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THE LIBRARY
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THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
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RETUHN OF THE WAGON ilvOM TOWN.
7
THE
AUSTRALIAN CRUSOES;
OR,
THE ADVENTURES OF
5ln €i\[]\\b^ Irltirr niiii [lin /iimili]
in THE
WILDS OF AUSTRALIA.
BY
CHARLES ROW CROFT, ESQ.,
A RESIDENT MAGISTRATE.
FROM THE SIXTH LONDON EDITION,
®«tl) Jllustrationa.
WILLIS P. HAZARD, 178 CHESTNTtt ST.,
PHILADELPHIA:
1 8 5 .S .
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bterootyped bySLOTE & Mooney, Philadelphia.
Kite & Walton, Printers.
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55rBfatB.
It is with the view of describing the process of
settling in a new country ; of the precautions to be
taken ; of the foresight to be exercised ; of the
early difficulties to be overcome ; and of the sure
reward which awaits the prudent and industrious
colonist, that the editor has collected the following
tales ; and he may add, that he can testify to the
accuracy of the descriptions which they contain
from his personal experience as a resident magis-
trate in the colony. The first tale which is pre-
sented to the public is the journal of a settler,
detailing in his own homely language, the actual
progress, day by day, from the beginning, of the
establishment of a colonist's farm.
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LIFE IN AUSTRALIA.
THE settler's JOURNAL.
I DO not pretend to be philosopher enough to analyze
deeply the reasons which induce me, after a long and
active life, passed for the most part in laborious but
pleasurable occupations, to lay down the axe for the
pen, and to write an account of my life in this country.
Perhaps it is that my family being grown up, and gently
pushing, as the young do, the aged from their stools, by
supplying my place in overseeing my farm, the leisure
that has come over me prompts me to employ my mind,
which from habit is disinclined to inaction, in recalling
past scenes and old recollections. Or it may be that, at
sixty-two years, the garrulousness of old age inclines
me to indulge on paper in the talk which every one
around me seems too busy to attend to orally. I would
fain hope that I am actuated by a better reason than
any such as these : that the desire to present a useful
history of a settler's life, and to show by my own
(5)
6 WhyI Write.
instance how much may be accomplished by prudence,
industry, and perseverance, incites me to write this
record of facts and feelings. Whether these accounts
may ever appear in print I do not know, although I will
confess that it is not without a secret inclination that
they may, in some shape, find their way to the perusal
of the public, that I now proceed to arrange them.
Whether they appear in print or not, I have at least
the satisfaction of hoping, that when I shall repose
beneath the soil of this beautiful country, which I have
learned to love so dearly, my children's children after
me may sometimes turn to this manuscript of the old
man's recollections not without advantage from its
perusal.
C; jl n p t r r I r t n ii L
Mr. William Thornley, a sort of Ilalf-fanner in the County of Sur-
rey, finding that he cannot live on his Small Capital, turns his
thoughts to the Colonies — Reasons for Emigration — A Wife's
hearty Consent an indispensable Preliminary — Preparations —
Voyage to Van Diemen's Land — Appearance of the Country —
He has an Interview with the Governor — Mode of obtaining a
Grant of Land.
It is now twenty-two years since I left London for
Van Diemen's Land. When I got on board ship, I
remember I found many of the passengers keeping
journals, so I did the same, though I can't say I found,
at first, much to put in it ; however, the habit of keep-
ing a journal stuck to me after I landed, so that I was
never easy at night unless I wrote down what had
occurred during the day. I am glad of it now, as I
find that the looking back on what I have gone through
is useful to me, and makes me the more thankful for
what I have got now, and the reading of it will, I think,
be of advantage to those who come after me; so I will
first describe how it was that I came to emigrate, and
then I shall copy all my bits and scraps of journals
fairly out, that those who may think that some profit is
to be got from them may easily read them.
It was in the beginning of the year 1816 that I was
first in difficulties in England ; that was just after the
close of the long war. There was great distress in the
country ; all seemed to go wi'ong. So many lost cm-
(7)
8 Thoughts op Emigration.
ployment from the change of war to peace, that many
were starving, and there was great confusion and riots.
If I recollect right, it was the year when the ^' Blank-
eteers" came from the north to present a petition to the
king. I had carried on, for many years, a pretty good
business at Croydon, in the corn trade. I did something
with coals too, the canal being handy (by-the-by, that
gave me the idea when I went abroad of the advantage
of water-carriage), and I never refused any sort of small
trading that seemed likely to turn to profit. But the
corn business was my main stay, and that brought me
a good deal into communication with formers, and their
way of farming ; but I found that forming was a very
different thing here in Van Diemen's Land to what it
was in Surrey. I remember, as if it was yesterday, that
one morning, when I went to the corn-market, I found
a cluster of farmers and others standing round a neigh-
bour of mine reading a letter; it was from a son of
his — a wild sort of chap — who had gone out as mate
of a vessel to Sydney, or Botany Bay, as it was called
then. By-the-by, Botany Bay and Sydney are quite
different places ; Botany Bay lies round to the south
of Sydney, and there is no town at all there; Sir
Joseph Banks named it Botany Bay from the number
of new plants which he found there, but the town of
Sydney was fi^ed thirteen miles further to the north.
Well, the reading of this letter caused a good deal of
amusement, speaking of the kangaroos, and the natives,
and the bush-rangers ; but what siu-prised us most was
to hear how easily the young fellow had turned farmer ;
for farming was not at all in his line, as he had scarcely
looked into a farm in his life when he was in England.
The Subject Broached. 9
The accounts contained in this letter of the beauty of
the country, of the fertility of the soil, and of the
largeness of the crops, made a great impression on iiic,
and gave rise to vague ideas and designs, which dwelt
in my mind, and set me about making further inquiries.
However, I said nothing about it at home at this time,
waiting till I had acquired more information, but w'ent
on with my business as usual ; but my business did not
go on as usual with me. My purpose is not to describe
how a man breaks down in England, but how he gets on
in the colonies, so I shall say no more of my losses and
difficulties than this ; that with one failing and another
failing, and people crowding into the trade and taking
the bread out of one another's mouth, and altogether, I
foimd that it would not do any longer. So one evening,
after a hard day's work, and no profit, but all loss, I
made up my mind to put an end to it. My wife was
sitting alone in the parlour, and I said to her (for I
ought to have said before that I had boen married eleven
years, and had five children), " Mary," said I, " things
are going on very badly."
" They'll get better by-and-by," said she.
" They've boen getting worse the last six months,"
said I. " I don't like the look of it at all."
" We must work the harder," said my wife.
Said I, '< I tell you what it is, Mary, I work as hard
as any man can, and we both of us spend as little as
we can, but we are eating up our capital; and work as
I may, and pinch ourselves as we may, we can't go on
at this rate. You know how many have broke, and
there's no chance of our money from them ; in three
years we shall have nothing left, and mnybe we should
10 Where To?
break down before then, for things are getting worse
and worse, and the trade is like playing at hazard."
" Why, William," said Mary, " what would you have
us do ? Shall we try a farm ?"
"Not in this country," said I. "What with rent,
and rates, and taxes, and tithes, with corn falling, and
all things unsettled, I'm thinking farming never will
be the business it used to be. No, Mary," said I,
speaking to her with much earnestness, "farming won't
answer here ; and with our five children depending on us
for bread, and for their future provision in life, I should
not like to risk the little that we have left in working at
a farm in this country. We must make up our minds
to a great effort, and since there are too many struggling
with one another in England, we must go where the
people are few, and the land is plenty. We must emi-
grate."
"Emigrate!" said Mary; "whereto?"
" Why," I replied, " perhaps I have not made up
my mind which would be the best place to go to, nor
indeed could I make up my mind that we should emi-
grate at all until I had consulted with you, and you had
agreed to it. But I have thought of the matter a good
deal, and the more I think of it, the more convinced I
am that it would be better for us to take care of what
we have left, and turn it to account in a new country.
If there was only you and me, we could make a shift,
perhaps, to rub on j but when I consider our children,
who are growing up, and how to provide for them com-
fortably I know no more than the dead, I do feel that
to be sure of house and home, and bread to eat, and
clothes to wear would be better for them than to be
The Decisio n. 11
exposed to all the chances of uncertain trading or farm-
ing in this country."
Well, I saw that the tears had come in Mary's eyes
at this talk, and her heart was quite full ; for the
thought of her mother, now advanced in years, and of
her relatives and acquaintances about, of the scenes of
her early childhood and the companions of her youth,
all to be quitted, perhaps for ever, was too much for
her ; and all the circumstances of our own losses and
difficulties crowding in upon her thoughts, her emotion
got the better of her, and she burst into tears, and
sobbed for some time. My own eyes were not dry ;
but I felt that in these cases almost all depends on the
firmness of the head of the family, and that if he gives
way, all gives way soon after. I soothed her with all
the kindness of an affection as true and as deep as ever
man had for woman ; I explained to her exactly our
condition and all our circumstances, and after a long
consultation, her good sense coming to her aid, and,
most of all, her strong affection for her children mas-
tering all other considerations, she fell in with my views,
and it was agreed, that as we had made up our minds
to this decisive step, the sooner we carried it into effect
the better.
I have been the more particular in narrating this con-
versation, because it made, as may easily be supposed, a
great impression on me as it related to one of the most
important acts of my life ; and from the circumstance
also, that from that hour my dear wife never made a
single complaint, nor uttered a murmur at all the incon-
veniences and occasional hardships which she was put
to, as well during the voyage as during the first years
12 Preparations Begun.
of our settling in the colony. This deserves the more
worthily to be noted as I have been a witness, in Van
Diemen's Land, of the evil effects of a contrary course
of conduct on the part of the wives of emigrants. To
my knowledge, more than one failure has happened from
the fancies, and fine-lady affectations, and frettings, and
sulkiness of settlers' help-mates ; forgetting how much
of a man's comfort and happiness, and, in a colony, of
his success, depends on the cheerful humour, the kindly
good temper, and the hearty co-operation of his wife.
Well, the great point being settled, that of my wife's
consent and hearty concurrence in the project, all the
rest went on rapidly enough. She was a little fright-
ened at first at all there was before her to do ; but she
found that the labours and difficulties which, viewed in
the mass, seemed almost insurmountable, were easily
overcome as they were encountered singly : and, as she
said at the time, with her cheerful smile, " that if we
waited until we had provided against all possible and
impossible contingencies, we never should undertake the
expedition at all; that what others had done, we, with
prudence, and care, and energy, might do also ; and
that, putting to the work all the zeal and industry that
we could bring to it, we must leave the rest to that Pro-
vidence which never deserts the willing heart and the
humble mind."
I could write a great deal about all our hopes and
fears, and our little and great troubles; but I am anx-
ious to get to my journal. I shall not give a long ac-
count of our voyage by sea, of the sharks that we saw,
and of the flying-fish that wc broiled, because all those
things have been described over and over again. All
OurCapital. 13
sea-voyages are nmcli alike ; there must be some dis-
comfort on board of a vessel, where you cannot have
much room to yourself, and the passage to New South
"Wales is, I dare say, often a very tedious affair ; but
this I will say, that every thing is made better by
good temper, and by a cheerful and contented mind. I
have observed through life, that much of people's hap-
piness or unhappiness proceeds from the way in which
they take things. Some fret and grieve everlastingly
at what cannot be helped, and lose the enjoyment of
that which they might otherwise derive pleasure from,
because they cannot have everything their own way;
and so they go on, miserable themselves, and making
everybody else miserable around them ; while others,
making up their minds to bear the annoyances they
can't escape from, contrive to make pleasures out of
very slight materials, and, by their own good-humour
and cheerfulness, to inspire the. like in others. But,
before I begin our voyage, it will be well to state what
our circumstances were on leaving England, and what
we took out with us
I found, after scraping together all I could get, that
I could just manage to muster up £1150; little enough
to begin the world anew with, and with a wife, five chil-
dren, and my wife's mother, to convey to the other side
of the globe. It ought to be observed, too, that my
wife had been well educated, and had always lived in a
lady-like way ; and although she had always been an
industrious housewife, she had never had any practice
in the hard work which, for the first year or two, falls
on the settler in a new colony. Besides this £1150 in
money, we had our beds and bedding, and blankets and
14 TheVoyage.
linen, and such household articles, in plenty; and a
variety of things which lie about a house, and seem of
no value, we took out with us, and found them valuable,
for use or sale, in the new country. As to the bulk of
our furniture, we sold it all, as I was told that it would
be several years before we could have a suitable place
to put it in, and that I should find the money more
useful; that I must rough it for some time, and think
of nothing but stock — that is, of sheep and cattle.
This advice was very good, as I afterwards found, and
I was as happy, for many months, sitting on the stump
of a tree, with my wife opposite me on another, as if we
had reclined on the softest sofas in London. But there
was not much time for reclining, as will be seen when I
come to my journal. I took care to carry with us all
the usual tools imperatively wanted on first settling,
such as saws, axes, chisels, augurs, &c. I had the good
fortune to listen to the advice of the captain of a ship,
and took out all the furnishing of a blacksmith's forge,
which I found of the greatest use to me.
Now to our voyage, which I shall make short enough.
"We set sail from Gravesend on the 7th of September, 1816.
We touched at the Cape of Good Hope; but I shall not
stop to describe a place that has been so often described
before. I want to hasten the way to the colony. After
a passage of about five months, we arrived at Hobart
Town on the 3d of February, 1817. Hobart Town is the
chief town or capital of Van Diemcn's Land, at the
south end of the island. The new ideas which the
words " north" and " south" conveyed in those parts
confused me at first; for, contrary to the impression
which they convey in Europe, the north wind on the
TueNew Country. 15'
opposite side of the globe is the warm one, and the
south the cold one. "These warm north winds" and
" these cold south gales" sounded oddly, and it was
some time before I got used to the expressions. The
aspect of the new country was not encouraging, and I
felt a little damped at first. All the country up the
river, from Storm Bay Passage to Hobart Town, had a
mournful, desolate appearance. The trees had a sombre
look, and the grass was a dirty brown, excepting here
and there a green patch, where I was told it had been
recently burnt. It looked like the close of autumn
instead of the middle of summer, which it was, we ar-
riving, as I said before, on the 3d of Febniary, and the
months of winter and summer being reversed here in
this topsy-turvy place. A brown and dusky autumnal
tint seemed to pervade all nature, and the place had a
quiet, sleepy appearance, as if everything had been
standing "still and was waiting for settlers to come and
improve it. Mount Wellington, as the large high moun-
tain, about four thousand feet high, is called, at the
back of the town to the left as you go up the river, had
a little cap of snow on its summit, which I have ob-
served in summer several times since, but it seldom re-
mains more than a few hours at that season of the year.
The town had a straggling, irregular appearance; a
pretty good house here and there, and the intervening
spaces either unbuilt on or occupied by mean little
dwellings, little better than rude huts. It is to be
borne in mind that I am speaking of Hobart Town as it
was twenty-two years ago ; since then, great changes
have taken place, as will be found noted from time to
time in my journal. One thing I can't help adverting
16 Kangaroo-Dogs.
to, and that is, the surprising number of dogs that kept
us awake for some nights after we arrived in the town
with their incessant barking. At that time every one
had a kangaroo-dog who could contrive to keep one,
and what with these and others, first one set up a growl,
and then another caught it up, and he was of course
answered from another part of the town, so that pres-
ently hundreds of dogs, watch-dogs, kangaroo-dogs, and
mongrels of all sorts and sizes, all would set up such a
barking and tearing, that we thought to be sure some-
thing dreadful must be the matter ; that the convicts
Jiad risen, or the natives had fired the town. We wished
that all the dogs had their tails stuffed down their throats,
to stop their noise. But we soon got used to this, like
the apprentice that was lost, and found asleep in the cop-
per that the workmen were hammering at outside ; and
afterwards we found the value of the faithful and intel-
ligent kangaroo-dogs in the wild-bush ; for their vigi-
lance saved us all from being murdered by the natives,
or perhaps burned to death, as I shall have to relate in
its proper place. Well, I did not care, at this time, for
the statistics, as the term is, of the town or the colony ;
I was too much taken up with my own statistics, and
with arranging to settle ourselves on our land, and get
out of the town, for we soon found that our money
would melt away very fast if we staid there, and no
return for it, everything being so dear. I paid 35s.
per week for the wretched place that we got shelter in :
as to going to an inn, of which there were one or two
indifferent ones, of a public-house order, that would
have been ruin indeed. Meat was 9d. and 10<f. per lb.;
bread a little cheaper than in London ; as to milk and
butter, that we were obliged to go without.
Strange Feelings. 17
Altogether, I did not like the looks of matters ; but I
was assured that the interior of the country was more
inviting, and I was advised to lose no time in getting
on my laud, for it had been observed, that more than
one emigrant who had lost his time in loitering over the
town, gaping and staring about, and fretting and com-
plaining because all things did not come easy to his hand,
had soon got rid of so much of his money, as not to
have enough left to establish himself, and carry him
through the first year. I must own I could not help
feeling strange in a new country, where everything was
so diflPerent from what one had been used to at home ;
and the difficulty of getting a female servant, and that
a convict one, to help my wife with the children and
the house, trifling as it may seem to speak of, troubled
her sadly. I felt very queer myself among the convicts ;
some with yellow jackets on, and some without, but all
with a peculiar look, as it seemed to me, with here and
there gangs of a dozen or more working on the roads
with chains on their legs, and making the place look,
as I must confess, not very respectable. However, I
had not expected to find plum-puddings growing on the
trees ready baked, and beds of rose-leaves ready spread
to lie on, as some did, so I plucked up heart, and set to
work. My first care was to see all our goods and chat-
tels safely landed from the ship, and properly housed
in a store belonging to a merchant in the town. This I
had to pay dear enough for. I was rather puzzled to
know what to do with my money, in a land of convicts,
whore every finger was a fish-hook ; but the governor
allowed mc to deposit it in the treasury. As it was all
in dollars, the weight was pretty heavy, more than I
2
18 Embarrassment OF Riches.
could carry by myself; and I said jokingly to my wife
that I had sometimes read of the embarrassment of
riches, but that I had never felt it before. After all
expenses of outfit and passage paid, I found myself in
the colony with 3600 dollars in hand, being about
£780 sterling, having purchased the dollars in London
at four shillings and fourpence a-piece. With this sum
I had to set about establishing myself in the wilderness.
I had now to turn my mind to the fixing on a place to
settle on. The way of obtaining land was very different
then to what it is now, and, as I think, the alteration has
not been for the better. The mode of obtaining land
two-and-twenty years ago, was thus : —
Before leaving England, I ajDplied to the oflSce of the
Secretary of State for the Home Department, by letter,
stating my intention to emigrate to Van Diemen's Land
with my family, and requesting an authority to obtain a
grant of land when I got there. In reply to this, I re-
ceived a sealed letter, addressed to the lieutenant-gover-
nor, and which, I was informed on an interview with the
clerk to that department at the Home Office, contained
the necessary authority. This letter, I afterwards ascer-
tained, was an authority to allot to me a grant of land
according to my means. When I arrived at Hobart Town,
I waited on the governor with this letter. The governor,
whom I saw himself, and who was very kind in his infor-
mation and advice, made a note of my circumstances, of
the amount of my property, of the number of my children
and family, of my views in coming to the colony, and he
dwelt much on the bona fide nature of my intentions to
go on the land and work it. I told him that I had come
with the intention of settling as a farmer, and of resid-
LandGrantedMe. 19
ing on my land, and cultivating it myself. At this
time, in the year 1817, this class of settlers was always
specially favoured by the colonial government, as indeed
it was right and politic to do, for it was precisely the class
that wiis wanted in the colony to form its inhabitants of
the interior, to raise food for the colony, and to create es-
tablishments for relieving the government of the expense
of maintaining the convicts. It aided the plan, also, of
reforming the convicts, by removing them from the temp-
tations of the town, and of habituating them to healthy
work in new positions, where they would be removed from
old habits and associations. Being one of this desirable
class, I was told by the governor that he considered me
entitled to as large a grant of land as was consistent with
his general instructions ; and that he should allot to me
twelve hundred acres. Well, I thought, this was a good
beginning. Twelve hundred acres of land of one's own
has a good sound, and is a pleasant contemplation ; but
the next thing was where to find them. There was plenty
of land unappropriated in the colony, but very much of
it was bad land, and in unfavourable situations. On this
point the governor said I must decide for myself; " that
there was much bad land in the colony, and that the good
land near the town, in any quantity at least, was nearly
all taken up ; but that if I thought of turning my at-
tention particularly to the breeding of sheep, he should
advise me not to be afraid of penetrating into the inte-
rior, for that he judged, from his communications from
England, that emigration to these colonies would soon so
much increase, that the difficulty of stock-owners would
be to get far enough ofi" from the influx of new set-
tlers, 60 as to find sulficicnt rango near their homesteads
20 StarttoFindIt.
for the feeding of their flocks and herds." And so I
afterwards found it. At that time, when land was granted,
it was a free grant, or gift, from the crown to the emi-
grant. This acted as a great encouragement, and I think
the various plans that have been adopted since, although
well adapted to raise the value of the land in the colony
among the colonists, have had the efiect of preventing
many persons of moderate means, but of practical know-
ledge, from venturing to these distant regions.
I got the order easily enough, as I have said, but I
found I had difficulties enough to contend against, and
my first difficulty in respect to land was where to fix on
it ; for I heard so many contradictory accounts of the va-
rious parts of the country, every one praising his own
district, as fancy or interest dictated, that I was fairly
bewildered, and almost at my wit's end which way to turn
my steps. But as the choice was one that must be made,
and that quickly too, I set heartily about it. Leaving
my wife and children, and her mother, who, though old,
had the excellent quality of being trustworthy, as com-
fortable as I could make them in their lodgings in the
town, and having arranged with a resident family to have
an eye to their safety in my absence, I put my gun over
my shoulder, and started up the country.
Cjiciittr '(i^liirL
Resolves to lose no time in getting out of the Town and on to his
Farm — his Journey up the country in search of good land — his
talk with an old hand — he meets with a strange person and
makes a new acquaintance — mode of Farming in the Colony —
an Adventure.
HoBART Town was quite still when I left it about five
o'clock in the morning, but the sun was getting up beau-
tifully. There were only one or two stragglers about.
I fancied the air was beginning to feel warm already,
and the summer sun in Van Diemen's Land is no joke
in a hayfield, though I don't remember that I was ever
inconvenienced by it more than in England. When I rose
the little hill going out of the town, I stopped and tui-ned
back to take a look at the town I was leaving. I cer-
tainly was much struck with it. It looked so like the
BEGINNING of a town, there could be no mistake about
it. It was all interspersed with the poles and scaflPold-
ing of houses being built, and it looked almost as if a lot
of people had come only the night before, and had begun
to set up a city to dwell in. On my right hand, as I
stood on the hill looking down upon the town, was jMouut
Wellington, with thick, white fleecy clouds hanging down
from its top and concealing its head. All the space be-
tween the town and the mountain was covered with trees
and shrubs, having for the most part, a dusky green fo-
liage Nearly fronting me stood the Government house,
(21)
22 Lonely Feelings.
unfinished, and towards the left was the broad river Der-
went, extending as far as the eye could reach to the
south, till it joined the sea. Lying at anchor close in
shore were two merchant vessels and a few boats. It
certainly was a magnificent sight : the noble river ; the
fine harbour, allowing ships of five hundred tons burthen
to anchor within a stone's throw of the end of the jetty ;
the tiny patches of cultivated land here and there, which
seemed to give a hint of the treasures unclaimed around,
and requiring only tillage to reveal them ; and, above
all, the air of sleeping enterprise which the quiet town
in the early morning seemed to be invested with, formed
together a remarkable picture. I stood looking at it a
good while, and wondering what it would come to, when
suddenly the bell of the convicts' barrack yard was rung
to summon the government-men to work; and it served
to summon me too, for I fancy that without being aware
of it, I was a little loth to leave human habitations and
plunge into the bush among the natives. However, I
was on a high road as yet, though not a very good one,
so after giving a little look at the spot where I knew my
wife and children were dwelling, I cast a glance at the
priming of my fowling-piece and marched on.
I met nothing between camp, as Hobart Town was then
called, and New Town, about three miles. I remember I
felt very lonely; I had not warmed into the work, and I
felt all the hesitation which a man feels when he sets out
to take a journey without having first determined where
he intends to go. I was in fact a seeking where to go,
and looking out for some information to guide me as to
the point whither to direct my steps, with the impression
on ray mind, from my experience in the town, that every
WuTcii Way? 23
one would endeavour to deceive me as to what land was
vacant, and which was the best part to settle on. With
all these anxious thoughts I continued my way, passing
one or two miserable looking cabins by the road, till I
reached the ferry on the right, about ten miles from camp.
Here the river is still broad; aboutas broad as the Thames
at Chelsea. At this place I made a halt, in order to de-
cide whether I should continue my road to New Norfolk,
about twenty-one miles from the camp, or cross over and
take the high road, such as it was, leading from the one
side of the island to the other, that is, to Launccston, on
the banks of the river Tamar. I walked down to the edge
of the water and talked to the ferry-men who were busy
about their boat. They all advised me to go on to New
Norfolk, where there was plenty of fine land, as they said,
and a settled district. The master of the ferry, and of the
inn belonging to it hard by, came up, and I asked him
what he thought. Pie looked at me a bit as if to mea-
sure what I was worth, and shook his head in a very wise
manner :
" You're a new settler ?" said he.
"Yes," said I, ''very new; and should feel much
obliged if any one would direct me a little which way I
had better go to look for land."
''Much land?" said he.
" Twelve hundred acres."
" Not much for a sheep-farm, but enough to make a
tidy homestead."
" I think it is ; but where can T find a good bit of land ?"
"Breakfasted?" said the landlord.
"Before T set out."
" Oh !— Well, T tell you what T A\c.i\]d do if T was you;
24 The Landlord's Cheer.
you had better take up your quarters with me for a day
or two, and then I'll see what can be done."
"And then?" said I.
" And then you can cross the ferry, and — "
" Thank ye," says Ij for I saw which way the wind was
blowing; the ferry -men would have me go to New Nor-
folk to save themselves the trouble of pulling me over for
their master, and their master would have me spend ray
money at his inn, and I doubt not advised every one, as
he advised me, to cross his ferry, whether or no. So,
thought I, I see I must depend on myself; now if New
Norfolk is already settled, that argues that it was con-
sidered a good place to settle in when there was plenty
of good land to pick and choose, so I'll go and see what
the place is made of.
" Good morning," said I to the landlord, who was
standing looking at me, and his ferry-men looking at him ;
" I shall see what sort of land they have at New Norfolk."
" You had better wait till evening," said the landlord,
"you'll find it precious warm."
" I don't like to lose time."
" Take a glass of rum ?"
"No, thank you, I never drink it." (The ferry-men
grinned.)
" Or a glass of brandy ?"
" No — much obliged."
" I've got some whiskey, real farantosh — : or Irish,
with the true smack of the turf in it? Or "
" Thank you, I never drink spirits in the morning, but
I should like to have a drop of beer. Although its early,
I've had a longish walk — and a little mild ale. . . ."
Rum or Water? 25
" Beer ! — mild ale ! — Lord love ye, why you haven't
come out here to drink beer and mild ale, have you ?
You'll find no beer up the country. Ruui's the stuff;
that's our drink in this colony."
" Why, you have ■water, I suppose ?"
" Water ? Water ! Oh ! yes to be sure we have water;
we always use it for tea ; and I can tell you, a cup of tea,
with a glass of rum in it, is very refreshing."
'' I had rather have a drop of milk in my tea," said I.
" Why, maybe some would; but you see use is every
thing, and it isn't so easy to get milk in these parts, so
that rum is mother's milk to us now. Ha ! ha ! you'll get
used to a settler's life by-and-by, rum and all."
" Well, "said I, " barring the rum, I hope I soon shall ;"
and so I took my leave, not overpleased with the conver-
sation nor with the landlord of the Ferry. However, it
was his business to make people spend money at his inn,
and cross his ferry, and we are all somewhat selfish, I
take it, in our own vocations.
The sun began now to be pretty warmish, and my
watch told me it was ten o'clock. Thought I, if it is
warm at ten, I shall be melted at mid-day ; but to New
Norfolk I must go ; so I put my best foot foremost, and
strode away manfully. In about an hour's time, however,
the sun's rays became so powerful that, not yet having
recovered ray habits of walking, I began to give way ;
and I looked to the right and left for a likely place to rest
in. As I cast my eyes about, I spied a rough looking
roan seated on the ground at a little distance from the
road, near a little rocky mount, drinking water from a
spring which oozed over the shelf of a little platform of
stone. Thought I, this is not one of your rum di-inkcrs,
20 Makes an Acquaintance.
as he is soaking in the pure element with such gusto ; but
he's a queer looking chap too. It was the first of the
species that I had occasion closely to observe, so I may
as well describe him.
His feet were enveloiDed in a pair of old moccasins made
out of a sheep's skin, with the wool outside, but much
worn, it seemed, with travel. His legs were bare. A pair
of very old knee-breeches, which once had buttons and
strinsrs, but which now had none, encased his nether
person. The principal part of his dress was a frock-coat
of kangaroo-skin, or rather of many skins, dried with the
hair on, and presenting a curious variety of shade from
wear and dirt. On his head he wore a hat, if hat it could
be called, which once seemingly was black, but now was
of no particular colour, the crown whereof was ingeniously
fastened to the body with the fibres of the stringy bark
tree, albeit that it permitted to peep forth the ragged ends
of some dry native grass, which its owner had thrust
within it (seeing that it was too large, not having been
originally made for him), to maintain it in a becoming
and convenient position. A grizzly beard of a fortnight's
growth, gave a finish to his ferocious appearance. I sur-
veyed this hairy individual with much curiosity, as I ad-
vanced towards him, and with some mistrust, for there
were bush-rangers abroad, and although this was not a
likely place to meet with them, I was strange to the
country, and thought it best to be on my guard. I kept
my hand therefore convenient to the lock of my piece,
with the muzzle before me, careless like, but quite ready.
My precaution, however, did not escape the observation of
the kangaroo man, who now turning his face to me and
looking up, said in a country-like tone :
Rather a Queer Figure. 27
" You needn't be afocard o'mc, Master. If you want
water, come and drink. Thank God, there is water in
the country, plenty and sweet enough — except where it's
brackish. Drink, (seeing that I hesitated) well — I'll
go farther off; no wonder perhaps you're timid a bit. —
If you'd a gone through what I've gone through in this
wretched country, you'd have reason enough for it."
There was something about the man's manner and
about his face too, though the sourest looking I ever
saw, that made me feel there was no harm iu him, so
I stooped down and had the most delicious draught I
think I ever tasted. I had learnt the value of water
by my long voyage from England, but I think I never,
even as a schoolboy, enjoyed a drink of water so much
before. This mutual draught from the same fount^iiu
established at once a sort of companionship between me
and the man of skins, and we sat down together by the
side of the spring.
I could not help gazing at my new acquaintance with
a sort of wonder, and thinking in my own mind that he
formed a queer figure in the foreground of the arcadian
scenery of the new country.
" You look at me."
"I can't help it," said I : "I don't mean any offence,
but pray, do all the people in this country dress in your
style ? I don't mean to say that it is not a very proper
dress, and (fearing to anger him) very becoming and
suitable to the conntry ; but I only arrived a fortnight
since, and everything seems strange to me."
" Not stranirer than it does to me," said the man.
"How do you think I came by this f/ms.x, as you call
it ? Well— you needn't guess ; I'll tell you, I'm dressed
by voluntary contribution."
28 Dressed by Bushmen!
" Voluntary contribution ! How's that ?"
" Why, you see, about ten days ago, I was met by
the bush-rangers on the other side of the island, and
they stripped me of everything."
" They did V said I; and I clapped my hand on my
gun.
" Oh — you needn't be afeeard — there's none on 'em
here, and I hope you won't meet any in this horrible
country. Lord forgive me — I wish I was well out of it.
Fool that I was to leave my old master in Shropshire to
come out here to get laud of my own. Ah — well — go
farther and fare worse. These rascals, these bushrangers,
took every individual thing I had about me, and kept
me for three days to carry their baggage for them. The
one that took my coat, and a prime velveteen one it was,
with plenty of pockets, chucked his kangaroo-skin jacket
to me ; ' here, my hearty,' says he, < is something to
remember us by. You can't say we haven't treated you
well, for you have shared of the best with us, and we
have shown you all the country.' These moccasins I
got at a stock-keeper's hut, who let me fit the sheep skin
warm to my feet, and they were comfortable enough at
first, but now they are dry, they get iinpleasant. But
it's not long that I'll wear ^em, for I'll go back home
again to England, if I have to work my passage. Hea-
ven send that I was out of this horrible place ! I do
really think it was made before the other countries were
begun, and found not to answer. There is nothing in
it like anything anywhere else, and what's worse, there's
nothiufif in it to eat."
"Nothing to eat! that's a bad job; how do people
subsist then ?"
Mr. Crab's Opinion. 29
"Oh! I don't mean there's nothing to eat exactly;
though I don't know what one can get all over the
country but mutton chops and dampers j but I mean
that the country furnishes nothing of itself: no ani-
mals, no fruits, no roots. Now I thought before I came
here, there must be plenty of fruit in a warm climate ;
but, bless your heart, you may look a long time in the
woods for anything to eat, I can tell you. The only
thing like a fruit that I've ever seen, is a cherry wrong
made, with the stone growing outside. I did eat a lot
of them one day when I was hard run, as I observed
the birds eat 'em, and a pretty murmuring they pro-
duced in my inside ; but that's neither here nor there.
What I say is this : this is the worst country, and the
most dreadful place that man ever was in, and all I wish
is that I was out of it."
"I am sorry," said I, "to hear you give so bad an
opinion of the country I have come to settle in, Mr. ;
you have not told me your name."
"Crab — Samuel Crabj that's my name, and that was
my father's name. You see I'm a Shropshire man, and
for five-and-thirty years I was head ploughman to Squii-c
Dampier, at Dampier Hall. A good master he was to
me, and a fool was I for leaving him; but it all came
from reading and writing."
" From reading and writing I — how was that ?"
" Why you see, one day I was at the blacksmith's
about a plough, and as I had nothing to do, I took up a
newspaper that was there (od rot the writers on 'em), and
began reading about the Colony of Van Diemcn's Land,
of all places in the world, what capital land was there,
and what high wages were to be got,, and how much
farming men wore wanted, and particularly ploughmen,
30 Rather Disheartening.
and how you were sm*e to make your fortune there quite
out of hand like. Well, if ever I longed for anything ia
my life, it was to have a bit of land of my own, but I
never could get hold of it any how, nor saw any likelihood
of it. So, in short, I was seized with a sort of fit to go
to Van Diemen's Land, and go I would, spite of what
master could say. I had saved a matter o' 'bout a hun-
dred and fifty pound, and so go I did, and now I'll go
back again."
I was a little damped to hear this talk from a real
farming man, and one, too, who had seen a good deal of
the country, and I began to have misgivings of the pru-
dence of what I had done in leaving a rich and settled
country like England, for a new and wild region, such as
Van Diemen's Land. My new acquaintance seemed rather
of a dull and obstinate nature, like most farming men in
the middle counties of England, and was likely enough
to be prejudiced against the country after the mauling
the bush-rangers had given him ; but still I thought he
could tell me what he had seen, so as he seemed inclined
to talk, I went on to question him for the sake of infor-
mation.
" What system of farming," said I, " do they follow
most in this country ?"
"System ? Bless you, you don't suppose they follow
any system here ? The way they go on is quite disgusting
to me ; they know no more of farming than a Londoner.
They don't know how to grow anything."
"No wheat?"
" Yes, they do grow wheat — such as it is."
" Barley ?"
" Yes : barley."
"Oats?"
IIow THEY Farm Here. 81'
"Not seen much oats; however, I believe they can
grow."
''Potatoes?"
'' Oh — plenty of potatoes."
" Vegetables? cabbages, peas, beans, and such lilce?"
" Yes : I can't say but they can grow 'em ; but they're
too large to please me, and I'm sure they grow too quick ;
besides, it stands to reason that things can't grow properly
with the soil just disturbed, as it's done here. A man in
my country would be ashamed to call it digging. _ And
then to see what they call a field of wheat ! I call it a
field of stumps ! And where there's no stumps they don't
do much better. They just put the plough once through
it, and there lies the sod turned up with the grass growing
on it ; and then a weaver chap, or a London pickpocket,
comes with the seed in a bag, and oh, my eyes, how I
laughed ! he flings it about as if he was feeding the
chickens; and then another chap comes with a large
branch of a tree, drawn by a couple of oxen, and he
sweeps the grain about, and that they call harrowing ! and
when that's done they just leave it."
" And what becomes of it ?"
'' Oh, first the cockatoos get a good bellyfull, and then
the parrots and magpies have a peck at it. But it comes
up at last."
" Well, that's something."
" Yes — maybe — but it ought'nt to come up done in
that slovenly way. It's a shame to waste good seed so.
And then when they do get a bit of land a little — no
not in order — but out of disorder, how they do work it,
dear me ! What do you think a sort of cockney chap
said to me at Pitt-water, for I've been over there ? Saya
32 I Understand Mr. Crab.
[ to bim, ' Friend/ says I, ' how often do you let your
land lie fallow in these parts ?' ' Fallow/ says he,
' what's that ?' ' You're a pretty chap to be a farmer/
said I, ' not to know what lying fallow means. Why
lying fallow means letting the land rest a bit to recover
itself for another crop.' ' Oh/ said he, ' our land in
this place never lies * fallow,' as you call it; we just
put the same crop in every year. There — that field lias
grown wheat for eleven years.' 'What, have you had
the cruelty,' said I, ' to put wheat on that bit of land
for eleven years ?' ' To be sure I have,' said he, * and
shall grow wheat on it for eleven years longer, if I live.'
Master, you might have knocked me down with a
feather : I never before heard anything so horrid. I
felt sure at once, that no good was to be done in a coun-
try where creatures harrow with branches of trees, and
treat their land so cruelly. But it was worse than that
when I came to look more into it. I know you won't
believe it ; they'll never believe it of me when I get
back to Shropshire. This very bit of land, that I've
told you of, that the creature grew corn on for eleven
years without stopping, never had — no — not so much as
a handful of manure the whole eleven years. What do
you think of that? Would any Christian farmer in
England treat his land so ? AVhy, it's against nature !"
I now began to understand the sort of man I had
to deal with ; one of those obstinate sons of the soil
who cannot be made to understand that it is possible to
carry on farming in any other way than the way which
they have been accustomed to ; and whose prejudices
against innovation arc so strong, that they will not
believe in the truth of what they see with their own
31 R. Crab's Glass of Beer. 33
eyes, and wring everything from its true bearing to the .
backing up of their own notions. Now that I felt at
ease with my new friend, T began to be amused with his
oddity and obstinacy, and I thought, perhaps, as he had
had some experience in the colony, and knew the coun-
try, he would be a useful companion to me, though not
very prepossessing in his personal appearance.
" Well, Mr. Crab/' said I, " what do you mean to
do now ?"
" Oh, I shall make the best of my way on board-ship,
and get out of this miserable country as fast as I can."
" But to my certain knowledge no ship will sail for six
weeks ; what would you do in the town all that time ?"
" Ah — there's another horrid thing against the coun-
try ; when a poor man has been enticed over by all the
lies of the captains, and ship-owners, and book-writers,
here he must stay till some captain gets as sick of the
country as he. What's to become of me for six weeks,
I'm sure I don't know ! To live in that wretched town
is horrible, where all the people are convicts, or worse
than convicts, with their wickedness and extortions.
Only once did I go into a public-house while I was
there."
" And how did you fare there ?"
"Oh ! I'll tell you: 'Glass of beer?' said I. No-
thing under a bottle,' said the landlord. ' How much
does your bottle hold ?" said I ; fur I knew it was
necessary to be cautious in dealing with these town
chaps. ' Just the same as in England,' said he, show-
ing a bottle with Barclay's bottled stout marked on the
label. It's true — toy heart did warm to the beer, and
quite forgetting to ask the price, I said, with a sort of ,
3
34 What HE Pats FOR it!
glee, ^ Out with the cork.' It was out in a twinkling;
that drink was a prime one, I must say, if I never have
another. ' Take a glass yourself, landlord,' said I.
' With pleasure,' said he, and filling it slowly to the
brim, ' Your very good health,' said he to me. ' The
same to you,' said I, filling another. He filled his at
the same time, without waiting to be invited. ' How
do you like it ?' said he. ' Never drunk better in my
life,' said I. * What's to pay ?' ' Half-a-guinea,' said
he. ' Half-a-guinea,' said I, ' for a bottle of beer !'
' Yes,' said he, ' and cheap too ; there's only two dozen
left in the colony, and you've just drunk one of them.'
The beer seemed to move in my stomach at this charge,
as if it had got down there by mistake and wanted to
come up again. I said nothing; I could'nt speak; I
felt I was done. Had I paid the money in their paper
shillings and sixpences it might have taken ofi" the edge
of the mishap a bit. But I laid down two silver dollars.
The landlord took 'em up. ' Another sixpence,' said he.
I pulled out another silver dollar, he gave me some bits
of dirty paper for the four-and-sixpence change, and I
made a vow that if ever I had the opportunity I'd sarve
him out for it. But that's nothing to what I've sufiered
in this abominable country, which is fit for nothing but
con\ncts and kangaroos to live in."
" Seeing how ill you've been treated in the town,"
said I, " and it seems that the bush-rangers have not
treated you much better in the country, I hardly know
what to say to you. I'm going up the country to look
for land, but sadly in want of some intelligent person
to advise me how to proceed. It is difiicult to get sin-
cere information, I fear, from people already settled, all
C R A B A S A C M P A M O X . 35
being interested in advising you to take land either near
them, or far from them, as the case may happen to suit
them. It is a difficult matter for a stranger to know
what to do."
" You're a farmer, I take it, by your look?" said Mr.
Crab, inquiringly.
" I can't pretend to be a farmer like you," said I,
"because I am sure you're a thorough-bred one, but I
know something about it."
" That's very properly said," replied Mr. Crab.
" Well — I don't know, master, may I ask your name ?"
"Thornley," said I; ''William Thornley, late of
Croydon, in Surrey : some good farming there."
" Why, for London farming, perhaps, there may be ;
but you Londoners can't be supposed to understand
farming like us in Shropshire. However, master, I'm
thinking, that if you like it, I'll go with you over the
country a bit; and perhaps I shall be able to persuade
you not to stay in this villainous place, but go back to
the old country, where people farm their laud like
Christians. I suppose you don't mistrust me ?"
** Not a bit," said I. " There's honesty in your face ;
so now, if you have rested long enough, let us be mov-
ing."
"Come along, then," said Mr. Crab, "and I can
show you a way through the bush, where, although
rougher than the road, we shall be screened from the
rays of the sun."
One soon gets acquainted with one's follows in the
bush, where there is not much picking and choosing of
companions, and I and my grumbling friend soon got
pretty well used to each other. We strolled on leisurely,
36 Strange Proceedings.
tKrough the bush, and were within a short distance of
New Norfolk, when our ears were suddenly assailed by
a confusion of sounds that startled the quiet wilderness,
and made us wonder what outbreak or disorder could
occasion such a furious outcry ; presently we descried a
horseman riding with all his might through the trees
beside us, now jumping over fallen timber, then ducking
his head to avoid the branches of trees, but in spite of
the dangers, which he seemed ever to avoid by some
special miracle, still keeping at the top of his speed,
and urging on his horse, which seemed to be as much
excited as the rider. Presently the cracking, it seemed,
of innumerable whips, making sharp reports like small
fire-arms, was heard' around, and a straggling multitude
began to encircle us. We were lost in amazement at these
strange proceedings; but as this was my first introduc-
tion to a curious branch of the agricultui'al economy of
a ' Settler,' I shall defer the explanation of the disturb-
ance which confounded as to a new chapter.
Cjjajitrr /nErtjj.
How to milk a wild cow— Picture of a Settler's dwelling— Mutton-
chops and dampers — A spare bed — " Improvisatiaed" — Night
alarm — Sheep-stealing.
In the meantime the tumult increased, and the
shouts of men and the cracking of whips drawing
nearer and nearer betokened a speedy catastrophe. My
kangaroo-skin friend seemed to regard with a sort of
scornful glee the hurly burly around us. Ilis sour
visage became puckered up into a knotty contexture,
expressive of the most intense disdain, coupled with a
secret satisfaction. " Now," said he, " master, you'll
Bee how they manage some matters in this beautiful
country."
" What can the matter be V said 1.
As I pronounced these words, a sudden crash of dead
boughs and dry bushes at no great distance from us
excited in me apprehension of danger. Instinctively I
turned to the quarter whence the threatening sounds pro-
ceeded, and stood ready with my fowling-piece against
accidents. I saw my friend Crab give a grim smile at
this movement, as I was inclined to do myself, had I
not been, I must confess, rather frightened; for at tliis
moment I beheld a mad bull, as it seemed to me, mak-
injr right to the spot where we stood. The animal ap-
peared to be in a state of the most intense excitement,
with its mouth covered with foam, its nostrils dilated,
(37)
38 AWildCowChase.
eyes wild, and its tail twisted into that cork-screw figure
indicative of a disposition to do mischief. I jumped
aside as the creature made a plunge at me, glad enough
to escape.
"■ It's a mad cow," said I. " I suppose this climate
makes cattle very savage when they get worried ?"
" Not madder than the people that are after her," said
Orab ) '^ however, wait a bit till you see the end of it."
By this time we were in the midst of the crowd which
was chasing the cow, but I could not yet divine their
particular object.
" What do you want to do with her ?" said I to a
tall thin man who had ceased for a moment to crack his
whip ; " she seems tembly wild."
" Wild !" said he, " the brute is always wild, but
she's one of the best milkers I've got, and have her in
the stock-yard I will this blessed evening, if I raise all
New Norfolk for it."
" I shall be glad to lend a hand," said I, " but I'm
not used to the ways of the country yet, and perhaps I
might do harm instead of good."
But my aid was not wanted on this occasion, for at
this moment a general shout in the distance proclaimed
that the victory was won. I and Crab, with the tall
thin man, the proprietor of the vivacious cow, imrae
diately set off at a rapid pace for the scene of triumph.
There were about thirty people assembled, among whom
were one or two women. I observed that some of the
men were provided with ropes made of bullock's hide
twisted together, of great strength. I was still puzzled
to know what was intended by all these preparations.
Presently a farming man appeared, with a tin pannikin,
New Way to Milk a Cow. 39
01 a half-pint measure, and a stool with one leg. The
stool with one leg looked like a design to milk the
animal, but what the tin pannikin was for was a mystery
to me. Had there been a milk-pail, I should have made
out their object at once ; but this piece of machinery
was as yet but little known in the colony. I continued
to watch the proceedings with great interest, when pres-
ently a man advanced with a stoutish long stick, or
small pole, with a hide-rope forming a large loop at the
end of it; the other part of the rope he held in one hand
in a coil. Climbing over the rails of the stock-yard,
which were formed of the solid trunks of trees placed
lengthways, about six feet high, he stood within the
space. The cow eyed him as if she was used to the
game, and without waiting to be attacked, made a dart
at him ferociously. This did not disconcert the man
with the pole and loop, who, stepping aside with the
most perfect coolness, and with infinite agility, let the
animal knock her head against the rails, which she did
with a force that made the massive pile tremble. This
process was repeated several times, to the great amuse-
ment of the spectators, some of whom applauded the
pole-bearer's nimbleness, while others were inclined to
back the cow.
" That was a near go," said one, as the beast made a
sudden plunge at her tormentor, tearing off with her horn
a portion of his jacket ; " she'll pin you presently, Jem."
" Never fear," said Jem, ''a miss is as good as a mile.
She IS the most cantankerous varmint I ever see'd : but
I'll have her yet."
"What are you going to do," said I; "kill her?"
" Kill her !" exclaimed my tall friend ; " what ! kill
40 The Cow Milked.
the best, tbe nicest, and sweetest-tempered creature of
the whole herd ? She's so tame, she'll almost let you pat
her, only she doesn't like to be milked; that always puts
her out. Now for it, Jemmy, that's tbe way ; haul in
quick, keep it up — don't slack — hold her tight, now
we've got her. Where's the foot rope ?"
Watihing his opportunity, the man with the pole had
succeeded in throwing the loop over the animal's horns,
and two or three men on the outside of the yard, quickly
gathering in the end of it, hauled it taut, as seamen do a
cable in getting up the anchor, round the thick stump of
a tree. I looked at Crab at this stage of the proceedings,
and I admired the expression of scornful enjoyment
which his sour face exhibited. He gave me a glance,
which said, without the necessity of words, " This is the
way they milk a cow in this country." The cow, how-
ever, was not milked yet; to arrive at that conclusion,
some further steps were necessary. The animal was now
standing with its legs firmly planted before it, its neck
elongated, its tongue hanging out of its mouth, and kick-
ing with its hind legs continuously. These refractory
members were now secured by a loop, into which they were
dexterously insinuated, and' half a dozen men catching
up the end, hauled it out, and kept it on the stretch, to
prevent her from plunging about. The creature, it
seems, was now in a correct posture to be milked. Crab
gave me another look.
The man with the one-legged stool and pannikin now
advanced, speaking soothingly to the animal to be ope-
rated on, and using much ceremony and caution in his
approach. Seizing a favourable opportunity, he contrived
to squeeze a few drops of milk into his pannikin ; but the
Australian IIospitalttt. 41
sensitive cow, outraged, it seemed, at this indignity ou
her person, gave a sudden plunge, which upset the heel-
rope holders, and, recovering her legs, she kicked man,
stool, and pannikin over and over. Shouts of laughter
proclaimed the amusement of the bystanders, and numer-
ous were the gibes and jeers lavished on the occasion.
And now, the pride of the stockmen being roused, and
their honour piqued by the presence besides of two
strangers, the witness of their manoeuvres, they set to
again to manacle the almost-spent animal ; and he of the
pannikin, discarding the stool as a womanly encumbrance,
boldly kneeling down, with the determination of a hero,
and undaunted by the moanings and writhings of his vic-
tim, contrived to exude from her about half a pint of
milk. This triumph achieved, the cow was set at liberty,
the poles of the gateway were withdrawn, and the animal
bounded into the bush.
" Well, master," said Crab, " did you ever see a cow
milked that way before ?"
" Surely," said I, " they might manage better than
this."
"Ah!" said Crab, "this would be a tale to tell in
Shropshire. It's worth while to go back only to tell this
much. But you'll see more curiosities, master, as you
go on."
" Come with me," said the proprietor of the cow, " and
see my house, and my farm, and my wife and children.
I see you're a stranger (addressing me) ; as to you,"
looking at Crab doubtfully, "you seem to have settled
down into the habits of the place, to judge by your
dress, though it is a little queerish even for the bush.
Where are you come from ?"
42 Australian Farm-House.
"I am come from camp, " said I, "to look for land,
and this — (gentleman I would have said, but as I looked
at my companion the word stuck in my throat) — this set-
tler—"
" Don't call me a settler," said Crab, " I arn't going to
settle, as you call it ; the bush-rangers, and the convicts,
and the thieves of people have settled me."
" Well," I said, " I met my companion by the way,
and he has had the kindness to offer to show me the coun-
try."
" You've come to the wrong place," said the New Nor-
folk man, " to look for land ; there's none to be had here.
The land hereabouts is but poorish, after all, and we
settled on it more for the sake of the water-carriage than
for the quality of the land. But there's my house, just
on the other side of the water; cross over with me, and
at any rate you shall have a hearty welcome."
I cannot easily describe the feelings of interest and cu-
riosity with which I approached the place. I regarded
it as a mirror into which I was about to look for the
reflection of the condition which in a little time I was
myself to assume. The golden visions in which I had
indulged on ship-board had already begun to vanish be-
fore the rough realities of settling in a new country, and
it was not without a tincture of sadness that I prepared
myself for a view of a settler's farm. I will endeavour
to describe it as it existed twenty years ago, and as it may
still be found, in its material resemblance, in some parts
of the colony.
I beheld before me a low building, which I afterwards
ascertained was built of the logs of the stringy-bark tree,
split in half, and set on end. The building was about
Appearance op the Farm. 43
thirty feet long, and whitewashed. Its roof was com-
posed of shiugles ; that is, of slips of wood about nine
inches long, four inches broad, and a quarter of an inch
thick. These shingles had acquired a bluish cast, from
exposure to the atmosphere, and had a slatish appearance.
At one end of the house was a rough-looking piece of
stone-work, formed of irregular pieces of stone procured
near the spot, and forming the end wall and chimney.
At the back of the building was a tolerably large stack
of wheat, enclosed with trunks of trees, forming an occa-
sional small stock-yard. At one side was a garden, paled
in with palings of the stringy-bai'k tree split into irregu-
lar rough boards or pales. I could see in this garden the
aspect of the most luxuriant vegetation. In front of the
house a small tree was left standing, from one of the
boughs of which was suspended a sheep newly killed.
At the sight of our approach, it seems, an attack was
instantly made on the carcass, as a man was busily em-
ployed in cutting it up. At the same time, a sun-burnt
but very pretty face became visible at the door of the
house, and instantly disappearing, a hissing sound was
immediately heard within, proclaiming that some culinary
preparation was put in progress. At a little distance was
heard the bleating of a small flock of sheep, for evening
was now set in ; and from another quarter a team of bul-
locks, urged on by a strange looking driver, with an im-
mense cracking of his whip, and a prodigious deal of ex-
postulation, slowly drew near with a huge load of wood
for fuel. We were in the act of entering the house, when
our passage was impeded by a tiny swarm of little chil-
dren, the eldest about seven — the youngest of the six being
held up by the eldest to greet its father. Each was pro-
44 The Farmer's Family.
vided with a thick lump of " damper," which had been
served out to amuse them until the more substantial re-
past should be prepared. The clothing of these urchins
was of the lightest possible description consistent with
decency, and moccasins seemed to be the prevailing fash-
ion. They were clean, however, and cheerful, but in-
clined to have a lanky appearance, like little weeds run-
ning to seed. This, I ascertained afterwards, was the
general appearance of the children born in the colony.
'^ Any milk, father?" said a little lisping girl.
"Just a drop, my dear, for your mother and the baby.
Where's your brother?"
As he spoke, a slender lad, of about ten years of age,
made his appearance, with a grave and tired air. He
came up to greet his father.
" Sheep all right, Ned ?"
^' Yes, father ; we should have left them on the Green-
hill all night, but Dick saw two men watching the flock
in the early morning, and he came upon them again in
the afternoon. He doesn't half like their looks. But
the sheep are safe enough now in the little yard."
" Now, Sir," said the New Norfolk man, " if you're
inclined for supper, come along."
