We took possession by the right of squatter sovereignty, the owner being unknown, or at all events, absent from the woods.

For M- (the civiliser of Montserrat) had gone off early, with mule, cutlass, and haversack, back over the Doubloon and into the wilds of Manzanilla, to settle certain disputed squatter claims, and otherwise enforce the law; and now the night had fallen, and he was not yet home.

"They'd pull off a couple of hold-ups, then they'd ride off to one of these squatter places and lay up for ten days, maybe, drinkin' and feedin' up themselves and their hosses.

"Well," Sandy continued, "there's a little shack behind uslooks like one of the squatter shacks on the Lake frontan' we can go in an' rest up.

When the road grew too hot for us, on account of the fire of sunshine in our rear, we jumped over the fence into the Race-Course, a big field beside us, and there became squatter sovereigns all day.

The site of the new church, an address from the inhabitants to the Governor, inspection of roads, examination of disputed claims, squatter questions, enclosure questions, and so forth, would occupy some hours in hard work.

Some of this pabulum was not good for a growing frame; the excuse for offering it may be found in the exigencies of squatter-life.