans—Cobb & Company—who went there in the times of the gold discoveries, and established lines over all the principal roads, from the coast ports to the auriferous districts. The wonderful tales of coaching west of the Missouri River a quarter of a century ago might be repeated concerning the same business in Australia.
Doctor Bronson and his companions had no time to examine the mineral and other attractions of Tenterfield, though they were invited to do so. Gold, silver, tin, antimony, plumbago, and other minerals are found in the region round about the town, at distances varying from five up to forty miles. Some mining localities were pointed out along the coach-road, and rich specimens of gold-bearing quartz were shown by the fortunate possessors.
FROM TENTERFIELD TO STANTHORPE.
Cobb's coach carried them safely to Stanthorpe, sometimes called the Border Town, owing to its position on the frontier, and the Sanatorium of Queensland, in consequence of the salubrity of its climate. It is celebrated for its tin-mines, which are scattered around the neighborhood; the product varies considerably from one year to another, being affected by the scarcity or the abundance of water.
They spent the night at Stanthorpe in a fairly comfortable hotel,