We entered the habitation, which consisted of one spa-
cious apartment, opening into the air. At the end op-
posite the chimney a space was divided off into two
small bedrooms. Opposite to the entrance of the house
a door led to a skillion, which served for a kitchen ; and
it was from that spot that the hissing sounds, now be-
come more violent, proceeded. In the middle of the
principal apartment was a rough table of boards, on
which were disposed sundry tin pannikins, a few plates,
An Australian Supper. 45
with some odd knives and forks. A gigantic green bot-
tle, containing rum, graced one corner of the table, and
in the centre was set, as a place of honour, the pannikin
cf milk which had been obtained by the united efforts
of the establishments within reach.
And now the hostess emerged from the back recess,
bearing in her bands an enormous dish of mutton-chops,
which was quickly followed by another dish, in which
appeared a sort of doughy cake.
"I thought," said the lady of the house, "you would
like a cake in the pan better than a damper ; so here it
is. Edward, help the gentlemen; they have had a long
walk, and must be hungry."
This hospitable intimation was responded to by her
husband, who forthwith thrust out of the large dish
three or four of the chops into a plate, and handed them
to me. "Help yourself," said he to my companion j
"you're used to the ways of the place. Where's the
salt ? No mustard V
" The mustard's out ; we must have some more from the
camp. And the salt ! Well, that is unlucky. I declare
there's not an atom left. Well, you must do without it,
or we can send to Conolly's farm, not three miles off. I
know they've got salt there, for they were to salt down
a bullock to-day."
" Don't trouble yourself," said Crab; "I've got some
salt in my pocket — in this kangaroo jacket, which the
bush-rangers gave me for mine. I dare say they've
missed the salt before now, confound them." With this
he inserted his fingers into a recess of his hairy garment,
and produced a small quantity of a blackish and gritty
substance.
46 Crab's Experience.
" Ah !" said our hostess, " that's come from Saltpan
Plains. Well, any is better than none. And so,
friend, the bush-rangers have had hold of you; did they
treat you ill ?"
" They just stripped me of evei-ything I had got —
luckily my money was left in camp — and made me carry
their baggage for three days. No joke that in the sun, I
can tell you. But I saw a good bit of the country with
them. It's a dreadful country ; all up hill and down
dale. Scarcely a good bit of land to be seen anywhere..
I do believe that there isn't any twelve acres in the
country that would feed a single sheep for the whole
year."
" You don't seem to like the country," said mine host,
addressing Crab.
" Like it ! How can any one like it ? Who would
live in it that could get out of it? There isn't one
single thing to stay for. Poor land ; where it's better,
it's covered with trees, and they must be cut down be-
fore you can get at the soil to do anything with it. And
then the stumps ! Impossible to drive a plough in a
straight line. And then, suppose you have stock; if
you have cattle, they start away into the bush, and catch
'em again when you can ! And if you have sheep,
they're driven away by the thieves, and find 'em again
if you can ; let alone being shot at when you're looking
after them. As to the bush-rangers, it's very pleasant,
isn't it, to have your house broken open in the middle
of the night, and everything cleaned out of it, while
you have the satisfaction of looking on with your hands
tied behind your back, and a blackguard pointing a
cocked musket at your head ? Oh ! the fools that come
Mutton Chops and Dampers. 47
here deserve to be robbed, and starved, and murdered.
I say, serve 'em right for being such fools as to come,
and bigger fools to stay !"
The pile of mutton-chops was now discussed, and the
ponderous cake in the pan bad nearly disappeared under
the vigorous attacks of the party. Mine host now turned
to the bottle of rum.
" If we only had a lemon here, we would cook up a
bowl of punch. But, never mind, we must make the best
of what we have got."
With this philosophic remark, he poured into his pan-
nikin about a quarter of a pint of rum, qualifying it with
what seemed to me an exceedingly small modicum of
water out of a pail that stood by, and invited me and
my companion to do the same. Not being used to the
liquor, I declined, much to the astonishment of the New
Norfolk man; but Crab, without any hesitation, poured
out for himself a stiff portion of the stuif, evincing that
in this particular he had condescended to conform with
the customs of the colony. I must not omit to mention
that while our banquet of mutton-chops was being en-
joyed by the elder portion of the company, the good
dame of the house served out tea to the juveniles from
an iron tripod boiling on the hearth. A handful of tea
was thrown into this receptacle, and set to boil. The tin
pannikin of each was then successively inserted in the^
decoction, to which was added some very dark looking
brown sugar. The unusual luxury of milk added an
especial zest to this refection, the imbibing of which was
interspersed with frequent and unceremonious attacks on
the pyramid of mutton-chops, not forgetting the cake in
the pan and the eternal damper, the never-failing accom-
paniment in those times of a farmer's meal.
48 My First Night in tite Bush.
Symptoms of drowsiness now began to appear. The
young fry had long since been stowed away in their va-
rious dormitories, and our worthy hostess bestirred her-
self to contrive some place of rest for myself and my
companion. "With this intent, her husband was dislodged
from a sort of wooden sofa or bench, and Dick was called
in to assist in the preparations.
"Have those kangaroo skins been sent into camp?"
" No, missis — they're in the hut — and they'll make a
capital bed for the gentlemen. I'll get 'em in a minute."
A heap of crackling skins was presently produced,
which Dick, acting as chambermaid, proceeded to arrange
for my accommodation. A contribution of blankets and
rugs was levied on the premises to make up our beds, my
friend Crab being accommodated with a heap of sacks
spread on the floor. In this manner, after the usual com-
pliments, we prepared to take our rest. Crab, I observed,
flung himself on the sacks without the ceremony of taking
oft' his clothes, and presenting the appearance of a huge
hairy animal of a nondescript character, soon gave indi-
cations of being sound asleep. As for myself, fatigue^
as I was, the novelty of the scene, and the excitement of
the day's journey, kept me awake for some time. I pon-
dered on my first day's experience of a settler's life; the
rudeness of the cottage ; the roughness of the materials
about it ; the coarseness of the food, in the manner of
serving it, as well as in its substance ; the slovenliness and
uncouthness of the farming establishment, so far as I had
been able to inspect it; and a feeling of disappointment
and of insecurity which I could not shake off", all tended
to sadden me. Everything was quiet within and with-
out ; the very dogs, watchful as they are in this country,
Sudden Alarm. 40
seemed to be buried in sleep. Gradually my tLougbts
"■row more and more confused as weariness overpowered
me, and I fell asleep.
My rest, bowevcr, was not destined to be of long dura-
tion. About three o'clock in the morning, I was dream-
in"- that I was in Ilobart Town with my wife and chil-
dren, and that we were exclaiming against the annoyance
of the ceaseless barking of the dogs. The barking grew
louder and louder, and my children, it seemed to me,
began to cry, frightened at the fierceness of the uproar.
I started up to still them, and in so doing, awoke. The
dream, however, had been suggested by a present reality.
My host's dogs were barking violently outside, and the
children were joining in chorus in aid of the general
outcry. The door of the house was now vehemently
assailed by Dick, the shepherd, and my host, roused from
his slumbers, was quickly on the alert.
" Master !" cried out Dick, " the sheep are out of the
yard — there's mischief abroad. You had better look to
yourselves inside. The stranger gentleman has got a
gun with him — is he waked up ?"
" All ready," said I, jumping up in the dusk, " gun
and all ; but what's the matter ? have the bush-rangers
attacked us ?"
*' Of course they have," said Crab, who had risen from
his couch of sacks ; " of course ! what else could you
expect ? Bush-rangers, ah, to be sure ! this is a pleas-
ant place to live in. But I suppose you won't give in,
master," speaking to our host, "without a bit of a
scrimmage ?"
" Hope not," said the farmer, " it's bad fighting with
the bush-rangers when you have a wife and children to
4
50 Sheep-Stealers.
defend. But I don't think it's them ; it's only some
chaps after t^e sheep ; but they must be cautiously dealt
with, for they don't mind giving you a shot when they're
close run."
" What's o'clock ?"
" It's a quarter past three."
" Ah — then it's not far from daylight. Rouse up the
men, Dick, and call the dogs in. It's not much use to
follow till there's light enough to see the tracks. Keep
close, my dear ("to his wife, who had huddled on her
clothes), while I'am away, and don't let the children
stray about. This is no bush-ranger's affair, but it's an
audacious trick to drive away a man's sheep under his
very nose, I must say. I and Dick will follow the track.
Give me my musket. Where are the cartridges ? That's
right. I'll take that half damper with me ; we may
want it before we come back. Dick, we'll take Hector
and Fly with us ; let the other dogs be kept back. I
wish the mare had not run off to the bush just at this
time. Well, perhaps wc are better on foot, as it's sheep
we are after. Now, Sirs, I must wish you good bye."
" Good bye !" said Crab ; " not a bit of it. You
don't suppose I'am going to eat your meat, and drink
your rum, and desert you in this strait. No — no — I'll
lend you a hand. Just give me a good thick stick,
that's what I'm best used to, and I'll stand by you.
And you, master," speaking to me, " you'll come too,
won't you ? Your barrel may be of use to us."
" I'll go with you with pleasure," said I. " I know
nothing of the bush yet, but I'll do what I can to help."
" Thank you both," said our host ; " wc shall be four
men with two barrels, and three men left behind to take
Preparations to Track Them. 51
care of the farm. We may have a long journey before
us, so prepare yourselves for it. AVife, get out a bottle
of rum ; Dick, you'll have no objection to carry it, I'm
sure ; but play fair, my man."
* Better take a couple of pannikins with us," saiJ
Dick.
" Right," said our host. " And, Dick, take a light
tether rope with you — we may want it. And now let
no one speak ; and don't let it be known, if we can help
it, how many have left the farm."
"I think it would be the best way," said the prac-
tised shepherd, " for two to go to the right and two to
the left, and meet at the Green Hill, so that we shall
be sure to cross the track ; no doubt there will be plenty
of tracks ; that's the trick of the rascals, but we must
try to get on the main one."
" Take the man with the kangaroo-skin jacket with
you, then," said the former, " and go to the left, and I
and the gentleman will take the right. And here, take
the musket, that there may be a barrel with each party.
We must make the best use of our time, or we shall
have no chance of coming up with the rogues.
The day now began to dawn, and there was light
enough to see where to set the foot. Each party pro-
ceeded to its destination without further delay, and I
soon found myself with the farmer at a considerable dis-
tance from the homestead. We kept near the banks of
the river for about half a mile, and then turning to the
left, the farmer began diligently to search for the tracks
of the stolen flock. I assisted him in his search as
well as I could, and we were both so absorbed in our
examination, that we did not perceive, till we came
52 We Come Upon Them.
suddenly upon them, on turning round an eminence, a
mob of natives, seated by a fire. They started up at
our approach, and the farmer, laying his hand on my
arm, paused, with some signs of alarm, to reconnoitre
them.
c;iiE|iti;r /iftli.
Pursuit of the sheep-stealers— Meeting with the natives — The black
man's instinct in tracking — AValk over the country — Finds hind
to please him — Ketums to Hobart Town with his new acquain-
tance, Crab — Proceeds with his family to the Clyde.
"There's no harm in them," said the New Norfolk
man, after having examined the natives for a little time;
'' this is a town mob ; you see they have got blankets
among them ; but it is always well to be on one's guard,
for they're treacherous devils. Don't let your gun out
of your hand, and don't show any fear of them. Now
we'll go among them ; if I could make 'em understand
that I am looking after strayed sheep, they could be of
use to me I don't doubt."
While he was speaking, we advanced towards the fire,
the natives standing near us here and there, and gazing
at us with a sort of cold, lazy, idiotic look. Near the
fire was the log of a tree, and my New Norfolk friend
motioned me to sit down.
"Sit opposite to me — there — face to face — so that
each may see what is going on at the other's back, with-
out seeming to take particular notice. I'll try if I can
make anything out of these fellows."
Three or four of the natives, meanwhile, re-seated
themselves at the fire, and resumed the meal which, it
seems, our approach had interrupted.
I was a little curious to observe how tiicse grave-look-
(53)
54 Native Delicacies.
ing black personages were pleased to conduct the cere-
mony of their morning's repast, and my curiosity was
presently gratified. Being satisfied, I presume, that we
had no hostile intentions, they continued their culinary
preparations. A tall and slender young lady, with a
ragged blanket gracefully festooned about her person, ap-
peared with a net slung round her neck, in which was
a large lump of gum. She handed this lump of gum,
about the size of a small cocoa-nut, to one of the men.
Another lady produced an opossum, which looked to me
something between a dead cat and a squirrel. The gum
and the opossum were thrown on the fire, the hair on the
outside of the latter, and whatever it had in its inside
helping to its relish. After the gum and the opossum
had fizzed, and crackled, and smoked a little time, one
of the party snatched out the opossum from the fire,
and plunging his face into its entrails, enjoyed himself
with the delicacy for a brief space, and then threw back
the remains on the fii'e ; another of the party snatched
it up, and tearing the limbs asunder, and picking ofi" the
choicest bits, chucked the half-picked bones to the ladies
of the community, who stood behind them, and who
received these testimonials of afiection with much submis-
eiveness and respect, and with considerable gratification.
"They don't seem to have much respect for the ladies,'^
said I to my New Norfolk friend. " These black fellows
take the lion's share of the breakfast."
" Oh, that's the way they always treat their gins."
"Their gins! what are they?"
" Oh, they call their wives ' gins.' You see, a native
will have three, or four, or five, or perhaps more wives,
according to accident — sometimes more, sometimes less;
Opossum with Gum Sauce. 55
I rather think it's according as they can find food. They
make their gins work for them, and collect the little bits
of gum from the trees, such as you saw in that one's net
just now. And they're capital hands to catch opossums !
I've seen a black gin get up a stringy bark tree after a
'possum as well as any one of the men could. But they
seem to have done breakfast. I must try now to get them
to help me after the sheep."
It is to be observed that the repast which I have
slightly described, passed in utter silence, the natives
eating voraciously of the singed opossum and the hot
lumps of gum without speaking or noticing us. On the
principle that it is ill to come between a fasting man and
his meat, the farmer had refrained from asking any ques-
tions or making any proposals about his lost sheep, until
the natives were free to attend to him. He looked out,
therefore, for the chief of the party, and the following
colloquy took place : —
" Much kangaroo ?"
'* Kangaroo gone."
'' Opossum good ?"
"Good."
The correctness with which these few words were pro-
nounced by the black man surprised me.
" Do they speak English ?" said I to my companion.
" Only a word or two ; but they are capital mimics ;
they catch hold of a word and repeat it very correctly
even when thev don't understand it."
" Sheep many ?" continued my companion to the chief.
" Sheep many."
" Sheep gone," said my friend, pointing to a hill in the
distance.
The black man shook his head.
56 Striking A Bargain with Natives.
" Find sheep ?" said the farmer, accompanying the
words with the action of a man searching for tracks on
the ground.
The black man turned to his companions, and said
something to them which we could not understand. The
group gathered nearer to us, and chattered together
doubtfully.
" They have not seen the sheep driven away," said the
farmer to me ; indeed they could not, as the job was done
before it was light, and the natives never move about in
the dark; ''but I think they understand what I mean,
and are considering about it in their way. See, the black
chief with the red cotton handkerchief round his neck is
going to speak. I suppose it's about the terms."
" Sheep gone V said the black man.
"Gone!" said my friend; "can't find;" and he
repeated the gestures of looking for tracks on the
ground.
" What give ?" said the native.
" Now what shall I offer the rascals ?" said my
friend. " They are too knowing by half; I don't know
which are the worst, the wild or the tame ones. It's
astonishing how soon savages learn our Christian ways
of doing nothing for nothing. By the look of that
black villain's face, he's determined to make a bargain
ofit."
" I've some dollars in my pocket," said I; " I'm sure
they are much at your service."
"It's not dollars they want; they don't understand
the meaning of money yet ; but they want what's as
good as money."
" What give !" said he to the black functionary ;
"give bottle of rum."
Three Bottles an Inducement. 57
The words " bottle of rum" seemed to be perfectly
well understood by the black creatures, but they looked
to their chief; their chief looked at them, and seemed
to consider in his mind how much, after sharing the
contents of the bottle among his tail — to the number
of about twenty — would remain for himself.
He shook his head.
" One bottle," pointing to the group, ''little."
" The old rascal," exclaimed my companion; "he's
as hard to deal with as a camp storekeeper; but he can
do what I want if he likes, I'm sure ; I'll try him with
another bottle."
" Two (holding up two fingers), two bottles of rum."
" Two," repeated the chief to his gang, pronouncing
the words very correctly. The' natives looked irreso-
lute ; but the chief decided.
" Two bottles— little."
" We had better make a pretence bf going," said the
farmer ; " then, perhaps, they'll agree."
" Two bottles much. Good bye."
" Good bye," said all the natives together.
" Why they seem all to talk English," said I.
" They've all caught that word up. But we must
have that old fellow to help us. Confound him ! But,
however, I can water the rum, that's something."
Turning around, we observed the natives still looking
at us, as if waiting for a last bid.
" Three bottles," said the New Norfolk man, holding
up throe fingers. " Three big bottles of rum."
We were turning round to continue our way, when
the black negotiator, concluding that he had now arrived
at the limit of the reward, called out —
58 The Bargain Concluded.
"Tree bottle— good!"
We stood still upon this ; and presently four or five
of the men joined us. A consultation now took place
between them, and after some considering, the chief
pushed forward a young slim native.
" Good," said he ; " find sheep."
The farmer not approving of this substitution, shook
his head.
" Pickaninny not good to find sheep. You," point-
ing to the chief, " you go."
" No go — gins !"
"Ah," said my friend; "he says he can't leave his
gins. Well, I suppose we must take the young one.
Come."
The young native immediately stepped forward. He
was completely naked. The weather, to be sure, was
very warm. His hair was woolly and frizzled; his
limbs clean and straight ; but his whole body was very
slender, with the exception of that portion of his person
which served as a receptacle for the opossums and gum-
balLs with which he had recently regaled himself. I
could not help remarking on its extraordinary protu-
berance.
" These chaps are made to carry a good lot of proven-
der," said I.
" They do eat enormously," said my companion. " Per-
haps it is, that, as their food is very precarious, they think
it prudent to lay in a good stock when they can get it;
and so it swells 'em out a bit. But which way is the
fellow taKmg us ? Why, he's going back again. Ah ! I
see he's going back for the first track. Well, he knows
what he's about; that's some encouragement. Look — >
S E A R C n C M M E N C E D . 59
he's going to spcalc. No ; he can't do that. But I un-
derstand him ; he wants to know where the sheep were
driven from. Let me see — where are we ? Oh ! there
lies the farm, over that little hill." *' There," said he,
speaking to the native — " sheep there" — and throwing
his arm away from it — " gone ?"
The native considered a few moments, and then without
any attempt to make his intention understood, led the
way over a low hill that was to our left.
" This wiU bring us near the place where we appointed
to meet the shepherd and your friend," said the New
Norfolk man; " they will be wondering what has become
of us."
While he was speaking, we heard a distant sound, as
of some one hallooing, but with a cadence that was
strange to me. The peculiar mode of the country —
whether hit on by accident, or scientifically designed, I
know not — of throwing the voice to a distance in the
bush, was new to me ; but I qpuld make out the sounds
easily enough. " Coo-oo-ee !"
" That's Dick and your friend," said the former ; " they
think we have missed them, and they are trying the
chance of our hearing them coo-ee. I'll answer them."
With that he put his hands to his mouth, and replied
with a loud and shrill " Coo-ee ?" His cry was answered,
and, standing still, the native seeming perfectly to under-
stand the reason of the proceeding, presently two dogs
came bounding towards us through the trees ; and in a
little time, the bulky form of my kangaroo-skin friend.
Crab, and the blue jacket of the shepherd were visible to
us in the distance. They soon joined us.
"What luck?" said the farmer.
60 Follow OUR Leader.
"I think I've found the tracks," said the shepherd;
''but I suppose we shall be sure now, as I see you've got
one of the natives to guide you. I saw a smoke over the
hills, and thought it was likely there was a mob of 'em
about. Well, master, we had better put the black fellow
on the track that I've found, and then he can go right
ahead."
The black man, however, refused to proceed in any
other than his own way, and continued to lead us straight
to some spot that he seemed to have fixed on as a favour-
able starting point.
" I suppose we have nothing to do but to follow him?" _
said the shepherd.
" Follow him !" said Crab, who had hitherto continued
silent. " Follow him ! Now, isn't it a pretty thing to
see us following a black fellow, to find a whole flock of
sheep that's been driven off in the night? Here's a coun-
try to live in ! A man lies down in his bed with a flock
of sheep in his yard, and when he gets up the next morn-
ing he finds all his sheep driven off the Lord knows
where ! And then he must get a blaqk fellow to find
them for him ! Well, if this won't make a man sick of
the country, I don't know what will. What do you think
of it, master ?" turning to me ; "you came out to look for
land, and now you are looking for sheep; and you'll find
about as much of one as the other, I'm thinking."
It was very odd — but I must confess the truth, the
excitement that had taken possession of me had put out
of my head my own particular business, that of looking
for a piece of land to settle on ; and I found myself em-
barked in an expedition with the New Norfolk settler
after his lost sheep, with as much keenness and eagerness
ISeetheCountry. oi
as if it was an affair of my own ; so apt are we all to be
acted on more by the pressing and immediate circuai-
stance than by the distant consideration. But I felt 1
was in for it, for better or worse, and that I was bound
in honour to go through with it. I could not help, how-
ever, letting the thoughts that came across me break out
iu words to my New Norfolk acquaintance.
'< Well," said I, '' I did not contemplate this sort of
fun when I came to New Norfolk ; I came to look for
laud, and now, it seems, I'm turned sheep-hunter — or
sheep-iiuder ; but I suppose this is a part of the usual
adventurous life of a settler ?"
"I'll tell you what, my friend," said the farmer, "I am
much obliged to you for your company and assistance
in this matter, apd the more so, because it was done
readily and good natm-edly ; but if you want to see the
country, you could not have a better opportunity than
this ; for you are very certain to be led a pretty dance
before we have done, and that over parts of the country
that neither you nor I perhaps would think of penetrating
into, unless compelled by the necessity of following the
track. So don't suppose you are losing time; rather
you are gaining time, for you are seeing, if you will
make use of your eyes, more of the country than most
strangers do."
" Well," said I, " I was told before I set out, that
a settler's life was one of adventure ; and this is a pretty
good beginning."
We had now arrived at the margin of a little rivulet,
of which there are many in this country, a foot or two
broad, and of the depth of a few inches only. The
native paused here, and seemed to ponder for a while.
62 Crab Grumbles at the Chase.
Not being used to the bush, I bad no notion where we
were, and I felt, for the first time, how easily those
unaccustomed to the bush get bewildered. There was
the sun to go by, to be sure, and we could see it — and
feel it too. But wandering in the bush, and becoming
lost in it, seems to produce some specific emotion of the
mind, by which the faculties become actually stupefied
and the wits lost. But I shall have to speak of this in
another place. The black fellow soon made up his
mind; pointing backwards and shaking his head, to
signify that the sheep were not in that direction, he
continued his way to the left, keeping near the little
rivulet, and searching, as I observed by his eye, for the
tracks of the sheep. We continued in this line for some
miles, till we began to feel tired. Crab called a halt.
" This seems to be rather a wild goose chase. Here
we have followed this black rascal for I don't know how
many miles, and not the tail of a sheep have we seen —
and in my opinion never shall; for I'm quite sure
he's only leading us to a proper place for a mob of these
devils to set on us, and devour us — the Lord help us !
To think that this should be the end of my mother's
.son ! To be eaten up by those black villains — just
chucked on the fire, and before we're half done, to have
them set their teeth in us. Well, to be sure ! master,
what do you think of it ? I'm for going back again
before it comes to worse."
" Go back !" said the shepherd ; '' never think of it.
We must come on the tracks some time. Why ? you
would never go back without the sheep ! Three hun-
dred and fifty sheep must leave their marks behind
them."
TuE Track Discovered. 63
« But they don't," said Crab.
" Come on," said the fanner, motioning to the native
to move forward. " It would be a pretty joke to go
back without any of the llock. Ah ! the black fellow
has got scent of them — see, he is pointing to something
on the ground."
We now hastily followed the native, who, after rapidly
continuing on the track, suddenly stopped, and seemed
to require some information, which he did not know how
to ask for.
"Go to him, Dick," said the farmer; "you know
their ways better than we do. Try to make out what
he wants."
The shepherd approached the native. The native
pointed to the tracks.
" Sheep," said he.
" Sheep, sure enough," said the shepherd ; " but he
means something that I can't make out."
The native now, throwing his arms about so as to de-
scribe a large space of land, said in an inquiring tone,
"Sheep? sheep? sheep?"
" Ah !" said Dick, " I see what he's at now ; he wants
to know if there were many sheep ; he has come upon
fresh tracks, but only of a few, and he fears being led
away after the wrong lot." "Many," said he to the
native ; " little," pointing to the present tracks and
shaking his head. The native, it seems, understood him,
for he immediately turned off at an angle to his left, and
in about a couple of miles we crossed the track of a num-
ber of sheep, which we now found had been driven paral-
lel to the river for some distance ; the shccp-stealers then
turned sharply to the left, and crossed a part of the river
64 A Dilemma.
where it was easily fordable. On the other side of the
river the tracks were phiin and fresh, and we proceeded at
a rapid pace in pursuit. We continued our course for
several miles, when the tracks suddenly assumed the
appearance of a fork, part towards the right and part
towards the left.
In this dilemma it was resolved that the farmer, with
the shepherd and the native, should proceed to the left,
and that I and Crab should follow the track to the right,
and act according to circumstances. To this arrange-
ment Crab made no objection, as there was " as good a
chance," he said, " of finding them one way as another,
although he had no doubt they had been driven away by
this time where nobody would find them ; and if they
were found, so changed that nobody could know them,
as they would be all fresh marked and firebranded."
And so we parted on our respective expeditions.
I afterwards learned that the New Norfolk man reco-
vered nearly all his sheep, but I shall not stop here to
relate the particulars. I want to show how I got on my
farm, and by what means a settler arrives through diffi-
culties and dangers to independence and fortune.
''Well, master," said Crab, " you have seen something
of the country now; what do you think of it?"
" It's a beautiful country to look at," said I ; "■ but
beauty of scenery is one thing, and goodness of land is
another. A settler can't live on a fine prospect; he must
get his living out of the fatness of the soil under his
foot; but just at this moment. Master Crab," continued
I, " I would rather look on a good breakfast than any-
thing else."
''In that case," said Crab, stopping and speaking
softly, "you have a chance of something — look there,
CiiASE A Kanqaeoo. 65
just over that log of a tree — don't you see his head ?
It's a brush kangaroo. There, he's hopping oflF; now
you've a good shot at him."
I fired, and the animal gave a bound forward.
"You've hit him," said Crab; and, tired as we were,
we set off at a run after the wounded kangaroo.
The animal, however, hopped away at an amazing rate,
and it continued its course for more than a mile before it
fell. Crab quickly cut it up, and lighting a fire of the
dead wood which lay in plenty about, we made a bush
breakfast and dinner all in one. The water of a spring
close by supplied drink ; and Crab armed himself with the
tail of the defunct, as a supply, as he said, against acci-
dents.
The chase of the kangaroo caused us to lose the track
of the sheep, and Crab proposed that we should cross
over the country till we came to the high road uniting
the two extremities of the island. I assented to this
scheme, and after a toilsome march of thirty hours, we
found ourselves on the main road. A settler's bullock-
cart fortunately was proceeding to Norfolk Plains, on the
northern side of the island. We availed ourselves of its
■convenience ; and partly riding and partly walking, we
arrived at the lajfge tract of level land known by that
name. From thence we proceeded to Launceston, and
returning by the high road, we arrived at a place called
"Green Ponds," in the district of Murray. Here, at a
littTe public house, newly set up, I heard of a tract of
country lying westward, on the banks of the Clyde, par-
ticularly suitable for cattle and sheep feeding, which was
the line I had a mind to follow. I crossed over, with the
persevering Crab, and lighted on a spot, which pleased
5
66 I Find Land TO Please Me.
me at once, from the back run for sheep and cattle which
it afforded.
Having fixed on my land, I hastened back to Hobart
Town, that I might be the first to apply for it. I had
been away seventeen days, and it was with not a little
delight that I saw my wife and children again, for I
seemed to have been absent a much longer time. The
very next day I got an order from the governor to take
possession ; and I was informed the land would be regu-
larly surveyed and marked out for me by the govern-
ment surveyor, as soon as his engagements would per-
mit, and that in the meantime I might take possession
and erect my buildings. My next care was to provide
myself with two bullock-carts, and two teams of four
bullocks each, to carry up such utensils and things as
were absolutely necessary.
On consulting with my wife, I found that she prefer-
red going on the land with me at once, with the children,
to staying in the town until I had got some accommoda-
tion for her. Fortunately we had brought out with us
two good tents, one a pretty large one ; these served us
in good stead. We were in a pretty bustle, it may be
supposed, packing up and getting ready for our journey.
It was about fifty miles from the town to the spot I had
chosen. All our goods and traps being ready — and hav-
ing had assigned to me two government men, a bullock-
driver, and a farming-man — my wife, her children, and
her mother, occupying one cart, with the woman ser-
vant, and all sorts of articles for bedding and use ; and
the other cart being filled with utensils, and tools, and
provisions, we commenced our journey on the 26th of
February, 1817, with anxious thoughts, but full of
spirits and of hope, for the river Clyde.
C^jiniittr liitlj.
Journey np the Country with Family, Bullock-carts, and Crab — A
Steep Hill — A Night in the Bush — Arrives at his Land — His
First Chop at a Gum Tree.
It is more than twenty-one years since I set out on
this memorable journey, but the whole scene is present
to me as if it was an affair of yesterday ; and I remem-
ber well my sensations at the sight of my wife perched
on the top of a feather bed in a bullock-cart, with her
old mother sitting beside her, and the children higgledy-
piggledy about her, enjoying the novelty and the fun of
being dragged by bullocks in a cart. There was some-
thing so droll in the set-out, and at the same time the
occasion was so serious, that my poor wife did not know
whether to laugh or to cry ; but the tumblings that the
roughness of the road gave the children soon made them
merry enough, and their joyous mirth set the rest of the
party a-laughing, so that the journey was a merry one —
in the beginning at least. The old lady sat very quietly
in her place, a little frightened, but resigned to her fate.
She owned, afterwards, that she never expected to get to
the end of the journey alive by such an outlandish sort
of conveyance, and she was like to be right in her fore-
bodings, at one time.
We got on very well till we arrived at the ferry, for
many years known as Stocker's Ferry, about nine miles
from camp. The bullocks behaved admirably. These
(67)
68 Journey to our New Hous
E.
were all fine animals. I gave forty pounds a pair for
two pair. The other two pair I got for thirty-five pounds
a pair; but one of the bullocks was rather old and
weak, but a steady worker, and a prime fellow to break
in the young ones ; it seemed to me he took a pleasure
in it. Bob, who lived with me for many years after-
wards, had the honour of conducting the principal team,
the first cart being committed to the care of my other
servant. I walked, helping the one or the other, as the
occasion happened, with Will, my eldest boy, now nearly
ten years old, for my companion. We had not gone
more than a mile from the town, when we heard some one
calling after us, and who should it be but Crab, who
joined us, terribly out of breath, and with an uncertain
expression of countenance which represented an odd ap-
pearance of habitual sourness and j)resent concern, which
induced me to stop the whole cavalcade for a moment,
wondering what could be the matter.
"Well, Mr. Crab," said I, " nothing wi-ong, I hope ?"
" Nothing wrong yet that I see," said Crab ; " but
I'm thinking, master," said he, hesitatingly, "you're
rather short-handed for what you're about. You see,
when one of the bullock-carts turns over, you'll hardly
be strong enough to set it on its legs again. . . ."
" Oh, gracious ! Mr. Crab," said my wife, " don't
make things worse than they are ; you will always look
on the worst side so."
" Why, ma'am," said Crab, trying to look gracious,
"I don't like to frighten the ladies; but it's always best
to be prepared for what's to happen, then when it comc3
it isn't so bad. So I thought I might bo able to help
you a bit, as I'm used to the ways of the country, and
Crab Overtakes Us. 69
see you safe on your land; and I don't doubt that when
you fi^ct there, you'll be glad enough to get back again ;
and then it would be a consolation to me to see you safe
in the town again, and aboard ship, so that you may go
away home from this horrible place, which it's a shame
to entice people to — poor, deceived, wretched, miserable
creatures ! Besides, I've taken a sort of liking to your
good man here, and the long and the short of it is, if
you like, I'll go along with you to your land, and lend
you a help, for you'll want it bad enough. What do
you say to it, master ?"
There was a real good and honest feeling in the man,
which, in spite of the rough husk that covered it, had
given me a liking for him, and I readily agreed to his
proposal ; telling him that I was heartily glad of such a
valuable addition to our company. He gave a nod, to
intimate that he considered the social compact as con-
cluded, and then eagerly relapsed into his accustomed
sourness and sarcasm. He immediately began to com-
plain of the state of the roads, of their ruts and une-
venness.
"Did ever mortal man," said he, "conceive the
stupidity of these road-makers ? Here they take you
right over the hill, when it would have been no further,
and much easier, to go round it. But no — the road
must be carried in a straight line, ^nd so the poor cattle
must be murdered in dragging their loads over it. And
then look at the stumps of trees left in the middle of
the road. A nice place, isn't it, for a gentleman to
travel in?"
" But you can't expect," said I, " to find things in &
new country all ready made to your hand ; there must
be a beginning to everything."
70 Progress on the Journey.
" Then why do you come to a new country ? Why
can't you wait till it's an old one, and fit for Christians
to live in ? Not that this place will ever be fit for any-
thing to live in but a convict or a kangaroo."
Ey this time we had arrived at Stocker's Ferry.
" What do you intend to do now ?" said Crab.
" Cross the ferry."
"How?"
" How ! why in the ferry boat, to be sure."
" You'll be capsized — bullocks, carts, and all."
" We must take our chance of that."
After a good deal of trouble, we crossed over safe.
''Well, Crab, that job's done well," said I.
" Better the other way, and so saved worse," said
Crab ; " but, however, as we are on this side, heaven
help us ! we had better get on to where there is water
for the bullocks, for they begin to be distressed in the
heat of the day. They'll never be able to get these loads
to the end of the journey; that's my opinion."
With these pleasing prognostications as an accompani-
ment to our toil, we reached Brighton Plains, where we
made a halt, in a sheltered spot, by the side of a little
stream, and let loose the bullocks to graze. Crab assured
us that we might make up our minds to stay where we
were for some weeks, or days at least, as the bullocks
would be sure to stray away into the bush.
We laughed at his talk j and the children, glad to be
released from the confinement of the cart, made the little
valley ring with their shrieks and their merriment. My
wife was as merry as any of them ; and the old lady was
pleased to have proceeded so far, and to have accom-
plished the much dreaded crossing of the river without
ANianTONTHEllOAD. 71
accident. I thought even the furrows of Crab's rugged
features once or twice nearly relaxed into a smile, as he
witnessed the frolicsome mirth of the children, but he
(shook his head with much gravity — "Ah," said he,
''poor things! let them enjoy themselves; they little
know what's in store for 'em."
We now called a council of war, and it was determined
to wait till the cool of the evening, and then make a
vigorous push for the Green Ponds, where a little public
house had been recently established. We arrived there
just at dark; and as the house was small, and the night
fine and warm, we preferred passing the night under our
tents, which were quickly set up. We secured the bul-
locks in a small stock-yard, close by the little inn ; and
with the exception of Crab, the whole party was soon
fast asleep. That indefatigable individual insisted that
we should be attacked by the bush-rangers ; and he re-
mained therefore on watch to give the alarm.
Nothing occurred, however ; and by four o'clock in the
morning, we were all a-foot, and ready to start. We
proceeded in due order for about four miles on the high
road. We had then to turn to the left, westward, on our
way to the place of our destination. Crossing the nar-
row river Jordan at an awkward ford, which would have
been of difficult accomplishment at any other than the
summer season, we continued our way with much pre-
caution, as there was no marked road, and the track was
not always very plain.
After a few miles progress, we arrived at the foot of
the Den Ilill — part of a ridge of mountainous hills, ex-
tending to the left. On the right was a smiling vallev,
watered by a little stream. The appearance of the ascent
72 Ascent of a Perpendicular Iiil^
before us was very formidable ; it is not very much better
now ; but at that time the country was little known, and
an untravelled road always appears, the first time, longer
and worse than it is. Here we made another halt, to
gather up courage to face the ascent, and to recruit the
strength of the cattle and their drivers. Crab looked at
the hill covered with a thick mass of trees, and without
any visible opening, and then at the carts and bullocks,
with a very long face. I confess I had some misgivings
myself. I had gone over the hill before, when I went
to look at the land at the Clyde ; but going over such a
hill on foot, and sui-mounting it with laden carts, are two
very different things.
As we discussed some bread and meat on the grass,
we were all very serious, even the children regarding the
black, dense mass of trees rising one above another be-
fore us with fearfulness and perplexity. We turned to
Crab instinctively, expecting to hear from him some of
his usual evil prognostications. But he preserved a
rigid silence, stufiing huge pieces of damper into his
mouth, with a diligence and perseverance that seemed to
imply he was doubtful when he might have the chance
of doing so again, and enjoying maliciously, I was in-
clined to think, the novel disappointment of his unusual
taciturnity.
At last, seeing that the thing must be done, I shook
off the lethargic feeling 'which fatigue, the heat, and
apparently insurmountable difficulties before us had cast
over me, and I braced myself up for the effort. "We got
on pretty well for about a quarter of a mile, but the
steepness of the way and the impediments of the dead
limber, lying on all sides about, brought us to a stand-
Halt H a l f - w a y Up. T3
still. Putting pieces of wood bohiod tlie wheels of the
carts, to prevent their rolling backwards, we looked
inquiringly at one another. It seemed a hopeless task.
Crab said nothing. The men looked at the bullocks
despair iugl}'.
" It's more than mortal cattle can do," said Bob, who
had shown himself a civil and diligent fellow; ''you
mifht as well attempt to climb up the walls of a house."
I thought so too, but I took care to keep my thoughts
to myself. I was puzzled to know what to do ; and the
evening was drawing in, and the clear light failing us,
though at that time of the year the nights are never
quite dark in Van Diemen's Land. In this difficulty
my wife came to our aid.
'■'■ If four bullocks cannot draw one cart up the hill,
why not put the whole eight on, and draw one cart up
at a time ?"
It was like Columbus's egg; nothing more easy when
it was done. In a trice we unharnessed the provision
cart. Crab lending himself with alacrity and energy to
the movement ; and with prodigious labour, and the
exhaustion of the whole party, we succeeded, after two
hours' work, in dragging the cart, with my wife and
children, to the summit of this terrible hill. It was
now nearly dark, and we had left the provision-cart
about a mile behind us, and the animals were too much
exhausted to render further attempts possible. Under
these circumstances, we were obliged to pass the night,
as it were, under arms, with the bullocks yoked and
chained, for we were afraid to let them wander to feed,
not knowing the country. Crab volunteered to mount
guard over the cart below, and to keep up a good fire to
71 Arrive AT THE Farm.
point out Ms whereabouts. "We did the same ; and in
this way we passed the night, not very commodiously ;
but the genial warmth of the season, and the brilliant
fineness of the night, reconciled us to our rough lodg-
ment, and as we had plenty of covering for the children,
they slept soundly, and all passed off well.
At the first sign of light we were stirring. We had
to pursue the same process to get up our provision-cart,
when we made a hearty breakfast, and not the less so
from having gone without our supper. Our way was
now all downhill by a gentle inclination ; and sometimes
following the faint track, and sometimes guided by the
notched trees, and making our way over the dead timber
and through the bushes as well as we could, we arrived
in about a couple of hours at the site of ray future farm.
It was now noon. The sun was intensely hot, and we
very tired, bullocks and all ; but we had arrived safe,
and we felt in spirits. And here we were, our little
party, alone in the wilderness. To the west there was
no human habitation between us and the sea; and the
nearest settler's residence was not less than eighteen
miles. There was pasturage for sheep and cattle for
scores and scores of miles, and no one to interfere
with them. But I had not yet a single sheep, nor
a single head of cattle, except my eight working bul-
locks. We turned them out to graze on the plain before
us, through which ran the Clyde, then better known
by the name of the Fat Doc River ; we had no fear of
their straying, for they were tired enough with their
journey. The two men then set up the tents without,
bidding.
I remember T sat on a fallen tree, with my wife and
Unload OUR Goods. 75
children and her mother stretched on the ground in the
shade, for some time absorbed in thoughts of mingled
pain and pleasure. Crab had strolled into the bush. It
was a brilliant day. There was a solemn stillness
around that was imposing; the sun shining gloriously
in the heavens, and the prospect around most calm and
beautiful. I felt melancholy. Thoughts crowded thick
upon me. I had undertaken a vast task, to establish a
home in the wilderness. The first stage of my enter-
prise I had accomplished ; through toil, and labour, and
difficulty, and danger ; but I had accomplished it. The
first object was gained. I had reached the land of pro-
mise. I had taken possession of my land, and a noble
domain it was. But what were the risks and difiiculties
that remained ? I felt fearful at the work before me.
No help near in case of danger ; no medical assistance ;
no neighbour. I looked at my wife and children lying
listlessly on the dry and parched grass ; I looked around
me, and tried to penetrate into the obscurity of the
future and guess the end. Worn out with thought, and
weary with travel, I insensibly gave way to the feeling
of lassitude which possessed us all, and fell asleep on the
grass. My wife would not have me wakened, but taking
on herself, without hesitation and without delay, the
duties of a settler's wife, she silently gave directions for
unloading the carts, and preparing our canvass house.
The smaller tent she made the temporary storehouse for
our multifarious goods ; the larger one was converted
into a general bedchamber for herself, her mother, and
the children. The store tent was destined for me to
sleep in. Two boxes formed a table on the outside, and
fitting logs of wood formed appropriate seats. A fire
76 Success to the First Farm.
was kindled near the spot, and dinner got ready. It
was quite an early settler's meal ; boiled salt pork and
damper, with tea and brown sugar, and rice for the
children. All this was prepared while I slept. I was
awakened by Crab, who had been absent about a couple
of hours on his exploring expedition.
" Holloa [" said he; " here's a pretty settler, to go to
sleep while his wife works for him. Look here, I've got
something for you."
I awoke at this, and felt quite refreshed and ready for
action. Crab displayed a brace of wild ducks, which pro-
duced a general curiosity among the party. Without
stopping to ask questions. Crab prepared them for the spit
after his way. But spit we had none, so we contented
ourselves with throwing them on the hot embers, native
fashion, and hooking them out with the ramrod of one of
our muskets. We distributed them among young and old
in equitable proportions. I had brought up with me a
five gallon cask of rum, rather in compliance with the
customs of the colony than with my own inclination ; but
on this occasion, and to do honour to the splendour of
our repast of game, I served out a moderate ration of it,
much to the satisfaction of the two men, who were well
pleased at the unexpected libation. We soon got very
merry, and at last felt so reconciled to our new position,
that I caught myself proposing three-times-three to the
success of the First Farm on the Fat Doe Kiver.
And now, having rested and refreshed, we all began to
bestir ourselves in earnest to our work. My eldest boy.
Will, was set to watch the bullocks, to prevent their
straying too far. The men busied themselves in erecting
a sod hut for themselves about a hundred yards from the
P R E P A K A T I iN S TO B U I L D . 77
tents. Crab got out the grindstone, fixed it on a conve-
nient stump of a fallen tree, and prepared the axes.
My first care was to put our fire-arms in order, and handy
for use. I had two muskets with bayonets, a fowling-
piece, and two pair of pistols, one a large pair of horse-
pistols; I had besides a yeomanry broad-sword and a
hanger, so that we were tolerably well armed. Crab
looked grim at my warlike preparations.
" Ah I" said he, " a pretty way of taking possession of
a farm, with guns and blunderbusses, instead of ploughs
and harrows. Well, to be sure; the madness of the
people to come to such a place as this to fight with the
natives and the bush-rangers. However, as you are here,
I suppose something must be done to get a roof over your
heads. I have found some capital timber not a quarter
of a mile ofi", that would do to build a log-house. You'll
find that the best thing you can do, is to house yourself
comfortably ; — comfortably ! yes, pretty comfort there is
in the bush ! we look very comfortable, don't we ? all
alone in the wilderness, without a soul near us to help us,
and not a drop of beer to be had for love or money.
Well, as you have made your bed you must lie on it.
You are in for it for a while, and so I suppose you must
make the best of it."
With these appropriate and gratifj-ing observations, the
cross-grained, but diligent Crab, furnished himself with
the heaviest axe of the lot, and we went together, to the
verge of the forest; our encampment having been formed
on a piece of ground nearly clear of timber. We eyed
some hard looking gum trees for a little time, pausing to
I select those most fit for our purpose.
" Now," said Crab, « who is to strike the first stroke ?"
78 Felling Trees.
" That will I do," said I, and fetching a blow at a gum
tree before me, struck my axe in the bark.
" Well done for a beginning/' said Crab ; " here goes
for another."
At this he struck a sturdy stroke on the other side of the
tree, but without producing much impression.
" Hard stuff this," said Crab. '' I'm thinking we have
harder work before us than we thought for ! I wonder
how long it will take you and me to cut down this tree ?
but let us at him again."
We chopped, and chopped, and sweated, and worked
till we were fairly exhausted ; we made a pretty decent
gap on both sides, but the tree gave no intimation of
coming down.
" This will never do," said I ; " there must be some-
thing wrong here ; we must not be all day cutting down
one tree."
" Casting my eye on the axes that lay on the ground,
it occurred to me that the fault was in the tools. We
had made use of heavy, broad axes, which after experi-
ence taught us were quite unfit for felling timber.
"There's something wrong with these axes," said Ij
" let's try the axes which I bought in camp."
They were much longer from heel to edge, and much
narrower, presenting not more than half the breadth of
edge to the wood. The first cut showed their superiority.
" This is the article," said Crab ; and with that he gave
a flourish with his axe in the air, and shivered off a
prodigiou>s slice of the obstinate gum-tree. We went at
it merrily, and presently the tree began to shiver, and
suddenly it fell down with a prodigious crash to the
ground.
A New Kind of Assistant! 79
"That's number one," said Crab, "and precious hard
work it is, I must say. And this is what we have come
to t 'other side of the earth for ! to cut down gum trees !
A nice employment for middle aged gentlemen, I must
say. I'm thinking we might have had enough of this
pleasure at home, without coming so far for it. How-
ever, every one to his mind. And now for the next, mas-
ter. Here is a good looking chap ; let's have a chop at
him."
"Let us try the saw," said I ; " it's ready set, perhaps
that will do it easier."
" Any way," said Crab, " so long as we are amused.
I take it, in about six months at this rate, we shall be
able to get timber enough for a hut. But here's a nice
breeze got up. Oh, this is what they call the sea-breeze
that comes in the afternoon ; but sure we are too far from
the sea to feel it."
"Well, never mind where it comes from ; it's too plea-
sant to be asked questions about. Upon my word I
thought it was rather warmish."
The wind now rose so as to bend the branches of the
trees, and its grateful coolness was unspeakably refresh-
ing, after the sultry heat of the day. I saw the tents
agitated by it, and the loose things on the grass dancing
about, and the children merrily chasing them. But I
found the breeze more than pleasing ; it was a useful help
in felling the trees, and we quickly took advantage of it.
Cutting the side of the tree next to the breeze, we found
that the force of the wind saved us half our labour, for
the branches being full and thick in leaf, they presented
such a hold to the wind, that a slight notching of them
brought them down. In this way we felled eight trees,
80 Night-Thoughts on the Future.
and gave the appearance of a little clearing to that
spot.
In the meantime the evening was drawing in, and the
shades of night soon fell on us. The men had raised
the walls of their sod hut, and covering it over with
branches of trees, they were content for the night. The
bullocks showed no disposition to stray ; so, after seeing
all things put in order as well as the circumstances per-
mitted, we disposed ourselves for rest. Crab insisted on
keeping watch with musket and fixed bayonet ; and with
a cartouch-box slung behind him, he made a most for-
midable figure.
All was still ; the stars were bright in the heavens,
and I could distinguish the faint outlines of the distant
hills. It was long before I could compose myself to
sleep. I was full of thought and anxiety. I had every-
thing to do ; mine was really a beginning. The soil
around me had not been disturbed by civilized man since
its creation. The vast wilderness seemed to have re-
ceived us into its ample bosom, and to have closed
around us, shutting us out from all communication with
humanity. We formed but a little speck on the vast
space of the uninhabited country. I endeavoured to
picture to myself the future farms that might arise
around us, and the coming of neighbours to cheer and
strengthen us. But the reality was too present and too
strong to admit of the consolations of the imagination.
I felt committed to an act of doubt and difiiculty. I
revolved my past life in England, and wondered how
any state of misfortune oould have been urgent enough
to induce me to embark in so fearful an undertaking as
that of a settler's life in the wilderness. But the very
Imtlores Divine IIelt. 81
peril of my position served at last to nerve me up to the
encounter. I felt the deep responsibility of my position
as the father of a young family, and the husband of an
affectionate wife, who, by my act, had been conveyed
from home, from relations and from early friends, to
brave the risks and adventures of a settler's life.
With the serious thoughts with which this contem-
plation inspired me, I lay down to rest, not without
returning my grateful thanks to the Great Disposer of
all events, for having arrived thus far with my family
in health and safety, and entreating the Divine protec-
tion and help in my solitary encampment ; with such
prayer I addressed myself to sleep to gather strength
for the morrow.
6
A Settler's daily labours — Chopping down gum-trees tough work —
Builds a Log-house — Buys some Sheep — Shoots a wild animal —
Black cockatoo-pie — A Kangaroo steamer.
Tlmrsday^ February 2Sth, 1817. — Up at daylight.
Set the men to work to cross-cut the trees that we felled
yesterday. Crab helped, and they sawed and felled
alternately. Crab said it was regular nigger work;
when they were tired of chopping down the gum-trees,
they had to set to to saw 'em — to rest themselves !
* ■:■::■ * * * * ■
Walked over my land ; guessing, as well as I could,
the extent of twelve hundred acres, at the rate of one-
third frontage to the river. Fixed on the line where
the measurement of my lot should begin. After a good
deal of consideration and examination of the parts about,
I settled on the spot for building our log-house. I
thought that the time might come when I should be
able to erect a better house, so I marked the place for
our temporary habitation close to the spot for the future
building, and so as to form a part of the general plan.
Marked out in my mind a garden and entrance. After
this I set to work to help Crab and the men in prepar-
ing split logs for the hut. My wife says she doesn't
like me to call it a " hut ;" so, mem., " to call it a cot-
tage." Got twelve more trees down to-day. My
eldest boy, Will, who had been watching the working
(82)
Sunday a Day of Rest. 83
bullocks within sight of the tents, told us at dinner that
he had seen a kangaroo, with a young one in her pouch,
grazing not far from him. I must get dogs, not only
for hunting occasionally, but for safety, to give the
alarm at night, and in the day-time too. The weather
beautiful. We live in the^open air, and it seems to me
it would not harm us to sleep in the open air; but wc
have our tents. No one came near us all day.
Friday, March 1. — At work all day with Crab and
the men, sawing the fallen timber into lengths and
splitting it to set up. Crab has been splitting shingles
to serve instead of tiles for the roof. Bob said that many
huts are thatched with a sort of grass, abundant in all
marshy places, and which serves the purpose of straw
pretty well; but I don't like the idea of having a com-
bustible roof where you are exposed to fire, as well from
the natives as from the accidental firing of the dry grass
in the summer season ; so, although it is more labour
and more expense, I have decided against thatch. Had
the shingles split ten inches long and four broad. Only
cut four more trees. Saw no one all day.
Sunday, March 3. — Could not make up my mind at
first what to do, whether to go on with our cottage,
which was a pressing want, or to keep the Sunday as a
day of rest. Consulted with my wife. She thought it
was proper to keep up the distinction of the Sunduy for
the sake of preserving the good habits of the children.
Pondered over the matter a good deal. As to there
being any harm in working on a Sunday on such mat-
ters as we were engaged, I did not think there was ; but
as the weather was fine, I thought it best not to disturb
Sunday habits. So after we had read prayers to the
84 Commence Building.
children, we passed the day talking, and planning, and
strolling among the trees, but not far from the house.
And I don't think there was any time lost, after all ; for
our day's rest made us the fresher and stronger for
Monday's work. As I am upon this subject, I may say
here, that in my experience I never knew any harm
£ome to a man's constitution from working the sis days
t){ the week as hard as he might, if he rested on the
(Seventh. But I have observed that when a man in his
eagerness has worked every day without taking his rest
on the seventh, it has worn him out, and that he has
become used up much sooner than the man who rested
one day in the week. And this remark holds good, as
I have had occasion to know, with those who worked
with their heads as well as with those who worked with
their hands. Saw no one all day. No Sunday visitors here.
Monday. — Began setting up the logs to form the walls
of the house. House to be sixty feet long and sixteen
broad, and the logs nine feet out of the ground; to be
divided into one large room, twenty feet long ; a passage
ten feet wide ; and on the other side of the passage four
rooms, one to be a store-room. At the end of the pas-
sage, facing the entrance, a closet for all sorts of things.
At the back of the long room of twenty feet, a skillion,
to serve as a kitchen, &c.
When I showed the plan to Crab, he said, " I should
never live to finish it ; however, I might go on building
it till I left, and he would not balk my humour if I had
a fancy for it."
A Saturday. — More chopping and sawing.
Sunday. — Passed as before.
Monday, March 11. — Hard at work at the house, and
A ^settler's Daily Life. 85
all the week ; put the logs in the ground two feet aecp ;
got all the shingles split for the roof.
Tuesday, March 19. — The cottage presents a respecta-
ble appearance. Shingled it over as far as the long
room, then stopped for want of shingle nails. We had
not had fresh meat since we got on the land, and my
wife thought the children were not thriving. Arranged
to send the bullock-cart to camp for a fresh supply of
nails and flour, and to bring up as much as it could
carry of our goods from the raercliant's store — Crab to
go, with one man.
WcdnesJa?/. — Saw the cart oiF. We all felt very
lonely. We did not lose time, however, but finished odd
things about that wanted attending!; to.
Thursday, March 21. — Took my gun, to sec if I
could bring down some ducks, to make a fresh meal for
the children ; for we had been living on the salt pork
we had brought up with us. Tried to keep the tents
and new building in sight, but was led further than I
intended. Came up to a lot of ducks swimming leisurely
about at a part of the river that was very deep, with the
current not so rapid as in the shallow parts. I was go-
ing to have a shot at about twenty of them, when sud-
denly a gun was fired into the midst of them, close to
me. I was in a terrible fright — the suddenness of the
report, and its unexpectedness, filling me at the moment,
with all sorts of fears. My first impulse was to run
home to my wife and children; and then the thought
occurred that I should be exposed and defenceless that
way, to be shot at, if there was any one of a mind to
do it.
