This entry is another Authors indulgence but the opportunity should be taken to settle another silly myth, this story is of the same ilk as Crombie's damper lessons to the first expedition and Harris's side of beef. This one regards the transport of flour on pack animals, it's a common story how Lasseter's veracity was tested in Alice Springs by an 'Old Timer' who asked him how much flour was carried on the 1897 journey, a remarkably pointed question for a reticent Centralian. Lasseter said, 200 pounds in four fifty pound bags, a perfectly sensible answer, yet his reply was met with silence and open doubt, everyone knew flour came in single 200 pound bags in those days.

Now there's a few old Afghans and Madigan and McKay in particular would like to meet this 'old Timer': Sadadeen and Madigan to sack him on the spot for the gross incompetence of putting all the flour in one bag and potentially severely unbalancing the loads on the beasts, and all near two metres of McKay would stand over this oft quoted Centralian and insist he load and unload 200 pound bags of flour as a lesson in logistics and commonsense.

LASSETERIA

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