All these thoughts passed through my head in an in-
86 New Way of Making Acquaintance.
stant ; and in the meanwhile, the man who had fired the
shot advanced rapidly through the shrubs after his game.
As he came on, his eyes lighted on me with my gun
oocked, and pointed towards him. I saw at once by his
manner that he was as much frightened at me as I was
■it him. The Fat Doe River at this place is about forty
feet across : he was on the other side. There we stood
•for a little while, he stopping and gaping, and I stand-
ing with my piece in the position to fire. How long we
should have remained in these positions, each in fear of
the other, I can't pretend to say; but the suspense ended
by a flock of ducks that came flying between us, just
over our heads. The ducks were so close, they looked
so plump as I stood under them, and I wanted them so
much, that I could not resist the temptation. By a sort
of instinct, for I was always fond of sporting, I raised
up my piece, and forgetting my usual caution, I let fly
at them. Down came tliree.
" Well done !" cried out the stranger ; " I see there's
no harm in you, or you would not have flung your fire
that way ; but you'll loose your ducks, if you don't mind ;
there are two in the water sailing down the stream."
I soon found a long rod, with which I secured my
birds ; and the stranger going further down the stream,
recovered the four which he had shot before me.
'' I suppose you took me for a bush-ranger ?" bawled
I, speaking to him as he was standing and holding his
•wet ducks by the legs, on the other side of the narrow
stream.
" I did not like the looks of you, as you stood with your
gun pointed at me as you did ; that's just the way of 'em,
I suppose you're looking for land?"
]J T A I N S M K L> U G S . 87
" I have found my land, and I'm on it, not a quarter
of a mile from here. What arc you doing V
" I have got charge of a stock-yard, about fifteen miles
ofi", and I'm going my rounds to see how the cattle lie."
"Cattle ! I wish I had known there were cattle here-
abouts ; I should have been glad of some of the fresh
meat. I've seen none near us. But, to be sure, I have
never left my tents before to-day, to go as far as this
even. But we can talk as we go home; they are waiting
for me, and glad enough will they be at what I am bring,
ing them."
With this we proceeded homewards, till we came to the
part of the stream where a tree had fallen across, which
served as a bridge for the stock-keeper to come over to me.
When we got to the tents, he went, as a matter of course,
to the men's sod-hut, where Bob did the honours ; this
relieved mc from a little embarrassment, for I did not
know on what footing to treat the stock-keeper. After
a while Bob appeared with the stranger's four ducks,
saying that he would be glad of salt pork instead, as it
would be a treat to him.
Friday, March 22. — The stock-keeper slept in Bob's
hut. I found that he had two kangaroo dogs for sale,
a dog and a bitch — asked twelve dollars each for them.
Thought it a large sum, but after some explanation agreed
to give it. To bring the dogs on Tuesday.
Saturday, March 23. — Tried my hand with Bob at
making a table. Took some of the cleanest of the split
logs, and splitting them again, contrived, by smoothing
them with the axe, and planing them where possible, to
produce a tolerably even surface. It was six feet long,
and four wide. My wife praised my ingenuity, and her
88 Start off to Buy Sheep.
mother declared it was a splendid piece of furniture. The
''iiildren were very merry at it, and Betsy, my eldest girl,
who was christened after her grandmother, covered it with
an old green cloth, that had served to pack things in,
which gave it quite a genteel look.
We were all abed and asleep, when we were awakened
by a prodigious cracking of whips and sounds of voices
in the distance. We were agreeably surprised by the
arrival of the bullock-cart, with Crab and the man, bear-
ing fresh supplies and additions to our stores, for we did
not expect him till next day.
Sunday, 24. — Passed as usual. Crab says he has seen
a fine lot of sheep — one hundred and eighty ewes with
their lambs, and forty wethers, to be had cheap for
money, near the Green Ponds. Thought of the sheep
all night, but could not plan how to keep them without
another servant.
Monday, 25. — Found that John Bond, one of my go-
vernment men, had been used to sheep in England.
Determined to have a look at the sheep next day, but
very reluctant to leave home.
Tuesday, 26. — Crab and Bob set to work to complete
the shingling of the cottage. Seeing the importance of
beginning to get stock about me, and of taking advan-
tage of cheap sales, I started oiF at daylight with John
Bond to the Green Ponds. Arrived there at mid-day j
examined the sheep, bought the whole lot at 10s. 6c?. a
head, that is, reckoning the ewe and lamb as one. The
lambs are about five months old. This comes to four
hundred and sixty-two dollars, dollars passing for five
shillings, which cost me four shillings and fourpence in
London.
A N I G H T A L A R M . 89
They tvere large carcassed sheep, partaking more of the
Leicestershire breed than any other; their wool far from
fine, but not positively coarse. These one hundred and
eighty ewes formed the basis of my future flocks, of the
rise of which I shall have to speak in the proper place.
I paid for the sheep by an order for so much money in
camp. When I had bought them, the next thing was
how to get them home. I and my man drove them to the
foot of the D^n Ilill that evening, and then letting them
feed in the valley, they rested quietly where they were
when the day closed.
We kept watch and watch all night. About the mid-
dle of the night the sheep became very restless, and I
wondered what was the matter, and was easily alarmed,
being in constant apprehension of bush-rangers and na-
tives. I had my gun ready, and listened attentively; I
could hear nothing but my man snoring. Presently I
thought I heard a sort of snuffing, as of some animal,
and peering through the dark, I thought I saw an out-
line different from that of a sheep, and standing by itself.
I knew there were no wild animals in the country that
would attack man, but I felt a little queerish at the ap-
pearance of the shadowy form of a creature which I took
to be the natiye dog, as I had heard it called in camp.
I was curious to know what it was, and, prompted by
that feeling of using the gun which grows with one in
the bush, I fired. The whole flock roused up at this,
and my man awoke directly. I told him what I had
done, and when we had settled the sheep down again, we
went to the spot, and found an animal killed and warm.
When the daylight came, I found I had killed a sort
of animal peculiar to the country, as all animals are in
90 Arrive at Home with my Sheep.
Van Diemen's Land. It was more like a large wild dog
or jackal than anything else ; about the size of a New-
foundland dog, but not so thick and heavy ; of a brown-
ish colour, and was partly striped and partly spotted like
a leopard. It was a female, and possessed the peculiarity
attached only to the animals of New South Wales, of the
false belly or pouch for containing the young one. I was
not naturalist enough to make out to what description of
animal the creature belonged, but my friei^d Mr. Moss,
who settled near me some years after, has told me since,
that the animal is of the canine genus, and of a species
before unknown. My man skinned it for me, and when
we got home Betsy covered the stump of a gum-tree with
it, and it being elegantly stuffed with dry grass, it formed
a seat of honour for my wife.
We lost no time in getting the sheep over the long hill,
and then letting them travel leisurely, we reached home
with them before noon.
There was a fine stir about the tents when the sheep
came in sight. We were welcomed by my wife, and her
mother, and the children in a body. Even Crab seemed
pleased.
"Well," said he, "here's more company, at any rate.
You must look sharp after them, or not a tail will you
see to-morrow morning. The sheep in this country are
dreadful creatures to stray. And no wonder, poor things !
they naturally try to find some grass fit to eat, which they
never do, and that makes 'em eternally wandering about.
We shall have a pretty job to brand 'em. Where do you
mean to mark 'em."
"AVhy," said I, "I must do as well as I can, for I
tave no marking-irons."
AnotuerTriptoTown. 91
"No marking-irons! Here's a mess! We must
make another journey to town. Only think of travel-
ling fifty or sixty miles, and the same back, after mark-
ing-irons, or any little thing that may be wanted. Why,
there isn't a blacksmith nearer than camp ! Well, i
suppose we must make another trip ?"
" And no great harm in that/' said I ; " I don't see
the use of putting the plough in the ground yet ; it's too
late and too early ; so we had better take advantage of
the leisure, and curt everything up that must be carted."
*' Why, you never mean to drag all your goods up
here, when you're sure to have to drag them all back
again ?" said Crab ; '■'■ for as to staying here, that's out
of all question. You'll soon have a visit from the bush-
rangers when they smell out there is something to be
got; or else the natives will call on you in a friendly
way, and make a bonfire of your new house ; or else —
you'll make a boufii-e of it yourself, when you come to
be sick of the whole aifair, as you soon will."
" We shall see," said I. And so it was settled that
the cart should go down next day with Crab and Bob,
as we should want the other man to mind the sheep.
We turned our little flock into the meadow, where we
could see for a mile before us, with only trees enough to
make the place look pleasing, like a gentleman's park in
England.
The stock-keeper came this afternoon with the two
kangaroo dogs, Hector and Fly ; I found they were the
very same dogs I had met with at New Norfolk. They
soon got used to us.
'Wednesday, March 27. — Crab went to camp with Bob,
and one of the carts, and four bullocks. The stock-
92 AKangaroo Steamer.
keeper stayed witli us to-day to lend a hand to finish the
ffihingling ; but my boy was mad to take the dogs out
\fter a kangaroo, and the stock-keeper promised to go
Ivith him and show him the sport next morning.
Got on well with the shingling to-day.
Thursday, March 28. — Finished the shingling to-day
all but the skillion.
Just after dark, Will came home with his new friend,
the stock-keeper, tired enough, and he soon made an end
of the remains of a cockatoo-pie. He brought with him
the tail of an immense kangaroo as a trophy, while the
stock-keeper bore on his shoulders the hind-quarters of
another, holding the two hind-legs before him, while the
tail was hanging down his back nearly to the ground. I
asked what they had done with the kangaroo that Will's
tail belonged to, and they said they had left the fore-
quarters on the ground, and that they had hoisted up
the hind-quarters and the skins on a tree, some six or
seven miles from the tents. I thought this a sad waste,
but it was the general custom .in those times. The wo-
men then busied themselves in cooking part of the
venison for supper, under the instructions of the stock-
keeper, who was an experienced epicure in kangaroo
cookery. The tenderest parts, and those most free from
the tendons and fibres with which the flesh of the kan-
garoo abounds, were carefully cut out, and chopped up
fine ; some slices of salt pork were added to this, and
the whole put to steam slowly over the fire.
This national dish of the Van Diemcn's Land bush is
called a " Steamer." I think I never ate anything so
delicious; we all had a hearty stuff, and the old lady
insisted on having the rum introduced, to celebrate, as
M Y S N ' S E, E T U E N . 93
she said, Will's first exploit of hunting. The tail was
left on the fire in a Pa2)ui,'s dlrjcster, to make soup for
the next day. The soup was better even than the
steamer J but I uiust not anticipate. As we sat round
the fire on our logs of wood, enjoying ourselves after
the bush fashion, I sitting, as my custom was at that
time, with my gun over my arm, for fear of surprises,
but feeling more safe since the arrival of the dogs, which
in this country act not only as hounds for hunting, but
as capital watch-dogs, the ladies were curious to know
how Will had contrived to catch the kangaroos, and
what sort of sport it was. Will was very tired, but the
cockatoo-pie and the steamer had refreshed him, and he
soon fired up at the recollection of the sport, and told us
what had happened to him. As this was my boy's first
expedition, I noted down his description in my journal,
thinking it might interest him in after times ; and to do
it the greater honour, I have made it the subject of a
separate chapter.
Cjiiiptrr (ITigljtli.
A Kangaroo bunt — Description and habits of the animal — Crab
dilates on the topsy-turviness of all things animal, vegetable and
geographical in Van Diemen's Land.
It was just light -when the stock-keeper called me, and
I wasn't long dressing. I took one of the large pistols
that father said I might have, and the stock-keeper had
a musket, and we had half a damper and a paper of salt,
and I had my big hack-knife, and so off we went. I do
think Hector knew he was going to have some kangaroo,
for he seemed so glad, and licked his chops, and Fly wag-
ged her tail, and the morning was so beautiful; and what
do you think, father, the bird that mother likes to hear
so much is a magpie I it is indeed, for I saw it, and it's
just like an English magpie, only it sings so beautifully.
We walked over the plain till we came to the hills; the
dogs kept quiet behind us. The stock-keeper said I
might see they had been well trained ; they kept their
heads low, and their tails hanging down behind them, as
if they had no life in them ; but you should have seen
them when they got sight of a kangaroo, did'nt they
pluck up ! "We went on till we got about four or five
miles from the tents, and then we did not talk, for the
kangaroos are startled at the least noise; they are just
like hares for that. Then the stock-keeper stood still.
He said to the dogs, "■ Go find;" and then the dogs can-
(94)
A Kangaroo Hunt. 95
tered about round us, going farther and farther, till Hec-
tor began to smell about very earnestly.
"He has got scent," said the stock-keeper, and so ho
had, for he galloped off with his nose to the ground,
straight ahead. Fly saw him, and she galloped after.
"I think it's a big one," said the stock-keeper, "the
dogs seem so warm at it."
I was running after them as fast as I could, when the
stock-keeper called after me to stop.
"Stop," said he; "it's of no use for you to run, you
could not keep up with them."
" Why, what are we to do ?" said I ; "if they kill a
kangaroo, how can we find it ?"
"Wait a bit," said he ; " all in good time. If the dogs
kill a kangaroo, we shall find him, I'll warrant."
So we waited and waited till I was quite tired ; and a
good while after. Hector came back quite slowly, as if
he was tired, with Fly following after. The stock-keeper
looked at his mouth.
"What's that for?" said I.
"To see if he has killed," said he; "look here, his
mouth is bloody, and that's come by killing a kangaroo,
you may be sure of it."
Then the stock-keeper stood up and said to Hector,
"Show;" and then Hector trotted off, not fast, but pretty
fast, so that I was obliged to trot too to keep up with
him; and he trotted on and on till I was rather tired, I
dare say for three miles from where we were at first ; and
on he went, and we following him, till he brought us to
a dead kangaroo, close to a little pool of water. It was
a monstrous big one, with such a claw on each of his
hind-legs ; a claw that would rip up a dog in a moment,
or a man too, if he got at him.
96 Fight with the Kangaroo.
" Good dog !" said the stock -keeper, and Hector wagged
his tail, and seemed to like to be praised. Then the
stock-keeper gave me his gun to hold, and he cut open
the kangaroo and gave the inside to the dogs. Then he
skinned the upper part down to the loins, and cut the
kangaroo in half, and hung it up in a tree, noting the
place ; the other half he left on the ground ; that is, when
he went away from the place, for he would not let the
dogs have more than a taste of the blood, lest it should
spoil their hunting.
"What's to be done now?" said I.
"We'll kill another," said the stock-keeper, "if you
are not tired."
I said I was not tired a bit ; so after we had rested a
little while, we went on again, the dogs following us as
at first. We saw plenty of brush kangaroos, but we
would not touch them. After we had got a mile or two,
the stock-keeper, who had been examining the ground all
the way along, said, "I think there are some big ones
hereabouts, by the look of the marks;" so he said to the
dogs, " Go find," as he had said before. Almost directly,
we saw such a large fellow — I'm sure he was six feet
high — he looked at us and at the dogs for a moment, and
then ofl' he went. My gracious ! what hops he did give I
he hopped with his two hind-legs, with his fore-lejrs in
the air, and his tail straight out behind him, — and wasn't
it a tail ! — it was as thick as a bed-post ! and this creat
tail went wag, wag, up and down, as he jumped, and
seemed to balance him behind. Eut Hector and Fly were
after him. This time the stock-keeper ran too, for the
ground was level and clear of fallen timber, and you
could see a good way before you. I had begun to feel a
little tired, but I didn't feel tired then. Hop, hop went
Chase another Kangaroo. 97
the kangaroo, anJ the dogs after him, and wc after the
dogs; and wo scampered on till I was quite out of breath ;
and the kangaroo was a good bit before the dogs, when
he turned up a hill.
"Now we shall have him," said the stock-keeper;
" the dogs will beat him up hill."
I wanted my breath, but I kept up, and we scrambled
up the hill, and I thought the dogs would get him; but
the kangaroo got to the top of the hill first, and when we
got a sight of him, he was bounding down the hill,
making such prodigious leaps at every jump, over every
thing, that you could'nt believe it, if you did'ut sec it.
The dogs had no chance with him down hill.
''It's of no use," said the stock-keeper, "for us to
try to keep up with him; we may as well stay here.
He'll lead the dogs a pretty chase, will that fellow ;
he's a Boomah, and one of the biggest rascals I ever
saw."
So we sat down at the top of the hill, under a gum-tree,
and there we sat a long time, I don't know how long,
until we saw Hector coming up. The stock-keeper looked
at his mouth.
"He has killed," said he; "but he has got a little
scratched in the tussle, and so has Fly. That big chap
was almost too much for two dogs." Then he said, " Go,
show!" and Hector and Fly trotted along straight to
where the kangaroo lay, without turning to the right or
left, but going over everything, just as if they knew the
road quite well. We came to a hollow, and there we saw
the kangaroo lying dead. Just as the stock-keeper was
going to cut him open, I saw another kangaroo not a
hundred yards off.
If
98 Kangaroo Fights the Dogs.
"There's another," said I; and the dogs, although
they had had a hard battle with the kangaroo lying dead,
started off directly. Close by us was a large pond of
water, like a little lake. The kangaroo was between the
dogs and the lake. Not knowing how to get past, I
suppose, he hopped right into the lake, and the dogs
went after him. He hopped further into the lake, where
the water got deeper, and then the dogs were obliged to
swim, but they were game, and would not leave their
work. When the kangaroo found himself getting pretty
deep in the water, he stopped, and turned on the dogs;
but he could not use his terrible hind claws, so when one
of the dogs made a rise at his throat (they always try to
get hold of the throat), he took hold of him with his fore-
legs, and ducked him under the water. Then the other
dog made a spring at him, and the kangaroo ducked him
in the same way.
" Well," said the stock-keeper, " I never saw the like
of that before ; this is a new game."
And all the while the dogs kept springing at the kan-
garoo's throat, and the kangaroo kept ducking them un-
der the water. But it was plain the dogs were getting
exhausted, for they were obliged to swim and be ducked
too, while the kangaroo stood with his head and fore-legs
from out of the water.
'' This will never do," said the stock-keeper; "he'll
drown the dogs soon at this rate." So he took his gun
from me, and put a ball in it.
"Now," said he, "for a good shot; I must take care
not to hit the dogs."
He put his gun over the branch of a dead tree, and
watching his time, he fired, and hit the kangaroo in the
M A K E A Dinner of II i m . 99
neck, and down it came in the water. He then called
off the dogs, and they swam back to us.
"He is sucli a prime one," said he, " it would bo a pity
to lose his skin;" so he waded in after him, and dragged
him out. " It's a pity," said he, "to lose so much meat,
but his hind-quarters would be a bigger load than I
should like to carry home ; but I must have his skin, and
I'll tell you what, young fellow, you shall have his tail,
though I'm thinking it's rather more than you can carry
home."
This roused me a bit, to think I couldn't carry a kan-
garoo's tail; so I determined to take it home, if I dropped,
though I must say it was so heavy that I was obliged to
rest now and then, and the stock-keeper carried it a good
part of the way for me.
" What shall we do with the meat ?" said I.
"What shall we do with it!" said he; "are you
hungry ?"
" I believe you," said I.
" Then we'll make a dinner off him," said the stock-
keeper.
With that we got together some dry sticks, and made
a fire, and the stock-keeper took the ramrod of his mus-
ket, and first he cut a slice of the lean oft" the loins,
which he said was the tenderest part, and put the ramrod
through it, and then he cut out a bit of fat, and slid it
on after the lean, and so on a bit of fat and a bit of lean,
till he had put on lots of slices, and so he roasted them
over the fire. He gave me the ramrod to hold, and
cutting a long slice of bark out of a gum-tree, made two
plates • capital plates, he said, for a bush dinner. I told
you we had got some salt and some damper, and I was
100 Nature of the Kangaroo.
pretty hungry, as you may suppose, and I thought it the
most delicious dinner I ever ate. When I had done, I
laid down on the grass, and Hector and Fly came and
laid themselves down beside me, and somehow, I don't
know how it was, I fell asleep, I was so tired. I slept a
good while, for the stock-keeper said it would have been
a sin to wake me, I was in such a sweet sleep. I woko
up, however, after a good nap, and felt as if I could eat
a bit more kangaroo. But it was getting late, and so we
made the best of our way home. We passed by the place
where we had killed the first kangaroo ; so the stock-
keeper brought home the hind-quarters and the three
skins, and I brought home a tail; and really I don't know
which is best, kangaroo steaks or kangaroo steamer.
"Or cockatoo-pie," said his mother; " and now to bed.
I dare say we shall dream all night of your ' Tale of a
Kangaroo.' " * * * *
Will's account of his sport amused us very much ; and
it was a correct description of the way of hunting the
animal. I may remark here on the amazing quantity of
grass that a kangaroo eats; it eats nothing else in its
wild state, but the quantity found in it has often aston-
ished me. When caught very young, and tamed, it will
eat all sorts of vegetables ; but of all things I ever
tried it with, it is fondest of brown sugar; it will follow
you about for brown sugar, just as sheep will follow the
shepherd to get a lick of a lump of salt. It is a timid,
fearful animal ; very pretty in appearance when its head
and neck only are visible over the bushes, but an ungainly
creature in its whole aspect. The feature of its false
belly or pouch, into which the young one creeps to sleep
or to avoid danger, is peculiar to the females of all tlio
native animals of this country.
dDjiDjitBr Hintji.
Takes posstssion of his now house — Delight of independence — Crab
puts the plough into the ground — The garden, and sheep-shear-
ing — The settler takes stock and makes a discovery.
April 1. — Took possession of our new house, ard
worked hard at the doors and window-shutters. Frost
at night.
April 2. — All hands at the stone chimney. Made a
rough job of it, but got on pretty well. The stone is
easy to work ; it easily breaks into flakes handy for
working ; as for mortar, we use some sandy loam mixed
with clay from the river, and it seems to make cement
good enough for our purpose.
Ajiril 3 and 4. — Finished the stone chimney, and
lighted a blazing fire, for the nights are cold now ; and
with our large table in the middle of the room, with
Betsy's green cloth on it, and seated on our logs of
wood, we formed a cheerful party at supper.
A2}ril 5. — Rose early, according to my custom, and
surveyed my new dwelling with a particular sort of satis-
faction. ''No rent to pay for you," said I; "no taxes,
that's pleasant j no poor-rates, that's a comfort ; and no
one can give me warning to quit, and that's another
comfort; and it's my own, thank God, and that's the
greatest comfort of all." I cast my eyes on the plain
^^ before me, and saw my flock of sheep studding the plain,
with my working bullocks at a little distance. My dogs
(101)
102 A New Feeling OP Independence.
came up and licked my hands. Presently my children
came out into the fresh morning air, which was rather
bracing, as the weather was getting colder every day, in
the morning and evening, but still warm in the middle
of the day, and we had a romp with the dogs. As we
Bat at breakfast that morning in our rude cottage, with
the bare walls of logs of trees, and the shingle roof
above us, all rough enough, but spacious, and a little
too airy, I began to have a foretaste of that feeling of in-
dependence and security of home and substance which
I have so many years enjoyed in a higher degree than I
then looked for; but I must not anticipate.
* * * * * * *
Finished all the doors and shutters, and put on good
fastenings of bolts and locks which I had brought from
England.
April 6. — Considered in my mind whether it would
not be well to turn up some ground to sweeten ready for
spring sowing in September. The winter frosts, should
there be any, of June, July, and August, would pulve-
rize the clods a bit. I can't help smiling while I write
this of June, July, and August, being the winter months ;
it shows how topsy-turvy things are here. Consulted
Crab about it, for he understands farming well. Crab
says there must be something wrong about it ; he can-
not understand how I can pretend to have a Spring
sowing in September ! " It's against reason," he says,
"and against nature, and he can't encourage such
nonsense."
April 7. — Thought I'd try a bit of land about a
quarter of a mile from the house, and that lay handy
for fencing — about twelve acres. Stuck the plough into
Improving tke Farm. 103
it this morning, and it turned up rarely. Crab came to
laugh at us. I saw he eyed the furrows wistfully, and
cast a longing look at the plough. At last he grew very
fidgetty, and taking occasion to lind fault with the fur-
rows for not being straight, he seized hold of the shafts,
shoving me aside without much ceremony, saying,
" Heaven be good to us ! do you call that ploughing ?
Hero, give us hold." His grim visage seemed actually
to change and light up when he felt the wood in his
hands, and giving the word. Bob smacked on the bul-
locks, and Crab, in the exuberance of his joy, began to
sing some extraordinary Shropshire song, which made
the woods ring again, and the work went on merrily.
From that hour Crab would allow no one to touch the
plough but himself, and he really seemed to enjoy his
work with all the relish of an unexpected restoration to
an old and loved occupation.
The ground was quite clear of trees, and without many
stones, and in little more than a fortnight the whole was
turned up. Then we set to, to cut down the light tim-
ber in the vicinity to make a bush fence, which employed
us for some time. After that, we worked hard to fence
in a bit of ground for a garden. We had to go rather
farther from home after some stringy-bark trees best for
splitting laths, and contrived to enclose about an acre.
Then wc had a stock-yard to build, and pens for the
sheep, and to fence it with bush fences. Building the
stock-yard was hard work, as we had to form it of the
solid trunks of trees, about nine inches to a foot in
diameter, and from twenty to thirty feet long ; these we
had to drag by bullock-chains and four bullocks, from
a spot about a mile and a half from the house : heavy
104 More about my Farm.
work, and hard labour to set them up. I determined to
do everything well, and in such a way as to fall in with
my plan of the future farm and buildings. All this
work, and the sending of the cart three times to Camp
to bring up various articles, occupied the whole of the
winter months of June, July, and August.
I ought to say here, that I found the winter very
mild. The snow lay on the ground once for three days,
about two inches thick, and there was ice strong enough
to bear in one or two places, in a deep hollow about
three miles from the cottage, which the rays of the sun
did not reach. The mornings and evenings were cold,
particularly just before daylight, when the cold was
sharpest, but the middle of the day was like a bright
October day in England. There is very little rain in the
autumn in Van Diemen's Land, that is, from the begin-
ning of March to the end of May ; and not much raiu
during the winter months of June, July and August.
The rainy season is for about six weeks or two months
in the spring, that is, in September and October.
November 1. — My one hundred and eighty ewes,
which I bought last March, have produced me two hun-
dred and twenty lambs, many having dropped two lambs
a-piece. I trust the wool will be improved, as I had
taken care to choose the best rams I could find shortly
after I bought them. This makes my flock look re-
spectable.
This month I bought six cows heavy with calf, for
four pounds each. They are fine cows, but rather wild.
Applied for another servant from the government, and
had assigned to me a tolerably good one, but he knows
nothing of farming. We find now that wo have plenty
Summer in December! 105
to do. My poor wife works hard, for the female ser-
vants are generally idle, troublesome things. Her
mother, however, helps her with the children. * *
Got the windows of the cottage glazed, and covered
the floor all over with boards, and put boards over our
heads for a ceiling. The shepherd found some whitish
earth, like whiting, about six miles from the cottage. I
Lad long since plastered it inside and out with sand ami
river clay, and now I gave it a coat of this whitewash
outside, which gave it a very smart appearance, li'or
the inside, I mixed with the white earth some of the
red ochre which is abundant in many parts of the coun-
try : this produced something of a salmon colour, and
the plaster being smooth, the ochre gave it the appear-
ance of stucco, and it looked very well and seemly.
We begin to think something of ourselves, and should
assume airs of importance, only there is no one near us
to show them to.
Decemher. — We arc now getting to the end of De-
cember, and summer is coming on. The wheat looks
well, which Crab attributes to his peculiar method of
ploughing, which he has endeavoured to explain to me ;
but I cannot understand it, although I agree with him,
of course. He says he shall wait to see how the wheat
comes up, and then he shall bid me good-by and go home.
The garden comes on beautifully. Peas want stick-
ing. Cabbages and cauliflowers transplanted last month
doing well. The six cows dropped their calves this
month. This will make them attached to the place.
The heijinnin<j of the farm looks thriving; may the end
not disappoint me !
C^jjajitn frEtlj.
Expenses of settling — Increase of sheep and cattle — Anecdotes of
snakes — His position in 1821 — Increase of sheep and cattle in
1824 — Sheep-stealing increases in the Colony — Hears some dis-
agreeable accounts of bush-rangers — His prosperous state in May,
1824 — His tranquillity is suddenly disturbed by distressing cries
of alarm from a neighbouring farm.
March 1st, 1818. — As I had from the first formed
the plan of attending particularly to the breeding of
sheep, as the easiest and most profitable occupation that
could be pursued in Van Diemen's Land, I did not em-
barrass myself by attempting to bring a large quantity
of land under cultivation, and I applied myself there-
fore to the tillage of my farm no more than was suffi-
cient to supply my own consumption. I kept my atten-
tion steadily fixed on the raising of wool, as a commo-
dity, should the value of the carcass fiiil, of easy con-
veyance, compared with corn, and of certain sale as an
article of export.
Decevibcr 31, 1818, — Divided my sheep into two
flocks. Their numbers stand thus : —
In March last I find the numbers 702. Since then,
lambs dropped in October from the 180 old ewes — ewes,
118; wethers, 100=218 lambs. The 100 young ewes
dropped iu November 62 ewe lambs and 58 wethers=
120.
This makes— old flock . . .702
Old ewes' lambs . . . .218
Young ewes' lambs .... 120
1040
(106)
Increase of my Flocks. 107
Deducting from this number 84 head consumed im
the farm, my two flocks amount to 956. My working
bullocks are the same as before, namely eight. My six
cows have produced me six more calves, raising my
stock of cattle to 18, besides the working bullocks.
*****
I was a little puzzled to know what to do with my
wool, the expense of carting it to town being great.
An agent of one of the merchants offered me three-
pence per pound to take it away at his own expense,
which, after some consideration, I thought it best to
accept.
*****
I worked hard this year at my fencing, which is one
of the most difficult, laborious, and expensive of a new
settler's operations ; but if it can be done without en-
croaching too much on his funds, it amply repays the
labour and outlay ; I mean the fencing in of his corn-
fields, paddocks, sheep-yards, and homesteads.
I have not said much about the snakes to be seen all
over the colony. We have killed a great many of them,
but we have never been bitten by them. They always
avoid you, and are glad to get out of your way. I have
'^ve or two anecdotes to relate of them, which I may as
well introduce here.
I was one day walking with my shepherd, and ob-
serving the sheep, when being tired, we sat down on
the grass; there was dead wood scattered around. I
had only just seated myself, when turning my head I
beheld a monstrous black snake close behind me ; it was
nearly six feet long, and apparently asleep, at least it
was quite motionless. I silently pointed nut tlie reptile
108 Anecdotes op Snakes.
to the stock-keeper, and drawing from my pocket the
pistol which I usually carried, and which was loaded
with ball, I approached cautiously within a few inches
of the creature's head, intending to blow its brains out.
Drawing the trigger, the powder flashed in the pan, but
the charge having escaped, either from careless ramming
or from having long carried it about in my pocket, the
remaining powder in the barrel was only just sufficient
to move the ball, which rolled slowly out of the muzzle,
and dropping on the snake's head, roused it. I think I
never was in such a terrible fright in my life ', I made
sure that I should kill the snake on the instant, and
there I was on one knee close to it, and without the
chance of escaping if it made a dart at me. By some
extraordinary good luck, the snake was frightened too ;
it raised up its head — looked at me for a moment — and
then glided away. We were both in such a fright that
we had not presence of mind to kill it with sticks, and
so it escaped, and right glad were we to escape the
danger.
At another time, I was looking about at a short dis-
tance from the cottage, in the autumn, wheft the rivers get
very low, when I observed on the opposite side of a deep
pool of water a rustling among the long grass, and pres-
ently the head of a snake appeared over the bank, peer-
ing with curious eye into the pool below. I judged,
from the creature's movements, that it had been accus-
tomed to drink out of this pool, and was disappointed
to find the water so low as to be out of its reach. It
seemed to ponder a good deal on this state of things,
turning its head to the right and left, as if to devise
Bome means of getting at the water. At last it turned
Another Snake Story. i09
its head towards tlie long wiry grass around ir, and
selecting an appropriate tuft close to the edge of the
bank, it twisted the end of its tail round the grass, and
so letting itself down and hanging by the extremity of
its tail, it was enabled to reach the water. It then
drank, frequently raising up its head as a fowl does
when it drinks. I was observing the motions of the
gentleman all the time with much curiosity, and with
my fowling-piece ready to shoot it before it retired ; for
the deadliest war is the constant proclamation of the
colony against all snakes, and no mercy is ever shown to
this most dangerous and insidious enemy. I fired and
killed it. It measured nearly five feet and a half in length.
I shall tell only one more story of snakes. I was
riding on the other side of the colony, about twenty
miles from Launceston, when I suddenly came upon a
snake crossing the road; it was not a very large one,
but I was struck with the remarkable beauty and bril-
liancy of its colours. I had my double-barrel fowling-
piece slung at my back, as was usual with me, and in
my hand I had one of the little straight horsewhips
used on horseback. The snake crossed just before me,
and I stopped immediately and alighted, with the inten-
tion of killing it, urged by that instinct to kill a snake
wherever seen, which becomes added, I think, to our
other natural instincts, after a residence in the colony.
The creature moved away with great rapidity towards
some trees at the distance of about a hundred and fifty
yards, on a path which I directly saw was a snake-track.
I had great difficulty in making my horse follow me in
this chase. When 1 came up to the reptile, I reached out
my arm and gave it a slash on its tail with my horse-
110 A Battle with Him.
•whip. This made it stop, and turn its head and hiss,
with a threat to dart at me. Then I kept back, and the
snake made another start, till I brought it to a stand-
still by another cut of my whip. I could see no broken
bough near me to smash it with, and I did not like to
dirty my fowling-piece by discharging it.
This running fight lasted for some score of yards, till
at last the snake, getting exasperated, turned, and stood
at bay. I relate this anecdote principally, because of
the attitude which the snake now assumed, which I had
often seen in pictures, but never before in nature. The
snake coiled itself up into a close coil, so as to form a
good foundation, it seemed, for a spring. It reminded
me, in this attitude, of the picture of the snake in an
old edition of Milton's " Paradise Lost," where the
serpent is represented tempting Eve. This resemblance
occurred to me while I was fighting it.
We now had a grand battle. I let go the reign of
my horse, and fought the snake with my horsewhip, I
slashing it occasionally round the neck and body, and
it darting out at me, and hissing furiously, with its
eyes as bright as diamonds. It was rather rash of me,
I confess, but I was excited at the time, and did not
think of the risk that I ran. I could not master it,
however, with my slight weapon, so I retired, when it
immediately made off again, as much as to say, "Let
me alone, and I'll let you alone." I followed it till I
came to some broken boughs, when I easily killed it by
a blow on the body.
* * * *
On looking over my journal, I do not find anything de-
serving of particular mention up to 1821. I ploughed,
The Neighborhood Increases. Ill
and I sowed, and I reaped in due order, and my flocks
and herds increased without much attention on my part,
except to keep them together. I attended carefully to
the garden. My children had suflfcrcd no illness since I
had arrived in the colony. In 1821 some new settlers
took land in this district, and the place began to assume
the appearance of becoming more inhabited.
A surgeon, a gentleman-like and clever man, settled
near us ; but there was nothing for him to do except
attending to an occasional accident. A blacksmith, at
the close of this year, established himself on the banks
of the Clyde, and this was a great convenience to us,
during this year I planned out a cut from a river, where
a natural bend aiforded the focility for the purpose of
erecting a flour-mill, which was much wanted, as there
was no mill nearer than camp, fifty miles ofi"; and we had
to cart our wheat down to the town, and return with the
flour — a tedious and expensive process. I had to manage
with a hand-mill for my own use, but the time consumed
in grinding corn in this way was very great, and the
labour of it was distasteful to the servants, so that it was
frequently out of order. In the course of the following
year I erected a small flour mill, with an undershot
wheel, which answered very well, and its cost was soon
repaid by its convenience to myself, and by the toll which
was paid to me by my neighbours as the inhabitants in-
creased.
In 1821, a careful census was taken of the statistics
of the colony, which I find in my journal to stand
thus : —
Number of inhabitants, 7,185 ; acres in cultivation,
14,940; sheep, 170,000 j cattle, 35,000; horses, 350.
112 My Wealth Increases.
During 1822 two magistrates were appointed for this
district.
May, 1824. — Matters remained mucli as usual up to
May, 1824. This completes my seventh year in the
colony. During these seven years the colony had assumed
a very different appearance. Numerous emigrants had
arrived, and the country had become more settled. The
value of sheep had risen in 1821, and good ewes sold
currently for 20s. a head, and if with lambs by their side,
from 20s. to 30s. This state of things put the old set-
tlers who had attended to their stock in fine spirits, for
the influx of settlers kept up the price of stock for some
years. I did very well by the sale of mine, and had the
good fortune not to neglect taking advantage of the op-
portunity. I realized considerable sums by the sales
which I made, and my sheep sold well, as the wool was
fine enough to command a ready sale at the same time
that the carcass was heavy enough to suit the new set-
tlers, who wanted sheep as meat for consumption. I find,
on referring to my journal, that in May, 1824, my stock
stood as follows : —
Sheep— ewes, 3,650 ; wethers, 290. Total, 3940.
Cattle— 75.
Workinj: bullocks — 14.
This year I bought three horses, two mares heavy with
foal for £50 and 60£, and a gelding, for which I gave
£65, for my own riding, as my circuits began to be too
heavy to be performed on foot. I was in Hobart Town
at the close of the autumn of 1821, at which time there
was more than one excellent hotel, when, in walking
about, I came upon a bit of land, about half an acre
(within the town I may say), and covered with rubbish
Sheep-Stealing more Frequent. 113
and stagnant water here and there, and looking wretched
and neglected ; the run of new buildings had taken a turn
in another direction, and this piece of waste had been
overlooked.
Living at a distance, I could not help being struck
with the rapidity with which the town was increasing ;
a sightly church had been built; a new court-house in
progress of completion ; the government house completed
in its improved state ; there was a talk of the establish-
ment of a bank ; and the colony was thriving and im-
proving rapidly. I took all these things into considera-
tion, and was surprised to find this plot of ground ne-
glected ; but so it was, and nobody seemed to care for it.
Having spare money which I did not at the moment
well know how to dispose of, I made inquiries about the
owner and price, and found that I might have the lot for
a hundred pounds. So I bought the bit of waste land ;
but other matters distracting my attention from it, I did
nothing with it for some years after. AVhat was done
with it I shall have to relate in its proper place.
* * * *
Sheep-stealing had been rife for the last two or three
years, the value of the animal making it a great temp-
tation, and the facilities for driving off and concealing
sheep being considered, it is not to be wondered at.
One or two bush-rangers have also been abroad; I was
on business in town this year (1824), and heard the in-
formation of a party who had been attacked by bush-
rangers. It made a very disagreeable impression on me,
and I felt very uneasy as I listened to it, from thinking
that my own family was exposed at that moment to the
same disaster.
8
114 Bush-Rangers Abroad.
I could not sleep all night after hearing this news of
bush-rangers being out. Hitherto we had not been mo-
lested at the Clyde, but it occurred to me that the arri-
val there of fresh emigrants likely to have money and
valuables about them, and new to the country, and
thereby more easy to be attacked, might tempt the con-
victs to go up there. These thoughts kept possession
of me all night, and I could not resist the desire of re-
turning home. At dawn of day, therefore, I set out,
and my horse being fresh, I had no difficulty in reaching
the Clyde before two o'clock the same day. I may re-
mark here that the horses in Van Diemen's Land are
capable of enduring great fatigue ; they are small, but
strong and hardy ; sure-footed, and capable of support-
ing their work on the natural grass of the country on
their journeys. * * * J •^yas glad to find all safe at
home, but I made my wife rather uneasy by my report
of the marauding of the bush-rangers at Pitt Water.
This information about the sheep-stealing coming upon
the news of the bush-rangers at Pitt Water, made me un-
comfortable and restless. But the sight of my family and
my home soon restored me to my usual cheerfulness.
* * * * *
Extract from my journal of May, 1824 : —
" Kept a sharper look-out after my own flocks. Cer-
tainly I have been very lucky hitherto; things have
thrived with me most prosperously. I am now in pos-
session of a numerous flock of sheep ; of a tolerable herd
of cattle ; I have forty -five acres of land under tillage ;
the building of my new stone house proceeds favourably;
I have a fair portion of land fenced in ; my garden has
succeeded admirably ; I have all sorts of English vegeta-
Family Matters. 115
bles in abundance ; strawberries, raspberries, gooseber-
ries, currants, young apple and pear trees, vigorous and
growing fast.
" My family, now increased to sis, begin to be com-
panions to me; and their education, even in this out-of-
the-way place, has not been neglected. The place is be-
coming settled around me, which although it curtails the
run for my sheep and cattle, increases the feeling of se-
cui'ity, and affords some society.
" My eldest boy, now seventeen years of age, is a valu-
able assistant to me, and affords the promise of becoming
a healthy, intelligent, and honourable man. My daughter
Betsy grows a fine, handsome girl; and my other chil-
dren are healthy, happy, and improving. I have the plea-
surable feeling of caring little whether my consumption
of meat and flour is a little less or a little more. Abund-
ance reigns around me. The feeling of anxiety with
which I used to be haunted in England, in respect to how
my children could be made certain of lodging, food, and
clothes, has departed from me. There is plenty for all ;
and the dominant desire now is changed to that of be-
coming wealthy. To be sure, we still live rather'in the
rough ; but usage has made it fiimiliar to us. We use no
fine furniture, wear no fine clothes, and our establishment
still bears the impress of a settler's early life. But I am
rich (for independence is riches) in sheep and cattle, and
house and land. My large room has become furnished
■with an ample supply of books, and I find recreation and
advantage in their perusal.
" The climate, on experience, we find healthy, though
very changeable, and subject to extreme variations of
heat and cold. I find, by the register of my thermome-
116 A Great Change.
ter, that the temperature has varied thirty-two degrees
between night and noon ; being below freezing-point in
the night, and above sixty-three at twelve and one o'clock.
These variations, do not alfect the health of any of us ;
we/eeZ the cold, — that is all.
" This year we have added fish to our table. We threw
a net across a narrow part of the river, about half a mile
from the house, and we now obtain a plentiful supply of
eels at most times. We catch also a small fish of the na-
ture of the gudgeon, but larger, which we call the fresh
water smelt. But the rivers in this colony, at least the
inland portions of them, are not prolific of fish; nor do
the large lakes, the sources of several of them, supply
much. Scarcely a fish, indeed, is to be found in the lakes
of the colony. There is plenty of wild fowl at the lakes ;
I have seen flocks literally of thousands of wild ducks on
one of them."
But to return to my Journal.
Thus, in May, 1824, all things prospered with me.
But now the uniform life which I had led for some years,
experienced a great change. Just before the winter, that
is, toward the end of May, 1824, we were sitting round
our cheerful fire, and the servant had with difficulty
borne in a huge log to replenish it; it was about nine
o'clock, and quite dark, when the barking of the dogs
announced the arrival of a stranger ; he was on horseback,
as we could hear from the sound of the horse's hoofs on
the hard ground. He was quickly shown into the house,
and according to the custom of the colony, food and
drink were placed before him ere he was troubled with
any questions. But he was eager to communicate the
tidings with which he was charged.
-.^^s
U^^\M
BUSHRANGERS ABROAD - THE ALARM.
StxIUTling Outcries. 117
Information had been received by the government of
the escape of a body of convicts from Macquaric Har-
bour, who were spreading consternation over the district
of Pitt Water, where they had plundered and ill-used
many settlers, and where they had been joined by fm--
ther bands of convict servants. Our guest was in haste
to communicate the intelligence to the resident magis-
trates, as it was thought likely that the band of bush-
rangers would turn their steps to this district, as being
unprotected, and abounding to the west in places of
concealment.
We were still in earnest conversation on this alarming
news, and I was hastily revolving in my mind the best
means of guarding against an attack, when loud cries,
seemingly for help, from the opposite side of the river,
on which a new settler had lately fixed himself, caused
us suddenly to break up our party. I lost no time in
preparing our arms, which from habit were always kept
in a state of efficiency, and calling in two of my men on
whom I could entirely depend, I entrusted them with a
musket a-piece, and made such preparations for our
own defence as the circumstances afforded.
Crab, who had now become part of the family, under-
took to defend the house ; and after a hasty consulta-
tion, we agreed that it would not be kind or manly to
abandon our neighbours in their distress and difficulty.
I was perplexed to contrive how to render them the re-
quisite assistance, and to leave a sufficient defence at
home, when a fresh and violent barking of the dogs
caused us a further alarm. The night was quite dark, •
but the stars shone brightly. The dogs barked furi-
ously, and it was plain to us, who were acquainted with
118 Go toRender Help.
the language of their warnings, that they were excited by
the approach of some unusual object, and of more than
a sino-le individual.
Seeing the necessity of prompt and decisive action, I
advanced from the door of the cottage, being protected
in the rear by one of the men. A voice amidst the tu-
mult called out to me to call off the dogs, who were fu-
rious. I thought I recognised the voice of the speaker,
and it proved to be a neighbour who had settled about
four miles off. He had been going his rounds to look
after his sheep, marauders being abroad, when, approach-
ing within half a mile of my cottage, his attention had
been attracted by the cries which had alarmed us. He
was well armed, and accompanied by two friends, also
well armed.
Cheered by this reinforcement, I lost no time in ac-
quainting them with the news of the escape of the con-
victs from Macquarie Harbour, and of my fears that our
new neighbour was in the hands of the bush-rangers.
They at once agreed to lend him their help ; and as I
was well acquainted with the point where the river could
be best crossed, and my home being now secure from
any sudden attack, we advanced without delay to the
scene of danger. But as this forms one of the epochs
of my life, I must reserve the account of the adventures
and disasters, which now came thick upon me, to an-
other chapter.
Cljnjittr iBlrnnttlj.
Hastens with a party of friends to his neighbour's assistance — The
dangerous passage of the river on the trunk of a tree — The lifeless
body of a young girl strangely discovered — The plundered dwell-
ing, and the desolate mother.
The fiimily which we were hastening to help had not
arrived on their land more than three weeks, and con-
sisted of a Mr. Moss, his wife, a daughter about seven-
teen, and two young boys of seven and six years of age.
They had been well off at one time, but a succession of
misfortunes had reduced their means to an income too
small for a bare subsistence in England, but amply suf-
ficient for a prosperous establishment in Van Diemen's
Land. Mrs. Moss had been highly educated, and her
daughter was possessed of more than the usual accom-
plishments of her age, and of their former station. The
arrival of this young lady at our settlement seemed, as
a young friend of mine expressed himself, " like the
springing up of a beautiful flower in the wilderness."
"We all felt a strong interest in these new settlers, and
we were ready to risk much to sei-ve them.
While my friends put themselves in fighting order, I
buckled my old cavalry broad-sword round me so as not
to interfere with my movements, for having served in the
yeomanry in Surrey, I had ever after a liking for the
weapon, to which 1 felt I could trust in case of close
conflict ; and with my double-barrel fowling-piece slung
(119)
120 Dangerous Passage of the River.
over my back, and my large horse-pistols in the pockets
of my sliootiug-jacket, I led the way across the river.
My companions followed cautiously and silently in In-
dian file. It was quite dark, with the exception of such
glimmering light as the brilliancy of the stars afforded.
It was my plan to cross the river by the trunk of a
tree, which had fallen over from the opposite bank, and
formed a natural bridge, a rough one, and not easily to
be passed by day; and in the dark, the passage over it
was rather a dangerous experiment. There was a dead
silence around, which seemed more terrible than the
cries by which we had recently been alarmed, and filled
us with ominous fears for the fate of our neighbours.
We quickly reached the crossing-place, and in a low
whisper I warned my companions of the dangerous
points of the bridge. My young neighbour, Beresford,
was particularly anxious on this occasion. I did not
remark it at the time, as we were all active and excited;
but subsequent events made me remember it. The river
at this spot is narrow, and flows with the rapidity of a
mountain torrent. I observed in the gloom that Beres-
ford's two companions hesitated at the sight of this dif-
ficulty.
" I wish we had light for this work," said one ; " I
can see the foam of the water, and I think I can see
something which I suppose is the tree lying across it ;
but it's an awkward job this."
" Speak low," said I; "you don't know what ears may
be listening to you."
" Speak low ! — why, the roaring of this water is
enough to drown all the noise that we shall make on
this side. The river seems to be angry to-night. I
I Lead the Way, 121
hope you are sure of your tree-bridge. I should not
like to find myself in that boiling gulf below ; if I did,
I'm inclined to think no one else would find me."
" It's an ugly sight," said the first speaker ; "but if
Thornlcy is sure of the passage, I'll venture it; and
don't let us lose any time, for if we are to do any good,
we must be quick about it."
"Well, we are in for it; we can't go back; who leads
the way ?"
"I'll lead the way," said Bercsford; "I'm the
youngest of the party ; now, follow me."
" No," said I, " that's my business ; I know the pas-
sage best. ..."
"Perhaps not better than I do," said Beresford ;
"come on."
"How can that be?" said I; "you have not occa-
sion to cross the river so often as I have."
Beresford said something which the noise of the waters
prevented me from hearing. I led the way, and began
to crawl over on my hands and knees.
I must confess that it was not without a momentary
tremor that I beheld the white foam of the torrent dash-
ing furiously past beneath me. A single false movement
was death ; and the disagreeable feeling came over me,
that if an enemy should have had the foresight to guard
this point, I and my companions, in our defenceless posi-
tion were exposed to sure destruction.
With these thoughts agitating me, and the darkness of
the uight, the incessant rushing of the water, and the
danger of our expedition, all tending to inspire doubt
and fear, it is impossible to describe my sensations, when,
stretching forward my arm to feel the way before me, my
122 AThrillof Horror.
hand encountered what seemed to be a human head of
hair. I was clinging to the trunk of the tree, in a po-
sition disabling me from the use of my weapons, nor in-
deed did the necessity of holding fast allow me to have
more than one hand momentarily disengaged in my
creeping posture. All sorts of fears were instantly con-
jured up in my horror and bewilderment.
My first thought was that the bush-rangers, suspect-
ing our intention, were lying in ambush, and every in-
stant I expected to receive a volley from the opposite
bank. Then visions of the natives arose, and I actually
crouched up, the better to defend myself against the
shower of spears which I knew would be the beginning
of their attack. My companions behind me, embar-
rassed by my stoppage, and not knowing the cause, urged
me to proceed, as the swift running of the white waters
beneath their eyes was beginning to produce giddiness.
For nearly a minute I was totally at a loss what to do.
At last the mist with which the sudden alarm had enve-
loped my brain began to disperse ; I reasoned with my-
self rapidly and decisively.
I knew that to go back over our perilous bridge was,
in the dark, and encumbered as we were with our arms,
impossible. Go on we must. As 1 formed this resolu-
tion, it suddenly occurred to me that the form before me
must be in the same embarrassment as to advancing or
retreating as myself; and that at any rate the chances
were equal in the event of a struggle for mastery. Em-
boldened by this thought, I stretched out my hand
again, and met with the same object. It seemed cer-
tainly a human head ! It was motionless, and had re-
mained, as well as I could judge, in the precise position
A Lifeless Female Form. 123
iu which my hand lighted on it before. But the second
time, the hair struck me as being softer, and the sensa-
tion flashed across me that it was not a man's hair that
I was feeling. My wonder increased by this new dis-
covery, and my fears yielding to my excitement, I ex-
tended my arm, and traced the long ringlets of a woman !
My alarm was now changed to wonderment and horror.
Laying my hand on her face, I found it deadly cold ; her
arms were encircled round the trunk of the tree, but
they hung lifeless, and I at once guessed that the female,
whoever she might be, in attempting to cross the river
by this dangerous place, rendered more dangerous and
frightful by the darkness, had been terrified by the roar
of the raging waters, and had fainted.
What to do in this unexpected dilemma, I was at a
loss to imagine. My companions began to be alarmed,
and the infection of superstitious fear was beginning to
unnerve them. In these perplexing and dangerous cir-
cumstances, I felt the necessity of coming to some prompt
decision. The female before me had evidently either
fainted, or perhaps overcome by fear and exhausting ex-
citement, was dead !' But her lifeless body formed au
obstacle to our further progress, and I considered that,
at that very moment, while I was deliberating, the work
of death might be going on among our neighbours whom
we were endeavouring to succour, and that our assistance
was prevented by an impediment to whom all help per-
haps now was vain.
I With this feeling — that four lives were at stake on the
trunk of the tree, trusting to my guidance, and that other
lives were jeopardized by the delay of our assistance, the
exquisitely painful thought came over me, that stern ne-
124 Danger Makes me Calm.
cessity justified the sacrifice of the one for the many, and
that we must risk the dislodging of the body of the wo-
man for the purpose of completing our passage across the
river. The form lay motionless, and on the balance on
the slippery trunk of the tree ; the slightest motion was
sufiicient to overturn it into the boiling and roaring gulf
below! 3Iy companions urged me to proceed. I ex-
plained to them in a few words the cause of my stoppage ;
but they still continued to press me to go forward, their
fear of the present peril overcoming their apprehension
of the remoter hazard, should the bush-rangers be in
ambush on the other side, and waiting for us to rise up
to get the surer aim ; they vehemently and angrily com-
plained that they could no longer keep their hold, and
that they could neither recede nor advance.
Impelled by the imminency of the danger, my senses
benumbed by the cold, and my mind confused by the un-
ceasing roaring and foaming of the furious waters, my
presence of mind almost forsook me. I stretched out my
hand again : the form was still motionless — but I traced
the outline of the small and delicate features of that cold
face, and quick as lightning the thought of my own
daughter flashed across me. That thought restored my
wandering senses. I became instantly calm and col-
lected : and with a sort of desperate energy I raised my-
self to a sitting posture across the tree, and propelling
myself with my hands towards the object before me, I
took firm hold of her long tresses to prevent the body
from slipping from its dangerous resting-place. All con-
tinued to be still around, except the noise of the river.
I now raised my voice to overtop the roaring of the wa-
ters, and turning my head towards my wondering com-
Beeesford Saves Her! 125
panions, I communicated to tliem my intention to pre-
serve the body, dead or alive.
" It is the form," said I, " of a young girl."
" A young girl !" exclaimed Bcresford. "Then "
" In the name of Heaven," said the man behind him,
*'do not stay talking. Man or woman, young or old,
we must pass now to the other side. Necessity has no
law. Move on quickly, for I shall not be able to hold
on half a minute longer."
"Yes," cried out the hindermost, "move on — move
on — I dare not attempt to move backwards. As it is,
the cold has so benumbed me, and I am so giddy with
the roaring of these waters under me, that every moment
I expect to slip off. Move on, I say ; this is no time
for fine feelings ; our own lives are at stake. We are
lying here to be murdered, if there are really bush-
rangers abroad — and this affair looks like it. Move on,
I say, or by I shall be tempted to make a way for
myself."
" Stop," said Beresford; " stop — for God's sake, stop.
I have a horrible presentiment of who this poor girl must
be. "We must make an effort to save her. Let me try
to pass you (speaking to me) ; or stay — I think I see a
branch below that the water is rushing against ; I will
make the attempt to save her if I perish."
With that my young friend, passing his fowling-piece
to me to hold for him, threw himself by a bold and ac-
tive movement under the tree; and clinging by the
broken boughs, by a succession of desperate struggles
succeeded in gaining a position on the other side of the
female, where the thick part of the trunk afforded a surer
footing. He then gradually drew the motionless form
126 We Approach the Hut.
towards him, and taking it in liis arms, bore it to a small
distance from the river, and laid it on the grass, glisten-
ins with the white frost. In the meantime we had all
succeeded in crossing the bridge safely; and the men
finding themselves on firm ground, soon recovered their
presence of mind and courage, and were ready for action.
There was no time to be lost. The spot which we had
to reach was less than a quarter of a mile distant, and
we were all eager to move forward. But what was to be
done with the lifeless female ? Young Beresford had
been endeavouring to restore warmth by chafing the
hands of the inanimate body, but without success. It
seemed as dangerous to leave it on the cold ground,
should life be not quite extinct, as to bear it with us.
But decision was necessary; and yielding to the en-
treaties of Beresford, whose interest in the inanimate
form seemed overpowering, we hastily agreed that he
should bear the body with us, while I advanced before,
being best acquainted with the locality, his two friends
following close after me. In this order we approached
the spot where our new neighbour had raised his homely
dwelling.
As I neared the place, my foot lighted on a soft sub-
stance, which induced me to stoop down to examine it.
It was a dead kangaroo dog. I felt it, and found that
its brains had been dashed out by some heavy instru-
ment. This occurrence foreboded danger, and we pro-
ceeded rapidly and silently, but with increased caution.
The outline of the hut now loomed through the dark ;
all was silent. We were perplexed how to proceed ; we
could see no enemy, and feared some plot to entrap us.
We continued our advance, however, to the door of the
An Appalling Sioht. 127
hut in a line, young Bcrcsford bearing the body in tlie
rear. I held his fowling-piccc in my hand, with my
own sking behind me. We reached the door ; it was
fastened, but we thought we could distinguish stifled
breathing within. "We knocked ; no answer. "We were
impressed with the conviction that the enemy, whoever
it might be, was there.
I directed Beresford, in a whisper, to take the body
to the side of the hut, that it might be out of the line
of fire from the windows and door. Then, with one dash
of my foot, I burst the door from its hinges, and we
three rushed in. A scream, so deep, so piercing, so
full of mortal fear and agony, that it even now thrills
through me as I recall it, arrested our steps. But I
guessed on the instant the real state of the case. On
the hearth the embers were still red. Snatching a
handful of thatch from the roof, I made a blaze. That
light revealed to me the form of a woman, crouched in
a corner, bound, with two young children beside her.
The transient blaze of the lighted grass ceased, and we
were again in darkness.
" Oh, God !" cried the woman, " are you come again ?
I have never spoken — not one word — indeed I have not
— and the children have scarcely breathed — but if you
are determined "
^' 'Wo are friends," said I, " come to assist you; we
heard your cries "
"Oh, why did you not come sooner ? — my husband
— my child — my daughter, where is she ? — she ran out
to get help — is she drowned ? — what have they done
with her ? — my God ! my God ! shall I ever recover
the horrors of this dreadful night ?"
128 Endeavour to Eestore Life.
While she spoke these words, "which pierced our very
souls, and filled us with the most fearful forebodings,
one of my neighbour's friends had again lighted up
some thatch on the hearth, which threw a glare around,
and enabled us to see about us ; fortunately, a candle
which had been extinguished was found close at hand ;
this afibrded us a dim and dismal light.
Beresford, who heard the scream, had caught the
words of the mother, and while I stationed one of our
party at the door of the hut, and another at the back,
he hastily brought in the body of the apparently lifeless
girl. The mother, whom I had unbound, did not speak;
she gazed on the body of her child in speechless agony.
" She is dead ;" at last she muttered — " she is dead ! —
they have killed her ! — better so, perhaps, than worse !
What may have happened? Am I awake, or is it a
dream ? Oh, no — it is all real — cold and dead — cold and
dead I"
A passionate burst of tears followed these words, ut-
tered in all the calmness of despair, and the children,
now recovering from their stupor, mingled their cries
with the bursting sobs of the mother."
But my young friend was not inactive during this pain-
ful scene. With wonderful coolness and presence of mind,
he took all the steps that were likely to restore conscious-
ness, if life remained ; and the energies of the mother
beginning to revive, she presently added her assistance
He had placed the body of the poor girl on a rough
wooden couch, with her feet close to the fire, which was
now blazing up briskly. The mother rubbed her feet,
and my friend chafed her hands ; but life seemed to have
departed. The mother said nothing, but worked on
Friends Join Us. 129
silently, the two children looking on in trembling expec-
tation. I stood by, racking nay brain to remember all
the means that I had read or heard of to restore sus-
pended animation. There was no apparent injury, her
mother assured us, to cause death, and our hopes revived
even at the fiiint prospect of restoration which this intel-
ligence afforded us. All that I have related, since we
began to cross the river, took place in less than twenty
minutes, so that the possibility of life being not yet quite
extinct still remained ; but the hope became every mo-
ment less and less.
"While we were thus employed and thus agitated with
our various fears — the mother for her child, the young
man for the beautiful girl before us — and I, as a parent,
entering into the bitter sorrows of their weeping mother,
we heard loud shouts proceeding from the direction of
the place where we had recently crossed the river, and
presently, at a rapid pace, a party of friends joined us.
The news of "bush-rangers abroad" had quickly
spread from neighbour to neighbour, and the present
party having assembled, they learnt at my house our ex-
jiedition and its object, and immediately started to sup-
port us. They had crossed at a point of the river higher
up, but affording an easier and a safer passage. Fortu-
nately the gentlemen who had settled among us as a sur-
geon was among the party, and his attention was imme-
diately directed to the apparently lifeless form of the
beautiful young girl.
It was a moment of most painful expectation. He felt
her pulse long and anxiously. I saw his countenance
change. He held before her lips a small pocket looking
glass, which he first, with professional coolness, carefully
wiped. He inspected it once — twice !
130 Efforts to Kestore Life.
" Place her," said he, " on her side."
It was done.
Again he applied the glass to her lips. It was untar-
nished.
'' Throw more wood on the fire/' said the surgeon.
" Light wood — quick — make it blaze up."
He applied the glass again.
Gradually his countenance changed from the expres-
sion of hopelessness which had saddened it, and suddenly
it lighted up as the brightness of the glass became ob-
scured. We were breathless.
" Hush !" said he. '' Be calm," addressing her mother.
^' All will depend on your coolness and presence of mind.
If you can command your feelings, I may do much. She
is not dead !"
Here an hysteric sob seemed to choke the mother,
but she stifled it; and, with hands clenched, and cheeks
streaming with silent floods of tears, she suck on her
knees, with her eyes dimly gazing at him who seemed to
be her guardian angel.
'' She is not dead !" repeated the surgeon, in a low
tone. ''Life — I think — I am sure — still remains; but
the slightest shock would instantly destroy it. Beware
of exciting her by questions or by disastrous news,
should I succeed in restoring her to consciousness.
Nothing but silence and soothing will save her from
death or insanity. Has any one some brandy with
him?"
Fortunately one of the party — the most drunken fel-
low in the settlement — had a travelling flask of rum,
which, indeed, he was never without. It was quickly
produced; and, after its owner had taken a sip of it.
He IS Successful. 131
'*'to see." as he said, "that it was the right stuff," he
handed it to the surgeon. I am' inclined to think that
that fiask of rum saved the young lady's life, but it cost
its proprietor his own sooner than in the ordinary course
of things, for from that moment he was never without his
flask, always emptied, and ever refilled, " in case," as
he used to say, " any other unfortunate person might
chance to want some of it ; and so, on the strength of
the life that he boasted it had saved, he hastened the
end of his own.
" And now, gentlemen," said the surgeon, " be pleased
to retire from the hut, and leave me alone with this
lady. There seems to be more work for you to do before
this family can be set to rights."
We silently obeyed. I was the last who quitted the
mora ; and as I was going out at the door, the poor
mother laid her hand convulsively on my arm, and with
a sort of desperate calmness whispered, " My husband —
have they murdered him ?"
" Surely not," I said; "hope for the best — you see
we are strong enough to take active measures for his
safety. Depend on us that we will neglect nothing to
find him, and to restore him to you."
" I am sure you will. See, the surgeon is trying to
pour some spirit down my poor child's throat. Now
leave us."
All this time Beresford had not spoken a word. I
found him, as I passed, stationed close to the door.
There was a light outside the hut now, as some of the
party had kindled a fire in front of it, which threw its
glare around for a considerable distance. All our party
now assembled together; and it was agreed that we
132 I AM MADE Leader.
should keep watcla round the place during the night,
and that at daybreak we should go in search of our
neighbour. We made a diligent examination of the
parts about, as we conjectured that the bush-rangers
might have bound and gagged him, and left him at a
distance from the hut ; but we could find no traces of
him or of them. With one accord I was chosen the
leader of the present expedition, as being the oldest
settler, and the one best acquainted with the bush. I
had mustered my party with the view of allotting to
them their different stations, when a cry from the hut
arrested our attention, and young Beresford came run-
ning to us, and crying out, —
*' She is saved ! She is saved ! She is alive ! She is
breathing ! And now," said he, " for her father; that's
the next thing to attend to. It's the first itiquiry she
will make when she recovers her senses, and if she should
suspect the worst, the consequences in her present state
I am sure would be instantly fatal."
"That is our object," said I; "we must find the
poor fellow. And now let us make our arrangements.
There are twelve of us ; I dare say we are strong enough
to cope with the other party ; for we have the right on
our side, and that is a tower of strength. I propose
that at break of day we should remove this family to
my cottage. In the mean time it is necessary that we
should prepare ourselves for bushing it, for some days
perhaps. Let four men go to my cottage, and procure
all the necessaries that we shall want, and don't forget
the kangaroo rugs, for the nights are cold, and we shall
need them."
" Don't forget some brandy," said one.
Prepark to Tursue the Rangers. 133
"Nor the tea and sugar," said another; "there's
nothing like a cup of tea in the bush ; it's more refresh-
ing than all the spirits in the world."
"Bring plenty of pannikins," said a third; "or.o
apiece will not be in the way."
"Take care to bring plenty of rice," said I; "it lies
in a small compass, and is more handy for the bush than
flour; but tell them at home to make as many small
dampers as we can carry; and bring away all the baked
bread in the house. My men will help you to carry the
things."
" How are your powder-horns?" said young Bcrcs-
ford.
" Plenty of powder, but little shot,"
" Ask for the bag of slugs and the little bag of balls,
that hang by my bed's head," said I ; " and bring a dozen
or two of spare flints with you, and anything else that
you think will be useful."
" Would it not be well," said one, " to give notice to
the magistrates?"
" Right," said I , " who will volunteer to go over the
plain this dark night, and tell the one farthest off"?"
"That will I do," said a spirited young fellow; "I
knnw every inch of the way; if I meet with anything, I
will fire oft" my piece."
" You can tell one of my servants to apprise the other
magistrate of this night's work, as his house is in a line
from my cottage. If he is at home, he will be with us
by daylight, you may depend on it; for he is young, ami
has no wife nor child, and he likes these expeditions. It
may be useful, too, to have a magistrate among us to
sanction our proceedings, so ask him to come with us, and
134 My Dogs Follow Me.
say that we should be obliged to him if he would be our
leader ; and you may as well say that no one could do it
so well as himself. There's nothing like being civil, and
we all like to be flattered a bit. Who knows what it is
o'clock ?"
" Not eleven yet."
" Then we have the whole night before us."
" And so have the bush-rangers ; they may get well
away before morning."
''No/' said another; " it is impossible to travel fast
on a night so dark as this. Let us have daylight before
us, and get well on their tracks, and they can't escape
us."
'' Shall we try the dogs after them ?"
" No ; the kangaroo dogs are of no use as bloodhounds;
they will track those they are used to for any distance,
but they don't understand being set to track strangers.
But we must take some dogs with us, for we shall want
to pull more than one kangaroo for our dinners before
we have done, I'm thinking."
" Here is one to begin with," said I, " as I felt a cold
nose thrust into my hand. Hector and Fly are growing
old now, but here's one of their breed, and here's an-
other. They have found me out you see. Now let some
one get two more, so that the four may not all belong
to one party, in case of being separated. Shall we take
any horses? I have three in the stable and four more in
the bush that are sure to come for their corn in the morn-
ing. Perhaps they're in the open stable now, for they
often come up and get under shelter when the nights
are wet or cold."
It was agreed that four of the party should be
TUE It EST OF THAT NiGUT. 135
mounted, to act as scouts ; but as it was likely that the
marauders would choose the most inaccessible paths,
where a horseman would be taken at great disadvantage,
it was thought best that the rest of the party should be
on foot.
" Take another horse, as a pack-horse," said one, '' to
carry our provisions, and let one of your men lead
him."
" A bright thought !" said I, " and now I think we
shall be well prepared for the bush ; and so I recommend
all to sleep as much as they can till daylight, that we may
be the fresher for the work."
"Oh, never mind sleep; we are too much excited to
sleep to-night ; but let us have some supper."
" Will you come to my cottage, or stay here ?"
" Oh, stay here ; we will not leave the poor woman
to-night ; no, we'll sup here, and make a bush night of
it to begin with ; but it's terribly cold. There," said
the speaker, throwing a heavy log on the fire, which
made the sparks fly up like a fire-work ; " there's some
food for you; and there's another, and another. By
George, we'll have a jolly fire, and make a merry night
of it. I say, how's the young woman ?"
Beresford required no further hint than these words ;
looking at me, I gave him a nod, and he disappeared in
an instant. He tapped gently at the d(jor of the hut,
and returning to us immediately, whispered to me —
" She lives ! she has not spoken ; but she sleeps."
"Good," said I, "and now do you sleep too; we
shall want all your strength to-morrow."
He smiled, and shook his head — " I will never sleep,"
said he, " till I have found her father."
136 The Mother's Story.
'' I do not doubt," said I, " that you will spare no ex-
ertion to recover him ; and now let us try to get some
information about this sad affair. Is the mother cool
enough to tell us her story ? It would be a help to us
to know something of the character and numbers of the
party who attacked the hut. We should not lose any
time by it, as it would be useless to start in pursuit of
the bush-rangers till daylight. See if the poor lady can
leave her daughter for a while ; the surgeon can sit by
her while the mother is away ; and we ought to know
all the particulars as well as she can tell them."
Beresford went to the hut, and presently returned
with Mrs. Moss, from whom we were happy to learn
that her daughter still breathed and slept. We placed
the afflicted lady on a log of wood before our bush-fire,
and our sentinels being planted in suitable places, to
guard against surprise, she described the attack in the
following terms.
(!DIiii|itFr (Kuirlftl)
The attack of the bush-rangers — The mysterious fate of the lost
husband — It is resolved to pursue the bush-rangers — Preparadons
for the expedition — The magistrate heads the party — Horrible
discovery.
I HARDLY know wliere to begin : I have very little to
tell. It all seems now to have passed in a moment.
We were sitting round the fire, I and my husband, and
my poor Lucy, and the two children. Since we came
up here, my husband always used to keep his gun in his
hand, or else close by him, ready for use, for our greatest
horror was these bush-rangers, and I don't know really
whether I was most frightened to see him always carry-
ing that eternal gun about with him, or to see him with-
out it; though it would have been but little protec-
tion against so many ! Perhaps it's all for the best. If
he had fired, and killed one of them, it might have ex-
asperated them, and they might have done worse. Well,
we were assembled round the fire, as I said, and my
husband was particularly cheerful; he was sitting in the
corner close to the window, with his gun leaning against
the wall close to his hand, when he got up to close the
shutter on the other side, as the wind was chilly.
It seems that we had been watched all the evening,
and I suspect one of our men (we have only one man
besides the shepherd) was a spy on us, for my husband
(137)
138 Attack of the Bush-rangers.
had left tte corner where his gun was, only for a mo-
ment, when a man in a kangaroo jacket rushed into
the room, and got between my husband and his weapon,
which he seized hold of, and pointing his own gun at
my husband, commanded him to throw up his hands
over his head, or he would fire.
We were all in a cluster together, and my husband
fearing, I dare say, that we might be wounded or killed,
held up his arms. On this the bush-ranger threw his
gun over his arm ; but my husband in an instant rushed
at him, and clasped him round the body. In the strug-
gle, the bush-ranger's gun went off. But in the mean-
time more bush-ranger's had come ; two of them imme-
diately seized my husband from behind, and the first
struck him over the head with the end of his gun, which
I think stunned him for a time. They then bound him
tightly hand to foot, and at the same time two of them
held me and bound me also, and another man took hold
of the children. Looking round, I missed Lucy, and
guessed that she had escaped from the back window of
her little bedroom. God help her! I hardly know
whether to wish she may be restored to life and con-
sciousness or not. But God's will be done !
Well, gentlemen, when they had bound my husband,
they asked him where he had put his money; for being
new settlers, we had been so imprudent as to bring nearly
a thousand dollars with us, besides a little plate, and our
watches, and other articles of value, of which no doubt
the bush-rangers had information. My poor husband
was scarcely recovered from the stunning blow of the
bush-ranger's gun, but he declared that we had no money ;
that we were poor settlers, and had nothing with us but
a few necessaries, such as flour and tea and sugar.
My Husband's Life TnRE;>TENED 139
The man who had first pointed his gun at him, now
placed it close to his head, and swore most horribly that
if he did not instantly tell him where the money was hid,
he would blow out his brains. This man seemed to be
the leader.
" Money," said he, " we will have ; we know you have
got it, so tell us where it is, or" — and here he swore a
dreadful oath — "■ you shall have the contents of this bar-
rel through your brains."
I was held by two men, who had tied a handker-
chief over my mouth, and it was in vain that I struggled
to get loose. The bush-ranger put his finger on the lock
of his gun, and I heard a click ; I knew well what the
click meant. In another instant I expected to behold
my poor husband's head shattered to pieces. With a
desperate strength, which nothing but despair could have
lent to me, I loosened one arm, and tearing the handker-
chief from my mouth, I exclaimed, "Oh! tell them, tell
them ! For God's sake tell them ! — life is better than
money . . ."
"Oh — ho !" said the leader, *' so there is money, after
all. Then I think I'll find a way to get it. Here," he
said to one of the men, " put your musket close to this
gentleman's head ; that's right — now cock it — now put
your finger on the trigger, and if he ofiiers to cry out —
fire ! And now for the lady. Just put the handker-
chief over her mouth again, and this time take care she
doesn't get it ofi" again ; a woman can't hold her tongue,
though her husband's brains may be blown out from her
talking. In the meantime, ma'am," said he, with a sort
of mock politeness, " I'll trouble you to walk into the
inner room. I should not like to shock a lady's nerves,
140 They Find the Money.
Xior a gentleman's neither, with what is usual in these
cases."
^' I will not move," said I, horrified at his words. " I
will not move ; I will not leave my husband and my
children. Kill me, if you will, but here I will stay."
''By no means," said the mocking bush-ranger; "we
never wish to kill anybody if we can help it, that's not
our game ; but if you will not walk, you must be carried."
The two men who held me then lifted me up in an
instant, and carried me into the bedroom, where they
threw me on the bed.
" Now," said the leader, " is the lady put comfortably
to bed?"
''Ay, ay," said the man who held me down; ''we've
got her tight enough."
" You see," he said to my husband, for I could hear
him speak plainly, as the two rooms are separated only
by the log partition, "you see how things are; you had
better tell at once, before we proceed to further extremi-
ties."
Extreme terror and faintness had kept me silent till
this moment, but now fear for my husband and my chil-
dren, as well as the horror of my own condition, over-
came all other feelings, and I cried out, " I'll tell ! I'll
tell ! Don't fire ! Take up the stone before the hearth — •
the money is there."
The leader immediately desired some one outside to
bring a strong stake to lift up the stone, telling him to
be quick, for they had no time to lose, as they had far to
travel before morning. Then I heard them remove the
stone, and the dollars chinked as the man pulled out the
bag and threw it on the floor. The sight of the
Discover My Daughter's Escape. 141
lieavy bag and the sound of the money, T foncy, put
the party in <^ood humour, for the men who held me
relaxed their hold, and one left, telling the other not to
lose sight of me.
Presently I heard the leader say —
" Where's the young girl ?"
No one seemed to know.
" By ," said he, the young hussy has escaped, and
she will give the alarm. Be quick, my men, quick —
quick; leave nothing behind that you can carry away —
blankets, sheets, clothes — everything. "We shall want
them when we get to the lake. It's a pity, though, that
the girl has escaped. She will set her father free, and
that may be awkward for us. Stay ; we'll take him with
us, and then he can't give any information about us."
" To shoot him is the shortest way," said one.
"Hang him," said another. "Chuck him into the
river, and there he'll be snug till somebody finds him."
" Don't stand talking about it," said a third; " shoot-
ing him would give the alarm, and throwing him into the
river is unnecessary trouble. Just lend me a bit of cord,
or a silk handkerchief, and I'll warrant he'll be quiet
enough after."
I conjectured he was about to strangle my helpless
husband, for I heard the leader say —
"Stop! — no murder, if we can help it. We can do
that with him at any time, if his living is likely to harm
us. For the present we will take him with us. Loose
his legs and bind his arms behind his back. And now
let us be off. But first let us make the lady safe."
I was taken accordingly into the sitting-room ; and then
they bound me fast, and left mc as you found me. My
142 The Bush-Ran qers Leave.
husband had been silent all this time, with the object, no
doubt, which he carried into effect when he was removed
outside the hut. When he found himself on the outside,
where his voice could be heard, he immediately set up a
loud shout for help, that made the woods ring ; he was
answered by screams near the river, which proceMed, I
do not doubt, from Lucy. My husband's cries were in-
stantly silenced.
" Grag him !" cried out a voice.
" Let us knock that young vixen on the head before
we go," said another voice; ''she will rouse the neigh-
bourhood, and our plan will be defeated."
" It's too late," said the leader ; " the alarm is given
already. It would do us no good to. put the girl out of
the way now; we should only lose time; we must be
quick, and place a good distance between us, before we
can be pursued. We shall gain a march, for we cannot
be tracked till daylight ; but we can travel all night, and
so get well ahead."
With that they left me, threatening me and my chil-
dren with instant death if I uttered the least sound of
alarm. I think I must have fainted ; for I remember
nothing more, till I was aroused by the door of the hut
being burst open, which the bush-rangers, I suppose, be-
fore they left, had fastened on the outside.
'' How many in number," said I, ''do you think they
were ?"
" I cannot tell ; I think there must have been eight
or ten at one time in the hut ; at the same time I heard
the voices of some outside. All those whom I saw were
armed with a gun of some sort. They were very wild-
Plan next day's E x r e in t i o n . 143
looking; the leader had on a kangaroo-skin jacket, and
he did not look very ferocious, but he was very deter-
mined."
" It was your husband's and your daughter's cries,"
said I, " that we heard on the other side of the river,
and it is plain, from your story, that your daughter
endeavoured to cross the river for help, but was terrified
by the roar of the waters and the difficulty of the pas-
sage, and that, overcome with exhaustion, she fell into
the fit on the trunk of the tree in which we found her.
Let that fortunate escape," added I, " inspire you with
a hope that we may be successful in finding your hus-
band uninjured."
The lady then returned to her daughter ; and our
companions, who had gone on their several missions,
having returned, we passed the remainder of the night
by the fire, planning our next day's expedition, and
giving and receiving mutual information on the best
course to be pursued, and the likeliest track of the bush-
rangers.
The day had just begun to break, when we were
cheered by the appearance of the young magistrate on
horseback, with a servant and two friends also mounted,
and two constables on foot. They wei'e all well armed ;
and when he had communicated to us the intelligence
which he had received iu the night of the numbers and
desperation of the bush-rangers, we were not a little
glad to be joined by such an efficient reinforcement.
The magistrate immediately took on himself the con-
duct of the expedition ; and his activity and determina-
tion were so well known, that all the party were happy
to place themselves under his direction.
144 We Discover their Track.
The plundered family having been first removed with
the greatest care to my house, the poor young lady
showing no other sign of life than a low breathing, we
lost no time in putting ourselves in order. The magis-
trate divided our body into two parties, entrusting the
command of one party to me, and the other to young
Beresford. As the four horses brought by our last
reinforcement were sufficient for the purposes of scouts,
the remainder of the party proceeded on foot, so that
each of our parties, Beresford and mine, consisted of
seven, including ourselves. With these preliminary
dispositions we set about searching for the track of the
bush-rangers, extending ourselves in a line, the better to
cover the ground. The track was soon found, as the
large body of the bush-rangers, laden with their booty,
could not conceal the marks of their passage.
'' Stick to the track," said our leader to the constable
who acted as guide, "and let nothing distract you from
it. Gentlemen," said he, addressing us, " I shall leave
on the track all those on foot, who I trust will be ready
for action. I and one of my friends will gallop on for
some distance towards the tall tree on the high hilil
yonder, and try the chance of coming up with the
rascals. Two of the horsemen w^ill scour the country
on your flanks. We are only eighteen in number, and
tlie bush-rangers are reported to have more than thirty
among them. But we are in a better state of efficiency
than they can be. Take care not to throw away your
fire. Now, we will go and clear the way for you."
Saying this, he galloped off in the direction to which
the track of the bush-rangers seemed to lead us.
We continued our course warily but rapidly for about
Start in P u r s u r t . 145
ten miles, when we found the magistrate and his three
companions waiting for us at the spot where two tracks
were distinctly visible. We had scarcely exchanged a
few words, when the horseman to our left galloped into
view, and made silent but expressive signs fur us to
come to him. He motioned us to be cautious, and to
look about us. I beckoned to the horseman on our right
to join us, and, leaving him as a sentinel to mark the
point of the track from wdiich we had been called off,
we moved quickly to our left, and soon reached the spot
to which the horseman had called. Here our eyes were
suddenly arrested by a spectacle which caused us all in-
stinctively to throw forward our arms, and gaze anx-
iously around us. The sight chilled our very blood, and
was sufficient to strike the boldest among us wath 3on-
3ternation and horror.
10
C jinptM t^jiirtnntli.
Tbe ruins of the burnt Stock-keeper's hut — The murderer Musquito
and the Natives — The sagacity of the Kangaroo dogs— Native's
tomb — The Natives begin an attack — Skirmish with the Bush-
rangers.
Amidst the ruins of a stock-keeper's liut, recently
burned down, we beheld a form which we recognized as
human only from the outline of the body. One arm
was totally consumed; the other was shrivelled up.
The body was literally roasted and charred. It was in
vain, after we had recovered the first emotions which the
horrid sight created, that we endeavoured to trace the
features of the disfigured head ; it was a shapeless mass
of calcined bone. The clothes, which might have served
to identify it, were, of course, utterly consumed.
It must not be supposed that in making this examina-
tion we were neglectful of our own safety. Our active
magistrate immediately despatched the two unemployed
horsemen, to make circuits of discovery round the place,
and while he, with one of the constables, made a close
investigation of the ruins, the remainder of our little
party stood in order with our arms prepared in readiness
to meet any attack. Our first impression was, that the
hut had been visited by the bush-rangers, who cither iu
malice or revenge, had set fire to the hut, and burned to
death the unfortunate occupant. But the truth was pre-
(140)
A Sickening Sight. 147
scudy made manifest by one of the horsemen, who
hailed us from a little distance, to join him.
We proceeded towards the spot where he was standing,
and we presently came on two dead bodies, evidently
stock-keepers from their clothes and appearance. They
were quite dead and cold. Their wounds at once in-
formed us that they had been killed by the natives.
On laying bare their clothes, we found their bodies
pierced with innumerable small holes caused by the long,
thin spears used by the natives in their encounters.
Their heads were battered to a jelly-like mass, from the
frequent blows of the waddies, a small and light club of
hard wood, which forms the weapon of the natives of
Australia, in close combat.
The sickening sight of these two bodies, coupled with
the horrid form amidst the ruins of the hut, told plainly
what had happened. The stock-keepers had been at-
tacked by the natives, who had, no doubt, intercepted
the two unfortunate men before us, and had killed them
after a hard tight, as the number of their wounds testi-
fied. The third stock-keeper, it seemed, had been able
to gain the hut, in which, perhaps, he had defended
himself for some time against the natives ; and the black
people had set fire to the thatch of native grass, and so
consumed it and him. We searched again, and more
narrowly amongst the charcoal ruins, and found the
barrel of a musket partially melted by the fire, with the
lock nearly whole, and the piece of brass belonging to
the butt of the piece. This was confirmation of our
surmi.sc. The stock-keeper in the hut had very likely
wounded or killed one or more of the natives, and they,
rendered more savage by their wounds, had l)urnt him
alive I
I'lS MUSQUITO AND THE NATIVES.
At this time a native of Australia, by name Musquito,
a tall and powerful man, had been committing many atro-
cities in Van Diemen's Land. He had been sent from
Sydney some years before for an offence, I think it was
murder, that he had committed, by Governor Macquarie,
a proceeding complained of at the time, but gradually
forgotten, as Musquito, until within the last year or so,
had conducted himself well, and had proved himself
useful on several occasions, by tracking runaway con-
victs, and lost or stolen sheep. It was known that he
was at the head of a mob of natives, consisting of about
thirty ; but we had no idea that he was in this part of
the island ; however, this looked very like some of his
work, and we were not a little troubled at the prospect
of havinsr to contend against the treacherous natives as
well as with the fierce and desperate bush-rangers. This
was an addition to our difficulties and our danger on
which we had not calculated, and the magistrate called
a council of war to deliberate on the best mode of pro-
ceeding.
We took advantage of the opportunity of this halt to
refresh ourselves, as we anticipated hard work. On the
hearth of the demolished hut we found a tripod, such as
was in common use then, and now too for boiling things
in, holding three or four gallons. One of the constables
cleaned it out to make tea in. There were many of the
shrubs known by the name of the tea-tree growing near,
and as we wished to husband our stock, wc made tea of
some of the leaves, wliich make a very good substitute
for the China tea. The leaf resembles the leaf of the
privet, which is common in tlio hedges in some parts of
England. In the meanwhile some of our party buried
Sagacity of the Kangaroo Bogs 149
the two dead stock-kccpcrs, after having first examined
their clothes narrowly, to see if we could find any paper
or marks by which they could be identified. On cue
we found a tin tobacco-box, which was given in charge
to one of the constables, and on the other was his pass,
from which we ascertained his name, and also that he
had recently arrived from Hobart Town.
All this time we took care to guard against surprise,
for we did not know who might be watching us, but we
felt no fear from an open attack of any body of natives
that could be collected against us; but if by chance
Musquito and his mob of natives should join with the
bush-rangers, we felt that such a body of sixty or more
persons, with the bush-rangers well armed and despe-
rate, might be more than we could cope with. These
considerations troubled us all not a little, and we made
haste to despatch our meal, keeping a strict lookout the
while.
Our banquet was not a very merry one, I must say ;
we all had very long faces, with some slight misgivings
of the prudence of our expedition ; not that there was
any want of courage among us, or of the spirit of enter-
prize ; we were bold and cool enough ; but some of us
had left wives and families behind, and we felt that we
were fighting against odds ; that we were risking our
own lives, which were precious, against the lives of
rascals which were worthless.
These thoughts, with the burial of the dead and dis-
figured men, and the sight of the other man burnt into
charcoal, cast a gloom over us which wag painful and
dispiriting. Our kangaroo dogs went smelling about
with their tails down, and crouching with that expres-
150 Hector Scents the Natives.
sion of fear which these hounds display -when they are
in the vicinity of an unusual object, and especially when
they see or smell a native. One of them poked about
the ruins, and startled us with a howl so dismal that it
almost chilled us with a sort of superstitious fear.
" Young Hector is uneasy," said one.
'' He knows there's something wrong," said another;
'' and he can't make out what that charcoal body means.
I don't think he has much spirit in him just now to pull
a kangaroo."
Hector, however, suddenly belied this surmise, for,
ascending the little eminence above the ruins, he assumed
an attitude of lively and fixed attention. His head be-
came erect, his eyes keenly piercing into the bush, and
his body ready for a spring.
" Silence," said I; " Hector has got scent of something;
I know his ways well. See, he looks at me, to intimate
that there is something in the wind. Go see," said I;
''see. Hector, good dog, what is it?"
The intelligent animal immediately set off into the
bush stealthily, and without barking or growling. He
was soon out of sight.
" It's only a kangaroo," said one of the constables.
''It's more than a kangaroo," said I; ''Hector is
almost equal to his old sire, who could do everything
but speak, and indeed I think he could have talked, if
he only knew how to begin ; but I understand his signs
well. Depend upon it, there's a reason for what he
does."
As I spoke these words, we observed the dog canter-
ing back to us at a swift pace. He came straight up to
me, and whined with peculiar signs of fear.
He Leads Us to the Attack. 151
" He has seen a native," said I ; " that I'll swear. I
can't mistake him. We had better be prepared, though
I can't think they would have the temerity to attack
us."
" Let us go and face the danger," said our young
leader ; " it is better to put an end to it one way or the
other » as to retreating, that is out of the question."
" Oh," said we all, — " no retreat, no retreat !"
" Then put yourselves in order, gentlemen, and let us
move on."
"Let us follow the dog," said I, '^and go warily
about it ; these natives hide behind the trees, and you
can hear nothing of them till you find a spear sticking
in you. Keep the other dogs back, and let me and
Hector go first. Now, Hector, good dog ; where is it ?"
Hector licked my hand, as if to say, " take care of
yourself," and ti-otted on before. I kept immediately
behind, taking care not to over-run him, and the rest of
our party followed quickly after us, on the alert, and
with their arms ready. Hector continued at his trotting
pace for about two hundred and fifty yards, when he
stopped, and assumed the attitude of a dog pointing at
game. I tried to pierce into the bush with my eyes,
but I could discover nothing. I looked back, and saw
my party behind, all ready for action.
" Go see !" I said to the dog.
The dog hung down his tail, sniffed, whined, and
standing up, pawed me with his fore-legs.
I patted him.
"What is it. Hector?"
But some terror hung over the hound, and he was re-
luctant to move forward ; but he looked towards a parti-
152 A Dead Native Discovered.
cular part of the bush, and uttered the low whine expres-
sive of unusual fear."
The magistrate now, leaving the others behind, joined
me.
''What is the matter with the dog?" said he.
" I can't tell," said I ; '' but there is some reason for all
this ; I'm sure there are natives about by his manner ;
if they were bush-rangers he would bark or growl."
"We must put an end to this suspense," said the ma-
gistrate ; " observe him now, he is looking intensely at
some object not far oiF. Stand here, and hold my horse,
and I will go on the line the dog points to."
He immediately advanced on foot, having first observed
the bearing of an object behind me, in order that he
might keep in a line straight to the point to which the
dog's eye was directed. In the meantime the party be-
hind came up to where I stood, and we all held ourselves
ready for an alarm. The magistrate had not advanced
far before he stopped, and looking cautiously around him,
holding his fowling-piece in a position to fire, and with-
out turning his head, beckoned with his arm for us to
advance.
We came up to him, and he silently pointed to a hollow
and blackened trunk of a tree, the branches of which
were still standing, and covered with the late autumn
leaf. Within the trunk we saw standing up a native,
with his face turned towards us. The blackness of his
colour assimilating with the charcoal of the burned tree
prevented the body from being distinguished from the
blackened trunk, until we got close to it, but the acute-
ness of the hound's organs had enabled him to detect this
object at a conBiderable distance. The sight of this na-
A Native's Tomb. 153
tive lurking within the body of the tree instantly filled
us with the fear that there were more close at hand, an<l
we expected every moment to receive a volley of spears
from the hidden enemy ; but none appeared, and all was
silence; the dogs, however, showed symptoms of unea-
siness, which made us look about us.
"Shall I fire?" said one of the constables; "it's a
sure shot."
" Stop," said the magistrate ; " let us try to take him
alive ; we have got him safe ; he can't get through the
back of the tree, and we hem him in at the front. But
it's odd that he doesn't move."
We were about thirty yards from the tree, but as the
native was within the trunk, we could not discern in the
obscurity more than his dusky body ; the trees were very
thick all round, forming a dense mass of trunks as close
as they could grow. It was a favourable place for the
natives to fight in, and they are so active, and so clever
in hiding themselves, that you may be in the midst of
hundreds in such a place without being able to catch a
siarht of one of them.
"I'll put an end to this," said the magistrate; "be
ready, my friends, and don't let him escape."
Saying this, he ran towards him with his fowling-piece
pointed towards the tree.
" Why, he's dead ! and we have come upon a native's
grave ; I have heard of them, but never saw one before.
This is one of the black fellows that the stock-keeper shot,
no doubt, before he was burnt to death in the hut."
On examining the body, we found the mark of the
musket-ball that had gone through his heart and passed
out at his back. He was most likely close to the hut
154 Natives Begin the Attack.
•when lie was shot, and must have been killed instantane-
ously.
We were clustering round the tree, gazing at this sight,
and a little off our guard, when a whirr was heard among
us, and a long thin spear passing through the group of
heads without wounding any one, stuck in the bark of
the tree. We were quickly roused by this compliment,
and we turned about, looking round on all sides; but we
could see nothing. Presently we heard the tramp of a
horse's feet, and a crashing through the bushes, and the
horseman whom we had left as a sentinel came into view.
A spear was sticking in his back, and two pieces of bro-
ken spears were sticking in the sides of the horse, which
seemed maddened with fright and pain. It was with diffi-
culty that the rider could direct his horse towards us, the
animal being almost unmanageable.
" Look out !" he cried ; '' the natives are on us — I have
not seen them ; but they have marked me and my horse.
Depend upon it they are joined by the bush-rangers, or
they would not think of attacking an armed man on horse-
back. Musquito is with them you may be sure, and he
has taught them that the danger is over when a fire-arm
is discharged ; I dropped mine when this spear struck me.
It came on me unawares; and, in catching at the bridle
when the horse started, I dropped my piece. I am not
much hurt; but this spear makes me smart a bit."
"Oh never mind a spear wound," said our young
magistrate; " we have got a surgeon among us, so we are
all right."
While these words were passing, wc had secured the
horse, and our friend dismounted. The spear had pene-
trated the flesh under his right ;irm, and the point was
Being Speared no Joke. 155
sticking out of the wound three or four inches on the
other side. It was a small spear, about ten feet long.
The end had been sharpened and hardened in the fire, by
scorching it, according to the custom of the natives, and
it formed an ugly weapon to be lodged in a gentleman's
person. The two constables quickly drew out the pieces
of broken spear from the horse's side ; they found more
than a dozen spear-holes in the horse's body, which bled
freely, but none of them seemed to be deep, except two.
All this passed in less than half a minute ; and we were
all the time looking out for an attack, but could not
guess from which quarter it would come. We stood in
this way for several minutes, straining our eyes to dis-
cover our enemies, but in vain. Suddenly our young
leader, who was sitting on horseback, cried out —
" Holloa, they're at me !"
We turned and looked. A spear had gone through his
hat sideways, and knocked it oflF; but we could see no
one.
" That was a good shot," said one of us. " Perhaps
the next may be better — look out !"
A shower of spears fell among us from the same quar-
ter, hitting one of the constables, and wounding another.
As the distance, however, was great, they did little more
than penetrate the skin, and a laugh was raised at the
expense of the sufferers. The parties speared, however,
did not appear to enjoy the joke at all.
" It's of no use," said one of them, "to stand here to
serve as targets for these black rascals ; let us make a rush
into the bush, and come to close quarters."
"They will not let you," said our leader; "you have
no chance against them that way ; but we must do some-
156 Bush-rangers Join the Natives.
thing. We must try to drive them through this belt of
wood, and get them into the plain beyond, where we
shall be able to see what we are about. But we must be
very cool, and very cautious. Take three of your party,"
said he to me, ''to the left; and do you, Beresford, take
three of yours to the right, so as to slant the black ras-
cals, and drive them from the trees. Take care to keep
us in sight, and don't advance too far. The rest must
advance steadily straight on ; I and the twa on horseback
will be ready to give assistance to either party."
We lost no time in effecting this movement, and pro-
ceeded at a brisk pace through the wood. Beresford's
party had the first shot : — the natives moved round to the
other side of the trees; then 'we had a shot at them; and
in front was our main body. They could not stand this
long ; they did throw some spears at us, but they fell
harmless. They scampered off, in number about thirty
or forty, as near as we could guess, and we after them,
till they came to the edge of the bank bounding the
wood, over which they disappeared.
We were hastening after them, when suddenly thirty
or forty armed men started up from beneath the bank,
and fired a volley on us, which brought us to a stand-
still. We were all in a line, separated, but not far from
each other, the chase after the natives having caused us
to break our ranks. T looked down our line when the
volley was fired, and it was witlr the most painful con-
cern that I saw my young friend Bercsford drop to the
ground.
It was clear that the natives had formed a junction
with the bush-rangers, and our little party now stood in
their presence, with fearful odds against us, and with
Fairly in for it. 157
three of us disabled. Thus fairly brought into action,
we had nothing to trust to but our courage and disci-
pline, and the moral superiority which the right has
over the wrong. The bush-rangers, after their first
volley, had disappeared under the bank. Our leader
instantly called out, " Reserve your fire — close together
— now follow me."
Cjja|itfr /nttrtnntjj.
The Bush-rangers retreat — The Magistrate's party pursue — A
Bivouac — Traclis of the Bush-rangers — Crossing of the big river
— The pursuit grows warm.
We immediately turned to the right to a point about
fifty yards off, where there was a clump of trees which
projected from the main mass of the forest. By this
manceuvre we turned the position of the bush-rangers,
which at first was in their favour, to our own advantage,
as it enabled us to take them along their line, so that
they stood in one another's way ; and while they were
unprotected in the open plain, we were sheltered by the
trunks of the trees.
As I followed with my division of the party, I passed
poor Beresford, whom I had seen fall at the first volley
of the bush-rangers. Raising him up, we bore him to
the shelter of the wood. Our present position enabled
us now to see the movements of the bush-rangers. It
was not their game to fight, only to disable and embar-
rass the pursuit; we were not surprised, therefore,
though I must confess I felt considerably relieved, to
behold the bush-rangers in rapid retreat stealing under
the bank.
Perhaps it would have been prudent in us, seeing
their numbers and determination, and assisted by a
harassing body of natives, to have let them alone, and
to have suffered them to retire without molestation.
(158)
The Busu -rangers Retreat. 159
But our blood was up, and as I have often observed on
other occasions, there seems to be a fighting instinct in
human nature, so that two men, or two bodies of men,
when they have got opposite each other with the in-
tent of fighting, do not lilie to separate without exchang-
ing bh)ws.
These thoughts occurred afterwards, for I was as hot
as any of us at the time, and as eager to continue the
pui-suit. The sight, too, of our neiglibour fired us. We
saw him amidst his plunderers, with his hands tied be-
fore him, and goaded on by two or three of them. "We
were all going helter-skelter after them, when we were
stopped by the voice of our young leader, who was the
coolest among us.
" Stop, gentlemen," said he ; " we must not go too
fast. Remember that our lives are precious, and it is
my duty not to allow you to expose yourselves unneces-
sarily. I am afraid these rascals are too strong for us.
You may obsci-ve that the natives seem to be confident in
their numbers. We are only eighteen in number, and
our enemies are at least sixty or seventy. I make no
doubt that a party of soldiers which the Government has
directed to the Clyde, will follow our steps, and they can
easily track us to where we are. My advice to you is to
wait here till that help reaches us ; then we shall be a
match for them."
'No waiting," cried out one bold young fellow; "let
us 20 at them while we are in the humour for it. Those
rascals will never fight when it comes to the scratch ;
let us make a rush at them, and put an end to it."
" If you will allow me to give my advice," said I,
"I am of the same opinion as our magistrate. We
160 We Use Stratagem.
ought to endeavour to take these fellows alive ; it would
be a dear victory if we were to buy it at the expense of
many of our own lives."
" Oh ! let us fight it out now," cried several; " why,
these bush-rangers will be joined by more convicts, de-
pend on it, as they go on. Let us crush them at once,
before they get to a strength too much for us to put
down."
" Well," said the magistrate, " if you are determined
to go on with this job, I will not disappoint you; but
we must use a little stratagem in our proceedings. It is
now four o'clock ; in a few hours it will be dark, when,
you know, the natives will not stir, for they are afraid
of the evil spirit which they believe wanders about in
the night-time. I propose, then, that we should remain
where we are for two hours, so as to make the bush-
rangers think, if they watch us, that we have given up
the pursuit. Then we must track them to their resting-
place for the night, and so surprise them asleep or off
their guard, for our object is to secure them alive, and
to rescue our friend from their hands, with as little risk
as possible to ourselves. Are you agreed ?"
" Agreed," said we all.
" Then now let us lose no time in attending to young
Bcresford."
We were all glad to find, on examination, that Bercs-
ford had only been stunned by a ball which had grazed
his head ; there was not much bleeding from the wound,
but as the blood had flowed down his face, which was
pale as death, it gave him a ghastly appearance. In less
than half an hour he was sufficiently recovered to sit up,
but he complained of headache, and weakness of the
limbs.
PEPARE FOR THE STRUaOLE. 161
" Do you think you could keep up with us ?" said our
leader.
" I'll try," said he, " and at any rate you shall not be
stopped on my account. I would rather stay behind."
« And be speared by the natives," said I, ''which you
certainly would be. No — no; if we go on, you must go
with us, if we have to carry you, for our party is too
weak to be divided."
" And now, gentlemen, pray make the best use of
your time. Rest yourselves ; and while you have the
opportunity, put your arms in order, and I recommend
you to put new flints in your hammers. It is half the
battle to have your weapons in good order. We shall
have the advantage of the bush-rangers there, for their
muskets must be rusty, and out of order."
We set ourselves about the work accordingly, and put
our arms in good condition, keeping a good lookout the
while, but we were not molested. At the end of two
hours, one of the horsemen was despatched on the track
of the enemy, and after him another to keep the first in
view, and to communicate with the main body. The
third wounded horse we feared would be of little use,
so he was turned loose in the bush, and his saddle and
bridle stowed away in the fork of a tree, and covered
over with bark to keep it dry. His rider's wound was
a little stiffish, but he said he should be all right if it
came to a brush, and he got warmed to the work.
Our party was divided as before. I had the direction
of six men, and Beresford of six more. The dismounted
horseman made Bercsford's party amount to seven. Our
leader, who w;us well mounted, made excursions of
observation on either side.
11
162 A Disagreeable Night.
Ie this order we proceeded on the track of the bush-
rangers till the dusk of the evening, when we made
another halt. Planting sentinels around, whom we
relieved at stated times, we remained in this position till
midnight. We then resumed our march in Indian file,
calculating that we should reach the resting-place of the
bush-rangers at three or four o'clock in the morning, at
which time the slumber of sleepers is most profound.
But we found that we had overrated our powers of
tracking ; we had not proceeded half a mile before we
were brought to a stand-still ; we had lost the track,
and in the obscurity of the night we found it impossible
to recover it. "We remained, therefore, where we were,
afraid to light a fire, lest we should reveal our position.
We made cautious excursions to the right and left,
in the hope of discovering our enemies from the light
of their fire ; but we could see nothing, and the night
passed away in one of the most disagreeable bivouacs I
ever witnessed. We contrived the best supper that we
could in the dark, and those who could got some sleep.
At the first dawn of light we were up and stirring,
but it was a good half-hour before we could recover the
lost track. The morning was hazy and raw, and we all
felt that it was anything but a pleasurable expedition that
we were ensased in. I have often admired how much
difierence a good night's rest and a good supper make
on the capabilities of a man ; it is in vain that enthu-
siasm lends its aid to support us in arduous under-
takings ; man, after all, depends much on his physical
condition, and the old proverb of an English soldier
being in the best fighting condition after a good dinner,
I have had frequent opportunities to test the truth of.
We Resume the Chase. 163
On we went with very long faces, and very blue noses,
for about three miles, when we came to a brook about
twenty feet wide, and not very deep, to the border of
which our track led The walk, or rather the trot, had
warmed us up a bit, and, without any hesitation, we all
dashed into it. It was nearly up to our middle, and the
stream ran very strong, but we crossed it merrily. Pro-
ceeding onwards, the track led us to the summit of
a green hill, at which point it appeared the bush-
rangers had taken a sudden resolution, for the track
now proceeded at a right angle from the old one, and,
after following it for a couple of miles, we found our-
selves on the bank of the Shannon River.
Here we were a little at fault, for the stream was too
deep and too rapid to be forded, and we were not suffi-
ciently ingenious to construct an extempore canoe from
the bark of a tree, as the natives of New South Wales
are accustomed to do. On the other side of the river,
which was about sixty yards wide, was a stock-keeper's
hut, which looked as if it had been abandoned, so deso-
late and wretched was its appearance. .
The tracks on our side of the river were quite fresh,
and it was evident that a body of men had recently
crossed at the spot where we stood. Our leader des-
patched the two constables to the right and left to make
discoveries; but they returned, after the lapse of an
hour, with the report that they could find no means of
crossing the river, and that they had discovered no track.
After similar explorations on all sides, we were com-
pelled to come to the conclusion that they had crossed
the river at the point where we were standing, but how
they had done it was the puzzle. There was no sign of
164 Stopped by a River.
any living creature on the opposite bank, and the stock-
hut, from its roofless condition, and the general aspect
of things about it, seemed to have been long since aban-
doned. It was in vain that we held a council of war ;
no one could help us out of our difficulty ; there was
the deep river between us and our enemy, and there we
might stay for ever, if we waited till it had done flowing.
" Let us cross the river higher up," said one, ''till
we come to a place that is fordable."
" Lord bless you !" said one of the constables ; " you
will flnd no ford on the Shannon. It's the most rara-
bustious river in the whole colony, and always goes
ramping and roaring along as if it were in the most ter-
rible hurry in the world to get over the ground. It's
quite a speck to cross it on horseback, unless your horse
is a real good one, and in the dry season. But, what
do I see there? Look ! Don't you see a little sort of
a punt behind those sedges ? It is a punt ! Depend
upon it, the bush-rangers crossed by that thing."
We all gazed anxiously; and, sure enough, there was
a something about six feet long, and how wide we could
not tell, which looked like an outlandish wash-tub set
to soak, and which might, by a vivid stretch of the im-
agination, be likened to a punt.
'' Well," said the magistrate, '^ wc will not be stopped
by the Shannon, or by anything else, in doing what we
have a mind to. The horse that I am on will do any-
thing that a horse can do, and I will make the attempt.
Do you, gentlemen, draw yourselves up so as to protect
my crossing, in case of enemies lying on the bank
opposite, and I will try what Diamond can do."
With that he was about to urge his horse into the
water, when the constable called out —
Magistrate Swims the River. 165
" Stop, sir, stop ! You don't understand tlie strength
of the stream, or you would not attempt to cross straight
over. You naust go up a hundred yards or so, and you
will find the force of the current will not allow you to
land on the other side nearer than the point oppo.«ite.
Better say a hundred and fifty yards up, and pray take
care to keep your horse's head well up the stream, or
you will be turned over in no time."
" Thank you," said the magistrate, " for your coun-
sel. I always listen to the advice of old hands."
Taking the stream at about a hundred and fifty 3^ards
to the right, he plunged in, taking a little leap from the
bank. He went under water as high as his waist, but
it was only for a moment, for as he leaped his horse
against the stream, the force of the current, aided by
the exertions of the horse in an opposite direction,
buoyed him up directly. He had taken the precaution
of holding his fowling-piece in his hand above his head,
so that his weapon escaped damage.
The action and struggle of the horse, guided by a
practised hand, were beautiful The rampant stream
swept on with a sort of fury, as if ravenous for the prey
upon its bosom, but our young leader, as cool as if ho
was on the high road, with his fowling-piece raised high
out of the reach of the spray of the waters, held on his
course, undismayed by the rushing waters.
It was a short course and a dangerous one, for the
utmost efibrts of the noble and powerful animal, whose
energies were called forth to battle the impetuous current
of the famed Shannon River, were barely sufficient to
enable him to reach the landing-place. But he did
reach it, and our breathless suspense was allayed by a
166 Succeeds in Getting a Boat.
success wliicli, during its" progress, seemed all but im-
possible.
He waved his gun to us when he was safe, and we
replied by a cheer, forgetting our habitual caution, and
the necessity of silence in a bush expedition. We then
observed him ascend the bank, and approach the ruined
hut. Some argument that he made use of was irresisti-
ble, for presently, to our great surprise, we saw a man
emerge from the building in the usual habiliment of a
sojourner in the bush, that is, a kangaroo jacket.
This detected individual proceeded with some alacrity,
partly prompted by his desire to assist his fellow crea-
tures in crossing the stream, and partly, I suspected, by
the persuasive influence of the magistrate's gun, which I
observed to be most pertinaciously pointed at the head
of this inhabitant of the Shannon, to the place where the
washing-tub punt was moored under the bank. Some-
thing that the magistrate said to him seemed to have the
ejffect of makino; him redouble his exertions.
Having taken his place in the punt, he proceeded to
creep up the bank, sometimes propelling his frail boat by
a sort of oar, and sometimes catching hold over the
shrubs and inequalities of the bank. Having obtained
the requisite distance to enable him to shoot the passage,
he used his paddles with the most commendable vivacity,
stimulated, perhaps, by the sight of a tolerable number
of gun-barrels ready to inflict instant punishment on any
vacillation or treachery, and quickly came to land a lit-
tle above the spot where we were standing. When we
saw this nondescript species of craft, we were amazed at
any one trusting himself to such a speculative attempt at
navigation. We looked at the punt, and we looked at
Rather a Ticklish Affair. 167
one anotlier, but no one offered to take his seat iu this
novel addition to the transport service.
"Now, "Worrall," said one of the constables to the
other, ''you're the man to set the example. Did'nt you
cross the Derwent once in a bark canoe when you were
"Hold your tongue," said Worrall; "if I was a fool
once, it's no reason why I should be a fool again. Get
into it yourself with your fat carcass, and then perhaps
there will be one rogue less in the world."
"Not cross in my punt!" said the Columbus of Van
Diemeu's Land; "why there's no danger at all. There
was a stock-keeper last week who crossed, that is, who
would have crossed if he had not been so obstinate. He
tcould lift up his head as he was lying at the bottom of
the punt, and of course it upset, and I got a wetting, and
was very near losing my punt. But it was his own fault
that he was drowned. Now, misters, who comes first?"
No one seemed at all inclined to " come first," and
there were whisperings about wives and families, and
the first duty of a man, and such like. Meanwhile the
magistrate on the other side, was making earnest ges-
tures for us to join him, and I felt that it was necessary
for some one to take a decisive part, so I stepped forward
with the intention of making the first trial. But the
gallant young Boresford anticipated me, and, without
saying a w^ord, he placed himself in the punt, and the
man of the river pursuing the same process of crawling
up the side^of the stream by which he had reached us,
landed him safely on the other side. This put us all on
our mettle, and it was not who should shrink from the
risk, but who should go first, that was now the question*
.»
t
168 We All Cross Over.
I have often thought since of the hazard of this crossing,
and wondered how we escaped; but so it was; we all
crossed over in safety, and leaving a couple of sentinels
on the outside, we all entered the hut.
We were wet, and cold, and tired. The sight of glow-
ing embers, therefore, on the hearth was very cheering.
We quickly provoked the fire to a blaze, and enjoyed the
warmth with unusual satisfaction. There was a tripod
on the fire, in which we immediately made tea for the
party, for tea is always cherished as the grand restorer
of fatigue in bush excursions; spirit heats and debilitates,
but tea refreshes and strengthens ; such is the experience
of all in Van Diemen's Land. I don't know whether
porter or ale might not do as well, or better ; but por-
ter and ale are not to be found in the bush, and they
are commodities too bulky to be carried about with you ;
so that the universal ingredient is tea ; and a rough look-
ing stock-keeper, in appearance something between a bear
and a badger, talks of his tea with the same gusto as an
old woman at a Scotch christening. With tea, then, we
made our bush breakfast, and as we were all particularly
well pleased with our own courage in crossing the river,
we were in high spirits.
We endeavoured to ascertain from the occupant of
the hut something of the condition and probable route
of the bush-rangers, but this ambiguous individual pro-
tested most vehemently that he had seen nothing of
them, and that how the marks of the footsteps came
which we pointed out to him surpassed his comprehen-
sion !
We knew that this was a lie, and some of us were
strongly inclined to shoot him on the spot, to prevent
We Proceed. 169
his giving information about us; but tlie magistrate
prevailed on us to postpone this summary mode of exe-
cution till we came back, observing that shooting was
to;> giod for him, and that he would certAinlj come to
be hanged without our taking the trouble to interfere
in expediting so desirable a consummation. Having
refreshed ourselves and dried our clothes, and having
carefully examined our locks and ammunition, we pro-
ceeded gaily on the track of the enemy.
(CijinptBt /iftnutlj.
Arrival at the great lake — Bush-rangers at bay — The Fight — Simul-
taneous attack of the Natives — Matters remain in suspense —
Thornley looks out for a Kangaroo for supper.
We followed tlie track, but we could uot come up
with the bush-rangers. We kept on for about twenty
miles over a rough and difficult country, crossing the
big river by a ford, till we came to the foot of a tier
of hills too steep for a fotigued party to encounter.
Here we made a halt for the night. The next morning
we continued the pursuit. When we reached the top
of the tier, we beheld in the bottom before us the wide
and beautiful lake then known by the name of Arthur's
Lake.
The scene was beautiful beyond description. The
morning broke clear and bright, and the sharp mountain
air was exhilarating and exciting. Behind us was a
romantic country of undulating hill and dale, and before
us were the tranquil waters of the great lake. Wo were
all struck with the impressive character of the scene,
and for some minutes we were silent
*' How beautiful and quiet the lake looks," said our
leader, ''with the morning sun lighting it up; it seems
a pity to disturb such a place with sounds and acts of
blood and battle, but I have a notion that we shall hem
in the bush-rangers on the borders of that lake, and
then, when wc bring them to bay, v,-e mny prepare for a
(170)
Arrive at the Great Lake. 171
desperate struggle. Now, geutlemen, if juu have satis-
fied your love for the picturesque, we will move on."
As well as we could calculate, we were about four
miles from the margin of the lake, and we proceeded at
a tolerably rapid pace, following the track of the bush-
rangers till we came to its banks. Here, it seems, they
had come to a halt, and were doubtful how to proceed ;
for the shore was much trampled by men walking to and
fro. We did not stop long, for, observing that the track
led to the left, we followed it. It seemed that the bush-
rangers were undetermined how to proceed, for they fol-
lowed the winding of the margin of the lake for some
distance, when, suddenly quitting that course, their track
led direct to a point of the lake where some cedar-trees
grew on a tongue of land stretching into the lake about
a quarter of a mile.
As we proceeded, we observed a smoke to arise from
the extremity of this point, which we had no doubt was
the fire of the bush-rangers. After our long and toil-
some pursuit, we hailed this indicator of the refuge of
the bush-rangers with joy and satisfaction, although with
a secret consciousness that the end was not to be attained
without a sharp and desperate struggle. At the en-
trance of this little peninsula we halted, and our leader,
assuming the air of one on whom rested a serious respon-
sibility, urged on us the importance of discipline, and
the necessity of attending strictly to orders in the com-
ing conflict.
" My friends," said he, "we are about to engage with
men whom we are driving to desperation. If that fii-e,
as I believe it does, indicates the presence of the bush-
rangers, you will observe that our approach will hem
172 Preparations tor Attack.
them in, and that they will have no means of escape
but by our destruction. Are you resolved and ready?"
" Resolved and ready I'' said Beresford, who had re-
covered all his energy, although looking a little pale
from the effects of his wound ; " do you think we have
come thus far to shrink back when the decisive moment
is come ? What would any one of us feel if he was in
the hands of the bush-rangers, and saw his friends and
neighbours sneaking off when it came to real blows, and
afraid to go on with the enterprise they had begun ? I,
for one, am ready for the worst; I have been hit once,
but I have no mind to duck my head for all that."
"We are all ready and resolved," we said; "do you
lead us, and depend on it, you may trust us as if we were
drilled soldiers."
" Then," said he, "let us lose no time, but endeavour
to surprise them in their lurking-place. I think they
don't suspect they are followed, or they would never have
chosen a ground from which they have no retreat."
" Or, perhaps," said one, " they are confident in their
strength."
" It may be so. At any rate it behoves us to use the
utmost caution and address in our advance. And now
let us move on."
We advanced accordingly, with that sort of tremulous-
ness produced by excitement, not fear, which is apt to
pervade those on tho eve of a dangerous exploit. But
our hope of surprise was soon shown to be in vain, for
we had not proceeded more than two or three hundred
yards, when a shot from behind a tree warned us that
our approach was discovered. This did not stop our
advance, however, and rapidly ascending a green knoll,
Battle with the Bush-rangeks. ^73
we beheld before us the party of bush-rangers in battle
array. We levelled our pieces, but the voice of our
leader arrested our impetuosity.
" Stop," said he; " that is not according to promise.
You must not fire without the word."
" The bush-rangers will not wait for the word," said
one of us, for at that moment they fired a volley at us.
Again my poor young friend Bcrcsford had the misfor-
tune to be hit. He dropped to the ground. Quitting
my party, I ran to him; he was bleeding fast. Several
slugs had struck him on his right side ; he was in great
pain, and almost fainting from loss of blood, for the
jagged shot made from split bullets had torn him sadly.
Without losing a moment in asking questions, I con-
trived to drag him behind the dead trunk of a tree which
was lying close to us. Our leader lost no time neither.
In an instant he formed our little party in the position
most advantageous to it, by moving us a little to the
right.
Our enemies had not had time to load again ; but they
were busy about it, and as they stood in a position slant-
ing from us, the sis shots fired promptly, but coolly,
confused them not a little ; it stopped the loading of more
than one musket, and before they could recover them-
selves, my party of seven put in a deliberate fire, for wo
were all used to the bush, and were not at all flurried.
We now observed three of their men to drop ; but two
got up again, one remaining on the ground, apparently
shot dead. In the meantime, Berosford's party wore
ready to fire again, and almost at the same time about a
dozen shots came from the bush-rangers ; not one struck
\is ; but one ball struck the hollow trunk of the tree be-
174 Their Leader.
hind which Beresford was lying, and was stopped by his
body.
The bush-rangers were now ranged in a line opposite to
us, and we counted thirty-one, three having fallen. Seve-
ral of those, however, who were standing in line were
disabled, for one or two were stamping and writhing with
pain, and we saw one man with a fowling-piece in his left
hand, and with his right arm hanging down, and seem-
ingly rendered useless by a shot. There was one man
among the bush-rangers whom we could not help no-
ticing and admiring. He was one of the finest men I
ever saw. Tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular, his
whole form denoted great strength, combined with great
activity. He stood a little in advance of his party, as
cool as a cucumber, and quite regardless of the shots that
flew about him. As the two parties were not above a
hundred yards distant from each other, we occasionally
heard his voice encouraging his men.
'^ Fire away, my hearties," he cried out, while he was
reloading his musket with all diligence, — "fire away;
better die by a musket ball than a rope."
With that I saw him deliberately examine the pan of
his piece. He was not quite satisfied with its appearance,
for he paused for a moment, as if in search of something.
Stooping down to the ground, he picked up a little twig
or stiff straw, and coolly cleared the touch-hole of its ob-
struction. He then primed the pan quickly but without
hurry from his powder-horn, and putting his musket to
his shoulder, pointed it here and there among us, as if
seeking for the best mark. He was not long in finding
one. The magistrate who was on horseback, formed a
conspicuous object. The other two on horseback were
The Natives join in the Attack. 175
behind us among some trees, to guard against a surprise
from the natives. I saw the bush-ranger take a quick
and steady aim, and immediately after, a cry from our
leader made me fear that the shot had taken effect. It
was certainly a capital shot ; it went through his hat, and
knocked it oflF.
" Everybody seems to have a spite against my hat,"
said the magistrate ; '* the natives sent a spear through
it the other day, and now these rascals have put a bullet
through it. Any more of this fun will spoil my best hat.
Keep up your lire," said he to me and my party. "This
bit of a scrimmage is no joke, gentlemen. Fire coolly,
and take aim at a particular man. They are double our
numbers, but we have the advantage of position. Who
is that man in front ? There he is, going to fire again ;
— he has fired, and one of you is down. This is a bad
job," said he to the wounded man, "but we can't help
it. But what do I see behind us ? The natives ! By
George ! they are on us ! Look out for the spears ! and
keep steady, for God's sake. Now we are fighting for
our lives indeed. Keep steady, and fire quick. Keep
it up — keep it up ! Show a firm front, and I with the
other two horses will make a rush at them."
We heard the natives at our back uttering loud cries
and screams, and inciting one another to close with us,
I had enough to do to attend to my own work, for we were
almost tired with loading and firing, and another shot
from the bush-rangers tore open the left arm of one of
our party.
The yells of the natives now became louder and
fiercer, and the fire of the bush-rangers became quicker,
and I thought I observed symptoms of an intention to
176 Natives Routed.
make a rush at us, simultaneously with the advance of
the natives.
Spears now fell thick among us, and I thought a crisis
had come which would settle the fight without any more
long shots, when suddenly I saw our leader, with the
two other horsemen, dash in among the natives, and
slash away with their swords. They had served in the
yeomanry in England, and understood the use of the
broad-sword well, and every cut told on the naked bodies
of the natives. The waddies were of no use against the
broad-swords of horsemen, and their slight spears were
not strong enough to serve as pikes, so that they were
completely at the mercy of the sabres.
If it had been among trees, the horsemen would have
stood no chance against such a body of natives ; they
would have been riddled like sieves by their spears, with-
out being able to get a cut at them ; but in the plain
the horsemen had all the advantage, for the natives were
afraid of the horses as much as of the riders, and find-
ing themselves unexpectedly assailed in that fashion,
they were for a little while panic-struck, and incapable
of resistance. They soon found the use of their legs,
however, and they scampered ofi" like deer across the
little plain towards the entrance of the peninsula. The
horsemen followed them for some distance, and then re-
turned towards us. In the meanwhile a brisk fii-e was
kept up on both sides.
We ha-d at this time seven of our men disabled, and
about thirteen of the bush-rangers were in the same con-
dition. But this increased the odds against us; for we
were now only six, and with our three fi-iends on horse-
back, nine against twenty-one. But we had the advan-
Busn-iiANGERS Slacken their Fire. 177
tagc of position, and we had got rid of the natives ; but
the hazard seemed desperate.
I now observed the magistrate with his two compa-
nions to the left of the bush-rangers. They had sheathed
their swords, and unslung the double-barrel fowling-
pieces which they carried at their backs. All this did
not take long in V-curreuce, though it requires many
words to relate. They immediately fii-ed at the bush-
rangers and hit two of them. This move evidently puz-
zled the enemy ; but their leader soon formed his party
to meet it. Some of them faced about and fired, and
one of the horses was hit, as I observed by its plunging
about.
The fire of the horsemen, however, sensibly relieved
us from the shots of the enemy, and our little party of
six now redoubled their fire, and the bush-rangers began
to waver and show signs of unsteadiness. It was plain
that their weapons were not in the same state of effi-
ciency as ours, for although they all had pieces of some
description, their fire was slack and unfrequent, while
every one of our barrels told ; besides, we were all ac-
customed to the use of fire-arms, which most of the
bush-rangers were not. I am inclined to think, too,
that they were fearful of expending all their ammuni-
tion., which they would have a difficulty in replacing.
This and other reasons combining, caused them to
slacken their fire. Their fire-arms, too, for want of
proper cleaning, and from the damp of the bush, became
every minute more and more unserviceable, and all the
■while we were pelting them with our shots, sheltered by
the trees behind which we fouelit.
Once I thought they had fully made up their minds
12
178 They Turn and Run.
to a rush, and the result miglit have been fatal to us.
They gathered themselves up in a compact body, and
the leader led them about fifty paces towards us at a
running pace, but at this distance our volley told fear-
fully. We fired plump into the midst of them, at about
fifty yards' distance, while the horsemen gave them the
contents of three barrels on their leftf.
This was enough for them. Five fell — two got up again,
and three remained on the ground. They now broke,
and ran away over the little plain. Their leader was the
last to run. He turned round, and levelling his musket,
gave us a parting shot. This was the only shot that
came close to me, to my knowledge, during this bloody
fight. The ball struck the left-hand side of the tree be-
hind which I was standing loading my piece ; it knocked
oif the end of my ramrod, which in the act of ramming
projected of course beyond the trunk of the tree. I
thought it an odd shot, but I was too satisfied that it did
not knock off me, to make any remark about it at that
time.
I thought the horsemen would have pursued the bush-
rangers as they were running ofi", but, contrary to my
expectation, they galloped toward us.
" Keep where you are, gentlemen," said our leader.
'' Don't let the bush-rangers see how we arc reduced in
number. On the plain they would be more than a match
for us, and thoy might turn and defeat us. We must be
content with what we have done, and think ourselves
well off. And now for our wounded friends : where is
the surgeon ?"
" He was one of the first of us that was hit ; he is ly-
ing on the other side of the mimosa tree."
Our Party Reduced to Nine. 179
" That's unlucky ; but we must do the best we caa.
Let us see — bow many of us remain fit for service?"
Six of us stood forward.
" Here are six, and that with myself and my two com-
panions on horsobaclc, makes nine out of eighteen. A
melancholy deficit. But with our small numbers it
would be madness to force a close conflict with desperate
men. We must take counsel what to do. In the mean
time let us show a bold front. I did not expect, I must
confess, that the bush-rangers would fight so well ; but
they are desperate, and they feel that their alternative is
a halter."
We all thought that our situation, with the bu.sh-
rangers in superior numbers on one side, and with the
natives on the other, was desperate indeed. We felt as
doomed men ; but unwilling to give up our lives without
a struggle, and retreat being now as dangerous as to
stand whei-e we were — to say nothing of the impossibility
of our forsaking our wounded companions — we deter-
mined to sell our lives as dearly as possible. We there-
fore drew ourselves up in three parties of two each, posted
behind the trees.
In this position we stood for about half an hour with-
out any signs of future attempts from the bush-rangers ;
they had ceased firing, and so had we ; and presently
afterwards they retired behind a green ridge about a hun-
dred yards behind them, close to the water's edge.
During the fight, we had seen nothing of our friend
whom the bush-rangers had taken with them from the
Clyde, and to tell the truth, in the urgent necessity of
defeating them and of defending our own lives, we had
almost forgotten tliat his rescue was a principal reason
180 Care op Our Wounded.
for our pursuit of the bush-rangers. The horsemen now
did good service ; they served as patroles to guard our
little party from surprise to the right and left, and ens
of them made occasional excursions to the rear, to look
after the natives, but it seemed they had had enough of
it for the present.
Relieved from the apprehension of an immediate at-
tack, we now turned our attention to the wounded.
They had contrived to drag themselves behind the big
hollow log of the tree where I had placed poor Beresford,
and we were relieved to find them all still living.
The course of the conflict had drawn us more to the
risht, and in the excitement and the noise of the firing
we had not been able to pay attention to those who were
hit ; it was as much as we could do to defend ourselves
from being massacred by the numbers against us. It was
an agreeable surprise to us, therefore, to find the sur-
geon, with a bloody handkerchief tied round his head, as
busy as possible with his patients. During his sojourn
in the colony, and indeed in the whole course of his life,
he had never, he said, had such a favourable opportunity
of gaining experience in gun-shot wounds.
I could not help thinking, notwithstanding our dis-
tress and peril, and the ghastly faces of the wounded,
that the professional gratification at the sight of such a
variety of lacerations, acted like a charm on his own
wound, l^lantiug the two horsemen, and two on foot
as sentinels, we bent all our attention to the care of our
suffering companions.
There was plenty of water at no great distance ; we
fetched some, and it refreshed them greatly. The sur-
geon was sadly troubled, however, at the prospoct of
The Surgeon's Eesources. 181
passing the night in the open air, for there were three
of thcni in a bad way, and he feared the cold, frosty air
of the hikes would be too sharp for the sick, and we had
doubts about the prudence of lighting a fire. In this oc-
cupation the remainder of the day wore away, when I
saw our four dogs coming to us.
I was startled at first, for really I had never missed
them, the figliting and firing having put everything else
out of my head. Hector came up to me with a mean-
ing air, as I thought, and I looked at his chops, and
saw that he had assisted in the killino; of a kaniraroo
not long before ; the other dogs looked significantly
about something, but they kept in the rear of Hector,
paying a sort of deference to his superior sagacity and
favour. It struck me that a kangaroo steamer, if we
could venture to make a fire to cook it, would be no bad
thing in our present circumstances, and it was agreed
that I should go after it, if it did not lead me too far.
"Take my horse," said the magistrate; '' if you
should fall in with the natives, he will save you from a
spearing, and I'll stay to help the surgeon. He wants
some splints, he says, for Worrall's arm, but there's no
surgical instrument-maker with a shop hereabouts, I
fancy."
"I have it," said the surgeon, "I have it; whore's
your axe ?" said he to the other constable ; " here
Tucker, chop me a strip of bark from this tree. That's
right; that's a capital piece. Here," said he, cutting
some longitudinal slips in it, '' here's a beautiful cradle
for a wounded arm ! This is another wrinkle for me !
I never thought, when I was serving my tiine in Aber-
deen, that I should have to invent splints from the bark
182 I ao TO Hunt Supper.
of a gum-tree in Van Diemen's Land ! Now, my man,
it's almost worth while to get one's arm shattered a bit
to have it done up so nicely; that's it; don't wince,
man; stop, give me a pocket-handkerchief, one of you,
or something; there — that will make a nice soft bed for
it. A little water do you want 1"
" Couldn't you put a little brandy in it?"
" No — no brandy; inflammation, you know, and all
that. And now for the others. Well, to be sure, I
have enough to do with you all. Where have you been
hurt," said he, " Mr. Nicholls ?"
" Here, on the right side. I feel very faint."
" I see ; but we must get out the ball ; it isn't deep
in. How to do it, though — that is the question — for I
have not got the tools with me."
" I have got a corkscrew," said Worrall.
" A cork-screw ! Why, I never did hear of balls
being extracted by a cork-screw; but — "
Nicholls groaned.
Seeing that I could be of no use in this difficulty,
and thinking that the meat would be a help to us, I
slung my fowling-piece behind me, and throwing the
horse's bridle over my arm, I set off in search of the
kangaroo. I first did all that it was possible for me to
do for my young friend Bcresford. His left arm had
been shattered by a ball, and he was suffering the most
excruciating pain. The surgeon, who was much attached
to him, but who, under the present circumstances, made
no distinction, helping those first who most wanted
assistance, now took Bercsford's case in hand, and our
mutual friend, the magistrate^ gave hira all the aid he
could think of.
C jl n |i t u r I i 1 1 n II 1 1; .
Hector points at unexpected game — Thornley meets with a party of
Soldiers — His joy thereat— His disappointment thereon — His la-
mentable predicament — His fortunate escape from a pistol-bullet
— His release — A letter from his Wife — The Bush-rangers escape
to an Island in the Lake — Melancholy news from the Clyde —
Thornley resolves to return home.
The day was drawing to a close; I judged there was a
good hour and a half's da3dight. I saw there was some-
thing in Ilcctor's manner more than usual, but I set it
down to the recent scrimmage with the natives, and the
firing. I bid him " Go show !" He trotted on, and at
about half a mile's distance he brought me to the dead
kangaroo, lying not far from the lake. I did not wait to
cut it up, but threw it as it was across the saddle, and
was about to return to my friends, but Hector exhibited
a strange unwillingness to go back, and ran on a little
way in the direction from which we had come from the
Clyde.
IJeing well acquainted with his ways, and knowing the
wonderful instinct of the dog, I was uneasy ; my mind
being full of the fear of natives being at hand. Eut the
signs he gave were not the signs of natives ; they meant
Bomething else. The bush-rangers, I knew, were behind
me, and that they could not pass our little party without
an alarm being given. " "Well," thought I, " the dog
knows something that he seems to think I ought to know
(183)
184 Meet with Soldiers.
too. I'll follow liim a little way at any rate ;" so I tlirew
down the kangaroo from the horse, and mounted.
Hector seemed pleased at this, and knowing that I
could keep up with him on horseback, he cantered off at
a pretty good pace, keeping the track by which we had
reached the lake. When we had gone about a mile, I
stopped ; but Hector still showed a great anxiety to pro-
ceed. "Well, Hector," said I, "I'll trust you, but I
can't understand what you are at; if it is to go home
that you're trying for, that won't do." The other three
dogs had staid by the kangaroo, which I had thrown on
the ground, so that I was alone with Hector.
We had proceeded in this way about three miles, and
I was beginning to think I had gone far enough, when
Hector suddenly stopped, and assumed the attitude of
pointing at game. " What's in the wind now ?" thought
I. "Is it an emu that the dog has been bringing me to ?
It's worth a shot, however, for the sake of the f\it; but
I must be wary !" I got off my horse, which I tied to a
tree, and advanced stealthily into the direction to which
Hector pointed. I had not proceeded more than twenty
steps, when to my surprise, and I must confess, exceed-
ing fear, a quick sharp voice cried out —
" Who goes there ?"
''More bush-rangers," thought I; " now I'm in for
it!"
" Who goes there ?" repeated the voice, and I heard
the well known click of the cocking of a musket; it
came from the direction of a thicket close by. I looked,
iind saw the muzzle of a musket projecting just beyond
the leaves. I was in a terrible fright.
" A friend," said I in a hurry.
They take Me for a Busu-ranger. 185
IM
"Stand, friond; if you raovc, I fire
"I'm done !" thought I; « it's all over ! I shall be
made a target of by these rascals, and there's the lake
handy by to throw me into afterwards I"
As these horrible thoughts crossed me, I heard the
peculiar sound of the shouldering of arms together by
drilled soldiers, and immediately afterwards a sergeant's
party showed themselves in line to the left of the thicket.
"Hurrah !" said I, jumping about in delight; "well
done, Hector !"
" Hurrah ! What the devil is the man hurrahing
about ?" said the sergeant. " I've a notion, my friend,
that the next caper you cut will be from a tight rope.
Secure him ! Present ! There, you see, resistance is of no
use. The rascal has got a beautiful fowling-piece with
him, stolen, of course, from some unfortunate settler."
"What the devil are you about?" said I; "you're
mistaken "
" No mistake at all. There, tie his arms behind his
back — a little tighter. Two file, present at him. Now,
my friend, lead us on to where your other blackguards
are nestling, or by , you shall have a couple of the
most beautiful balls through your rascally body that
ever were cast by the king's commissioners. Lead
on — I say ! you won't ! Fix your bayonets, and touch
him up behind. Ah, that makes him move I"
"Holloa!" said I, "none of that fun; I'm not a
bush-ranger; I'm after them myself. I'm a gentleman !"
The laugh that the soldiers set up at this assumption
of dignity made the woods ^-ing again.
" A gentleman ! a beautiful gentleman you are, ar'n't
you ? It's a pity you hav'n't got a glass, to see how a
gentleman looks when he has taken to bush-ranging !"
186 My Unpleasant Position.
It struck me then for the first time, that my appear-
ance might well lead the soldiers wrong as to the personal
consideration which was due to my standing in the
colony. I had on my bush-dress, which was dirtied
and stained with travel, and my hands, face, and clothes
were smeared with the blood of my wounded companions,
whom I had recently been assisting. In addition to
these unfavourable indications, my beard was of three
days' growth, so that it may be easily imagined that I
presented a capital likeness of a hunted bush-ranger to
the eyes of the soldiers.
I might have laughed at my ludicrous position if it
had not been so dangerous, for the two soldiers behind
me, with cocked muskets and fixed bayonets, which
seemed to have been sharpened up for my especial ac-
commodation, kept their fingers, as I observed, and I
shuddered at the sight, on their triggers, ready to treat
me with the contents of their barrels at the least sigu
from their commander ; and soldiers, I well knew, were
not very particular about shooting a bush -ranger in
the bush, and taken, as the lawyers say, in flagrante
delicto. I was in a cold sweat, and my excessive per-
turbation was visible to the men.
''Look at the sneaking hound," said the sergeant;
" what a desperate funk the coward is in just at the
chance of being shot ! Be steady, my men, don't shoot
him if you can help it. Now, my beauty, use your
stumps."
" I'll take you," said I, with a sort of desperate
eagerness, " to where you will find the bush-rangers- —
and—"
" Oh — you will, will you ? You're a nice fellow for
Suspected as a Murderer! 187
a oush-rangcr ! A pretty blackguard you — to betray
your comrades !"
" I don't betray any body," said I. " I "
" Hold your jaw," said the sergeant, " and get on, or
you shall have another spur from behind ; and take caro
you don't think of betraying us, or you'll regret it as
long as you live, though that wouldn't be long, you may
depend on it. And — hold your jaw," again said he,
seeing I wanted to speak — " lead us to your comrades in
silence ; we don't want you to give 'em notice of our
coming by your blackguard and treacherous tongue."
Compelled thus to be silent, with my arms tied behind
my back, if I had been inclined to pliilosophize, I might
have mused on the instability of human afiUirs ; but my
contemplations were interrupted by the sight of my
horse with his bridle hooked over the branch of a tree.
''0, ho!" cried out my tormentor, '' bush-rangers
ride a-horseback now-a-days, do they ? The Clyde ma-
gistrate's horse, by George ! You infernal rascal !
you've shot the magistrate, that's clear ; and here's big
gun that you stole. Don't speak; we want none of your
lies. Williams, lead the horse. Oh ! the villain, to
shoot a magistrate ! A bush-ranger to shoot a magis-
trate ! ! That deserves double hanging ! Now, don't
attempt to give us any of your jaw, or we'll gag you in
no time. Prick him up behind if he speaks. A mur-
dering bush-ranger is not going to come over us, at any
rate."
"A pretty situation," thought I, ''for an old Surrey
farmer, and middle-aged gentleman to be in ! After I
have escaped being shot by the bush-rangers, it seems
that I am now more likely to be summarily executed by
188 Application of the Bayonet.
a sergeant's party of soldiers ! Well, tliis is the last
time that I will ever go a-hunting of bush-rangers —
that's certain."
All this I said to myself, for the terrible sergeant had
his eye on me, and I feared that if I opened my lips I
might have a couple of balls through my body, to say
nothing of the points of the bayonets, the smart of
■whose application was uncommonly disagreeable.
In this trim we marched on. I looked round for
Hector, but he had disappeared. After a three miles'
march, we came to the dead kangaroo, which the dogs,
for some reason, had abandoned.
" Here's their dinner," said the sergeant ; " and a
very pretty piece of venison it is. We are right on the
track, I see ; there it leads. We are not far from the
rascals now, I'm thinking. What says our honest
friend here ? He nods his head. He's wise. (Here I
rubbed myself against a tree at the place where I felt
the smart of the bayonet.) Oh — I see, he knows how
to take a hint. Now for the kangaroo. Johnson, you're
a clever chap with your knife. Just divide him at the
loins here."
" How shall we carry him ?" said one.
" Put it on the horse, to be sure," said one of the
soldiers.
" On the horse !" said the sergeant ; " no, you would
not dirty the magistrate's saddle that way; ]3ut — eh !
it is dirty already, and with blocd, too ! That's the poor
magistrate's blood ! Oh, you murdering villains — won't
you catch it for this ? Here — stick the kangaroo on his
shoulders, and let him carry it for us. Not a word I
Let him feel the point of your bayonet, Stcadman — that's
Arrive near the Encampment. 189
enough ! Why, it makes him dance with the kangaroo
on his shoulders. Now for it — move on, my men, and
keep awake — there's mischief near, by this blackguard's
looks, I'm thinking."
I was straining my eyes to endeavour to discover some
sign of friendly help to release me from my very disa-
greeable situation, and it was my gaze that attracted the
attention of the vigilant sub-officer. But it was now
getting dark, and I could distinguish nothing but the
dim and thick foliage of the cedar-trees, and the wide
and cold looking expanse of the dreary lake. The ser-
geant took the lead on the track by which I, with my
companions, in the morning, had followed the bush-
rangers to their retreat, and we presently entered the
neck of land at the extremity of which we had hemmed
them in.
" A likely place for a nest of vipers to lurk in," said
the talkative sergeant, in a low voice ; " but what do I
see there ? Halt ! Steadman, take two file, and examine
that odd-looking lump there."
Steadman departed, and reported in military style,
" It's a dead native j he's been slashed all to pieces
with broad-swords. He's quite warm, and seems only
just dead."
'' Broadswords ! natives ! oh, the cruel villains, they
have been killini; the natives to boil them down for their
fat to make bush-candles ! What a horrid set ! But
now, silence ! no more talking; let no man speak a word.
We can't be far ofi" from the villains, for this neck of
land doesn't stretch above a quarter of a mile into the
lake ; so now, my men, be awake, for we shall have a
brush presently. Now, my friend with the kangaroo,
190 Fortunate Escape.
we will take the liberty to gag you ; we can't Lave our
precious lives put in jeopardy by your treachery. Open
your mouth, you blackguard, or I'll wrench it open with
the end of my firelock. There, now you're quite com-
fortable — so move on."
We moved on accordingly, leaving the horse tied to a
tree in silence, and in Indian file, the wary old sergeant
usini- every art to surprise without being surprised. It
was nearly dark, so that we came on one of our horsemen,
who was standing sentinel, without his perceiving us, so
silent and cautious were our movements. At the sight
of him, at not many yards' distance, we halted; but the
sentinel's horse was aware of our approach before the less
acute senses of his master had distinguished us. He
snorted and betrayed our advance. The horseman imme-
diately fired one of his pistols at us, and galloped off to
give the alarm.
The hind-quarter of the kangaroo on my shoulder,
being the most conspicuous object of the party, attracted
the attention, I presume, of the horseman, for the pistol-
shot struck one of the thigh bones of the animal, and the
legs being tied tight to my person, the shock knocked me
and my burthen down.
"There's a shot that has robbed the gallows," said
the sergeant. " Don't be in a hurry, my menj take it
coolly.'"
They had not advanced many paces, however, before
they were confronted by the magistrate, with all our party
who could act. I could just distinguish them as I lay on
the ground, in an attitude of preparation for mutual at-
tack. The steady discipline, however, of the military,
and their habitual coolness in danger, saved both parties
from a murderous discharge.
Kejoin our Party. 191
" We are a party of soldiers," said the sergeant, " and
we are too strong for you. You had better surrender,
and trust to the governor's mercy."
" Ilurrali !" cried out the supposed bush-rangers.
''Hurrah I" said the cool old sergeant, almost inclined
to be oifended at this apparent insult to his dignity,
" Hurrah ! You're very fond of hurrahing, my fine fel-
lows. The first thing that other cliap that one of you has
just shot said was hurrah! but I m thinking "
"It's all right," said a voice I was glad to hear; ''we
are friends !"
" The magistrate of the Clyde ! Well, I'm glad you
are safe, but I hoped you were bush-rangers. The Lord
forgive me, I hope I have not made a mistake with the
other man."
" What man? what do you mean?"
"Why, we got hold of a terribly ill-looking chap, I
must say — one of the most ferociousest-looking bush-
rangers I ever set eyes on ; and we were bringing him
along with us, when your sentinel, I suppose he was, fired
off his piece and shot him. But I hope there's no harm
done."
''It's Thornley, I'll be bound," said the magistrate;
" where is he ?"
"Oh, he's not far off."
My friends immediately came to seek me in a body. It
was some little time before they could pitch upon the spot
where I lay, for being gagged I was not able to respond
to their inquiries. At last, however, they found me, and
as it was dark, in a seemingly desj)crate plight. Wet
with the blood of the kangaroo, which was bound tight
to me, and with my arms tied behind my back, and
192 A Letter from My Wife.
gagged, the only signs of life that I gave was by low
and hollow groans.
" He is almost gone, poor fellow," said my friends;
" but let us release him from his bonds."
They untied my arms, and loosened the fastening of
the kangaroo, and feeling about my face, they discovered
that I was gagged. I was quickly relieved from this
stopper ; and the first thing, I remember, that I said was,
'' Take care of the kangaroo; it's the finest haunch I ever
saw, and we shall want it for supper."
"Well," said the magistrate, "you can't be very bad
after all, if you are wanting your supper. Come, tell
us all about it."
I told them how I was mistaken for a bush-ranger,
not forgetting- the hint a jwsteriori which the soldiers
had given me to hold my tongue, so that I had not the
opportunity of explaining the mistake. I believe that I
narrated this part of my mishap so ruefully, that it was
impossible for them to resist the temptation to laugh at
tlie mingled danger and drollery of my position, and then
and there they set up such a burst of merriment as must
have startled and astonished the busli-rangcrs if they
were within hearing. Being now confident in our
strength, by this addition to our numbers, of the party
of military, we lighted a fire and cooked the kangaroo
after the usual bush fashion.
" Thornley," the magistrate began to say
"Thornley!" said the sergeant; "I've a letter for
that gentleman, i^orry to be the bearer of ill news, sir,
but your house and farm have been burned down. But
this letter will tell you all. There is another for a gen-
tleman of the name of Beresford — here it is. Oh, sorry
T H E B A D N E W S I N I T . 193
to see you've been Lit, sir; but it's notliing when you
are used to it. Here — let me hold this piece of lighted
•wood near you, that you may see to read it."
Availing myself of the same light, I read, with an
anjruish which it would be in vain for me to endeavour
to express, the following letter :
" Dearest Husband — The sad misfortune that has
befallen us, and the fright and cold of the night, have
so shaken me that I can scarcely write to you, and the
soldiers cannot wait long for my letter, as they are in a
hurry to go after the bush-rangers. Thank God ! thera
are no lives lost, but the house is burned down to the
ground, and almo.st everything that was in it. Tha
large wheat stack, they tell me, is burning now. Ilovr
the fire began, I do not know. Dick let the horses out
of the stable, so that they were saved, but the saddles
and all the harness are burned or spoiled.
'' The cattle were got out of the stock-yard in time ;
but the home flock of merinos is dispersed in the bush.
The wind was very high, and unfortunately the fire be-
gan at the fui-ther end, so that it embraced all the build-
ings except the new barn. The large pile of sawed stuff,
and the stock of firewood helped to do the mischief, for
they caught fire early, and communicated it to the house.
As to trying to put out the fire with water from the
pond, it was all useless. We longed for the London
fire-engines. Poor Lucy Moss was the first who gave the
alarm ; she was awakened by the blaze of the wood-stack,
and very soon afterwards the house was in flames. The
men did not like to go near it, as they were frightened
at the little keg of gunpowder that was brought up about
13
19 i The News from Home.
a fortniglit ago. We are all housed at the old stock-hut
by the creek, and all our neiglibours are very kind.
"It is now seven o'clock. A sergeant's party of sol-
diers has been sent by the governor after these bush-
rangers. They saw our fire in the night, and thought it
was the bush-rangers who had attacked us. They were
(/ut lying on the Den Hill, about five miles from us, but
they hurried to the spot, and gave us all the help they
could, but help was useless against such a fire ; however,
it saved a few things for us. I am terribly uneasy about
you, as we have heard nothing of you since you left to
go in search of Mr. Moss, and I am glad, indeed, that
the soldiers are going on your track. The sergeant seems
ji most determined fellow, but very grim-looking j you
will be glad enough when you find yourself among them.
They say that if they catch hold of a bush-ranger they
will make short work of him, for the bush-rangers shot
one of the soldiers at Pitt Water, and the others are
very much enraged at it.
' I hope to Heaven that you get safe out of this affair,
and let the soldiers go on with it, for it is their business
to go after bush-rangers. However, my hope is,. that the
soldiers may soon fall in with you, and then I do not
doubt you will feel safe and comfortable. William wants
to go with the soldiers to join you, but I have persuaded
him to stay with us, as he is of more use here.
" The old sergeant says he must go now. Farewell,
and Heaven protect you ! Pray try to come back
directly, as there will be plenty of people to fight with
the bush-rangers without you, when the soldiers join
3' our party.
" Your affectionate and anxious
" Mauy Tiiornley."
Attack the Rangers. 195
While I read tliis disastrous intelligence by the light
of the ccdar-stifk which the sergeant held for the
wounded Beresford's accommodation, preparations were
promptly made by the magistrate for a night attack on
the bush-rangers, in order to take them by surprise
before they could be aware of the arrival of the soldiers.
What Beresford's letter contained I had no opportu-
nity at that time of knowing, although I observed he
read it over, short as it was, very earnestly two or three
times, and then put it by very carefully. I was in a
manner stupefied for a while by the intelligence of my
wife's letter, and undetermined how to act. My first
impulse was to hasten home immediately, but that was
more easily said than done, for I was upwards of thirty
miles from home, and the country was a desolate one to
travel through, and difficult to cross. Besides, there
was reason to believe that the natives were between ouf
party and the settlements, and it was a risk of too great
danger to encounter them single-handed. While I was
hastily revolving these thoughts, the word was given
for volunteers to step forward for the night attack.
" We don't want any volunteers for this business,"
said the sergeant; "you had better leave it to us, and
stay where you are to take care of your wounded men.
We are enough without you, and I warrant, if we come
on the rascals, we'll give a good account of them."
''Ah! Mr. Sergeant," said the magistrate, "you
want to have all the fun to yourselves. But I think
you are right this time. I think, gentlemen, we had
better stay where we are, and take care of our friends.
I will go with the soldiers, because the presence of a
magistrate may be useful ; and do you, Worrall, come
with me ; you can act as a messenger, if you're wanted."
196 TuE Rangers Escape to an Island.
They sot out accordingly, and we remained by our
fire, keeping strict watch, however, and full of anxiety
for the issue of the adventure. We remained in sus-
pense about a couple of hours, when Worrall returned
and reported that they could see no signs of the bush-
rangers. Presently afterwards the soldiers came back,
and the sergeant posted some of them at intervals across
the neck of land, so as to prevent the bush-rangers from
stealing past us in the night.
" We need not be in a hurry," said the sergeant ;
" we have them safe, and when the daylight comes, we
can catch them like rats in the corner."
'^ A pent rat is a dangerous animal," said Beresford.
In this position we waited till daylight ; when, leav-
ing the two horsemen to act as sentinels for the wounded
party, we all proceeded to the point where we calculated
the bush-rangers would be found. In this expectation,
however we were disappointed ; we could see no traces
of them. Pursuing our search, we discovered footsteps
at the water's edge, with the furrows )nade by the drag-
ging of pieces of dead timber from the bank to the
water. Some little bits of hide-rope were scattered here
and there, as if recently cut.
" Depend upon it," said the experienced Worrall,
" they have been watching us, and saw the arrival of
the soldiers, and as a last shift they have made a raft
of the dead timber, and floated away to the little island
of snakes yonder. They could easily do it, for it is not
above a quarter of a mile over. Anything to escape
hanjiinj; !"
"And how are we to follow them?" said the sergeant :
" why they would pick us off like cockatoos a-roosting
I START FOR HoME. 197
if we were to approach them that way ! ]?ut thoy must
soon starve there for want of provisions. AVell, we
must keep a sharp lookout, and see what's to be done.
If we had a boat now, we could venture it, though that
would be a ticklish job."
"A boat!" said I; '^why I know there's a boat hid
somewhere hereabouts, by a party who visited the lake
last year. 1 remember tlioy told me it was hid at the
end of a neck of land like this, on the left-hand side of
the lake."
" In that case," said the magistrate, " it is very likely
to be found on that peninsula that you can see about
three miles off there; at any rate we can look for it.
But, Thornley, you are wanting to get home, I dare say,
and we can do without you now. Take my horse, if you
like, and if you think it safe to venture, which I must
tell you I doubt. But of course you must be anxious to
get home."
"There is not much of a home left for me," said I;
" but I should like to get to my family as quickly as
possible, and if I can trust your horse I will risk it, for
I am not wanted here now."
" Oh, you may trust the horse ; he will take the water
like a duck — only give him his head ; — and you may fire
from his back like an arm-chair; he will stand as steady
as a rock."
"Well then," said I, " I'll go. So taking leave of my
young friend, Beresford, and bidding good-by for the
present to my companions, I left them to continue their
pursuit of the bush-rangers, and set out on my way home.
It would have been well for me had I remained ; but I
little anticipated the disasters and perils which beset me
198 Am Lost in the Bush.
on this memorable journey through a difficult and deso-
late country. The account of the six days, however, du-
ring which I was lost in the bush, and the adventures
that befell me, must form the subject of another chap-
ter."
Thornley sets out for the Clyde ; tries to make a short cut, and
misses his way — He is lost in the Bush.
It was at the close of the month of May, the beginning
of the winter season in Van Diemen's Land, that I quit-
ted my companions on the borders of the Great Lake,
and, full of sad and anxious thoughts, turned my course
towards home. I took care before starting to examine
my double-barrel fowling-piece minutely, as well as the
holster pistols at the saddle ; with these four barrels and
my broad-sword, I considered myself a match for any
casual attack, as my object was to make the best of my
way home, and to avoid any encounter, either with bush-
rangers or natives. Besides, as the distance from the
Clyde was not much more than thirty miles, and my
horse was good, I calculated, that although part of the
country was hilly and difficult, and that I had lost some
hours of the morning light before I set out, I could reach
home before the end of the night.
Hector, who had watched me very closely all the morn-
ing, and had seemed particularly inquisitive as to what I
was about, of course accompanied me, and Fly accom-
panied him. In this fashion I travelled on, nothing
doubting that my journey, dull and solitary as it was,
would come to its natural termination after the usual
fatigue ; but I little guessed what was in store for me.
I had gone about three or four miles, when I came to
(199 J
200 TiiY TO Make a Short Cut.
the foot of a sharp hill, part of an irregular tier of hills,
stretchina; from the lake to the south-east. When I had
come down this descent with my coiupanions, in pursuit
of the bush-rangers, I had not particularly remarked its
steepness, but as I stood at its base, and in a manner
under it, I felt a strong desire to avoid the task of climb-
ing up the height, and I cast my eyes about to see if
there was any break in the tier that presented the pros-
pect of a less difficult assent.
I observed to the right a hollow which promised an
easier passage, and as I had always strongly in my
mind, that it was no farther to go round a hill, than to go
over it, I turned my horse's head, without a hesitation,
in that direction. When I reached the hollow, however,
it proved delusive, and I found myself in a sort of bay
surrounded by hills, not very high, but very steep.
Still, full of the desire to avoid climbing a hill at the
beginning of a journey, and having a sort of lazy dis-
inclination to dismount, I continued my way somewhat
farther to the right, expecting to find the outlet that I
wanted.
In this way I was lcd.to try several tempting valley;^,
which all ended like the first, in disappointment. Vexed
at the loss of distance and the loss of time which these
attempts cost me, I determined to be baffled no longer,
and dismounting at the foot of a high hill, I proceeded
to climb to the top, leading my horse by the bridle.
When I reached the summit, I flattered myself that I was
rewarded for my labour by the discovery of a valley
which stretched to some distance, and by which, it
seemed, I should be able to escape the fatigue of the
continual ascents and descents which I should have had
Get Lost. 201
to surmount by pursuing the original track to the left.
I never doubted but I should be able to find my way to
the Clyde by some way or other, for the thought of
being lost in the bush, and on horseback too, never oc-
curred to me.
I cantered pleasantly down this valley, which, with oc-
casional windings, and one or two gentle ascents, con-
tinued for five or six miles, when I was suddenly brought
to a stand-still by finding myself in the same difficulty
as before, the valley ending in a little deep bay sur-
rounded by steep hills. " Well," thought I, " as I have
come so far, I am not going to be stopped by a hill now
though it is a tough one, and at any rate I have had an
easy five miles through the valley."
So without stopping to think more on it, I got off my
horse, and leading him by the end of the bridle, I scram-
bled up the hills. It was a very sharp climb, and when
I got to the top, the prospect was rather discouraging.
A succession of hills was before me, like the waves of a
troubled sea suddenly solidified. The hills looked like
gigantic waves. "Hills or plains," thought I, " I must
get through you; I can't miss the ' lie' of the country;
and so long as I pursue the right direction, I must come
to the end of my journey atlasj|j." So I worked my way
on, sometimes riding, sometimes walking, but imbed-
ding myself more and moro'among the intricacies of the
hills.
At last I got tired of this work, and my horse began
to be tired too, so at the bottom of one of these punch-
bowls I sat down to rest myself; Hector and Fly lay
down beside me, and my poor horse, with his head hang-
ing down, looked very doleful. By this time the day
202 Worse AND Worse.
liad become overcast with a sort of mist, so that I could
not see the sun, and the valley in which I was resting
looked very gloomy indeed. " I don't like this/' said
I; "but I must have another try at it."
I took off my horse's saddle, and gave him a rub down,
and cooled his back a bit ; then I set myself to consider
the direction of the Clyde. I was puzzled ; and I be-
gan to feel that uneasy sensation which besets one who
has lost his way. But my head was cool ; and after cal-
culating as well as I could the turnings and windings by
which I had reached the present spot, I decided on
making my way right across the tier to my left. Pat-
ting my horse, and speaking to Hector and Fly encourag-
ingly, I set at the hill boldly.
I found this climb more difficult than any of the pre-
vious ascents; and when I had finished it, fagged as I
was, it quite chilled me when I found that I was no
better off than before ; nothing but hills upon hills, as
far as the misty atmosphere would allow the eye to pene-
trate. This was very vexatious, and I began to feel a
strange trouble come over me. But I never was one to
stand still and despond ; so plucking up heart, I plunged
down the hill, and found myself in a valley similar to
the last, but with the disagreeable accompaniment of
a multitude of stones and pieces of rock impeding the
path.
'' Worse and worse," said I; "but rocks or no rocks,
I must get home."
I skirted tliis impassable way to the right for about a
mile, till I came to a point which presented a favourable
opening. I still kept, or thought I kept, the right di-
rection ; I followed it, therefore, leaxling my horse, and
My Horse I> k c o m e s Lame. 203
getting over the occasional rocky parts as well as I could.
I had now another hill to cross, but free, to my great
joy, from stones. I got on my horse, for I was sadly
tired, vexation of mind increasing the fatigue of body.
I had not proceeded many steps when I found one of
the horse's legs failing him, and presently, setting his foot
on the sharp top of a projecting stone, his leg bent under
him, and he stumbled, and almost fell down. I was off
in a moment, and with his foot in my hand. The mis-
chief was plain ; he had cast a shoe ! I remember to
this day the odd pang that shot through me as I contem-
plated this disaster. My difficulty was great enough
with the aid of a horse, but without it, it was an awk-
ward one indeed. Nay ; it was worse than being without
one, for I now had to lead a lame horse up hill aud
down hill, to my great fatigue and encumbrance. I held
his foot in my hand for some time, I do believe for more
than a minute or two, gazing at it, as if by looking and
looking I could remedy the loss.
"When I put down his leg, I stood for some time with
my hand on his shoulder, and in a manner stupefied by
the disaster. He was dead lame. I tried to lead him
on, but it was with great difficulty that I could pull him
after me. It then struck me that I might find his shoe
by searching for it, and that by some means I should be
able to put it on again, so as to answer as a temporary
shift. Leaving the poor horse standing still, with his
near foreleg bent listlessly, I tried to track the way by
which we had come; but this I found no easy matter,
and it consumed a great deal of time. I succeeded,
however, in finding the shoe, which had been torn off
among the rocks over which we had recently passed.
204 A Lonely Night.
The recovery of the shoe quite lightened my heart, and
I strode back to the horse with some glee, with my trea-
sure. It was in vain, however, that I tried every ima-
ginable scheme to replace the shoe. I tried to bind it
on with my handkerchief, but that was an idle attempt.
So there I was with a lame horse in a dead fix.
In the meantime the shades of evening began to close
in upon me, and I felt weary and hungry. Having no
fear of the horse's straying suddenly, I took off his sad-
dle and bridle, and fastened the holster pistols round my
waist with my handkerchief. He presently began to
feed, and that pleased me. But what was I to do ? To
drag him after me in his lame state was an impossible
task, and I could not at once make up my mind to leave
him. " At any rate," I thought, "■ I will try the chance
of a night's rest; that may restore him sufficiently,
perhaps, to take me home."
So I set about establishing myself for the night, and
as I was used to bush expeditions, I soon made myself
tolerably comfortable. There was the kangaroo rug for
my bed and covering, and the saddle for a pillow, and
that was luxurious accommodation for the bush. I
wished to go after a kangaroo, but I was too tired, and
it was getting too dark for that sport.
I looked for water, and fortunately found a littlo
spring running over a shelving rock at no great distance.
I took a good drink of it, and then tried to get the
horse to it, but it would have been too long a job ; so I
filled my hat, and by that means contrived to give him
a drink too. I then kindled a fire, by flashing some
loose powder in the pan of one of the pistols, and lighted
a piece of charred punk, which is as good for the pur-
Awakened by the Cold. 205
pose as the German tinder wliioh has been brought to
the colony by some settlers. Sitting down by my fire, I
proceeded to eat my supper in great state, the kangaroo
rug forming a comfortable carpet, and the saddle a rest-
ing-place for my elbow.
The fire burned briskly and cheerfully, and I discussed
a huge piece of damper with considerable relish. As I
did not expect to be out in the bush another night, I
was rather lavish with my provision, and Hector and
Fly came in for a more than liberal share of the supper.
I confess I felt as if I wanted something more, and I
■was vexed to lose a night, and to have to pass it in the
bush unnecessarily ; but there was no help' for it, so I
prepared myself for a sleep.
With my pistols in my belt, and my fowling-piece
alongside of me, I rolled myself up in the kangaroo
rug, my feet towards the fire, and my head resting on
the saddle for a pillow. Hector nestled himself close to
my head, and feeling secure against any sudden surprise
with my fiiithful dog watching me, overpowered with
fatigue I soon fell asleep.
I slept for some hours, and was awakened by the cold
air of the early morning. The sharpest time of the
twenty-four hours in Van Diemen's Land is just before
sunrise, and as it was now the beginning of winter, I
felt the frosty air very disagreeable. It was still dark,
and the fire was quite out. Not liking to stumble about
in the dark after fire-wood, and expecting that the morn-
ing would break in about an hour or so, I unrolled my-
self from my rug, and kept myself warm by walking,
taking short seaman's turns backwards and forwards.
The time seemed very long before daylight came, but
206 Take a Farev/ell op My Horse.
as the longest night must at last come to an end, so did
.nis, and my sight was gladdened by the coming light,
but the morning was very foggy. From this foggy state
of the atmosphere I was inclined to suspect that I was
in the vicinity of some lake, but how I could have
wandered back to the Great Lake, if I had done so, it
puzzled ma to make out. The hazy state of the
weather, however, was a serious evil, as it prevented me
from seeing the sun, and deprived me of that guide to
my course.
When it was light enough, I looked eagerly round for
the horse, and saw him close to the spot where I had
left him the previous night. I went up to him and
examined him ; he was in a pitiable condition indeed ;
his foot was swelled frightfully, and it was plain that it
was quite out of the question to hope that he could
carry me, for he could not even carry himself beyond a
few steps on his three tottering legs.
Well, this was a bad job; but I had my own legs to
carry me, and they had never failed me yetj it would
take more time for me to get home, certainly, but I had
not the slightest apprehension of being able to reach
it. So, as there was no help for it, I was obliged to
abandon the poor horse to his fate ; his saddle and bridle
I placed under a shelving rock, and I marked the place
in my mind by taking various bearings, so that I might
know it again.
Having done this, and having patted the horse as a
sort of farewell — the creature seemed to look beseech-
ingly at me not to leave him — I set about considering
the direction in which I should proceed- I felt rather
sharp-set, the damper having become digested with pro-
Travel without Breakfast. 207
volving rapidity, but as I had nothing to eat, I was
obliged to do (I used to say to my boys) as the King
of Prussia did when he had no bread — I went without
I decided on the direction at once, my mind being still
clear, and I tramped on lustily up hill and down dale for
about ten miles, when I found myself becoming tired,
and still embosomed, to my great perplexity, in the midst
of these eternal hills. At last I got angry at my situa-
tion — my head became confused — I grew distrustful of
myself and of my judgment, and I felt myself rapidly
losing all sense and power of deciding on any direction
as the right one.
My head, however, did not yet give way ; I had still
sufficient self-possession to be aware of the danger of
suifering my mind to lapse into the perilous state of fear
and indecision in the bush, and I thought if I could get
some food, the restoration of the body' s strength might
help to keep the mind in its equilibrium. I looked out,
therefore, for something to shoot ; but in that desolate
place I could not spy a single bird of any description.
I thought I would try what the dogs could do. I looked
narrowly about for some distance around, but could see
no trace of a kangaroo. I thought I would try, however,
— so summoning up my spirits, and assuming a cheerful
tone, I bid the dogs '' go hunt I" To my great and most
pleasurable surprise, they immediately began to hunt in
circles around me, till the wideness of their range with-
drew them from my sight. I flattered myself, by their
not returning, that they had got scent, and I remained
very anxiously at the spot where they had left me for
more than two hours.
During this time, a fear came over me that the dogs
20b My Dogs find Game.
miglit leave me, and that I should lose the help of their
■watchfulness and instinct in the bush ; but this fear was
an injustice to their fidelity, for at the end of the time
they returned looking sorely jaded, but with the marks
on their mouths of having killed their game.
My two hours' rest had refreshed me, and it was with
a joyful and eager voice, partly prompted by an exceed-
ingly sharp appetite, and partly by the instinctive de-
light of a huntsman at success, that I bid them "go
show !" They trotted on, and I after them, and a weary
way they led me. Right over the steepest hills and down
the sharpest precipices, without once stopping or swerv-
ing from their line, they took me over seven or eight miles
of the severest country that I ever travelled over before
or since. Several times I thought I should have been
obliged to give in, but hunger is a fierce prompter, and
I knew there was killed game at the end, and at length
I reached it.
Even the dogs were tired ; I sat down for a while, for
I was dead beat, and I felt faintish. The sight of the
kangaroo, however, was a restorative. I soon cut him
up, and gave the dogs a meal ; and then I kindled a fire,
and was not very particular about the cookery, I assure
you. I cut ofi" slices from the loin, the tenderest part of
the animal and the bush-ranger's tid-bit, and throwing
them on the glowing embers, ate my vension stakes hot
and hot without waitinnr for salt or seasoning.
I left off, because I could not cat any more, and then
I began to think, What was I to do ? I had now got into
a part, still among steep hills, where I had lost absolutely
all idea of which way I had come, or which way I ought
to go. I was besides very tired, and my feet and limbs
More and moke Lost. 209
were getting tender from scrambling over stony ground,
and over rocks and precipices.
I felt too much fatigued to encounter more wandering
that day, for the evening was coming on ; — so I made
the best of it. I missed my kangaroo rug and saddle for
blanket and pillow, but I lighted up a good fire, and
sometimes lying down, and sometimes walking about to
prevent the night air from benumbing me, and occasion-
ally having a peg at the kangaroo, making capital broils,
I contrived to get through the night without losing my
spirits.
When daylight came I cut off from the kangaroo as
much flesh as I could carry, and then looking out for the
highest hill in my vicinity, I ascended it, and endeavoured
to make out where I was, and which was my proper
course. I could see nothing but hills, like the vast and
tumultuous waves of a troubled sea. The atmosphere
was still misty, and I could not,- therefore, help myself
by observing the position of the sun. I tried to put the
instinct of the dogs into exercise, and I spoke angrily to
Hector, and bid him "go HOME."
The dog crouched, and obeyed reluctantly ; when he
had got fifty yards or so I called him back, and then
taking the bearings of different points I pursued the line
which Hector had taken, hoping it was in the direction
towards home, or to some inhabited place to which the
instinct of the animal had prompted him. Cherishing
this hope, I proceeded in this course for many miles, but
over a dreadfully fatiguing country, but still without ex-
tricating myself from my embarrassing entanglement in
those perplexing and confusing hills.
It was now beyond mid-day, and I sat down to rest
14
210 Meet with an Eagle.
myself, and, kindling a fire, dined lieartily on the flesh
of the kangaroo which I carried with me, taking care to
feed the dogs well, that hunger might not tempt them to
stray from me. Having so refreshed myself, I earn-
estly bent all my faculties to discover whereabouts I
could be, and which was the proper course to pursue..
In my difficulty and anxiety, I thought the best thing to
do was to try to discover my own track, which I hoped
the tread of the horse's feet would leave sufficiently plain,
and so find my way back to the point from which I had
first deviated, when I sought for an easier passage across
the tier, on leaving the Great Lake.
This I knew would be a tedious journey, but it seemed
my only resource. I set about it, therefore, with all the
coolness and vigilance which I could summon up, and
choosing a direction which I judged would lead me across
my own track, I set diligently to work. But all my ef-
forts were in vain. Each succeeding mile seemed only
to plunge me deeper and deeper into the recesses and
mysteries of the woods.
At the close of day, when the light began to fail
mc, I found myself at the foot of a rocky and scraggy
mountain, at the base of which was a black and stag-
nant-looking pool. An eagle arose from the margin of
the water as I approached, and slowly soared to the sum-
mit of the mountain. There were no trees near this
epot, nothing but a few ragged and stunted bushes. It
was the very picture of loneliness and desolation. Its
gloomy and fearful aspect struck a chill into my very
soul, and the coming darkness helped to fill my now
weakened mind with all sorts of superstitious fears.
I held my fnwling-piece in my hand for a considerable
Fairly Lost in t ii k B u s h, 211
time, with a vague sort of apprehension of clanger from
I knew not what. At last I roused myself up sufficiently
to light a fire, which was a difficult Tuatter, so scanty
was the fuel in that barren place. I contrived to kindle
one, however J but its faint light seemed to multiply my
terrors, and to aggravate the feeling of loneliness and
desolation around me.
I felt that I w^as rapidly falling into that state of mind
of which I had heard, but which I had never experienced
— the confusion of intellect, and the deprivation of the
power of judging, causing the peculiar aberration of mind
which seizes on those who feel the terrible conviction of
being " lost in the bush !" I was now lost in the bush !
That calamity, however, frightful as it was — with my
body enfeebled, and my mind wandering — was not the
worst evil that was to befall me. But I must pause
here, and recover myself before I attempt to describe the
horrible fate that awaited me in the desolate wild of
the dismal bush.
Is threatened by Eagles — His sufferings — The Magnetic Needle —
The Dogs give notice of the Natives — Their attack — His fight
single-handed with the Savages.
I SHALL never forget my suiferings on that wretched
night. It was piercingly cold, as the nights usually are
in the month of June in Van Diemen's Land, and it
was with the greatest difficulty that I could contrive, by
incessant motion, to prevent my limbs from becoming
benumbed.
The thoughts of my family, of my ruined farm, and of
the disasters which seemed to thicken 6n me, with the
dreadful feeling of my present state of helplessness,
almost maddened me. At last, towards morning, I sat
down by the fire, and from mere exhaustion fell asleep.
I was sooa aM'akencd by the nipping cold of the early
morning. IMy sleep, however, short as it was, served to
calm me. I began coolly to reflect on my position. " I
certainly was lost in the bush ; but was there no way out
of the difficulty ? If I continued in a straight line in any
one direction, I must at last come to some stream, or
perhaps to some stock-hut, or to some known point,
which would be the means of recovering my way ; — the
great danger to be avoided was straying to the west, in
which direction there were neither settlements nor stock-
yard stations, and nothing but the wild and untrodden
bush between me and the sea. If I could keep an east-
(212)
Strength and Spirits Hestored. 213
war J course, I must at last arrive at some broad track,
and certainly at the high road across the island."
Such were my thoughts. I tried, therefore, to observe
the rising sun, but the fogginess of the morning was too
great to allow me to do more tiian ascertain the point
from which light seemed to come. That was some help,
however; so, summoning up my strength, and endea-
vouring to preserve the coolness of mind necessary to en-
able me to keep a straight course, I set out.
]Jut I had not proceeded many miles before the same
doubt, and confusion, and indecision of mind, which I had
experienced .the day before, again seized on me. When I
perceived this fit coming on, I immediately paused and
lighted a fire. "While I was lirjhtinir it, a kansavoo
hopped into sight ; the dogs pulled it down in less than a
couple of minutes, not a hundred yards from the fire.
This I looked on as a good omen, and it reassured me,
I made a good bush meal, and felt my strength some-
what restored.
It was now past mid-day, and I again set myself earn-
estly to consider the right direction. There was a bar-
ren hill to my right, very steep, and without trees to ob-
struct the view. I determined to climb up it, in order
to get a better prospect of the country around, and with
that view I looked about for a stick to use as a walking
staff. I soon found a young sapling fit for my purpose,
and having provided myself with this help, I buckled my
gun behind me, that my hands might be at liberty. I
then climbed, with a good deal of scrambling, to the top
of the hill.
Having gained the top, I proceeded to examine the
country around me very carefully, hoping that I might
214 Attacked by Eagles.
catc-h sight of some point, or high hill, or particular tree,
by which I might learn my present position.
I was anxiously engaged in this manner, and quite ab-
sorbed by my anxious survey, when suddenly there was
an obscuring of the light above my head. I raised up my
eyes to ascertain the cause of it, when, to ray exceeding
terror, I beheld one of the largest of the eagles of those
regions poising itself on its wings not twenty yards
above my head, and in the attitude of pouncing down
on me.
I had more than once witnessed the attack of an eagle
on a sheep, which is by fixing its claws on. the body of
the animal, and digging out its eyes with its beak j the
sheep then becomes an easy prey. The thought of this
horrible fate made me instantly put my hands over my
eyes, so imminent was the danger, and so great was my
fright. I fancied I heard the flapping of the creature's
wings, and in a sort of despair I whirled the stick which
I held in my hand over my head to ward oif the expected
attack.
Looking up at the same moment, I perceived a second
eagle who had joined the first, and they now flew in rapid
circles just above me. I guessed at ouce that I had ap-
proached the spot where they were accustomed to build
their nest, and that they were angry at the intrusion. I
slipped my fowling-piece from my back, and fired both
barrels, first at one and then at the other. They uttered
a fierce scream, but did not leave me.
I did not wait any longer, but ran helter-skelter down
the bill, makiug more than one summerset before I got
to the bottom. Luckily, however, my gun escaped any
damage in this scrambling tumble; and although I felt a
Further Sufferings. 215
good deal bruised, I lost no time in reloading it, and then
I felt secure. Tiie peril to which I had been exposed
shook me a great deal, and I sat down at the foot of the
hill in a very disconsolate mood, feeling that my nerve
was giving away under the terrors of being lost in the
bush, for at any other time I fancy I should have been
glad of the opportunity of getting such a good shot at
an eagle, and particularly of getting a sight of their
haunts.
This thought made me very sad ; but I still kept up
ray spirits, and my bodily strength was not yet subdued.
I was well armed, and had my faithful dogs with me, and
another eifort mio;ht brino; me to some known track.
Again, therefore, I braced myself up to the task, and
choosing a direction which, according to my judgment,
led eastward, I determined to make a vigorous effort. My
efforts, however, were all in vain, and the fourth night
found me still an almost hopeless wanderer.
The fifth day passed in the same wearisome endeavours.
jVIy strength now began to fail me; not so much, I think,
from bodily fatigue, as from the exhausting operation of
anxiety of mind and uncertainty of direction. Towards
the close of the evening I arrived, at dusk, at the foot of
a rocky hill. The dogs wore uneasy, and whined a good
deal, but I set it down to their sympathising with my own
appearance of sorrow and dejection.
I had scarcely strength to raise a fire and broil some
of the flesh of the kangaroo which I ean-icd with me. I
had no water, and in the dark I could not discover any.
A sort of nimibness of the mind had now come over me ;
a leaden feeling of cold despair. In ni}- strange frenzy,
I fancied I must have wandered towards the western coast,
216 Kepair my Clothes.
for I could not otherwise account for my not being able
to discover some track or point known to me.
In this state I lay down by the side of the fire in a state
of complete bodily and mental exhaustion. IMy dog3
crouched close to me, and I fell asleep. I awoke once iu
the night with a feeling of cold ; I replenished the fire
with some large fuel, and slept again.
I must have slept soundly ; for in spite of the cold,
and of the thirst which was on me, I did not wake till
the light roused me. It was a glorious morning; very
cold, but the air was clear and bright. I tried to get up,
but found my limbs so benumbed that I could hardly
move. I contrived, as I lay on the ground, to push with
with my feet the loose pieces of dead timber about to
the fire, -which w^as still faintly burning. Presently
there was a good blaze, and the warmth restored me a
little. I continued to heap dead wood on till I made a
complete bonfire.
This exertion and the heat of the blaze revived me
completely, and once more I endeavoured to rouse my-
self to the labour of fresh exploring in the bush. This
was the morning of the sixth day.
Casting my eyes about me, I saw, not far off, a sort of
natural basin hollowed out in a rock, about a foot deep,
and as clear as crystal. Feverish with thirst, I took
a good drink, but the water was very cold. I then sat
down beside it to consider what I should do.
In my tumble down the hill I had torn ofi" the strap of
one of my leather gaiters, and its looseness was an an-
noyance to me in walking. As I always carried a house-
wife with rae in my bush expeditions, I thought I would
ppcnd a few minutes in sewing on the strap again ; so I
The Magnetic Needle. 21 7
undid the case, and placed it bj' the side of the rocky
basin. I took out a needle, and with my arms resting
on the side of the basin, proceeded to thread it, when it
slipped through my fingers and fell into the water be-
neath ; but instead of sinking, it floated on the top.
I was struck with this circumstance, and admired how
the needle floated at the top of the water, when I observed
it slowly to turn half-way round, and then remain sta-
tionary. It instantly occurred to me that the needle had
become magnetized, and I remembered that, some weeks
ago, my youngest daughter had been amusing herself with
a magnet and the needles in this case. I tried it again ;
taking the needle from the water, I rubbed it dry and
clean, and then holding it parallel to the surface of the
water, I let it drop; it floated, and turned itself slowly
to the same point as before.
I was full of joy at this discovery, as I now had the
means of ascertaining the points of the compass, and my
confidence in myself returned. Without loosing any
time, I prepared for another start. I breakfasted gaily
on some of the kangaroo steak that remained, and talk-
ing to my dogs, proceeded on my way. I had not gone
far, however, when I perceived by the dogs' significant
signs that there was something in the wind. It was not
a kangaroo, that was certain ; but I flattered myself that
we were approaching some human habitation, and that
the sagacity of the hound had detected its vicinity. I
spoke to him, therefore, and encouraged him to look
about him, but the dog exhibited a strange reluctance
to leave me, and presently began to whine in the man-
ner which I knew indicated his scent of the natives.
Broken down as 1 was with excessive fatigue and
218 Hector Discovers NativesI
anxiety, I confess that this apprehension almost over-
powered me ; a tremulous fear possessed me ', my limba
for a while refused to move j my sight became clouded,
and a cold sweat came over me. This was my sixth day
of wandering and privation in the bush, and where I
was, or how far from home, was unknown to me. I sat
down on the log of a tree, and tried to rally my fleeting
spirits. I thought of my wife, of my children — of my
home, or rather the spot where my home once was — and
made a powerful efibrt to recover my coolness of mind,
and to summon up my courage. " After all, it might
not be the natives ; the dog might be mistaken, or they
might have passed away."
I tried to delude myself with these hopes, but a glance
at the dog was sufficient to convince me that the natives
were near. Hector was v-ry uneasy; he whined, and
licked my face, and exhibited signs of fear too ex-
pressive to be mistaken.
With this horrible conviction on my mind that a
deadly struggle for life must soon take place, the very
extremity of my danger, and the force of my fear
caused a reaction in my frame. I nerved myself up
with a sort of terrible despair. I looked around, but
as yet saw no signs of my dreaded enemies.
I examined tlie two barrels of my fowling-piece, and
assured myself that the charges in them and in my pistols
were unshaken. I carefully inspected the pans, probed
all the touch-holes, and felt that the flints were firmly
fixed and clean, and dry at their edges. Then I looked
at my powder-horn, and calculated how many charges it
would supply to me. I had a little bag of bullets with
me J these I placed loose in a convenient pocket.
Find My Broadsword. 219
All the while I was searching the bush with my eyes
on every side. No signs of the natives ! I began to
indulge in the hope that after all it was a false alarm,
and again I proceeded on my way, but slowly and warily.
1 had gone about two miles, when I came to a spot which
I thought was familiar to me. Looking about, I recog-
nised the place where I had stopped five nights before
with my lame horse; the horse had disappeared — per-
haps strayed away — but I saw on the ground my old
broadsword which I had left there as an encumbrance to
my walking.
Full of fears of the natives, I greeted this weapon as
an old friend, and seized on it eagerly. I felt more se-
cure with this additional means of defence, and drawing
it from its sheath, which I cast on the ground, I carried
the sword in my hand. I had scarcely resumed my jour-
ney, when Hector began to growl and whine in a way
which put me on my guard.
As my object is to record all the emotions of my mind
during this time of my being lost in the bush, and ex-
posed to the new peril which I am describing, I must not
forget to tell that the unexpected recovery of my broad-
sword produced a strange revolution in my mind and
feelings. I recovered from the extreme depression of
spirits which had weighed me down and deprived me of
all hope and courage, and I now felt a full confidence that
I was a match for the natives, and that I should be able
to keep them at bay.
Perhaps the restoration of mind caused by the acci-
dental discovery of the magnetic needle on the water,
and the confidence of the right direction which that dis-
covery produced, helped to restore my coolness and cou-
220 Natives Attack Me.
rage. However, without more philosophising on that
point, I will proceed to describe my fight with the na-
tives.
Fight or no fight, I thought that the best thing I could
do was to make progress onwards to the east with all the
speed that my strength would allow. I strode on, there-
fore, towards a gentle acclivity, beyond which there
seemed to be some clear ground, as the light was strong
beyond it.
I was in a valley about a quarter of a mile broad, clear
of trees, with a rise on each side of me thickly wooded. I
ascended the acclivity, and was cheered with the prospect
of a more open country, and with a scenery which seemed
not unknown to me.
Turning back to look at the ground which I had passed
over, and to take the bearings for my straight progress, I
thought I detected on my left hand through the trees,
the glimmering of a faint light. I was quite cool, and
fully prepared for a conflict, but as may be supposed, I
had no des.ire to seek it. Knowing the importance, how-
ever, of not being taken unawares, I stood still for a few
minutes j but I saw no more of the light.
This light, I have no doubt, was caused by the two
pieces of lighted stick which the natives carry about with
them to light their fire. They have discovered, by some
accident, that two pieces of lighted stick, or charcoal,
crossed and in contact, will keep alight ; whereas a single
piece would soon become extinguished. The settlers have
borrowed this hint from the natives.
I had turned round to proceed on my way, when my
steps were arrested by a spear which passed by me to the
right, and stuck in the ground. "Oh, oh !" thought I,
IKeepCool. 221
" the fun is about to begin, is it ? "Well, I have four
barrels for you, my beauties; two long shots and two
close ones, besides my broadsword for a tussle."
I am surprised, when I look back, at my extraordinary
coolness ; but it was so. I did not fire, for I did not like
to lose a shot, but suspending my broadsword by its
leather to my left wrist, I held my piece ready. I was
in a tolerably favourable position, on the top of a low
green hill, so that I could see all around me, and I kept
a sharp look-out, I can assure you, for I did not know
from which quarter the attack might come.
1 again turned round and proceeded a few steps, when
another spear came close to me. I did not care much for
their spears so long as they were cast from a distance, as
they do not inflict any dangerous damage unless they are
•within forty yards or soj but this second spear was an in-
dication of a determination to attack me, and it showed
that I was watched, and that the natives were ready to
take me at a disadvantage.
How many there might be I had no means of know-
ing, but I took it for granted it was one of their wander-
ing mobs, consisting of about twenty persons, men,
women, and children. I gazed earnestly in the direc-
tion whence the spear had come, but I could see nothing;
the trees were about eighty or a hundred yards distant
from me.
While I was looking, a native showed himself, and
running a little way towards the spot where I stood,
cast a womera at me. I had never witnessed the casting
of this curious native weapon in a hostile manner before,
and having had that satisfaction, I certainly have no
222 Disabled!
curiosity t6 see it cast in that manner again. The
womera would have struck me if I had not skipped aside
in time, and as it was it was only by a hair's breadth
that I avoided it.
Almost before I could take aim at the native, the
womera, skimming through the air, returned to the spot
from which the native had cast it. I was unwilling to
fire without a positive necessity, and I refrained from
drawing the trigger, though I still kept my piece in the
position of taking aim.
The native picked up his womera, and without wait-
ing cast it at me again. I saw it whirling towards mc
with great velocity, and in an instant afterwards I felt
myself struck with considerable violence on my left leg,
which, at the moment, I thought it had broken. The
shock brought me on one knee to the ground. The
native gave a cry of exultation, and I immediately fired
at him. The discharge of my piece was a signal for a
rush from the whole body ; about a dozen of them sud-
denly shot out from among the trees, and with wild and
terrific shouts, rushed towards me.
Supposing that I was defenceless after the discharge
of my gun, they came on swiftly, boldly brandishing
their waddies in the air, with the intent of shortly exer-
cising them on my unfortunate skull. I did not lose
my presence of mind, but remaining on one knee, I fired
ofi" my second barrel, and hit the foremost man.
The second discharge puzzled them, and they halted,
not knowing what to make of a gun that could fire
twice without being loaded. Seeing them hesitating, I
drew one of my horse-pistols, and treated them with
A Halt i xN t ii k Attack 223
another shot ; this completed their dismay, and they all
scampered off as fast as they came, behind the shelter
of the trees.
I lost no time in reloading my three barrels, and stood
on my guard again. Hector and Fly were of no use to me ;
they were afraid of the naked savages. After waiting
in my posture of defence for some minutes, I thought
I might venture to make a move away from them, as I
had given them a taste of what I could do; but on
attempting to walk, I found that the blow of the womera
had been so severe, that it had almost deprived me of
the use of my leg. I limped on, however, as well as I
could, deeming any advance homewards a gain.
I picked up the womera and carried it away with me.
It was in the shape of a half circle, with a peculiarity
of make which must be seen to be understood, but of
the efficiency of which I had received a sharp illustra-
tion.
The natives seeing me bear away the womera, which
is a scarce weapon among them, and much prized, and
observing by my limping that I was wounded, raised a
loud cry of anger and triumph, which sounded in my
ears very disagreeably, as it betokened an inclination
on their part to continue a conflict which I should have
been very glad to avoid, though still without fear as to
the result, if I could hold out long enough.
Had I been aware that the fierce and vindictive Syd-
ney Black, known by the name of Musqueeto, was
among them, my confidence would have been consider-
ably abated ; but the worst was to come, and the fight
presently began to assume a more serious air than I had
calculated on.
224 See next Chapter!
The terrible extremity, however, which I have to tell
of is of a nature so horrible and appalling, that I can-
not summon up spirits to enter on it to day ; my mind
sickens and revolts at the recollection of its horrors.
The description of that fearful trial must form the subject
of a separate chapter of my eventful history.
Takes refuge in a deserted Hut — The Natives besiege him, and stt
fire to the Roof— His Escape — He climbs into a Tree — The Nt-
tives set fire to it — Death seems certain — His Rescue.
The day was clear and bright, and though the earlj
time of June is the beginning of winter in Van Diemen's
Land, the beams of the sun, which shone splendidly at
mid-day, had still power to spread a feeling of summer
warmth over the park-like plains. I shall never forget
that memorable day of my fight with the natives.
Alone — buried in the wilderness of the vast woods —
wearied by a six days' travel in the bush in which I
had been lost — worn down from want of sleep, and
feeble from scanty fare, I was now exposed to a deadly
struggle with a body of furious natives, led on by the
fierce and malignant Musqueeto. I am amazed, when I
look back on the events of that fearful day, that I did
not sink under its difficulties, and that I am still alive
to relate the story. But to proceed.
I hastened on my way in the direction of the east,
trusting that by such a course I should come upon some
settlement, or stock-keeper's hut, which would afford me
a place of defence, or at least on some track of man
or beast on which I could rely to lead me to human
habitations.
The natives ceased to molest me for some miles, nor
could I detect any signs of their vicinity, but it will
15 (225)
226 Take Kefuge in a Hut.
be seen by the sequel that they did not lose sight of me.
I was in some pain, and limped a good deal at first from
the effects of the womera which had struck me on the
leg, but as I got warm the pain left me, and I ceased for
a time to feel much inconvenience from the wound.
In this manner I proceeded some miles, when my
sight was gladdened by the appearance of a stock-keeper's
tut, to which I eagerly hastened. I looked round when
I approached it, but I saw no sign of the natives. When
I got to the door I called out —
" Hulloa ! anybody here V
No answer.
'' Is there any one inside ? I have been lost in the
bush, and the natives have been attacking me. Don't
be afraid of me ; I am William Thornley, of the Clyde."
No reply
I then knocked loudly at the door, thinking that some
one might be asleep inside, and not liking to burst in
suddenly, lest I should be mistaken for a bush-ranger,
and fired at ; for the equivocal appearance which my per-
son had presented a week since to the soldiers had not
been improved, I felt aware, by a six days' scramble in
the bush ; but as no reply was made to my repeated
knocking I concluded that the hut was empty.
I tried the latch, tliercforc, of the upper half of the
door : it was not fastened ; I opened it easily, and looked
in, first taking a look behind me, for fear of a surprise.
I saw no signs of an inhabitant; so I opened the lower
half of the door, and stepped in. A view of the interior
satisfied me at once that the hut had not been occupied
for some time. I was sorry for this, as I had hoped that
I should meet with some one to direct me on my way,
Make it Secure. 227
and who might assist me in my defence against the na-
tives. But on the whole, I was pleased with the dis-
covery of this hut, tenantless as it was, as it aflforded me,
I thought, a temporary place of refuge.
I examined its capabilities of defence, and found that it
consisted, as usual, of two rooms or divisions, in the
inner of which was a window, and a shutter at the back ;
there was another window and shutter in front by the
side of the door ; when I say a " window," I mean an
opening to let in the light without glass or window-
frame; when the door and shutters were shut, it was
dark, with the exception of the light which penetrated
through the crevices of the logs of which the hut was
rudely built.
Without losing any time, I set to work to render the
hut as secure as possible against the natives, should they
have the mind to follow up their first attack. The up-
right logs seemed all to be pretty tight set, and strong
enough to resist any ordinary violence. The window at
the back was awkward, as it afibrded the facility of a
back entrance while I was engaged in front.
To render this point secure, I pulled down the par-
tition of split logs that divided the two rooms, and con-
trived to barricade the back window with them, so as to
ensure me from any sudden inbreak on that side. I
then barricaded the front window in the same manner,
and I put a split log against the lower part of the door,
with one end januned firmly in the earthen floor of the
hut ; the top part of the door I left to the security of the
bolt, intending to open it occasionally for the conve-
nience of firing through its opening.
These preparations occupied me for about an hour,
228 My Unpleasant Position.
and, having concluded them, I felt that I was very
hungry, and what was worse, that I was suffering from
thirst. There was an iron tripod on the hearth, the
usual piece of kitchen furniture in a stock-keeper's hut,
and being heavy and bulky, it had not been removed.
It occurred to me that the spot chosen to build a hut on
was sure to be near to water.
As the extremity was pressing, I thought I might
venture to get a drink, so I clambered over the lower part
of the door, followed by Hector and Fly, who stuck close
to me, to look for the spring. The dogs were panting
for water, so I left them to their instinct, and presently
Fly, after a little snuffing about, went straight to a pool
formed by a spring, not twenty yards from the back of
the house.
I first took a good drink, which refreshed me greatly,
and then I cast about how to get a supply of water in-
side the hut. The tripod was too clumsy and too heavy
to be taken to the pool, so I got over the half-door, and
lifted it close to the entrance ; then I went back to the
pool, and, filling my hat with water, ran back with it,
and poured it over the door into the tripod.
While I was repeating this operation, I was terribly
startled by Hector suddenly darting off in the direction
of the bush. I thought, to be sure, that the natives
were on me, and, dropping my hat full of water, I scram-
bled over the door into the hut again. But it was a
false alarm, for in a few seconds after Hector camo to
the door wagging his tail, with a kangaroo-rat in his
mouth, which he had killed, and which was the cause of,
his run into the bush.
I was not a little rejoiced at this unexpected supply,
They Attack Me in the Hut. 229
for I was sadly at a loss for food. I was not Ion" in
kindling a fire, and skinning my prize, which was rather
a large one of the sort, nearly as big as a rabbit, and ex-
cellent eating, and made a broil of it, which aiForded me
a delicious repast.
My spirits revived after this refection, and I began to
consider that I was perhaps only losing time by remain-
ing in the hut. It was now, as nearly as I could judge,
about two hours past mid-day, and I had plenty of day-
light before me to make considerable progress before
night. I had recourse to my needle again, and I
dropped it into the tripod ; it sunk to the bottom imme-
diately, being affected by the iron ; so I filled my hat
with water, and removing it to a distance from the iron
tripod, had the satisfaction of ascertaining the points of
the compass.
I prepared, therefore, to leave the hut, and put myself
in order accordingly. I was in the very act of throwing
my leg over the half-door, when I was stopped in my
exit by a growl from Hector, who immediately galloped
towards a thicket of trees about a hundred yards or
more in front of the hut. He quickly returned, and by
his crouching attitude and peculiar whine I at once
knew that he had scented the natives.
It was too true ; in less than a minute afterwards, a
body of about twenty men and women, headed by Mus-
(juoeto, moved rapidly towards the hut.
Being invigorated by food, refreshed with partial rest,
and confident in the power of my fire-arras — appalling as
this attack appears to me when I look back on it — I felt
at the time no fear. I was confident in the security of
my little fortress, and for a moment I felt a sort of re-
230 I Shoot Several.
luctance to fire into the mob of naked natives — savage
as they were — to the certain destruction of some of them ;
but this disinclination lasted only for a moment, for
the natives, with the grim Musqueeto, whom I now re-
cognised at their head, were fast approaching, and the
feeling of self-preservation regained its predominant
influence.
My left-hand barrel contained a single ball; I fired;
a native fell, but the others continued to advance, and
sent a shower of spears at the open part of the door ; one
of them went through the lower part of the back of my
left hand, where it stuck, while some went past me into
the hut, narrowly missing me, and some stuck in the
wall on each side.
I fired ofi" my second barrel loaded with shot, and
slamming the door close, bolted it. This second dis-
charge, I judge, checked their rush; and fortunately,
for so determined were they, that I feel convinced, on
looking back, they would otherwise have succeeded in
their intention of forcing open the door.
They now commenced a furious yelling round the hut,
and some of them tried the back window, but they found
it secure. In the meantime I reloaded my fowling-piece,
putting a couple of balls in each barrel, for I felt that
the natives were in earnest, and that it would require my
utmost efforts to save my life from their furious assault.
I was standing by the door uncertain what to do next,
when suddenly a spear was thrust between the crevice
of the lower and the upper door ; fortunately it encoun-
tered my shot-belt, which it perforated, and gave me
time to jump back.
It seems that my movements were watched from the
They Fire the Roof. 231
outside through some crevice, for immediately on my
retreat, a rush was made at the door ; had it been made
on the upper part, the savages would have effected an
entrance; but the lower part, having been secured by a
log, resisted the attempt, and placing the muzzle of my
piece at the same crevice through which the spear had
been thrust at me, I fired first one barrel and then the
other at the assailants. A horrid yell, that made the
woods re-echo, proclaimed that my fire was successful,
and I could hear the tramping of their feet as they re-
treated to a distance.
There was now a pause for some time, and a dead
silence. I reloaded my piece and stood on my guard.
I was afraid of placing my eye close to a crevice, lest a
spear should be thrust into it by some devil watching
me. I remained in this state of suspense for some
minutes, which seemed to me as many hours, wondering
what was to come next. While I thus stood, my ears
were assailed again with the horrid shouts and yells of
the natives, whose rage seemed to have redoubled at the
sight, probably, of their dead companions.
Fearing that the strength of the upper part of the
door was not suflScient to stand against a rush, I lifted
up a heavy log that had formed one of the door-posts of
the partition which I had broken down, and placing one
end of it against the door-flap I added my own weight
to it, pushing it down the door as firmly as I could.
But this sort of precaution was unnecessary. The
devils had hit on a surer and safer means of accomplish-
ing my destruction. I was soon made sensible of their
operations by a smell of smoke, which, to my terrible
dismay, became rapidly stronger and stronger. They
232 The Natives fire the Hut.
had set fire to the thatch of the hut. The smoke in-
creased, and presently the light of the flame was visible.
I now perceived that the thatch had been set on fire
on all sides, and as the smoke and flames increased,
the rejoicing natives yelled and screamed with frantic
delight.
My presence of mind almost forsook me at this crisis.
Escape seemed impossible ; and I felt that I was doomed
to the most horrible of deaths — that of being burnt alive !
The light of the flames increased, and the smoke in-
side the hut became almost insufierable. Feeling that
if I remained where I was death was certain, I deter-
mined to make a desperate efibrt to escape. There was
a little wind, which blew the smoke in the direction of
the back of the hut ; the natives, as I knew by their
cries, were assembled in the front.
I detemined to attempt my escape by the back window,
hoping that the smoke in that direction would serve to
conceal my exit at the moment of getting out of the
window, when my position would be defenceless. I
hastily tore down ray barricade of logs, and jumped
through the opening into the smoke. I was almost
suffocated,- but with my gun in my hand I dashed
through it.
For the moment I was not perceived; but the natives
soon got sight of me, and a volley of spears Around me,
one of which struck me in the back, but dropped out
again, proclaimed that they were in chase. I kept on
running as long as I could towards a tree that was in the
middle of the little plain over which I was passing, in-
tending to make that my fighting-place, by setting my
back to it, and so to protect myself in the rear.
I Escape to a Tkee. 233
The spears flew around me and near me, but 1 reached
the tree, and instantly turning round I fired among the
advancing natives. This checked them, for they were
now becoming afraid of my formidable weapon, and see-
ing that I stood resolute and prepared for them, they re-
treated to some distance ; but they continued to throw
some spears, most of which fell short, and kept up a
shouting and yelling in a frightful manner, capering and
dancing about in a sort of frenzy — ferocious to get at
me, but kept at bay by my terrible gun.
My blood was now up. I was excited to a pitch of
joyful exultation by my escape from the burning hut,
and I felt that courage of excitement which almost
prompted me to rush on my enemies, and to bring the
matter to an issue by a bodily conflict with my broad-
sword. But prudence prevailed ; and I placed my hope
and my dependence on my trusty gun, which had already
done me such good service.
Taking advantage of the temporary inaction of the
natives, I felt for my powder-horn to re-load the barrel
which I had discharged. To my unspeakable horror
and disappointment, it was missing. I searched every
pocket in vain. I had laid it on the table in the hut,
and there I had left it. To recover it was impossible, as
the hut was all in flames, and while I gazed on the burn-
ing mass, a dull report, and a burst of sparks from the
building, made known to me that the powder had become
ignited, and was lost to me for ever.
In my agony of mind at this discovery, my hair seemed
to bristle up ; and the sweat ran down my forehead and
obscured my sight. I now felt that nothing but a mi-
racle could save me ; but the love of life increasing in
234 Climb It
proportion to the danger of losing it, I once more sum-
moned up my failing energies for a last effort. I had
three barrels loaded ; one in my fowling-piece and two in
my pistols ; I had also my broadsword, but that would
not avail me against their spears.
If I could hold out till night, I thought I might be
able then to elude my savage enemies, as the natives have
a fear of moving about at night, believing that in the
darkness an evil spirit roams about, seeking to do them
mischief, and who then has power over them. Casting
my eyes upwards to the branches of the tree under which
I was standing, I observed that it was easy to climb, and
there appeared to me indications of a hollow in the trunk
between the principal branches, which might serve me
for a place of shelter till the night should enable me,
under the cover of its darkness, to escape from my
pursuers.
I formed my plan on the instant, and without losing
a moment I slung my gun behind me, and catching hold
of a branch within reach, I clambered up. The natives,
who were watching my motions, renewed their shouts
and yells at this manoeuvre, and rushed towards the tree
in a body.
I scrambled as fast as I could to the fork of the tree,
and found, to my infinite relief, that my anticipation
was right ; there was a hollow large enough to admit my
whole body, and effectually to shield me from the spears
of the savages. As my foot reached the bottom, it en-
countered some soft body which I quickly learned was an
opossum, the owner of the habitation, which asserted its
rights by a sharp attack on the calf of my leg with teeth
and claws : I was not in a humour to argue the matter
Safe for a Time. 235
with my new assailant, so with my thick bush shoes I
trampled the creature down into a jelly, though it left
its remembrances on my torn flesh, which smarted not a
little. When I recovered ray breath, I listened to as-
certain the motions of my enemies outside.
They had ceased their yells, and there was a dead
silence, so that I could hear my own quick breathing
within the trunk of the tree. " What are they about?"
thought I. While I mentally ejaculated this thought, I
felt an agitation of the tree, from which I guessed that
some venturous savage was climbing up to attack me in
my retreat. I cautiously raised myself up to look around
me, but the appearance of my hat above the hole was the
signal for half a dozen spears, three of which passed
through it, one of them grazing the scalp of my head.
"That plan will not do," thought I; "I must keep
close."
As I crouched myself down, I thought I heard a breath-
ing above me ; I looked up and beheld the hideous visage
of one of the savages glaring ou me with his white eye-
balls, which exhibited a ferocious sort of exultation.
He had a waddy in his hand, which he slowly raised to
give me a pat on the head, thinking that he had me quite
safe, like an opossum in its hole. '* You're mistaken,
my beauty," thought I ; " I'm not done for yet." Draw-
ing one of my pistols from my pocket, which was rather
a matter of diihculty in my confined position, I lired.
The ball crashed through his face and skull, and
I heard his dead body fall heavily to the ground.
A yell of fear and rage arose from his black compa-
nions. I took advantage of the opportunity, and raised
myself up so as to look about me, but their threatening
236 They Fire the Tree!
spears soon drove me back to my retreat. There was
now another pause and a dead silence j and I flattered
myself with the hope that the savages, having been so
frequently baffled, and having suffered so much in their
attacks, would now retire. But the death and the
wounds of their comrades, it appears, only whetted their
rage and stimulated them to fresh endeavours; and the
cunning devices of that devilish savage, Musqueeto, were
turned in a new and more fatal direction.
As I lay in my retreat, I heard a sound as if heavy
materials were being dragged towards the tree. I ven-
tured to peep out, and beheld the savages busy in piling
dead wood round the trunk, with the intention, as I im-
mediately surmised, of setting fire to it, and of burning
me in my hole.
My conjectures were presently verified. I saw emerg-
ing from the wood one of their females, bearing the
lighted fire-sticks which the natives always carry with
them in their journeys. I looked on these agreeable pre-
parations as a neglected but not indifferent spectator, the
natives disregarding my appearance above the opening,
and waiting with a sort of savage patience for the sure
destruction which they were preparing for me.
The native woman approached with the fire, and the
natives forming a circle round the tree, performed a
dance of death as a prelude to my sacrifice. I was
tempted to fire on them ; but I did not like to part with
my last two shots, except in an extremity even greater
than this.
In the meantime the natives continued their dance,
seeming to enjoy the interval between me and death,
like the epicure who delays his attack on the deli-
Timely Arrival of Friends. 237
cious feast before liim, that he may the longer enjoy the
exciting pleasure of anticipation. Presently, however,
their death-song broke out into loud cries of fury ; they
applied the fire to the faggots, and as the blaze increased,
they danced and yelled round the tree in a complete de-
lirium of rage and exultation.
The fire burned up ! — the smoke ascended ! I already
felt the horrid sensation of being stifled by the thick at-
mosphere of smoke before the flames encompassed me.
In this extremity I determined at least to inflict some
vengeance on my savage persecutors.
I scrambled up from my hiding-place, and crawled as
far as I could on one of the branches, which was most
free from the suS'ocating smoke and heat, and fired the
remaining barrel of my fowling-piece at the yelling
wretches, which I then hurled at their heads. I did the
same with my remaining pistol, when, to my amazement,
I heard the reports of other guns; but whether they
were the echoes of my own, or that my failing senses
deceived me, I knew not, for the smoke and flame now
mastered me. Stifled and scorched, I remember only
falling from the branch of the tree, which was not high,
to the ground, when my senses left me.
I was roused from my trance of death by copious de-
luges of water, and I heard a voice, which was familiar
to me, exclaiming, —
/' Well, if this is not enough to disgust a man with
this horrid country, I don't know what he would have
more. For years and years have I been preaching to
him that nothing good could come of this wretched den
of bush-rangers and natives, and now you see the evil is
come at last."
238 I AM Saved.
I opened my eyes at these words. It was the voice of
Crab, whom Heaven had directed with a party of friends
to this spot to deliver me. Overcome with the intensity
of my emotions, racked with pain, and sick with the
very fulness of joy at my escape from death, I uttered a
piercing and agonizing cry of mingled pain and delight,
and fainted.
Cljaptn CniButiftli.
He recovers his senses and finds himself among Friends — Account
of the Bush-rangers at the Great Lake — Moss's extraordinary
escape.
It was some time before I recovered from this fainting
fit, as the surgeon called it, *' of physical exhaustion and
mental emotion." When consciousness returned, I
heard around me the subdued hum of human voices, and
for a moment I thought that I was in the power of the
natives, and that I was under preparation for being
roasted at the fire of the blazing tree from which I had
fallen, scorched and stifled. I kept my eyes closed for
a short space ; presently I distinguished the voice of the
magistrate of the Clyde.
" He seems in a bad way, poor fellow ! Have the
devils touched any vital part with their spears ?"
" No," said another voice, which seemed to me that
of my old friend, the surgeon ; " he has not received any
mortal hurt that I can see, but he has had a sharp rap
on his left leg from some blunt instrument that has cut
and bruised it at the same time ; but there's no bone
broken."
" He'll never come to any more," said some one, which
seemed strangely to me like Crab's voice, but I could
not imagine how it could be his: "never; that's my
opinion ! Why, he has been lost in the bush for a week,
(239)
240 I Recover My Sense's.
without anything to eat, I'll be bound, and without a
drop of water, for there's never a drop to be had in thia
country when you want it — in summer, especially. No,
poor gentleman ! I've stood by him for many a year,
trying to persuade him all I could to leave this horrid
place. I always told him that something would happen
at last; but I never thought it would be so bad as this.
He used to say, poor fellow, while he was alive, that I
was always roasting him ; he little thought he would be
roasted in real earnest ! And there's that new sample
of Cape wheat that he was to try this season : all lost !
What could induce him to get up that tree, I can't
conceive."
'' The tumble from the tree can't have done him any
good," said the magistrate.
"■ No ; but the branch was not high, and it was a nice
soft bed of turf for him to fall on ; it was good luck
that he was not hit by our shots when we banged at the
natives."
" He is a long time coming to."
"• No, he's all right. This is more exhaustion than
anything else. His pulse is coming back now. You
see, he has been in the bush for six days, suflering un-
der the sensation of being lost, and that wearing of the
mind is enough to exhaust the strongest energies. But
he's coming to fast now."
" Will you bleed him ?"
"Oh, no! A glass of brandy would do him more
good than bleeding, in his present state."
" Here's a flask of brandy."
At the suggestion of bleeding me I opened my eyes,
not wishing to give the worthy surgeon the trouble of
performing that operation.
Find Myself among Friends. 241
" By George !" said Worrall, the constable ; " do you
see how he opened his eyes, and roused up, when he
heard the talk about the brandy ? I do think that a
glass all round would do us good !"
" Well, my boy," said the magistrate, " how do you
find yourself after your tumble ?"
"How do you find yourself, master?" said the rough
and honest voice of Crab; "how do you find yourself,
now you're come to life again ? I always told you how
it would be ; but you never would believe me ; and
there's the farm burnt down, and all the home-flock of
merinos the Lord knows where ; and there's Miss Betsy
taken ill, and Missus is but poorly, and they are in a
pretty confusion with one thing and another ; and the
blood-foal's dead, and the tame herd has taken to the
bush, and I don't know what else to say to revive you,
except that they say the small-pox is about, and ruina-
tion is going on everywhere ; and — "
" Hold your tongue, you villanous old grumbler,"
said the magistrate ; " you have croaked enough to make
a sound man sick. Let him alone."
My head was still confused, and I was perplexed to
account for what I heard and saw around me. My
thoughts reverted to the day when we had our skirmish
with the bush-rangers at the lake, and for a few moments
it seemed to me that I was awaking from a long sleep,
and had been suffering under the influence of a hideous
dream. But the sight of the blazing tree quickly re-
called to my memory the late terrible scenes; a feeling of
sickness came over me, and I closed my eyes again.
"Give me your brandy-flask," said the surgeon;
" here, Thornley, take a little sip."
16
242 A Drink Refreshes Me.
He put the bottle to my lips, and I drank a few tea-
cpoonsful.
" Is brandy a good thing for faintness, doctor?" said
Worrall.
'' Nothing better; it's a capital medicine when you
know how to use it."
" I feel very faint, myself," said Worrall; " poor Mr.
Thornley's condition has quite overcome me. Could you
oblige me with the brandy-flask ? I know how to use it."
" From long practice, I dare saj."
" Go and mind your business, Worrall," said the ma-
gistrate. " You shall have brandy enough when you
get home, for you have behaved well, and deserve it, but
now let us be moving ; — that is if the doctor thinks our
friend can travel."
" See if you can find a spring hereabouts, Worrall,"
said the doctor, " and we will give our friend a refresher."
A pannikin of water was presently brought to me, into
which the excellent doctor put a fair proportion of
brandy.
''We must get him home somehow," said he, "and
set him to rights when we get there- We can't treat
him as if he was comfortable in a nice sick-bed."
I took the drink with eagerness, and looking up, be-
held the face of our lost neighbour. Moss.
" How did you get away from the bush-rangers ?"
were the first words that I uttered.
" Oh !" said Moss ; " we'll tell you all about that by-
and-by ; I have to thank my friends here for my re-
covery, and you among the rest, not forgetting our young
friend Beresford ; but that story will keep ; we'll tell you
all about it in good time."
We Start for Home. 243
I now saw that Beresford was near, but a little behind
me, with his left arm in a sling. I reached out my hand
to him, and, handing his gun to Mr. Moss, he extended
his right arm to me, and raised me up.
" That's right," said Worrall, who now came up to
us; " never say die. We are all ready," he said to the
magistrate, touching his hat, " and we can get home be-
fore morning ; the night will be fine, and we have day-
lijrht cnoujih to cross the Big River, and then it will not
be more than twenty miles or so to the Shannon."
"I am ready," said I; ''but" — and I tried to move a
few steps — " I can't walk ! I feel as stiff as if I ac-
tually had been roasted at the fire yonder."
" Well," said the sugeon, " I'm inclined to think
you would not have taken long to roast at that same fire,
if we had not come up in time to stop the cooking of
you ; but there's a horse for you, and we must contrive
ta carry you with us."
" What has become of the natives ?" said I.
" There are some of them lying dead not far from us,"
said the magistrate; "the rest did not stay to make a
fight of it with our number. They arc off in the bush
somewhere. But as to following them there, you might
as well look for a needle in a stack of hay. Besides, we
have had enough of it, and I think the natives, for this
once, have had enough of it too. But we must not
waste time in talking; we have the Big River to cross
before dark, so let us make a start."
I was helped on to a horse, and we proceeded as fast
as we could to the banks of the Big River. We reached
it before dark, but we could not find a ford. We con-
Bumed the remaining daylight in searching for one with-
244 How Crab got Here.
out success ; and it was resolved at last that we should
bivouac on its banks, and resume our search at daylight.
We lighted up several fires, and by the aid of some loose
branches, and the bark of trees, by means of which was
made a breakwind, I shortly began to feel tolerably com-
fortable, to which some kangaroo steaks and brandy-and-
water not a little contributed. As we lay by the fire, I
was curious to learn some account of the bush-rangers,
who had escaped, when I left my companions, to a small
island in the lake, at no great distance from the main
land.
'' Will it do him any harm," said the magistrate, " to
keep him awake with the story ?"
'' Oh ! no," said the surgeon ; " it's early yet. Go on,
and then you will sooner have done."
''Do you describe it, Moss," said the magistrate;
' ' you saw it best, and you can praise us, and so relieve
our modesty from the painful necessity of praising our-
selves."
*' Very well," said Mr. Moss; " as I was only a spec-
tator of the fight, perhaps I can best describe it."
" How did Crab come among you ?" said I.
«'0h! that's easily told," said Crab. "After the
soldiers left us. Missus's mind misgave her that they
would never find you, and I entirely agreed with her on
that point ; so seeing what a taking she was in, I ofi"ered
to go for you and bring you back, that is, if the natives
left any of you, for I told Missus they were terrible,
voracious cannibals. It seems, however, that the soldiers
did find you, or rather that you found them, and by all
accounts you had no reason to be over-pleased with their
treatment of you."
Crab's Search for Me. 245
" Say nothing about it," said I, rubbing myself be-
hind ; "there was a mistake."
*' Was there ? And is it true that they touched you
up, and made you dance ? Lord ! how they did laugh
when they told me of it ! they said"
" Say nothing more about it; I don't want to be re-
minded about that."
" Well, a corporal's party came up from camp next
morning to stay at the Clyde as a post of observation, so
I left Missus quite safe and comfortable, o*.ly that every-
thing she had was burned, and the whole family was in
distress and confusion; and I promised her, if you were
killed by the bush-rangers, which I told her I had no
doubt you was, for it's always best to know the worst,
that I would bring home your dead body for her to bury,
which would be a great consolation to her, poor lady, I
dare say. So I and Bob set out on your tracks, and we
reached the lake the very morning you left it for the
Clyde. And how it was that we missed you I can't un-
derstand, except that nobody can ever find his way in
this wild country when he's once lost."
"I see," said I, " I thought to take a shortcut to the
right, and so I missed you."
"That's always the case," said Crab, "in this mise-
rable place; nothing did ever go right in it, nor ever
will. But I'm getting old now — the more fool I for
stopping in it so long. But it won't be long before I'm
out of it ; this last business has been a sickener."
"You're one of Job's comforters, Crab," said I;
" but now pray don't interrupt Mr. Moss in his story."
246 Mr. Moss'Account
THE CAPTURE OF THE BUSH-RANGERS.
When the fight in which you were engaged, (said Mr.
Moss,) was ended, the bush-rangers retired behind the
green bank by the margin of the lake. They lay
close all night, but they sent out scouts to see what you
were about, and when one of them came back to warn
them of the arrival of the soldiers, they were in a great
fright, not knowing what to do. Some of them proposed
to make a dash through your party, but that was thought
too rash ; one or two who were wounded hinted the pru-
dence of surrender, but the Gypsey, as they called him,
who acted as their leader, threatened to blow out any
man's brains who proposed a surrender.
"Better be shot," he said, " like men, than be hanged
like dogs,"
Two of the bush-rangers had been seafaring men, and
they proposed that we should swim over to the little
island that was not more than some few hundred yards from
the shore.
" And what's to become of our arms and of the
wounded ?" said the Gypsey.
"Oh !" said they, "make a little raft, and put our
arms and clothes on the top of it, and then swim and
push it over ; there's no tide, and the lake is as smooth
as glass."
"A capital plan," said the Gypsey; "we'll do it, —
and then we can defy the murdering villains that are after
us; for if they attempt to get at us, we shall have all the
advantage of firing at them under cover."
The bush-rangers were not long in putting this scheme
in execution. All the time you were watched by two
Rangers Swim to the Island. 247
scouts, and they saw you sitting by your fire and enjoying
yourselves ; but it was not their game to excite your at-
tention. The rogues worked hard, and by launching
some dry logs into the lake, which they lashed together
with bullock-hide, they soon made a sufficient raft for that
purpose.
" Now," said the Gypsey, '' are you all ready ? But
I forgot — oan you all swim ?"
Three of them, who had been mechanics of some sort,
declared they could not swim a stroke.
'' Here's a mess ! Well, I teU you what you must do,
my fine fellows ; you must hold on in the water by the
raft — that will keep you from sinking. But what shall
we do with our prisoner?"
''Oh, let him go — he'll only be in the way ?"
" No, no, we'll keep him, we may find a use for him
yet. Now, sir, can you swim?"
''No," said I — for the thought struck me of a strata-
gem to escape — '' and I hope you will not expose me to
the risk of being drowned."
" Oh, you must take your chance ; it's no worse to be
drowned than to be hanged; so strip, 3Iistcr, and bundle
into the water."
I took off my clothes, and the scouts having been
withdrawn, and the whole party collected, we advanced
towards the water.
" Stop," said one of the sailors ; "how much line can
we make by putting it all together ?"
By a general contribution of neckcloths, garters,
cords, and bullock-hide, they made a line of about a
hundred and fifty yards in length.
"What's this for?" said the Gypsey.
248 Moss EscAPESFROM Them.
" You'll see the use of it presently/' said the sailor.
" Now for it ;" and we all got into the water.
" Where's the prisoner?" said the Gypsey,
"Alongside me," said the other sailor; " he's all safe."
In this manner the swimmers slowly and with great
difficulty pushed forward the raft, those who could not
swim, and I, pretending not to be able to swim, holding
on. They had reached the middle of the passage, or a
little more, when the sailor to the right said to the one
by me,
'■'■ Mate, take the end of the line and swim to the shore,
I think it will reach it now, and then haul on gently,
and that will quicken our work and lighten it too, for it's
getting more than we can do. Be alive, for this is too
hard work to last long."
]\Iy near companion quitted me with much alacrity,
glad to be relieved from bis share of the toil of propel-
ling the clumsy wood-work, and shortly afterward I felt
that the raft was being hauled in from the shore.
The attention of the bush-rangers around being dis-
tracted from me by this circumstance, I took advantage
of the opportunity, and quietly dropped under water, for
I had been taught to swim, as a necessary part of my
education, in early youth ; and I was as confident in the
water, so long as my strength lasted, as on dry land.
On this occasion I had need of all my skill. My
limbs were torpid and benumbed from inaction in the
water, and by the exposure of my hands and arms to the
cold night air. I may add, that all the bush-rangers
complained of the piercing coldness of the lake-water,
and there was a terrible chattering of teeth among the
holders-on before I left them.
He is Almost Frozen. 249
Well — I dropped quietly under water, taking care to
keep my head, as I thought, towards the shore of the
main land; and although my limbs were almost para-
lysed by the cold, I contrived by a vigorous effort to
strike out for nearly half a minute under water,
there's no knowing what a man can do till his life is at
* stake — and when I came to the surface, I had the satis-
faction to find that I was at a fair distance from the raft.
I swam on lustily, but in my hurry, and, I suppose,
anxiety and confusion of mind, instead of swimming to-
wards the main land, I swam towards another island,
which in the darkness I mistook for it. This island was
nearly a mile from the spot that I quitted, and being de-
ceived as to its distance, I expected to reach it without
much effort, and I nearly exhausted myself by quick
swimming before I was much more than half-way over.
Fortunately, there was not a breath of air stirring, and
the water was quite smooth, but bitterly cold. I rested
in the water for some seconds, but the cold was so pierc-
ing that I was afraid of cramp ; so I struck out again and
worked hard. I reached the shore of the island at last,
but I was so completely exhausted that I could scarcely
stand. The morning now began to break, and I per-
ceived that I was about half a mile from a low point
of land which ran out from the main shore into the lake.
I was too tired to venture into the water again, and I
assure you that my situation was a very awkward one,
indeed. I kept running up and down for some time to
keep myself warm, and at last I thought I might as well
be drowned as die of cold where I was, so I plunged in-
to the water again, and made an effort to reach the op-
posite shore.
250 Rejoins His Party.
I had got little more than half-way across, when my
strength failed me, and I began to sink slowly into the
water. I gave myself np for lost, and I began to utter
that which I considered my last prayer, when I felt my
foot strike against the ground ; the water reached to my
chin, and I was just saved. I cautiously waded on, fearing
to fall into some hole every moment ; but the water grew
shallower and shallower, and the sand beneath my feet
was firm and even, and I arrived at the dry land.
^Yithout losing a moment, I set off to the point where
I expected to find my friends; I met them on their
way to the concealed boat. They were much astonished,
as you may suppose, at the sight of a creature that evi-
dently was not a kangaroo, but that was similarly unen-
cumbered by any article of dress. But matters were soon
explained, and they had a fine laugh at the joke, when
I told them how I had escaped. There was a friendly
subscription of articles of apparel, to which the slain
bush-rangers were made to contribute more efficiently.
" "Well — and did you find the boat ?"
We found the boat in pretty good condition, with a
couple of sculls in her. We soon launched her, and then
it was debated what should be our mode of attack.
The old sergeant — what a grim old fellow he is ! — pro-
posed that we should attack them on three sides at once,
and make two rafts to assist us.
" If we go all together in a huddle in this little
boat," said he, " they will fire at us in a heap, and we
shall have no cliance, at least not without great loss, and
that we should endeavour to avoid ; whereas, by firing
from three points at once, we shall distract their atten-
tion, and those in the boat may dash in and charge them.
Th ey Plan the Attack. 251
Of course, we soldiers will go in the boat; it will just
hold us aud no more."
'' I don't like your lives to be risked even in this way,"
Kaid the magistrate. " I think the safer plan will be to
starve them out. We gain nothing by exposing our
lives unnecessarily in a conflict with hardened felons and
murderers : they can do no harm where they are, and
they must be starved out at last. We can keep a strict
watch on them by the aid of our boat, and my opinion is,
some of them will get tired of being starved, and will
betray the rest."
" Just as you please, sir," said the sergeant; '4t's all
one to us ; but I should like to make a dash at 'em, the
cowardly scoundrels, to murder a soldier in cold blood,
and fire at his back ! But if these rascals were to put
another dodge on us, and steal off while we are looking
on, there would be a fine laugh against us when we got
back to Camp. We don't mind doing it alone, rather
than not do it at all — what do you say, my men; shall we
try the boat ?"
"Ay, ay," said the men ; " we can fire close, and they
can never stand it ; besides, we can fire three times to
their one, as they have to load from their powder-horns,
while we have our cartridges. Better have it over at once,
and rap at them while we can."
" Well," said the magistrate, " I have my doubts;
but it certainly is of importance to secure these despe-
rate fellows, and it would not be pleasant to have the
laugh against us if they escape ; so let us set about it
without losing time."
We all set to work, and we were busy constructing
our raft, when Crab and your man appeared on horseback.
252 First Attack Fails.
" Yes," said Crab, " we tracked you to the place where
you had the first fight, and then we easily tracked you
on to the boat. And such a set of mad fellows I never
saw before in all the days of my life ; one would have
thought you were going to have a frolic instead of a
deadly fight with desperate men ; but this horrid country
makes all the people mad, and mad they must have been
to come to it, and madder to stop in it — that's my
opinion !"
"Mr. Crab entertains peculiar views," said Moss,
'' and he has his own way of expressing himself : but to
proceed with my story — that is, if I am not making it
too long."
" Not a bit," said I ; "we have nothing to do but to
hear it ; and, as I was at the beginning of the fray, I
should like to hear the end of it."
"Well, then," said Moss, " we worked hard all that day,
but we could not construct anything to our minds as a
fighting raft. Half of the soldiers were despatched
to keep watch on the part of the shore which we had
quitted, and which was nearest to the island. We passed
the night as usual, but we had plenty of fires to keep the
cold off. Next day we finished our raft, which we
launched into the water. It was then towed by the boat
towards the island. When we approached within range,
a muskct-shot was fired from the shore, which we ob-
served fell short of the boat in the water, but we saw no
one on the beach."
" This will never do," said the magistrate; " we shall
all be picked off this way."
He then called out to the sergeant to go back, which was
done, and we returned to the land to the point from which
Soldiers Join the Party 253
the bush-rangers had started the morning before. Wo
all went on shore again, and consulted on what sh juld
be done. We were engaged in this deliberation, when
we were agreeably surprised by the appearance of a cor-
poral's party of soldiers, and presently afterwards by a
bullock-cart drawn by four bullocks, and bearing another
boat, which had been despatched from Hobart Town to
the lake, as it was guessed such an assistance might be
wanted. This boat was larger and stronger than the one
we had found, and being thus provided, and our strength
being reinforced by the addition of the corporal's party,
it was at once resolved that we should force the bush-
rangers in their retreat by a simultaneous attack on dif-
ferent points. The sergeant took the command of one
boat, and the magistrate of the other.
The Governor's Proclamation — The Magistrate's Mission — The Ser-
geant's Device — The Bush-rangers Captured.
We were just shoving off from the shore, when a mes-
senger on horseback arrived from Hobart Town, bearing
a letter from the Governor to the magistrate, which of
course we stopped to read, as the despatch was marked
''Important and immediate." The magistrate having
read it over to himself, said that as its contents concerned
us all, he would read it aloud, which he did to the fol-
lowing effect: —
''By — "■ — , Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of his Majesty's
Settlements on Van Diemen's Land, &c. &c. &c.
" Whereas the convicts named in the margin, who have
been sent to the new settlement of Macquarie Harbour,
have effected their escape by passing the mountains, and
are now at large; and wlioreas it has been represented to
me by , Esq., at wliose house the said convicts, or
several of them, were on the 9th instant, that they or
several of them were desirous of surrendering themselves
to the Government; I do hereby declare that all or any of
the convicts named in the margin, together with such
others as may have made their escape from Macquarie
Harbour at the same time, shall be pardoned for all
(25-1)
The Governor's Proclaim at ion. 255
offences committed by them, murder excepted, upon sur-
rendering themselves, with their arms, to any of the
under-named gentlemen, they being in the nomination
for the magistracy of this island, or to any officer or non-
commissioned officer commanding a party of the King's
troops, provided that such surrender shall be made on or
before the 21st instant.
" And I do hereby require and authorize , Esq.,
of the Clyde; , Esq., of Jericho; and ,
Esq., of the Clyde, they being in the nomination of the
magistracy, to receive all or any of the said convicts on
their voluntary surrender, to convey to them a pledge on
my part that no charge shall be exhibited against them
for any offence committed by them in this island, mur-
der excepted, provided they shall surrender themselves,
with their arms, on or before the 21st instant.
" And I do hereby declare, that in the event of the
said convicts not accepting the mercy herein offered, and
of their continuing in a state of resistance to the laws
after the time specified, I will cause the whole of the
King's troops, together with the armed inhabitants, to be
put in motion against them, and that I will put a price
upon each of their heads, authorizing all his Majesty's
subjects to bring them in, dead or alive.
" And I do hereby further declare that I do by this
paper, under my hand, and the seal of the colony, convey
to you full power to pledge me to the several convicts for
the performance of all herein expressed and declared on
my part, and to receive their surrender.
" , Lieutenant-Governor.
" Government- House, Hobart Town,
" To , Esq.,
" River Clyde."
256 The Magistrate's Resolution.
''Now, my friends," said the worthy justice, "it is
all very well to show your courage and your determina-
tion in making an attack on these bush-rangers, but we must
not be too hasty in the matter. Bear in mind that our
object should be to capture these dangerous men without
necessarily exposing our own lives, or the lives of these
brave soldiers who are so eager to get to close quarters with
the murderers of their comrade. As the Government
has empowered us to offer that their lives should be
spared, with the exception of the actual murderers, on
the condition of their surrendering themselves, it is my
duty to make the clemency of the Government known to
them, and to give them this chance of saving their lives."
There was some murmuring at this, and it was con-
tended that no terms ought to be kept with villains who
had committed outrages and atrocities so horrible as
these had done ; but the magistrate was firm in his sense
of his duty, and declared that he was determined to give
effect to the merciful intentions of the Government.
" But how are we to acquaint them with it ?" said the
sergeant; " they will be sure to fire on us if we approach
them in a body, and I don't suppose that any one of us
is inclined to go alone into their den of wolves !"
" I will not ask any one to do my duty for me," said
the magistrate; "1 shall take one of the constables with
me to pull the boat, and go alone, and without arms ; my
mission will be a mission of peace and mercy, and I must
take my chance of the rest. Come, Worrall," said he,
'' step into the boat and pull me over."
" I'm a bad hand at pulling," said Worrall, " and be-
sides, they have a particular spite against me, and would
skin me alive if they could get me ; not that I mind, only
I would rather anybody else did the job this time."
Worrall's Fears. 267
•* You can pull a long face," said the sergeant, '' at any
rate; but one of us can go, if his honour pleases."
"No, no," said the magistrate; ''Worrall is the
proper man ; it is right that he should attend me in his
official capacity."
It was with the most ludicrous reluctance that Wor-
rall proceeded to exercise his official functions on this dis-
agreeable occasion ; and as his face was turned towards
us as he sat in the boat with the sculls in his hand, the
dolorous countenance of that usually facetious indi-
vidual raised a general shout of laughter.
" I know," said Worrall, in most lugubrious accents,
"I'm booked; I shall be riddled like a sieve. Ah ! you
may laugh, but how would you like it yourselves ? And
the bush-rangers always put jagged balls in their guns,
out of spite; as if smooth ones would not do as well."
' Give me a stick — and tie something white — a hand-
kerchief, or something, to it, that we may not run any
useless risk. That will do — now shove us off — and —
Worrall — what's the matter with the man ? Give way !
the sooner we are there, the sooner it will be over."
"Well," said Mr. Crab, " if you don't like to be shot
yourself, you needn't disgust other people with it.
What made you stay in this horrid country? It's your
own fault for stopping in it, where there's nothing but
wild bush-rangers and savage natives to murder and de-
vour you — that's my opinion."
" Oh !" groaned Worrall, " it will be all over soon
enough 1"
The boat proceeded languidly on its way, feebly pro-
pelled by exceedingly slow strokes, the sculls, as we ob-
served, rising perpendicularly into the air, and descend-
17
258 Parley with the Eangers.
ing again in a straiglit line into the water, thereby caus-
ing the least possible motion to the boat which bore the
wretched Worrall to his miserable doom, who ever and
anon looked over his shoulder towards the anticipated
spot of his expected sacrifice, ducking his head occa-
sionally with a quick and frantic motion, to avoid the
shots which his fears suggested were being aimed at him.
The magistrate, who was standing up in the boat with
the white flag in his hand, at last seized hold of Wor-
rall's almost paralysed hands, and forcing him to row,
"by a few vigorous strokes the boat was soon forced into
the mid-channel.
We now observed the bush-rangers assembling on the
beach of the island in order of fighting, and with their
arms in their hands. As the boat approached the shore,
we saw the magistrate wave his white flag in one hand,
while in the other he held up the open letter which he
had received from the Governor. The boat now neared
the shore and became stationary, but we could not hear
what passed.
" I will supply that deficiency," said the magistrate.
" I confess I did not feel very comfortable as we ap-
proached the spot where the bush-rangers were assem-
bled, and when I felt that my life was in their power ;
but I lost no time in telling them of the merciful ofier
of the Governor. Worrall had laid himself down at the
bottom of the boat, which I saw excited the bush-
ranger's suspicions; I made him get up, therefore, and
when they caught sight of his face, there was a general
shout of anger, and more than one piece was levelled at
him. I put up my hand and appealed to their honour,
and said that I had trusted myself among them in order
Refuse TO Surrender. C59
to save life ; that I was bound to do my duty, and that
I could not better evince my desire to save them from
the consequences of their holding out, than by my
present act in confiding to their good feelings. I am in-
clined to think that my eloquence would not have saved
me from their murderous inclinations, if it had not been
for their leader, who really is a fine fellow, and T should
like to save him if I could. Some of the rascals called
out ' Treachery !' and pointed their guns at me, but their
leader (the Gypsey) stopped them, and he and I had a
parley together. I should say that I observed evident
signs in some of them of an inclination to submit them-
selves.
" ' "Will all our lives be spared ?' said the Gypsey, ' if
we surrender ?' • Not all,' said I ; ' but all except those
who actually committed the murders with which you are
charged.' ' But we are all in for it,' said he, ' and we
must stand or fall together ; we won't agree to have some
picked out from the rest to be hanged in Camp yonder !'
'I cannot engage,' said I, 'that all your lives shall be
spared ; but your immediate and quiet surrender would
no doubt go far in your favour.' ' Let us hear that
part of the Governor's letter read to us word for word,'
said the Gypsey.
" I read it to them from beginning to end, but they
shook their heads at it.
" ' It wont do,' said the Gypsey ; ' we may as well be
shot as be hanged. But you see we are well armed, and
prepared for you. We don't wish to do you any harm ;
I believe you mean well to us ; but if you attack us, you
must take the consequence. We will fight it out to the
death. What say you my men, shall it be life or death
260 False Signals.
with us?' 'Ay, ay,' said the menj 'no surrender, no
surrender.'
'' I thought my position was getting ticklish, for the
bush-rangers were working themselves up to a pitch of
savage fmy. I, therefore, thought of the best mode of
retiring.
" ' I will give you,' said I, ' another hour to consider
of the offer of the Governor ; if before the end of that
time you will consent to submit, hold up a bough by the
water's edge, which we shall be able to see from the
other side. I leave you now, hoping that you will con-
sider the merciful offer of the Governor, and take advan-
tage of this chance of saving your lives.' So saying,
and without waiting for a reply, I immediately took the
sculls and pulled back ; and glad enough was I to escape
so well, I can assure you. And now, Moss, do you tell
the rest."
We waited till the expiration of the hour (said Moss),
but we observed that the bush-rangers were very busy
with the dead wood, and with boughs of trees, which
they cut down and dragged to the shore, to form, as it
seemed, a shelter, behind which they might defend them-
selves, and at the end of the time we saw one of them
holding the bough of a tree in his hand, which he waved
about.
" They have agreed to surrender," said the magis-
trate ; "don't you see the signal which we agreed on?"
" Not a bit of it," said the old sergeant; '' those forti-
fications have not been run up for nothing : the treache-
rous devils, they show that branch as a feint, depend
upon it, to put us off our guard. But I think we may
take advantage of tli< ir nwn stratagem, and by pretend-
The Sergeant's Stratagem. 261
ing to be deceived, we shall be able to deceive them.
Now, sir," said he to the magistrate, " will you be ruled
by me for this once ? I'm an old peninsular campaigner,
and have had some experience in the bush with the
Yankees, and I am up to their manoeuvres."
" With all my heart," said the magistrate ; '' what do
you propose to do ?"
" Why this is what I propose. First, do you get into
the boat again with Worrall, as if you saw and understood
their signal, and relied upon their meaning to surrender.
When you are sure they have seen you do this, then
come back, as if you had determined on some other plan -
of receiving their submission. Now look at the wind.
You see it blows from us to them pretty smartish. Let
all of us hoist white flags or boughs of trees ; they will
Bee us from the other side, and they will think we are
sure of their surrendering quietly, and so being deceived,
if they mean treachery, we shall be able to circumvent
them. Now you see the wind, as I said, blows from U3
to them. We must make a large fire, as if for cooking,
and to make it look as if we had abandoned all thoughts
of fighting."
"How will that help us?" said the magistrate.
'' Why, you see when we make a good fire, we can
make at the same time a good smoke, and smoke enough
to hide us from the view of the bush-rangers."
" And what will you do then?"
" Let one boat go straight forward, making all the noise
you can, to fix their attention, while the other steals
round to the side of the island. We soldiers will go in *
that, and take them in flank, and then we shall have
them nicely ; and while they are engaged with us, you
202 They throw off the Disguise.
can push on and land, and so they will be between two
fires."
"Good!" said the magistrate; "a capital scheme;
that is, if you can make smoke enough."
" Oh, let me alone for that," said the sergeant ; '■'■ I
learnt that trick long ao;o in America ; I'll warrant I'll make
a smoke that a man can't see a pot of beer through it."
The sergeant's plan was immediately carried into exe-
cution. We collected a quantity of dead leaves, which
at this season of the year are damp and difficult to in-
flame. We first made a fire as usual, and then we pro-
ceeded to light others along the shore, taking care to
smother them with dead leaves, which raised plenty of
smoke, which the wind carried over the water in the di-
rection of the island. We then manned the boats, and
pursuing the plan of the sergeant, made as much noise
as possible in pulling over. In the meantime, under
cover of the smoke, the second boat, with the sergeant
and his party, made the best of its way to the side of
the island. When we came within speaking distance, a
voice hailed us : —
'* What the devil do you kick up such a smoke for?"
" The wood by the side of the lake is damp, and will
not burn. We saw your signal, and we are come to re-
ceive your surrender."
" Surrender be ! More fools you to suppose we
were going to give ourselves up to be hanged like sheep
in a slaughter-house. Take that for your folly."
At these words a volley was fired at us, but we were
prepared for it, and by falling down in the boat we es-
caped it altogether, the shots, in the obscurity of the
smoke, going over our heads. Without returning the
The Double Attack. 263
fire, we immediately pulled oif, and wLen we had got to
a safe distance, we began to fire, to distract the attention
of the bush-rangers from the second boat. We con-
tinued to fire for some minutes, till the smoke cleared
away, and then we had the satisfaction to see that the
boat with the soldiers had succeeded in getting round a
point of land which concealed them from the sight of
the bush-rangers.
"The murderous and treacherous rascals !" muttered
Worrall, " they deserve to be punished for this villanous
treachery. Lucky we were to escape from them, but I
suppose the Gypsey thought he should secure our de-
struction best by this trick."
"Now," said the magistrate, "we may calculate the
soldiers have landed. Let us pull inshore and be ready
to second them. Fire as fast as you can till we get close
in, and then let half reserve their fire. There are the
soldiers stealing round ! The bush-rangers don't see
them yet ! They little expect an attack from that
quarter ! Now. my friends I Fire away ! Keep it up.
There go the soldiers ! Give way ! — pull — pull — reserve
your fire ! There go the soldiers again ! The rascals
are puzzled ! They don't know what to make of it.
Pull away ! Pull away !"
We were not long in reaching the shore, and the bush-
rangers being engaged with their unexpected enemy,
seemed panic-struck. They fired at the soldiers, but
without vigour and without aim. In the meantime we
were upon them on the other side ; and the soldiers, fix-
ing their bayonets, without hesitating, charged in among
them.
We got up to them at nearly the same time, and stopped
264 Escape of Gyp set.
their retreat. They were so bewildered by the sudden-
ness of the unexpected attack of the soldiers, that they
made but little resistance, with the exception of the Gyp-
sey and another man, who seeing that their game was
lost, darted into the wood. Thinking that we had them
safe within the island, we first turned our attention to the
securing of those we had got, whom we bound hand and
foot before they had time to recover from their panic ;
three of them lay dead from the fire of the soldiers, and
several were slightly wounded.
"Where's their leader?" cried the magistrate.
" He has escaped for the present, but we are sure to
have him at last."
"The boat," said the sergeant; "the boat on the
other side — look to it."
It was too late. The Gypsey had been too quick for
us. We saw him above a couple of miles from the shore,
pulling with his companion with all their might to the
main land.
" There they go," said Crab — " and all that we have
(lone is of no use, and I have got one of their buck-shot
llirough my arm; more fool I for going after them.
What have I to do with -fighting bush-rangers ? And
tliere go the two greatest rogues of the lot ; they were
the ringleaders and the stirrers up of all the mischief;
and all our work is to do over again. I'll be bound, be-
fore night, tjiey'll commit a dozen murders at least.
Well, this is making a silly end of it — that's my opinion !"
''Corporal," said the sergeant, " lose no time ; you
must put yourself on their tracks ; you and your party
will be enough for those two ; I will take care of the
prisoners."
Return to the C i. r d e . iG5
<* Put the corporal's party on shore," said the magis-
trate, to the two constables, " where the other boat lands.
You can then return and tow it back with you."
Worrall and his fellow-constables stepped into the
boat, and the corporal making the usual military salaam,
departed with his men in pursuit of the terrible Gypsey
When they returned, we all crossed over to the main land,
much to the joy of our friend Beresford, and the relief
of the Government messenger. We immediately set off
on our return to the Clyde, when to our surprise we
learnt that you had not yet arrived. Wc feared that
you had been killed by the natives, but Crab insisted on
immediately going in search of you, as he said you might
be lamed or lost in the bush.
Information was brought to us that the magistrate's
horse, on which you had started from the lake, had re-
turned home lame, and without saddle or bridle. This
increased our fears for your safety, and we had no diffi-
culty in mustering a sufficient party to aid you in case
of danger. Thank God we found you when we did.
" It was just in time," said I.
"It was, indeed; but that's over now; and when you
get home to your family you will soon recover yourself,
and get things to rights again."
With this we turned ourselves to sleep, and I slept
soundly. The morning light found me refreshed and re-
stored, and I roused up the party to lose no time in cross-
ing the river. We found a fording place higher up, and
crossed without accident. Beresford placed himself by
my side, and we strode cheerfully on.
After a sharp march of some miles, we passed the
Shannnii. :m<l I began to feel mvi=olf ncain
266 M I s 8 M s s .
" What has become of poor Lucy Moss ?" said I. " It
was you who saved her life ou that awful night. When
we left her on our expedition to the lake, she had not
recovered consciousness. Is she still alive ?"
" Miss Moss has to thank your wife for her recovery,"
said Beresford, "more than me. But look there ! Did
you ever see such a shot ? — that cockatoo on the end of
the branch of the tree there."
"Never mind the cockatoo, man," said I; "we have
had shooting enough for one bout ; let the cockatoo alone.
Well, poor girl, I hope she is gi'ateful to you for her life,
when you carried her in j^our arms on that terrible night
that we found her lying on the trunk of the tree over the
Clyde. It is not every one that would have perilled his
life by scrambling along that tree like an opossum, as
you did ; and I remember how very kind you were ; and
when we offered to help you, you said the poor girl was
not in the least heavy, and I suppose — but bless the man,
what is the matter with him ? you are not going to faint
lire you ? And what makes you turn so red in that odd
way ?"
. " It's my arm," said he, " that gives me a twinge now
and then."
"Oh! — is it? and who has done it up so nicely?
Here's been a woman's hand in this, I'll swear. Was it
my wife that sewed on all these little black ribands so
prettil}^— eh ?"
" It was not Mrs. Thornlcy who did it exactly . . ."
" Exactly ! What, had anybody else a hand in it?"
"Not particularly — that is, not altogether; but Mrs.
Thornlcy had the kindness to hold my arm — while —
J flunk it was Miss Moss who sewed on the tics."
"Oh! it was; and who"
Home! 267
"There's the Clyde at last," said Beresford. "Look,
— cast your eyes just over that bare branch of the high
gum tree — don't you see the water ? It can't be more
than four miles from us."
•'You seem to be in a particular hurry to get back.
Nothing wrong about your affairs, I hope ?"
" Oh dear, no ! The truth is, that — that I want — that
is — that I'm anxious"
' Anxious to do what ?"
" To see how your men — that is, my men — have got on
with the hedging and ditching since I've been away."
" Indeed !" said I.
I did not make any further observation to my young
friend, who suddenly quitted my side, but I thought a
good deal, and I said to myself — " I've seen many curi-
ous things in my time, but I never knew a young fellow
in such a hurry to see a hedge and ditch before !
But I was now drawing nearer and nearer to home,
and that feeling put out of my head all other thouglits.
The loud and joyous shouts of our party proclaimed from
a distance their approach and their success. In a mo-
ment I crossed the memorable tree across the river, and
found myself once more in the embraces of my wife and
children.
He returns to his Home — Sets about repairing his Disasters —
How to build a House with pulverized Earth — Mr. Crab's in-
creased importance, and how sheep may increase from one
hundred to two thousand — The building of a stone House re-
solved on.
It is now fourteen years since the events which I
have related happened ; but I remember them as if they
were of yesterday. Taking my wife in one hand, and
my eldest daughter in the other, I led them silently to
the humble hut, which now formed our only dwelling.
Our hearts were too full to speak. I looked round for
"William ; my wife guessed my thoughts.
'* William is out seeking for you over the hills to-
wards Sorrell's Lake."
I looked on my other children, and kissed them one
by one.
" Let me be alone," I said, " for a little while : — my
head is giddy."
I sat down on a wooden bench, and tried to collect my
thoughts ; but the revulsion was too much for me.
The terrible emotions which I had suffered had shaken me
more than I was aware of: the events of a lifetime
seemed to have been crowded into the ten days' space
since I had left my happy home.
In that brief time how much had I suffered ! I had
fought in some desperate conflicts ! I had been lost for
(26S)
Affecting Meeting. 269
six days in the dreary and dismal bush ! I had been
all but overcome in my death-struggle •with the natives !
Desolation now met my eyes where I had left abundance ;
and the blackened ruins of my once cheerful cott-age
lay in a melancholy heap as I passed them by !
Overcome by the sudden rush of all these thoughts
which at once assailed me, and overpowered with the sur-
passing joy of beholding those whom so recently I had
never expected to see again, I felt that choking at tho
throat which seizes on those who are torn by conflicting
emotions : mine were joy and sadness. I think my bosom
would have burst had not tears come to my relief; I
tried to check them as unmanly and unseemly at such
a moment : but they came thicker and thicker, and in the
fulness and thankfulness of my joy I sobbed aloud.
My dear wife took my hands and pressed them ten-
derly ; motioning her to kneel down with me, I raised
my heart in gratitude and prayer to that Being, through
whose help I had been sustained in my many perils.
Then summoning my children, I caressed them again,
and my dear William soon after coming in, with all the
boisterous gladness of a young heart, shouted out his
joyous greeting.
That evening was one of joy and thankfulness ; we
did not think of what we had lost, but of what we had
gained. But a sort of brain fever was the consequence
of the excitement to which I had been exposed, which
confined me for many days to my bed.
When I recovered sufficiently to attend to my affiiirs,
I found that I had in a great measure to begin again the
work of a settler in the country ; but industry and per-
severance will conquer most difficulties ; so I set about
270 Beresford's Attentions.
repairing my disasters with a stout heart, and as we all
worked willingly, we worked cheerfully, stimulated by
the feeling that we were working for ourselves, and that
every improvement that we made — every stone that we
laid — and every stick that we planted, was on our land,
and for the benefit of ourselves and our children.
My first care was to look after my sheep ; for that was
my main stock, and what I most depended on. I had the
mortification to find that my home flock of merinoes
had got dispersed in the bush, but my three other flocks
at their difi"erent runs, consisting of about three thou-
sand, were safe. It took some time to recover my me-
rinoes, for they had strayed away, and had become
mixed with the sheep of various neighbours, but I got
them nearly all together again after a short time. As
to the tame cattle, they were gathered in by degrees,
but it cost my horses severe work to get in the wild herds,
with which they were mixed.
The worst part of the business was the loss by fire at
home of furniture, bedding, books, and indeed of almost
everything that the old cottage and the adjacent build-
ings contained. But there were no lives lost, and that
was a great consolation.
My friend Moss was re-established in his log hut on
the other side of the river, and I heard that young Beres-
ford was particularly attentive in giving them the benefit
of his assistance in putting their little farm to rights,
and my daughter Betsy, then sixteen years of age, and
inclined to be saucy occasionally, told me very demurely
'♦that Mr. Bcresford was so very kind j that he was there
every day, showing Miss Moss how to plant her little
flower-garden, which must be an exceedingly difiicult
Necessity for a House. 271
thing to do," Betsy remarked, " on the other side of the
river, as the flower-garden did not seem to make much
progress, although her instructor was always explain-
ing to her from morning to night something or other about
it."
This was said in such a sly way, that I looked on
Betsy with eyes which betokened some little surprise at
her observations, and it suddenly struck me that eight
years had passed away since I first came to the Clyde,
and that my eldest daughter, now sixteen years of age,
was assuming the airs of womanhood.
My son William, too, who had reached his eighteenth
year, had lately been throwing out hints on the propriety
of his making a visit to Hobart Town to purchase razors.
I had put a stop to that sort of presumption some time
before by gravely offering him a cart and four bullocks to
bring up a razor for him, but I felt that these pretensions
would at no distant time assume a character which re-
quired care and consideration, and that it was incumbent
on me to provide for them in time. These thoughts acted
as further stimulants to my exertions.
"This is a bad job. Crab," I began, "but it might
have been worse ; there have been no lives lost from this
sad fire, that is one great consolation ; but we can't live
without a house ; the point to be settled is, what sort of
one we shall build. You have seen a good deal of these
new sort of houses at Pitt Water, what do you think of
them ?"
Now it must be premised, that Mr. Crab had become
a very important personage in the district of the Clyde.
At the beginning of 1817, seven years before, I had pre-
vailed on him to purchase with his small capital a hun-
272 Profitable Speculation.
dred ewes heavy with lamb, and to put them out " on
thirds ;" which he did with an honest settler on the
other side, the Launceston side, of the island.
As the keeper of the sheep was to have one-third of
their produce to re-imburse him for his care and expense,
two-thirds remained for the owner; and as Crab con-
sumed none, and sold little of the increase, excepting for
the purpose of replacing the wethers with breeding ewes,
in the course of seven years Crab's original one hundred
ewes had increased, notwithstanding theft and all sorts
of losses, to two flocks of sheep of above one thousand
each, which he had established on separate runs, to the
eastward of Salt Pan Plains. He had continued to live
with me in my house, and was considered, as he consi-
sidered himself, a part of the family, and maintained his
authority as the autocrat of the ploughs and corn-fields.
I must add, that having now attained the age of sixty-
eight, he had become more obstinate in his opinions than
ever, and my recent calamities, which he declared he
had all along foreseen and expected, confirmed him in his
conviction of his superior penetration and sagacity.
''What do you think, Crab," said I, '^ of running up
a pise house? It's easily done, and we can do it with
the men we have got about us."
Crab slowly raised himself from the log of a tree on
which he was sitting, and placing on the rough table of
gum-tree boards his two hard and brown hands, he in-
clined his head a little forwards to me, and with much
solemnity replied : —
" And is it possible, j\Ir. Thoruley, that you are think-
ing of building another house in this miserable place ?
Have you not had warning enough, by bush-rangers, and
Betsy's Extostulation. 273
by natives, and by fircf, to show you the wrongness of
all that you have done ? And eight years ago, in this
very place, did I not tell you what would happen ? and
hasn't it happened ? And now you are thinking of be-
ginning it all over again ! Why, it's a mere tempting of
Providence !"
" Oh, papa," said Betsy, " do let us go back to Eng-
land. Since all this work about the bush-rano-ers and na-
lives, I declare I'm quite frightened; and Resides there's
not a shop near us, one must send to Hobart Town for
everything; and if one wants a new riband for a bonnet, a
bullock cart must be sent fifty miles for it. The idea
of bringing up a new bonnet in a cart drawn by four
bullocks !"
" Nonsense, Betsy," said William ; " what do you want
with new bonnets up here, where there are nothing but
cows and sheep to see you? ('ain't there, though?' I
thought Betsy muttered). To be sure, it is awkward not
to have a boot-maker near, and if you want any trifle
done to your gun, you must take it to town. That cer-
tainly is a nuisance."
" Miss Betsy is a very sensible young lady," said Crab,
'' and I think the best thing to be done is for us all to
go home again to England, and there we can have a nice
little farm, and in Shropshire I know many that are to
be got at a low rent."
"Bent!" said I; ''that would be a settler. Crab, if
there was no other argument against it. Thank heaven !
we have done with rent ! Our land is our own ; we are
our own masters ; depending on our own exertions for
prosperity and fortune !"
" A pretty prosperity has come of it!" said the indo-
18
274 Prosperity and Fortune.
mitable Crab. " It's a very prosperous state of affairs,
isn't it, when a man is shot at day after day by bush-
rangers, and gets lost in the bush, and is hunted by na-
tives — and — I ask you, now, master, whether, in your
conscience, you can deny that you ought at this moment
to be a roasted man ?"
" A roasted man !" said my wife. ''Good heavens!
Mr. Crab, what odd ideas you have !"
" But I'm not roasted yet," said I, "and, excepting
that clip which the natives' womera gave me on the leg,
I'm not much the worse for it. And, by-the-by, Crab,
how do your sheep get on beyond the Salt Pan Plains ?
Why, you will have more sheep in a short time than you
will know what to do with. What would you do with
them in England ? It would requu-e a good bit of land
to feed two thousand sheep ; and then the rent ! No
rent to pay here — eh !"
" Eh !" said Crab — "ah ! but it's better to pay rent
and have your property safe, than pay it in the shape
of bush-rangers, sheep-stealing, and burning, and such
like."
" That's a drawback," said I, "it must be confessed;
but still, my friend Crab, with all those drawbacks, and
in spite of all the inconveniences and disadvantages of
this wretched country, as you call it, you have contrived to
make two thousand sheep out of one hundred in seven
years ! I am inclined to think that you would not have
got together a flock of two thousand sheep in England
in that time, or in any time."
"May be not," said Crab — "may be not; but then
in England you can sleep in your bed without getting
up next morning and finding your throat cut, or your
Crab's Advice. 275
house burnt about your ears. Well, well — a wilful man
must have his way ! I suppose you must wait for an-
other disaster worse than this before you'll hear reason ;
but the end will come at last, and then you'll regret you
did not take my advice."
" Come, give us your advice about a pise house, as
you have seen some of them and I have not ; will they
do?"
" Do ! Lord bless you — never think of making a mud-
pie and calling it a house. Who ever heard of patting
mud up into a heap, and then setting a roof on it ?
Why, it must crumble to pieces, or be washed away by
the first rain that comes. But why talk of a mud
house when you have plenty of stone on your own
land ?"
"Yes; but stone-masons' work is so very expensive in
this country, and such a house would take so long in
building."
"Of course it would; everything is very expensive
in this country; but you should have thought of that
before you came into it. But the stone house that I
mean is one which you might build of the same sort of
stone that the old chimney of the cottage was built of;
only to be done in a more sightly manner. Why, you
might build a house a hundred feet long for a few hun-
dred pounds, that would really be a place fit for a gen-
tleman to live in, and which some new fool of a settler,
with plenty of money, would buy, perhaps, when you
went back to England. And I '11 tell you what I '11
do," continued Crab, in his enthusiasm : " I 've too
many sheep by a great deal for me to look after. I 'II
sell one of the flocks, and that shall build the new house
276 A Generous Offer,
for you, and I '11 start to Salt Pan Plains about it thia
very day."
"Indeed," said I, '^you will do no such thing."
" And why not, pray; can't I do as I like with my
own sheep ?"
" You may do as you like with your own sheep, but
you shall not sell them to build our house ; there will
be about fifteen hundred pounds due to me in another
month, which I shall not lend again, so that I shall
have plenty of money for house, furniture, and all."
" Well," said Crab, considering a little, " perhaps it 's
as well ; it will be all the same in the end, and you
would only lose your money by lending it. Very Avell ;
the sheep are sure to increase if you leave them alone.
So now to find a good stone-quarry."
" Let us all go," said my wife; the day is beautiful.
I want to see Mrs. Moss on the other side of the river,
and you can help us over Lucy's bridge, and leave us
In Mrs. Moss's Cottage."
"Come, then," said I; " where 's my fowling-piece?
and. Will, do you take yours."
"Why, what on earth," said Crab, "do you want
with your guns ?— you are not going a mile from home."
"Perhaps not; but there's no harm in taking them
with us."
"My fowling-piece is dirty," said William; "but
Acre 's a musket clean, with the bayonet all ready fixed;
a-nd here 's a cartouche-box of cartridges." .
" A pretty place to live in !" said Crab ; " to go a-
Bceking for a stone-quarry with muskets and fixed bayo-
nets !"
•' It's always best to be prepared," said I; "and, to
Precautionary Measures. 277
my thinking, precaution betokens courage, as it shows
the calculatiou of danger, and the predetermination to
face it."
It will be seen that it was well, on this occasion, that
we did not leave our arms behind us.
Stone-quarries — Manner of Gardening bj' young Ladies in new
Colonies — A Stranger — Miss Betsy suddenly becomes scientific
respecting Stone-quarries and other matters — The large Ants re-
sent the intrusion on their territories — Wild cattle hunting — A
young Bull gets maddened, and galloping into the Bush, meets
with Betsy — Thornley sees her peril and gives her over for lost.
Van Diemen's Land abounds in stone of all sorts,
and especially in a sort of stone which easily splits into
flakes ; it is commonly used to build the chimney of a
log-house, where bricks and lime are not easily to be had.
It is not so sightly as bricks, but it answers the purpose
very well, and almost anything in the shape of mud
serves for a cement. There was plenty of this sort of
stone on my land ; indeed, too much of it, enough to
build a town, and on one rise there were so many fine
flat slabs of stones lying on the surface, that it made one
long to find a use for them.
The object of our search was to find a quarry of stone
easy to be worked, near the intended site of the house,
so as to avoid the expense and trouble of carting. But
first we proceeded in a body to the other side of the
river, passing in single file over the trunk of the tree
which had now obtained the name of " Lucy's-bridge;"
Crab brouglit up the rear, with a crow-bar over his
shoulder, which it pleased him to carry on this occasion,
for the purpose of raising specimens of the stone.
( 278 )
A Stranger. 279
"We fuunJ our friends busy about their cottage, which,
at Mrs. Moss's request, our diligent neighbour was care-
fully fortifying. The inside was hardly large enough to
contain us all, so we proceeded in a body to the new
garden, which Miss Moss, with great taste, had planned
near the river.
"Bless me," said Betsy, "why I declare Miss Moss
has two gardeners to assist her ; there's Mr. Beresford
sitting on the log of a tree, working dreadfully hard in-
deed, and explaining, I suppose, something or other;
and there's another helping him, only he's too far off to
join in the conversation, with a gun over his shoulder.
That's a stranger; I wonder who he can be ?"
Our approach interrupted young Beresford's disserta-
tion on horticulture, and he came forward with a very
red face to greet us, while Miss Moss immediately began
to rake about the earth desperately. ''Rather cold
work," said I, " to be idle. The month of June is not
the season to sit still in the open air. A good fire, and
the inside of a house, would be more comfortable."
" I thought it was very pleasant," said Beresford.
" So it appeared," said I ; " but I can't stop to talk
this morning. "We are going to look for stone to build
our new house. "Who is that young stranger ? He is
very like you."
" That's my brother. You know I have been expect-
ing him for some months. He came up here a week
ago."
" "VVhat is his age ? He is younger than you."
" H<» is nineteen — four years younger than I am. He
nas got terrible notions in his head about natives and
bush-rangers, and nothing on earth will induce him to
280 Beresford's Excuse.
part with his gun : he eats, and drinks, and sleeps
with it."
As my friend thus spoke, the stranger advanced, and
saluted us with a very good air, and I was prepossessed
in his favour at once, by his modest and unassuming
manner. I am inclined to think that there was another
of the party who regarded him with favourable eyes;
but of this I shall have to speak in its proper place.
'* Who's for a walk ?" said I. " Come, Beresford, man,
don't sit on that log all day ; a brisk walk will do you
good."
' ' I would go with you with all my heart, but the
truth is, I have promised Miss Moss to show her how to
trench the ground for Indian corn."
"Trench ground for Indian corn in June! "Well,
that's a new idea, at any rate. You don't mean to say
that you are going to sow Indian corn in the middle of
winter ?"
'' Sow it ! No — not to sow it, but there's nothing
like being prepared in time."
''Right there," said I; "and as you like to prepare
in time, had you not better come with us and look out
for a convenient stone quarry, for it seems to me you'll
soon be wanting a larger house than your present one ?"
Miss Moss, at this recommendation, worked away with
her rake again witli great energy ; but she had the
courage to say, "The surgeon, Mr. Beresford, desired
you not to use your arm ; and you know he said that any
exertion would be dangerous. But pray don't let me
keep you from joining your friends. I have plenty to
do inside the cottage."
So saying, she bid us a hasty adieu, and we proceedea
»
QUARRYING STONE FOR THE NEW HOQSE.
Hunt for Stone Quarries. 281
on our walk. IBorosford said he had to speak to Mr.
Moss about some sheep ; but his brother, he added, would
be glad to accompany us to see the country.
"Well, then," said I, "you can stay with your mo-
ther, Betsy, and we will go on with our search."
''I should like to go with you," said Betsy; "the
day is so fine, and I am so fond of seeing stone
quarries."
" Fond of seeing stone quarries !" thought I; "what
has come to the hussy; she never was so interested
about stone quarries before. Come, then," I said, " and
don't complain of being tired, for we shall make a long
walk of it, perhaps."
We re-crossed the river, and struck into the bush,
William going on before, and I and Crab following se-
dately behind, while Betsy and the stranger came after
us. We soon came on some stone quarries, but we saw
none that pleased us. There were so many that we were
fastidious about them.
" J know of a capital lot of stone just on the other
side of that little green hill," said Crab, " if it would
not be too far for carting; but it all lies on the surface,
so the distance of cartage would be saved by the ease of
getting at the stone."
" It can do no harm for us to see it," said I, " so let
us push on. Betsy ! where the deuce is the girl ?
Don't loiter behind so, or you'll be lost in the bush, and
your new acquaintance would not be able to help you in
such a strait, I think, eh ?"
" Oh, no fear, papa, of being lost in the bush, close at
home. I have more fear of the wild cattle that the men
are bringing in to-day."
282 The Ked Ants.
"Wild cattle!" said George Beresford; "are the
cattle then so wild here? are they savage when mo-
lested?"
" Savage I" said Crab, '' there's nothing savage about
the poor things ; but they are angry at times, and so
would you be if you had half a dozen men on horseback
riding after you for some hours, and cracking their whips
at you enough to deafen a gum-tree. They are wildish
a bit now and then, and when there's a mob of them
rampaging along they can't stand on ceremony. You
must get out of their way, that's all. A little more to
the left, master, if you please ; no need to go over a hill
when you can go round it. There's no end to hills in
this country."
We walked on till we had gone about two miles from
home, when we came upon a splendid lot of stones, of
all shapes and sizes, and Crab, in his zeal, began to use
his crow-bar to heave up a slab here and there, to see
what was under it. Our new acquaintance, to manifest
his desire to render assistance in our search, took the
crow-bar, and worked away with great vigour in an irre-
gular pit of stones, which looked of an inviting quality.
He had not proceeded far in his task, before he uttered
a sharp cry, and began to dance about.
" What's the matter ?" said William; " has the crow-
bar fallen on your toe ?"
" Toe ! it's not my toe ! I've been bit by a snake !"
" A snake ! It's strange that we did not observe it 1
But I see ; it's no snake, it's the red ants that you have
disturbed, and one has given you a nip. I'll soon bring
some more of them out."
So saying, he took the crow-bar, and, peering about.
Their Hostility. 283
struck it lightly at the entrance of the passage several
times. Immediately a swarm of these prodigious ants
sallied out, elevating their nippers, and showing signs
of anger and irritation. These red ants are about an inch
and a half long, very bold and fierce in their nature, and
they do not hesitate to attack any intruder on their do-
mains. About four years before this time, one of my
men, who was employed in raising stone about a half
a mile from the house, was obliged to abandon the
quarry from the numbers and determined hostility of
these courageous and daring creatures.
We, who knew what was coming, got out of the way,
but our friend, with the curiosity of a new comer,
waited in the pit, to examine the appearance and motions
of this curious army of ants. He did not stay there
• long, however, for the angry ants attacked him in a mo-
ment, and, biting his shins, and crawling under his
clothes, set him a-dancing in a manner that did infinite
credit to his agility. The pleasure of this novel sen-
sation was not increased by the loud laughter which ac-
companied his capers from all — all excepting my daugh-
ter Betsy, whose usual love of mirth had become sub-
dued, from politeness and in courtesy to a stranger.
" For heaven's sake, William," she called out, " do help
Mr. Beresford ; those horrid ants will bite him to death."
" I'll fire at 'em," said William, " if he will only
stand still and let me pick 'cm ofi" one by one. But,
never mind, they only bite, and they are not venomous —
at least much — and I never knew any harm come from
their bites. Our Bob has been bitten by them all over,
and he's used to them now, he says, and, upon my word,
I think the ants learned to know him, for they left oft
attackinc him after a bit."
28-4 Betsy's Absence.
" This will do, Crab," said I ; " this is capital stone,
and plenty of it, and it's all down hill, or nearly so, to
the new house. So here we will fix for our quarry.
And now we will go home."
''Not home yet, papa; Mr. Beresford wants to see
the falls of the Clyde."
" Well, do you and William go with him, and show him
the falls ; but they are little worth seeing in June ; the
spring-time, in September or October, is the time for
the falls, after the rains ; then they are a sight worth
seeing."
Leaving the young party to continue their walk, I
and Crab turned our steps homewards, as I expected a
herd of wild cattle to be driven into the stock-yard
during the day. When we got home, I found that my
wife had returned. She blamed me for letting Betsy go
so far from home, in these troublous times, as she called
them ; but I told her there was no fear of bush-rangers
or natives in the daytime so near a settlement, and we
followed such occupations as demanded our attention.
When the time had elapsed, however, for Betsy's return
home, my wife began to be uneasy at her absence, and
urged me to go in search of her."
" She is gone into some friend's house on the way,"
said I ; '' there's no cause for being uneasy ; William \a
with her, and the falls are not a quarter of a mile from
a settler's house."
But all I could say could not calm my wife's uneasi-
ness, for her late troubles had made her timid and
nervous, till I begaa to be uneasy myself. I took my
double-barrelled fowling-piece, and bidding two of my
men, whom I could trust, to come with me, I set out in
the direction of the falls.
Arrival of Wild Cattle. 285
I had not proceeded a hundred yards before I thought
I heard the distant lowing of cattle, and presently after
the cracking of the hunters' whips apprised me that the
herd which I had been expecting all day was approach-
ing the stock-yard.
Judging that an additional rider would be of use in
forcing them into the yard, I returned to the hut, near
which temporary stables had been erected, and putting a
saddle on the horse that was there — the two others were
out after the cattle — I was soon in the midst of the sport.
The forcing the cattle into the stock-yard is the most
diificult part of the task, as they are apt to break away
when they scent the enclosure, and to divide in separate
mobs, which it is exceedingly difficult to get together
again, as they fly off in all directions, and become savage
and furious as they are hard pressed by the shouts and
whips of the huntsmen.
In collecting them from their various runs, it is the
practice for three to five or six horsemen to set out to-
gether at the earliest break of day. The horsemen are
provided with a roughly -made whip, with a leather thong,
and a peculiar sort of lash at the end of it, made from an
old silk handkerchief, which is the best material for pro-
ducing a loud crack.
To make this lash, two strips of an old silk handker-
chief, about six inches long, are wetted, and twisted tight
separately, and then twisted tightly together. It is sur-
prising to those who have never tried this peculiar lash,
to hear the astonishing loud crack that it will make. It
is the noise of these cracking whips that frightens the
cattle into the required direction; and without these
whips it would be useless to attempt to drive them.
286 Mode of Cai'Turixg Them.
Thus provided, the huntei-s proceed to the spots -where
they divine that cattle have rested the preceding night,
observing especially the brows of hills sheltered from the
wind. When they see a mob of cattle, a dozen, more or
less, they note the spot, and pass on, taking care not to
disturb them, and continue their search after more.
In this way they proceed, spreading themselves over
the country, and going twenty miles, perhaps, from home,
noting the different little mobs here and there on their
passage. They then gently urge the mob farthest off
towards the mob nearer home, and then urge the mob so
joined to the next one, and so on.
After a little while, the cattle begin to suspect mis-
chief, and then the furious riding begins, and the smaller
the number, the more difficult it is to drive them. A
horseman takes each flank of the mob, and the rest of
the hunters take charge of the cattle from behind.
Every now and then the cattle break off to the right or
left, and then the horseman, with loud shouts, pursues
them, and with the cracking of his whip drives them
back to the main body. Sometimes the whole body of
cattle will make a rush to escape, and then the utmost
efforts of the hunters are necessary to prevent them from
dispersing.
The country being in a state of nature, and for the
most part covered with dead timber, the sort of riding
may be imagined. Copses are dashed through, dead
trunks of trees are continually to bo leaped, for the
herd must be followed and kept in the right direction at
all hazards to man and horse ; and whatever the country,
it must be taken, up hill or down hill, up precipice or
down precipice.
Its Exciting Nature. 287
Sometimes the cattle take a direction round the brow
of a steep mountain, with a wall of turf on your left
hand, and a precipice of a hundred feet or two on your
right ! No matter; on you must go; hooting, shouting,
and cracking the never-resting whip, and never thinking
of the danger till you have passed it.
Talk of fox-hunting ! It is nothing compared with wild
cattle-hunting ! and as to the excitement, cattle-huntins
is ten times more exciting, but it must be added, incom-
parably more dangerous ! Besides, in cattle-hunting you
see your game, and a multitude of wild cattle in a state
of fury from hard driving is a grand and imposing spec-
tacle. I say nothing of the additional enlivement of be-
coming the pursued instead of the pursuer, from some
devil of a bull taking it into his head to resent the aifront
put upon his independence. Then the chase assumes a
very different complexion, and cool must be the man and
steady must be the rider to escape when the wild bull is
determined, and inclined to be vicious.
I remember one of my men was chased between the
Shannon and the Clyde for ten miles on end by a furi-
ous bullock, who kept his horse at the stretch of his
speed the whole way, till the rider came to a deep part
of the Clyde, when he dashed in, glad to escape from
his tormentor any way. AVhen a pretty good number
are collected in this way, they are more easily driven,
as they arc in each other's way, and impede each other's
motions ; but they are the more dangerous when they
make a rush at you. The only thing to be done then
is to ride with all your speed to the right or left, and
keep up with them in a parallel line till their speed is
spent ; then the work has to be done again.
283 Successful Chase.
On tlie present occasion, my men had collected a mob
of above a hundred, some of which belonged to other
parties, and as it was winter-time, and the cattle were
not exhausted by the heat, as they sometimes are in
summer — for I have known a fat bullock to lie down
when thus driven from exhaustion, and I have not been
able to make him get up even by whipping him — they
were in fine condition for a run, and I soon saw that
there would be more than ordinary difficulty in getting
them into the stock-yard, which was less than a quarter
of a mile from the building where I was temporarily
residing.
We were five horsemen in all; three of my own
horses, and two of my neighbour's, who, from love of
the sport, had joined in the hunt. We had just got
them to the entrance of the yard, where they stood
hesitating and obstinate, when a fine young bull uttered
a savage cry, and, darting between me and another
rider, galloped into the plain, followed by the whole herd.
It was quite a narrow escape for both of us, and we
were only just in time in avoiding the rush of the infu-
riated animals. But we were too well used to the work
to be baflled, and in a short time we had them all under
command, though it required all the shouting and whip-
cracking that we could raise to urge them to the entrance
again. As it was, I think we should have lost them,
had it not been for two cows belonging to our tame herd,
which, fortunately, this time, were in front, and they
being used to the yard, cantered in to avoid the pressure
from behind, and then another simultaneous shout on
our parts, and a renewed cracking of whips forced them
all in ; then up bars, and we had them safe.
The young bull, however, did not approve of the trick,
Terrible Apprehension. 289
and he bellowed and galloped about the yard in a state
of perfect fury, lashing his tail about, and plunging his
horns into the groufid till he got quite mad. In his
anger he made a dash at the heavy logs of which the
yard was built, and butting his head against them, he
made -the whole stockade vibrate with the concussion.
Finding it too strong to break through, he bellowed and
plunged about with increasecT rage, when suddenly he
made a run at the logs, and with one desperate bound
he leaped right over them, although they were nearly
eight feet high, and dashed into the bush.
I admired the vigour and determination of the ani-
mal, and as we did not want him, I let him go his way,
when it suddenly struck me that the course which ho
had taken was the same which my daughter would be
pursuing on her way home. I communicated my fears
to my two men, who were standing by me, and, instantly
seeing the danger, they mounted their horses without
delay, and we proceeded after the furious animal, intend-
ing to head him, so as to turn him away from the path
where he might do mischief.
The short time that elapsed between his escape and
my thought of its danger was sufficient to enable him to
get considerably ahead of us, I took the way to the
right, being best mounted ; and my horse being fresh, I
put him to the top of his speed, riding over everything
in my way in my terrible anxiety.
A couple of miles were passed in almost less time than
I have taken to relate it, when my worst fears were re-
alized ! I beheld the infuriated animal, rendered more
furious by our pursuit and our cries, with its horns near
the ground, in the act of rushing towards my daughter
]0
290 Miraculous Escape.
Betsy, who, with my son and the young stranger, seemed
for the moment stupified with horror at the suddenness
and the imminence of the danger.
The red ribands of the unfortunate bonnet about which
poor Betsy had been so facetious a few days before, as
being honoured with a cart and four bullocks for its
special conveyance from Hobart Town, were streaming
in the wind, and whether or not that colour is really
hateful to cattle, I do not know, but in the present in-
stance the raging bull seemed to me to disregard her
two companions, and with an appalling bellowing that
made the woods re-echo, and filled me with a heart-rend-
ing fear, which I cannot describe in words, it rushed to
the spot where my poor girl, in an agony of terror, with
eyes fixed and hands uplifted, had fallen on her knees
before him.
The furious brute rushed on, and I had already given
up my dear child for lost, when I saw the young stranger
with a bound leap forward between them; — instantly
falling on one knee, and taking a rapid but cool aim, he
fired — the ball with which his musket was loaded struck
the animal between its horns, and the huge bull sud-
denly tumbled over and over on the grass, striking
down, in its plunging course, our heroic preserver, and,
as I afterwards found, breaking his musket to pieces.
Almost at the same moment I reached the spot, and
at the report of the musket, and the fall of the bull, my
well-trained and intelligent horse immediately checked
himself, and stood snorting with inquiring oars. For
Home seconds no one stirred ; the bull lay on the ground
dead ; my daughter knelt with her hands clasped, still
in ihe attitude of fear, and George Beresford remained
motionless by her side.
Clmjitn iJ^umti|-fnurtli,
The Stranger saves Betsy's life — The Surgeon appears again —
Thornley seta off for Hobart Town.
The two horsemen who had accompanied me from the
stock-yard now dismounted, and tlieir advance broke-the
spell of fear and doubt which for a moment entranced my
faculties. I threw myself from my horse, and clasped
my daughter in my arms. Grasping my hand convul-
sively, she rose from her knees, and turned to the spot
where our young friend was lying insensible and pale.
Betsy did not speak, but kneeling down by the body,
clasped her hands, and looked up to us appcalingly.
'' Hide hard to the surgeon's ; it's not half a mile off,"
said William to one of the men. " Give him your horse
to come back on."
In less than five minutes the surgeon was with us.
The young man still remained insensible.
"We must bleed him instantly," said the surgeon.
" Raise him up. Hold his arm out — so. Cut open the
sleeve of his coat ; no time for ceremony. There, that
will do; he is all right; you'll sec he will come to
presently. I hope there are no bones broken."
''Good heavens!" said Betsy, "he will bleed to
death."
"No feax of that; do him good; very good blood;
body in good state — so it ought to be at his age. There
he is — coming to — beautifully. Now we'll bind his arm
(291)
292 The Stranger Revives.
up. Who has got something to bind it with ? Ah ! thia
red riband will do very well. But you'll spoil your
smart bonnet. That's it — and I declare here's .young
Thornley has got a pannikin of water for him. You're
a thoughtful lad, and no doubt this young fellow will do
as much for you another time."
'' Thank ye," said Willj "I hope I shall not have to
trouble him. I wish he had let me shoot the bull,
though ; but Betsy was right before me, and I was afraid
of hitting her if I fired."
" You needn't be sorry that you didn't kill the bull,
Master William," said one of the men; "there's Mr.
Crab will be in a terrible taking about it ; it was his
favourite one of the herd, and a nice, tight, clean-made
cretur he was, poor fellow."
." That's right, Mr. what's his name ?" said the
Burgeon.
" Mr. George Beresford," said Betsy ; " he is Mr.
Beresford's brother."
'' Oh ! the brother that's going to be married to Lucy
Moss : — well, then, Mr. Beresford, how do you find your-
self? Pain anywhere ?"
"I feel a little faint— where's the bull?"
" There he is ; but I hope he is not only stunned too;
perhaps he'll start up and give us a poke. Let us ex-
amine him a bit. He's quite dead. Struck between tho
horns ! a lucky shot, by George ! You have had a nar-
row escape, some of you."
" A capital shot, sir ; but Mr. Crab will not like it. I
really don't know what he will do ! this bull was such a
pet of his ! He saved it between four and five years ago,
from being killed— like. I know I shouldn't like to bo
the one to tell him of it."
Departuee for IIobart Town. 293
" Rather an odd animal to make a pet of; but every
one to his taste. Now, my young friend ; I recommend
you to go home, and go to bed, and lie still for a day or
so. There arc no bones broken, but you may have re-
ceived more injury than appears at first, and the best
way is to guard against it, to avoid fever and so forth.
But what's the matter with the young lady, eh ? Oh !
fright ; well, it is allowable for young ladies to be fright-
ened. Let me feel your pulse. There, shake hands
with the gentleman — ' your preserver,' as you call him.
Proper to be grateful : very right feeling ; — pulse not
quite right, though ! Odd sort of fluttering ! There —
that will do, young gentleman — you needn't be shaking
hands all day ! Get home and keep quiet."
So saying, our excellent and kind-hearted surgeon
took his leave, and I with Betsy and William returned
home. On my arrival there, I found a letter for me
which had been sent express from Hobart Town, re-
quiring my presence as a witness on the approaching trial
of the bush-rangers who had been captured on our late
expedition. As the matter admitted of no delay, I imme-
diately prepared for my departure, intending to ride
about eighteen miles before night, and sleep on the road.
Giving such directions as were necessary in my absence,
I slung my fowling-piece over my shoulder, and set off
on my journey.
The facetious Attorney — Colonial mode of getting rid of a Wife —
Thornley attends an execution which makes him Sick — he re-
turns homewards — A Chase after Sheep — Encounter with a bush-
ranger.
I SLEPT that night at the Green Ponds, and met with
nothing remarkable. I got into town about four o'clock
next day, and ascertained that the trial of the bush-
rangers was to take place in a few days.
As I had nothing particular to do, I amused myself
with walking about, and I looked at the bit of land that
I had bought a month or two before, and it seemed to
me that it would be better if I could have the hundred
pounds which I had given for it in my own pocket again ;
but I could not find any one who would give the money
for it down ; there were plenty who would have bought
it on credit at nearly double the price, but I did not like
that way of dealing ; so after walking over it very discon-
tentedly, I came back to my inn in no very good humour.
I found a friend of mine, the sheriff, waiting for me,
who was terribly out of spirits at having to attend the
execution of four men the next morning, one of them for
sheep-stealing, and two for bush-ranging; the fourth
man's case was a remarkable one, which, as I find it noted
in my journal, I will relate as illustrative of the manners
and customs of the colony at that period.
(294)
The Lawyer's Story. 295
I dined with the sheriff that day, and the attorney,
Mr. Kasay, who defended the murderer, happened to bo
present, and he was very merry with the story, the more
so as the sheriff being out of sorts, the attorney good
naturedly wanted to raise his spirits with stories of mur-
ders and suicides, and such like.
I shall endeavour to give the story in the lawyer's
own words, for I confess that, horrible as it was, I could
not help feeling an inclination to laugh at the way in
which it was told. But lawyers get callous to scenes .
of crime and misery from their professional habits, as
surgeons come to disregard the cries of a patient during
an operation.
" It was a very bad case," said the lawyer, '' as I told
my client from the first; but of course it was my duty
to do what I could for him. lie followed the trade of
a pork-butcher, and one day, when he had a quarrel with
some other fellow — he was a baker — he took his knife,
with which he was accustomed to operate on his pigs,
and ' more suo' stuck it into his acquaintance, and ripped
him up ' secundum artem.'
*' He must have been a clever fellow at his trade, for
the stickee didn 't need a second cut; he died, of course.
and my gentleman was duly committed, and all that. I
tried hard for him at the trial to get it turned into man-
slaughter, on the ground that the sticking was not done
with ' premeditation ;' for, as we argued, his knife being
in his hand, which was a sort of implement of trade,
he couldn 't help, from habit (we are all creatures of
habit), from sticking it into anything in his way that
seemed to want it.
" But it wouldn 't do. The judge was as crusty as if^
296 Parson Jorawaigh.
he had supped off pork-chops the night hefore, and the
jury were tired, and wanted to get their dinner. So
they soon made up their minds about it, and we were
found guilty of course. So my man was marched off
to the condemned cell to wait till they were ready to
hang him ; no pleasant contemplation : but it 's nothing
when you're used to it.
"It's curious what a revulsion it makes in a man's
feelings when he is found guilty. I 've had many a fine
fellow through my hands, who had been as dashing a
chap as you 'd wish to see, up to that point, and with all
the impudence of oppressed innocence; but when the
foreman turns up the whites of his eyes — (you may al-
ways tell what 's coming by their sanctified looks) — and
whispers out that little word ' Guilty !' Lord ! what a
change comes over the brave fellow in the dock ; but all
this is nothing ; I shall come to my story presently.
" You know Parson Jorawaigh ? He 's the man to
stir 'em up ! Only give him a little time, sir, and he '11
make a poor devil turn himself completely inside out
— what the Scotch call ' making a clean breast of it !'
" Well, sir, my friend the pork-butcher grew very re-
ligious after he was condemned, as I have observed most
people do when they are going to be hanged ; and you
know the motto among the convicts, * Never give away
a chance.'
"The parson stuck to him, and, as the gaoler said, put
the poor wretch into such a stew, that he declared pri-
vately to him that he would prefer being hanged — much,
very much prefer it — to having any more of the parson's
jaw. But the parson is not the man to neglect his duty,
and he kept walking in to him day after day, till at last
A Modern Bluebeard. 297
he got the ' penitent,' as he called him tome, to confess;
and a pretty confession it was !
" This was his fourth murder ! Yes, sir, positively his
fourth ! And who do you think were the victims of the
organ of dcstmctivencss, ao largely developed — for it all
goes by bumps, you know, now-a-days — in the head of
this modern Bluebeard? His three wives ! that is, he
confessed to three — how many more he killed one really
can't say; but the parson was satisfied with his confes- •
sing to three, and ' talked' to him no more.
" But the most curious part of the story is the way in
which he did it. Upon my life, I'm not sure that it's
right to tell the secret; there are so many ready to
take advantage of it. But, however, as we are among
friends, I '11 trust to your discretion, never to repeat it
to a married man. It was very ingenious; quite origi-
nal. Well, we live and learn. It would make the for-
tune of a man in London for a tragedy, or a farce; only
it is so very dreadful.
" His plan, sir, was this. His wife got drunk, or ho
made her so — all the same thing : when she was in that
happy state, what was more natural than that she should
throw herself on the bed, face downwards ? and if she
neglected to place herself in that position, why it was
very easy to turn her over, eh ? My gentleman then
clapped a pillow on her head, and sat upon it, ' as long,' as
he expressed himself, ' as he thought was necessary !'
" Horrible ! isn't it ? To think what some men will
do to get rid of their wives ! And the rascal confessed,
that as he sat there, he used to smoke his pipe, ' to take
off the dulness,' as he said. It's very dreadful to think
of! But really there's something droll in the ideal
298 His Crimes Terminated.
Not but that I feel the atrocity of such an act — although
the woman was his wife — it was a cool trick — very cool !
" When the job was done, as he confessed, he went
to the public-house hard by, and staid there drinking
and smoking, till the news came that his poor wife was
found dead ! But all seemed fair and square. It
seemed that the woman had got drunk ! — natural
enough — had fallen down on the bed with her face on
the pillow — got smothered ! — natural enough ; — the hus-
band did not express any particular sorrow at the
event — natural enough. All seemed right, and while
some pitied him on account of the melancholy occur-
rence, others congratulated him on having got rid of a
drunken wife.
" So after a short time he married another. She went
off the same way. He was a man of nerve, however,
and he tried a third. Same as before. ' The neigh-
bours did talk,' he said, about this last melancholy oc-
currence '/ but he put on a suit of mourning, bran-new,
with black crape round his hat, and attended evening
prayer in his neighbourhood, regularly, so he was con-
sidered a model of a husband, but peculiarly unfor-
tunate.
** How many more wives he might have murdered it
is impossible to tell, had not this last misfortune stopped
his fun. Parson Jorawaigh says he is the most penitent
lamb he ever had the happiness to save ! but for my
part, I don't think much of the penitence of a rogue
going to be hanged ! And if the parson has not more
luck with his miserable soul than I have had with his
miserable body, I must say that my friend the pork-
butcher will be in a worse mess after he is hanged than
Trifling Remarks. 299
before. However, to-morrow he will have a sheriff's
breakfast, eh ! old boy, a hearty choke and a caper ! and
you will have the particular satisfaction of ridding the
world of a vagabond ! Smothering his wives was bad
enough ! — still there might have been some excuse for
that, — but killing a baker was going too far, particularly
in this place, where bakers are wanted."
The sheriff, who was a mild and gentlemanlike man,
of great benevolence of character, and of rather a nervous
temperament, did not relish the vivacious remarks of the
facetious attorney. I should be sorry to be the means
of exhibiting the latter personage in any light that
might seem unfavourable, which would be contrary to
my desire, and an injustice to him, for he was one of
the best of his tribe ; and it is only due to him to record,
that he has often befriended a client in difficulties, by
discounting his bill at sixty per cent, (on good security,
of course), without charging his customary fee of six-
and-eight-pence for attendance in the transaction ; and
so for the present I leave him.
The next morning, at the request of my friend the
sheriff, I accompanied him to the place of execution. I
had never witnessed this painful scene before, and I
made a vow never to witness it again. I should not per-
haps have made mention of the circumstance in my
journal, if it had not been for the remarkable coolness
of one of the sufferers. He was a fine man, and I could
not help thinking it was a pity to deprive a human
being of life for such an offence as sheep-stealing ; but
the practice had risen to such a mischievous height at
that time, that it was thought imperatively necessary by
the Government to make some severe examples.
>
i
■f '
300 An Execution.
That man's death, however, haunted me for months
after. I was standing at the foot of the ladder up which
the condemned had to mount, and for more than a minute
I stood side-by-side of this man, who was the last in the
lincj and who had to wait while some mistake about the
ropeis on the platform ^bove was remedied. I exchanged
some words with him, which very much prepossessed me
■ in his favour, and he spoke with all the self-possession
of a man going about some ordinary business instead of
to be hanged. The under-sheriff had to draw his atten-
tion to the matter in hand — for the , poor fellow was
quietly talking with me- — by hailing him frolh the plat-
form : — - -
" J^ow, my good man, we are waiting for you.'*
. " I beg pardon, sir, I was only talking to this gentle-
' man; I'll be up in a momient!" '
Lightly stepping up the ladder, he ^oihed his associates
above, and presently' after, the falling of the platform
.warned us that all was over ! I went back to my inn,
^ick at' heart; and with a wretched headache. I threw
myself on the" sofa, and remained there the greater part
of {he day. The next niQi-uing, vexed with myself, I
did not know why, and tired with the sight of the town,
I self off home, without waiting for the trial of the bush-
rangers, Jks there was evidence enough without me, and
glad to get, rid of the buf5iness. .
I had some money matters'to arrange with a settler at
New Norfolk, so I took that road, intending to cut across
the country to the Clyde. I stopped at New Norfolk
• that night, and proceeded on my journey early the next
morning. There was nothing to prevent my reaching
home before night, though the country was hilly, as my
Return Home. 801
horse was in a good condition. I had no fear of bush-
rangers or natives, for all the bush-rangers excepting two
had been taken ; and of natives I never had any fear
■when armed and on horseback.
I met with nothing worth noting till I got within
about eight miles from homo, when I saw a lot of sheep
with my brand on them, which I knew at once were part
of my home flock of merinoes. Impelled by that sort
of acquired instinct which prompts a settler, I think, to
go after his lost stock wherever he comes across them,
I followed the sheep, which led me a pretty dance over
the hills.
There were not above twenty of them, but they scudded
away like deer; for lost sheep soon become wild in Van
Diemen's Land, and it surprises those who have not had
experience of their habits, to find how fast and how long
they can run ; it is quite a chase. Without a dog and
alone, I had no chance with them. My hunt after these
sheep, however, had drawn me near one of the steep
hills overlooking the Clyde; and as my horse was rather
fagged with the run over the hilly country of that dis-
trict, I thought I would give him a little rest and a
drink ; so, dismounting, I led him by a circuitous path
down to the water, where there was a small patch of rich
grass, and tethered him there. I then re-ascended the
hill to look about me, for it seemed to me that I had fiillcn
on a little nook where there was good feed for five or six
hundred sheep, or perhaps more, which no one had taken
possession of.
I was scanning the place with a wistful eye, and had
advanced to the edge of a precipice overlooking the river,
and about a hundred feet above it, the better to take iu
302 Meets the Gypsey Leader.
the prospect, wheu I observed a man emerging from a
thicket of bushes, at some little distance, with a gun in
his hand. He had the appearance of a stock-keeper, and
not thinking of bush-rangers at the moment, I supposed
him to be some one who had been beforehand with me in
bespeaking a good run.
I felt a little disappointed at the sight, for I had al-
ready in my mind established a stock-hut near the spot,
and was calculating how many sheep it would feed, while
the supposed stock-keeper continued his advance towards
me. My fowling-piece was lying on the grass, as I had
taken it off to ease myself while I was taking a survey
of the country ; but in truth I was not thinking of the
necessity of using it, being near the Clyde, and having
no thought of the bush-rangers.
In the meantime, the man approached me nearer and
nearer, and an odd manner which he seemed to have of
holding his musket excited my suspicions. I observed
him more attentively, and to my exceeding surprise, and
I must add, consternation, I recognised the features of
the Gypsey leader of the late gang of bush-rangers. I
had only time to snatch my fowling-piece from the grass,
when, pointing his musket at me, at a distance of about
fifty yards, he called out to me to lay down my arms !
My gun was already pointed at him, and my only notice
of his command was to cock it, and place my finger on
the trigger, ready to fire.
CljaptH (Kinrntti-siitli.
Awkward predicament — The Bush-ranger declares himself — Unex-
pected appeal.
We remained in this position for nearly a minute, till
I felt my arms ache with holding out my gun in the
attitude of taking aim ; I lowered it, with the muzzle,
however, still pointed at the bush-ranger, and with my
finger on the trigger. At this movement, I observed he
hesitated a little j and then lowered his gun as I had
done.
I was at a loss what to do at this extraordinary adven-
ture. I did not like to be the first to fire, for he might
have companions at hand ; and I guessed he was unwil-
ling to run the risk of firing at me, for if he missed he
would be at my mercy.
As I anxiously examined my antagonist, it seemed to
me that he had a wearied and subdued appearance. So
far as his rough garmeAts and his grisly beard went, he
looked ferocious enough ; but there was something in his
eye which conveyed to me the feeling that he had no mind
to make a fight of it, if he could avoid it. Impressed
with this idea, I threw my gun over my arm, and mo-
tioned him to do the same.
' Who are you ?" said I, « and what do you want?"
"Who are you?"
*' One who does not wish to do you any harm, even
if you are what I suspect you to be."
( 303 )
304 Awkward Predicament.
" And what do you suspect me to be ?"
"You look as if you had taken to the bush j but I
don't want to meddle with you, if you don't meddle with
me."
At these words he advanced towards me — within a
dozen yards or so.
^1 see/' he said, "you are not one of the soldiers — I
think I can trust you."
" Don't come any nearer," said I; ''you must excuse
me, but the times are dangerous. You may trust me,
but you can't expect me to trust you."
"True," he said.
He looked round, and hesitated for a few moments,
and then gazed at me earnestly.
'' You are one of the old settlers ?"
" I am ; and my farm is on the banks of this river,
about a dozen miles up. My name is William Thornley,
and now you know all about me that is necessary for you
to know. Who are you ?"
I knew who he was well enough, but I did not think
it prudent to let him know that I recognised him ; so I
let things take their course.
'' Who am I !" said the bush-ranger. " Ah ! that is
not easy to say. But, however, I will show you that I
can trust you. You will give me your word that you
will take no advantage of me ? Not that I fear it ''
" Oh ! I will give you my word not to attempt any-
thing against you — but what is your object ? What do
you want with me ?"
He made no reply, but laid his gun gently on the grass,
and then passed round me, and sat down at a few yards'
distance, so that I was between him and his weapon.
" Well, Mr. Thornley," said he, " will that do ? You
The Gypsey's Appeal, 305
see I am now unarmed. I don't ask you to do the ^me,
because I cannot expect you to trust to me j but the
truth is, I want to have a little talk with you. I have
something on my mind which weighs heavy on me, and
whom to speak to I do not know. I know your cha-
racter, and that you have never been hard on your go-
vernment men, as some are. At any rate, speak to
some one I must. Are you inclined to listen to me ?"
'* I was exceedingly moved at this unexpected appeal
to me at such a time, and in such a place. There Tvas
no sound, and no object save our.selves, to disturb the
vast solitude of the wilderness. Below us flowed the
Clyde, beneath an abrupt precipice ; around were undu-
lating hills, almost bare of trees ; in the distance towered
the snowy mountain which formed the boundary to the
landscape. I looked at my companion doubtfully; for
I had heard so many stories of the treachery of the
bush-rangers, that I feared for a moment that this act-
ing might only be a trick to throw me off my guard.
Besides, this was the very man whom I knew to have
been at the head of the party of bush-rangers who had
been captured at the Great Lake.
He observed the doubt and hesitation which were ex-
pressed in my looks, and pointed to his gun, which was
on the other side of mc.
''What more can I do," said he, "to convince you
that I meditate neither violence nor treachery against
you ? Indeed, when you know my purpose, you will see
that they would defeat my own object."
" What is your purpose, then ? Tell me at once —
are you one of the late party of bush-rangers who have
done such mischief in the island ?"
20
306 Requests a Favour.
*'I am : and more than that, I am — or rather was —
their leader. I planned the escape from Macquarie Har-
bour ; and it was I who kept them together, and made
them understand their strength, and how to use it. But
that's nothing now. I do not want to talk to you about
that. But I tell you who and what I am, that you may
see I have no disguise with you ; because I have a great
favour — a very great favour — to ask of you; and if I
can obtain it from you on no other terms, I am almost in-
clined to say, Take me to Camp as your prisoner, and let
the capture of the Gypsey ah ! I see you know that
name, and the terror it has given, and still gives, to the
merciless wretches who pursue me — I say, let the cap-
ture of the Gypsey, and his death, if you will — for it
must come to that at last — be the price of the favour
that I have to beg of you."
" Speak on, my man," I said; '' you have done some
ill deeds, but this is not the time to taunt you with them.
What do you want of me ? and if it is anything that an
honest man can do, I promise you beforehand that I wUl
doit." •
" You will ! but you do not know it yet. Now
listen to me."
The Bush-ranger's Tale — His Crimes and his Sufferings— His Es-
cape from Macquarie Harbour.
'•' Perh^vps you do not know that I have been in the
colony for ten years. I was a lifer. It's bad that;
better hang a man at once than punish him for life ;
there ought to be a prospect of an end to suffering ; then
the man can look forward to something; he would have
hope left. But never mind that; I only speak of it be-
cause I believe it was the feeling of despair that first led
me wrong, and drove me from bad to worse. Shortly
after my landing, I was assigned to a very good master.
There were not many settlers then, and we did not know
so much of the country as we do now. As I was
handy in many things, and able to earn money, I soon
got my liberty on the old condition ; that is, of paying so
much a week to my master. That trick is not played
now, but it was then, and by some of the big ones too.
However, all I cared for was my liberty, and I was glad
enough to get that for seven shillings a week. But still
I was a government prisoner, and that galled me, for I
knew I was liable to lose my license at the caprice of
my master, and to be called into government employ.
Besides, I got acquainted with a young woman, and mar-
ried her, and then I felt the bitterness of slavery worse
than ever, for I was attached to her sincerely, and I
(307)
308 The Bush-ranger's Tale.
could not contemplate the chance of parting from her
without pain. So ahout three years after I had been in
this way, I made an attempt to escape with her in a ves-
sel that'was sailing for England. It was a mad scheme
I know, but what will not a man risk for his liberty ?"
" What led you to think of going back to England?
What were you sent out for ?"
'^ Why, now, sir, if I tell you, you will not believe me,
perhaps, for there is not a prisoner that is asked the
question who will not say that he was innocent; and
indeed I don't think it a fair question to ask them, for
how can you expect a man to condemn himself?"
** I should not have asked you if you had not begun
to'tell me your story; but if you don't like to tell me,
say nothing."
" I have no reason to care for telling the truth. I was
one of a gang of poachers in Herefordshire, and on a
certain night we were surprised by the keepers, and some-
how, I don't know how, we came to blows, and the long
and the short of it is, one of the keepers was killed, and
there's the truth of it."
''And you were tried for the murder?"
"I and two others were; and one was hanged, and I
and my mate were transported for life."
" Well, the less that's said about that the better; now
go on with your story, but let me know what it is you
would bave me do for you."
" I'll come to that presently ; but I must tell you some-
thing about my story, or you will not Understand me. I
was discovered in the vessel, concealed among the casks,
by the searching party, and brought on shore with my
wife, and you know, I suppose, that the punishment is
His Attempted Escape. 309
death. But Colonel Davey — he was governor then — let
me off; but I was condemned to work in chains in
government employ ; this was a horrid life, and I deter-
mined not to stand it. There were one or two others in
the chain-gang all ready for a start into the bush, if they
had any one to plan for them. I was always a good one
at head-work, and it was not long before I contrived one
night to get rid of our fetters. There were three others
besides myself. We got on the top of the wall very
cleverly, and first one dropped down (it was as dark as
pitch, and we could not sec what became of him) ; then
another dropped, and then the third. Not a word was
spoken. I was the last, and glad enough was I when I
felt myself sliding down the rope outside of the yard.
But I had to grin on the other side of my mouth when I
came to the bottom. One of the sneaks whom I had
trusted had betrayed us, and I found myself in the arms
of two constables, who grasped me tightly. I gave one
of them a sickener, and could have easily managed the
other, but he gave the alarm, and then lots of others
sprang up, and lights and soldiers appeared. I was
overpowered by so many. They bound my arms, and
then I was tried for the attempt to escape, and the assault
on the constable, and condemned to Macquarie Harbour
for life."
" I don't want to stop you in your story," said I, "but
what has all this to do with the service that you want of
me? The sun is going down beWnd that hill, and "
" Wait a bit — wait a bit — you will see. I have not
told you that my wife brought me a child. It is now '
seven years old. I loved that child, Mr. Thornley, more
than a parent usually loves its child. It was all in all
310 Parental Affection.
to me. It was the only bright thing that I had to look
upon. When I was sentenced to Macquarie Harbour for
life, it would have been a mercy to put me to death. I
should have put myself to death if it had not been for
the thought of that little girl. Well, sir, I will not say
more about that. When a man takes to the bush, and
has done what I have done, he is thought to be a mon-
ster without feeling or affection. But people don't un-
derstand us. There is no man, sir, depend upon it, so
bad that he has not some good in him ; and I have had
some experience, for I have seen the worst of us — the
very worst — in the most miserable of all conditions, for
that Macquarie Harbour is a real hell upon earth !
There is no time to tell you about the hardships and the
miseries which the prisoners suffer in that horrible place
— it soon kills them. But my greatest misery was being
deprived of my little girl — my plaything — my darling —
my life ! I had not been at Macquarie Harbour a month
before news came that my wife was dead. I'll tell you
the truth, sir, attached to her as I was, I was rather
glad than sorry for it. I could not bear the thought of
her falling into anybody else's hands, and as our separa-
tion was now absolutely and hopelessly forever — it is the
truth — I was rather glad than sorry when I heard of her
death. But my poor little child ! I thought of her night
and day, wondering and thinking what would become of
her. I could think of nothing else ; at last my thoughts
began to turn to the pfbssibility of escaping from Mac-
quarie Harbour, desperate as the attempt appeared ; for
to cross the bush without arms and without provisions,
exposed to the attacks of the natives, seemed all but an
impossibility. But -almost anything may be done, by
Prisoners' Plan. 311
resolution and patience, and watching your opportunity.
I liiivo learned to know that secret."
I now became interested in the Gypsey's story, judg-
ing that some useful information might be got from it,
and I rather eagerly asked him — "And how did you
escape ? how did you do it ?"
" Ah ! that 's a trick worth knowing ! but I want you
to befriend me, and so I '11 tell you all about it."
" How many were there who escaped with you?"
" We were fourteen in all. You know, perhaps, that
the labour at Macquarie Harbour is dreadfully severe,
and the privations very great ; and if the prisoners were
not kept down by a most vigilant system of superinten-
dence, there would be mutinies every day. ]>ut each
prisoner is so watched and guarded, that, working in
chains, which are constantly examined, escape is almost
impossible; and even if escape were possible, wander-
ing in the bush without arms or provisions is hardly less
di'oadful. However, we did not think so; wo were re-
solved to escape at all risks, and take our chance of the
rest. It was a very difficult matter to communicate to-
gether, so as to agree on the plan of escape, and having
been deceived once before, I was wary of trusting my
secret intention to escape to any suspicious person.
You must know that the different ffanes that work in
chains are watched by overseers, who have their eyes
constantly on thorn, and guarded by sentinels with loaded
muskets. It must happen, however, that at some times
particular gangs are set to work at a little distance from
the rest, on the outside of the general work. It was
for one of these occasions that I waited. There were
fourteen of us in all, and we went on working — cutting
312 Successful jManceuvre.
down timber and dragging it to the sawpits, the usual
work there — giving no cause for suspicion, till dusk,
when we managed so that we proceeded homeward in a
straggling line. There were two sentinels on the line,
whom we had to pass, and there were two overseers who
followed after us. At a given signal one of our confe-
derates rushed on the sentinel farthest off, while, at the
same time, I clasped the sentinel near me round the waist
and arms. This prevented them from firing off their
muskets, and giving the alarm. While that was doing,
another party of us gagged and bound the two overseers.
Thus we had them all in our power, and it was but the
work of a moment, though it takes longer to tell. The
muskets were wrenched from the soldiers, and these, with
their cartouch boxes, in each of which we found twenty
rounds of ball-cartridge, furnished us with arms. We
bound and gagged the soldiers as we had done the over-
seers, so that you see we accomplished our purpose with-
out taking life ; not that we should have hesitated to
sacrifice them all, had it been necessary, but it was not,
and it 's always bad policy, to my mind, to take away life
uselessly ; it 's only wantonness and cruelty to do so, and
it prejudices a man on his trial. The next thing to be
done was to get rid of our chains, for there was no time
to be lost, as we knew that if we were not present at
muster, the officer would send to look after us."
V
Clin|itrr d^intntij-riglitli.
Passage across the Country of the escaped Convicts — The Bush-
ranger's confession — No man so bad but there is some good in
him — His last request — His awful death.
'' We scrambled away as well as we could, till we got
a little distance off, and out of hearing, and then we set
to with a will, and rid ourselves of our fetters, all except
three, and those were too tightly fitted to be got off on a
sudden without better tools. We got the three chained
men along with us, however, as well as we could, for we
would not leave them ; so we helped them on by turns,
and the next day, when we were more easy, we contrived
to rid them of their encumbrances. We hastened on all
night. I ought to tell you that we heard the bell rung,
and the alarm given, but we had gained an hour good,
and the ungagging of the sentinels and the overseers,
and hearing their story, took up some time, no doubt.
Besides, it is not easy to hit on a track in the dusk, and
as there were fourteen of us, armed with two muskets,
our pursuers would not proceed so briskly as they other-
wise might, and would not scatter themselves to look
after us. We were without provisions, but we did not
care about that, and not being used to long walks, we
were soon knocked up. But the desire of liberty kept
us up, and we struck right across the country in as
straight a line as we could guess. The second day we
( 313 )
314 Passage across the Country.
were all very sick and faint, and the night before was
cold, and we were cramped and unfit to trayel. The
second night we all crept into a cave, which was sandy
inside, where we lay pretty warm, but we were raven-
ously hungry. We might have shot more than one
kangaroo that day, but it was agreed that we should not
fire, lest the report of our gun should betray our resting-
place to our pursuers. As we lay huddled together, we
heard the opossums squealing in the trees about, and
two of us, who were least tired, tried to get some of
them. When we climbed up the trees, they sprang away
like squirrels, and we had no chance with them that
way; besides, it was dark, and we could distinguish
them only faintly and obscurely. We did contrive, how-
ever, to kill five by pelting them on a long overhanging
bough, but they remained suspended by their tails, and
did not drop, although dead. To hungry men a dead
opossum is something, so one of us contrived to climb to
them, and get them down ; and then we lighted a fire
in the cave, quite at the extremity inside, to prevent the
flame from being seen, and roasted them as the natives
do. They were horrid rank things to eat, and almost
made us sick, hungry as we were ; but I don't think a
hair of them was left among us. The next day we shot
a kangaroo, but we feared to light a fire because of the
smoke, so we eat it raw. Well, Mr. Thornley, I will
not take up your time by telling you every little thing
we did in the bush. We came at last "
** Did you see any good land in your way ?" said 1.
" The part that you crossed between the settlements
and Macquarie Harbour has never been explored. Any
good land for a run ?"
T K Y T O L E A V E T H E t L O N Y . 815
'' Not much ; the most of the country we crossed was
scrub; a great many stony hills. We saw very few
kangaroos, and few signs of thera. It's a poor country;
but here and there was a nice bit.''
"Plenty of water?"
" No want of water; but it's not a good part of the
country for a run, if that's what you're thinking of.
The best part of Van Piemen's Land is to the eastward ;
all the western part of the island is far inferior to the
east. I could tell you of some good land for sheep run
near the eastern coast.
"Thank you," said I; "but are you not wandering
from the subject a little?"
" Oh ! I was telling you that we first struck on the
outskirts of New Norfolk, and we debated what we should
do. Some were for attacking the settlement, and getting
arms ; but I persuaded them that it would be better for
us to endeavour to seize some small vessel, and escape
altogether from the colony; and in the meantime to
keep ourselves close, and not give any alarm. My com-
panions agreed to this, and we struck across the country
to Brighton Plains, and so to Pitt Water, where we ex-
pected to find some large boats, or, perhaps, some small
vessel, by means of which we might get away."
" And how was it that you did not follow that plan ?"
" We did follow it ; we got to Pitt Water, and lay
snug there for a while ; but we were obliged to rob a
settler's house of provisions for food, and that first gave
the alarm. We made a dash at a boat, but it was too
late; precautions had been taken, and the soldiers were
out after us. We were then obliged to retreat from Pitt
Water, intending to get into the neighbourhood of tbo
316 G-ypsey's Confession Continued.
lakes, and go farther westward, if necessary, and retreat
to the coast, where we judged we should be too far off
to be molested."
''You did a great deal of mischief at Pitt Water, be-
fore you left it, if all the stories are true ?"
" We did, Mr. Thornley, I own it; but my men were
determined to have arms, and the settlers of course re-
sisted, and some of my men got wounded, and that made
them savage."
" And afterwards you attacked poor Moss's cottage ?"
" My men had been told that he had a large sum in
dollars at his hut ; — I am surprised that settlers can be
so foolish as to take valuables into the bush — that was
all they wanted."
" But why did you take poor Moss along with you ?"
" I was obliged to do it to save his life ; some of my
men would have knocked him on the head if I had not
prevented them. It's true, Mr. Thornley, it is indeed;
I sa-^ed his life."
" Well — that's something in your favour. And now
as the sun is sinking fast, and as the dusk will come on
us presently, tell me at once what you would have me
do for you."
'< Mr. Thornley," said the bush-ranger, " I have told you
of my little girl. I have seen her since the dispersion of
my party at the Great Lake. You know that I and
another escaped. Since then, I have ventured, in disguise,
into Ilobart Town itself, and have there seen my child.
The sight of her, and her embraces, have produced in me
a strange feeling. I would willingly sacrifice my life to
do her good ; and I cannot conceal from myself that the
chances are that I must be taken at last ; and that if I do
His Last Request, 317
not perish miserably in the bush, I shall be betrayed,
and shot, or hanged."
" And what can I do to prevent it ?"
" You can do nothing to prevent that end, for I know
that I am too deep in for it to be pardoned; if I were to
give myself up, the government would be obliged to hang
me for example's sake. No, no — I know my own condi-
tion, and I foresee my own fate. It is not of myself that
I am thinking, but of my child. Mr. Thornley, will you
do this for me ; will you do an act of kindness and charity
to a wretched man, who has only one thing to care for in
this world ? I know it is much to ask, and that I ought
not to be disappointed if you refuse it. "Will you keep
your eye on my poor child, and, so far as you can, protect
it ? I cannot ask you to provide for it ; but be its pro-
tector, and let her little innocent heart know that there is
some one in the wide world to whom she may look up for
advice — for assistance, perhaps, in difficulty — at all events,
for kindness and sympathy. That is my request; will
you have so much compassion on the poor, blasted, and
hunted bush-ranger as to promise to do for me this act
of kindness ?"
I gazed with astonishment, and I must add, not with-
out visible concern, on the passionate appeal of this des-
perate man in behalf of his child. I saw he was in
earnest ; there is no mistaking a man under such cir-
cumstances. I rapidly contemplated all the inconve-
niences of such an awkward charge as a hanged bush-
ranger's orphan. As these thoughts passed through my
mind, I caught the eye of the father; there was an ex-
pression in it of such utter abandonment of everything
but the fat« of his little daughter, which seemed to d©-
318 A Desperate Struggle.
pt;nd on my answer, that I was fairly overcome, and
could not refuse him. " I will look after her," I said,
'' but there must be no more blood on your hands ; you
must promise me that. She shall be cared for, and now
that I have said it, that's enough. I never break my
word."
" Enough !" said he, '^and more than I expected. I
thank you for this, Mr. Thornley, and could thank you
on my knees. But what is that? Look there, a man
on horseback — and more on foot. I must be on my
guard."
As he spoke, the horseman galloped swiftly towards
us. The men on foot came on in a body, and I per-
ceived they were a party of soldiers. The Gypsey re-
garded them earnestly for a moment, and then ran to
his gun, but in his eagerness, he tripped and fell. The
horseman, who was one of the constables from Hobart
Town, was too quick for him. Before he could recover
himself and seize his gun, the horseman was upon him.
''Surrender, you desperate villain, or I'll blow your
brains out."
The Gypsey clutched the horse's bridle, which reared
and plunged, throwing the constable from his seat. He
was a powerful and active man, and catching hold of the
Gypsey in his descent, he grappled with him, and tried
to pinion his arms. He failed in this, and a fearful
struggle took place between them.
"Come on," cried the constable to the soldiers, ''let
us take him alive."
The soldiers came on at a run. In the meantime the
constable had got the Gypsey down, and the soldiers
were close at hand, when suddenly, and with a convul-
An Awful Death. 319
sive effort, the Gypsoy got Lis arms round the body of
his captor, and with desperate efforts rolled himself
round and round, with the constable interlaced in his
arms, to the edge of the precipice.
" For God's sake," cried the constable, with a shriek
of agony, '' help — help — we shall be over \" But it
was too late. The soldiers were in the act of grasping
the wretched man's clothes, when the bush-ranger, with
a last convulsive struggle, whirled the body of his anta-
gonist over the dreadful precipice, himself accompanying
him in his fall. We gazed over the edge, and beheld
the bodies of the two clasped fast together, turning over
and over in the air, till they came with a terrible shock
to the ground, smashed and lifeless. As the precipice
overhung the river, the bodies had not far to roll before
they splashed into the water, and we saw them no more.
The Corporal is pleased to make some remarks on the recent Tra-
gedy — He searches the pockets of the deceased — His discoveries
— Thornley proceeds in much state to the Magistrate's house —
He is restored to his family — Mr. Crab indulges in some peculiar
observations on the occasion — Red Ribands produce curious emo-
tions in others besides mad bulls.
For some time we stood gazing down the precipice in
fearful silence.
"That was a desperate chap, that Gypsey !" said the
corporal, who in right of his dignity thought it incum-
bent upon him to speak first; "who would have guessed
that he would be up to that dodge ?"
" It's a dodge that has done for him as well as the
constable," said one of the soldiers.
"It's well it's no worse," rejoined the corporal. "It
might have been one of us, if the constable had not been
in such a hurry to make the capture ; and you see what
he has got by his greediness. However, it's only a con-
stable, so it's no great matter. But pray, mister," he
continued, turning to me, "who are you? You were
talking to the Gypsey when we first saw you, and you
were as thick as two thieves. Steadman, take charge
of him. We must take you to camp with us, sir; our
orders are to secure the Gypsey and any companions that
he may have with him."
(320)
TiiouNLEY IN Trouble. 321
''Here's another mess," thought I, "and 1 iim in
another pickle with the soldiers; the deuce is in my luck I
My friends," said I, ''I fell in with the Gypscy by
accident. You see there's my horse grazing in the hol-
low below; I was on my way home when I fell in with
the bush-ranger."
" That may be, sir, but it is rather suspicious; and I
must obey orders. Bowman, go and fetch up the gen-
tleman's horse."
"I suppose I may ride him?"
' No objection, sir, only we must have hold of the
reins. Beg pardon, sir, you know we must do our duty
and obey orders ; very sorry, sir, but it's always the cus-
tom to bind people's arms a little, just to keep them from
doing mischief. Excuse me, sir, but you must not move
away. Steadman, you are loaded ?"
Steadman gave a sign of assent.
" Very pleasant," thought I ; " however, they are not
so bad as the old sergeant, after all."
"You will have no objection to take me to the near-
est magistrate?"
"Where is that?"
" At the Clyde, higher up about eleven or twelve
miles."
" We are going that way to report ourselves to the
sergeant's party there."
"Then," said I, " let us make all the haste we can,
for it's getting late. A two hours' brisk march will take
us there."
"I think," said the corporal, "that we ought to be
sure that the Gypsey really is dead, as well as the con-
stable."
21
322 Recovery of the Dead Bodies.
"Dead !" said Bowman, '' he's dead enough I'll war-
rant; why the falling through the air would kill a man
from such a height, without the crash when he came to
the bottom."
" Ay, ay," said the corporal ;" that's all very well ;
but one never knows what these bush-rangers are up to.
My orders are to take him, and we are to follow him
wherever he goes, although I must say ," and here the
corporal looked over the precipice with a waggish air
'' I shouldn't like to follow him down this height, eh,
Steadman?"
" That would be going beyond our orders, as the major
says ; but if we are to look for the bodies we had bet-
ter make haste, before the stream carries them too far
down."
We descended accordingly, by a circuitous path, and
found that the ground where they had fallen was indented
and marked with blood. Following the course of the
stream, we presently came to a spot where some dead
timber obstructed the current, and there we saw the two
bodies, separated and mangled, and quite dead. The
soldiers dragged them on shore, I remaining a passive
spectator the while, and from the appearance of their
remains there could be no doubt that the life of both was
extinguished at the same moment that they fell to the
earth from that fearful height. The corporal, with much
formality, searched the pockets of the dead men, and,
with a pencil, noted down their contents.
" Let's take the constable first," said the corporal.
''What have we got here? a pair of handcuflfs; ah!
these come in handy ; the bush-ranger won't want hand-
cuffs any more, but they'll do for his mate."
An Examination. 323
'' My good fellow," said I, " surely you are not going
to put those handcuifs on me ; I have told you who I
am, and you will soon learn the truth of it."
*'It maybe all very right, sir, what you say; but
the orders are to secure all the companions of the bush-
ranger, and you can't deny that you were sitting cheek
by jowl with him when we spied you out. But, wait
a bit, Steadman, perhaps the gentleman don't like to put
on the darbies because they are wet. What have we
got next ? It's all smashed ; rum ! it smells though ;
it's a pity now that the constable didn't give us a suck
out of his rum flash before he toddled over. I can't bear
waste."
"Don't you remember that parson-chap told him at
New Norfolk to mix water with his rum? He's mixed
it now with a vengeance, eh ? Ha, ha !"
" Ha, ha ! that's good. "What's this ? a pocket-book
and a lot of papers, but they are all wet."
''Any mopuses ?"
" Not a rap ! — yes, there is, though — here's one, two,
three, nine half-crown notes. Look in his other pockets,
Steadman !"
"Nothing but his handkerchief."
" Well, tie up all these things in the handkerchief, and
we'll take 'cm with us."
" What shall we do with his clothes ? It's not a bad
suit, only it's so daubed and spoiled from the smash
he's had ; but we'll take his shoes. And now for the
bush-ranger; I suppose he's no great shakes. Clean him
out, Steadman."
" My eyes ! here's a find I a bundle of one-pound
notes !"
324 Valuable Discoveries.
" One-pound notes ! where the devil did he prig them
from, I wonder? whose notes are they? Kemp and Co.
— as good as dollars ! What has he got in the other
pockets ?"
" A pair of small pistols; but one's broken, from the
fall, I suppose; three pieces of flint, a steel, a bit of
punk ; — capital stuff this to get a light ; — a powder-horn
squeezed flat, a bag of balls, a capital clasp-knife ; by
George ! here's a tidy tool to stick into a man ! Some-
thing in a bag; it's tea! We shall come to a teapot
next, I suppose. Here's a jolly lump of tobacco, and a
prime little wooden pipe ! No more smoking for you,
old boy; — and that's all I can find."
" Turn him over; something jingles, I'm sure. Feel
inside there," said the corporal.
" He's in such a nasty condition — all smashed ; stop,
I'll slush him a bit with water. There, now let's see.
By George ! here's a gold watch, and chain and seals !
And look here ; sewed up in the breast of his coat there's
something, but I'll have it out. Lend me his knife, and
I'll rip it up. What's this? something curious, I sup-
pose, by its being so carefully sewed up. There are pa-
pers inside by the feel."
At this intimation my thoughts recurred to the bush-
ranger's child, and I judged that the parcel, which was
carefully enclosed in canvass, and neatly sewed up, might
contain something to throw a light on the previous life
and history of the man, for I knew it was a common
practice with offenders in England to be tried in feigned
names, to avoid being traced to their former connections.
" I should recommend you," said I, " not to meddle
with that parcel, but to deliver it up to the proper au-
An Important Package. 325
tborities unopened. You may be called to account, per-
haps, if anything should be lost or injured."
The corporal surveyed me with a doubtful air, as if he
half suspected that I had some object in keeping secret
the contents of the packet. Fortunately, this made him
more careful in preserving it intact, in order that its
secrets might be discovered on a more fitting occasion.
"Give me the parcel," he said to Steadman; '' we'll
look at it another time. No need to let all people know
what's in it," giving a look at me; ''and now what's to
be done with the bodies ? Our order is to bring in the
body of the bush-ranger, dead or alive."
''Had you not better consult the magistrate?" said
I; "I should think, as the body is sufficiently verified,
the best thing to do is to bury it with the constable
wh^re they lie."
" Oh ! you can verify the body, can you?" said the
corporal. " Upon my word, Mister Gentleman Bush-
ranger, I think that will go against you at the trial.
However, it's not far to the magistrate's; so let us be
moving, and get there with our prisoner as quick as we
can ; and if the magistrate thinks it right, we can come
back again for the body."
We set out accordingly, I sitting on horseback in
great state, with my arms tied behind me, and the horse
led by the bridle by a soldier on each side. The cor-
poral followed behind, after slowly inserting, rather
ostentatiously as it seemed to me, a ball cartridge into
the muzzle of his firelock, and ramming it down leisurely.
The click, click of the iron-ramrod on the ball, I took,
as it was intended, as a quiet hint to me to be on my
good behaviour.
S28 Thornley's Release.
In a little more than a couple of hours we reached the
house of the magistrate, to whom I explained my ad-
venture, and on his assurance the corporal released me,
or rather handed me over to the custody of the civil
power. All the papers and chattels which had been
found on the person of the deceased were placed in the
safe-keeping of the magistrate ; and I took care to point
out particularly to his notice the curious packet dis-
covered within the breast of the bush-ranger's coat. I
then hastened home, but the news had already preceded
me, that I was takeu into custody by a party of soldiers
for joining the bush-rangers, and as Crab immediately
surmised, was to be summarily shot. I found my wife
and family in the utmost consternation, but I soon as-
sured them of my safety and good condition, by de-
manding instantly a supply of mutton-chops, which were
speedily served up. When I had satisfied my first hun-
ger, I related my adventure with the Gypsey bush-
ranger. My wife 'shook her head when I came to the
part about his little girl, and Crab, who was sitting
sulkily in the corner, and had been out of humour, as I
was privately informed, ever since the death of his pet
bull, gave a horrible grin when I mentioned my promise.
" Upon my word," said he, '' this is a nice country to
live in, isn't it ? If it can grow nothing else, it can
grow bush-rangers, however, and now honest people are
engaged to look after the breed. It's lijcky, though,
master, that your friend, the Gypsey, did not give you
a hug over the precipice. Upon my life, it's droll —
very droll. Here are you, an old Surrey farmer, that
one would think would have gone on in the regular jog-
trot way all the days of your life, like other quiet folk,
Crab's Ill-humour, 827
and if you haven't been engaging in more adventures
than ever were told in a story-book ! Dearee me —
dearce me — the older one grows, the more one learn?
If anything more was wanted to determine me to leave
this wretched country, it's this last affair. And then to
have a bush-ranger's child to keep ! My goodness !
What ! . . . . well, never mind — some people are ! never
mind what ! And then there's nothing to be done, but
another fool must be enticed into the country to shoot
my poor bull — as if he ever did anybody any harm !
He wasn't a bush-ranger, I suppose."
" But he did do harm, Mr. Crab," said Betsy, with
some vivacity, " he bruised poor Mr. Beresford dread-
fully, and he would have tossed me, if he had not been
shot just in time; and as it was, the dust from his
horns, as he plunged them about the ground, flew into
my eyes."
*' Why didn 't you run away then ? or you might have
slipped aside, and caught hold of him by his tail, and
then he couldn 't have hurt you ; he couldn 't have tossed
you with his tail, surely !"
''Good gracious, Mr. Crab, do you suppose that I can
hold bulls by their tails ? A pretty sight, indeed, for
your ugly bull to be rampaging about, and me holding on
by his tail. I wonder what next !"
"Bless me!" said Crab, "to hear how some people
will go on ! But I'll go to bed. The quietest ! — the
gentlest — and the sweetest-tempered beast — when he was
not provoked ! And why," he concluded, frowning at
poor Betsy, and resembling in his ill-humour the angry
animal that he lamented, — "why, in the name of all
that's reasonable, could the girl think of wearing red
328 Red Ribands.
ribands in lier bonnet up here in the bush, when a strip
of kangaroo-skin or bullock's-hide would have served
just as well? And there's that young rascal that shot
the bull ; yes ! he marches about with the red ribands
at his breast, as if he wanted to anger all the cattle in
the district."
This last remark on the part of my old friend — unin-
tentioned as was the hit — made Betsy blush in a manner
that I thought was not caused by Crab's lamentation
over his bull.
"■ Oh ! oh !" thought I, " the young fellow has been
making the best use of his time while I've been away.
We must examine into this matter before it goes too far;
young ladies, I see, are precocious in Van Diemen's
Land. I shall look out for the red ribands to-morrow."
And now to bed.
V
n
Surveying a grant of Land — Crab becomes a Landed Proprietor
against the grain — The Bush-ranger's Daughter.
We were roused up early next morning by a party of
the colonial surveyor's men, who came to measure some
land in our district ; and we were exceedingly surprised
to receive a letter of formidable dimensions, and bearing
a prodigious seal, addressed to " Mr. Samuel Crab, lliver
Clyde." As soon as that worthy individual had emerged
from his dormitory, I placed the letter in his hands, and
being anxious to know what had given rise to a corres-
pondence between him and the Colonial Government, I
urged him to break the seal. In the meantime the news
of the arrival of this unusual missive had caused all the
inmates to hasten from their rooms, and presently the
whole family was assembled to witness the ceremony of
opening the letter.
I have often regretted there was no artist present to
take a sketch of the party assembled on this interesting
occasion. It was still early morning ; the shutters had
been hastily and partially thrown open, and the grey
light streaked through the windows, while the flames of
the dry wood, which burnt and crackled on the capa-
cious hearth, diversified the lights and shadows of the
rude apartment. The women suspended their usual
avocations, and grouped themselves round Crab with
(329)
330 A Mysterious Letter.
unrestrained curiosity. That interesting personage
stood in the midst ; in one hand he held a colonial hat,
ingeniously fabricated from the skin of a kangaroo, with
the hairy side outwards ; and in the other he upheld the
mysterious letter; peering into it with curious eye, and
with an odd expression of countenance, as if he half
doubted and half mistrusted the contents of the epistle.
" ' Mister Samuel Crab !' that's me, sure enough ;
but what on earth the Grovernor can have to say to me
is more than I can think. ' Mister Samuel Crab !' It
must be me ; but what it can be about is a wonder,
surely !"
" Suppose you were to open it," said Betsy, a little
pertly ; ''perhaps the inside would tell you."
" Open it ! — well — do you open it. Miss, as you're so
curious ; but don't break the seal — why, there must be
red-ochre enough in that seal to ruddle a sheep ! Just
tear round it gently ; that's the way ; well, now, what
does it say ?"
" Good gracious ! Mr. Crab, here's an order for a
grant of land, for YOU !"
'* A grant of land for me! the thing's impossible!
What do I want with land when I'm a going to leave
the colony, maybe, in another week, only what to do
with those sheep worries me — there's nothing but plagues
in this country — it can't be for me ; there's some mis-
take !"
■" No mistake at all," said I ; " here's the order plain
enough. Four hundred acres of land ! Well, my
friend, you have got yoiu- wish at last, and now you
have land of your own. What will you do with it ?"
" Land of my own ! — do with it ? — why, what should
Crab's Good Fortune. 331
I do with it ? What's the use of hmd to me wheu I'm
going to leave the colony directly ? And where could I
find four hundred acres of land worth looking at ?
There's scarcely an acre of good land in the colony :
that's a fact — unless it's so covered with trees that you
can't squeeze your way through 'em."
As my excellent friend thus expressed himself, I
fancied I observed in his manner a confusion and embar-
rassment, coupled with- a secret inclination to possess
himself of the land, that I could not but suspect indi-
cated some fore-knowledge of this grant, which he was
pleased to regard as totally unsuspected.
"You were down in Camp," said I, "about two
months ago. Crab, were you not ?"
" To be sure I was."
'' And did you not see somebody in particular there ?"
" I saw nobody but a pack of knavish store-keepers,
who would cheat a man of the eyes out of his head, if
he'd let 'em. I was talking to one of those chaps on
the jetty, where I went to see if there were any ships
sailing for England — he's one that I deal with for the
slops and things that I want for my stock-keepers, which
he cheats me in, of course — and he said if I applied to
the Governor, he had no doubt that I might get a small
grant of land, as I had a couple of thousand sheep, and
the Government, he said, liked to encourage industrious
farming men, that arc really farmers, and not cockney
creters that don't know at which end of a sheep to begin
a-shearing at."
" And so you asked the Governor ?"
" Not I ! But the store-keeper chap vrrote a letter to
the Governor, asking a grant of land, and I signed it, for
332 His Apparent Unconcern.
a joke-like, for I never expected anything would come
of it; and a pretty passion the Governor will be in, I
dare say, when he comes to know that I asked for a
grant of land, and all the while was a-looking out for a
ship to leave the colony I"
" But you have been going to leave the colony every
day for the last seven years, and you have not gone yet.
Perhaps you may stay seven years more, and then the
land will be of use to you. Besides, at your years "
" At my years ! "Well, to be sure ! — and what's my
years ? I'm only sixty-eight; and I haven't had a day's
illness once the whole seven years, except the time of the
christening that you all drunk so much rum punch, when
the climate had such an eflFect on me, and gave me a
dizziness in the head — it's so changeable !"
"Exactly," said I ; " the changeableness of the climate
has certainly a peculiar effect on some people, and on
occasions of chi'istening it is apt to produce dizziness and
other disorders ; but that has nothing to do about your
land. I know of a prime little bit, with a capital run
for a small flock, not more than half a dozen miles from
here."
"Ah! Cherry-Tree Bottom. That's a niceishbit;
I remember the letter said something about Cherry-
Tree Bottom ; the deuce of a bit of a cherry will you
find there though ; but there's no water carriage."
" Water-carriage ! You don't want water-carriage for
sheep ; they can carry themselves with their tails behind
them, can't they ?"
" Well — I can't say but that lot of land at Cherry-Tree
Bottom is a fairish piece for this country. But it's only
wasting it to give it to me, as I shan't be in the country
long enough to make use of it."
A Friendly Offer. 333
"But you won't do any harm to it, I suppose; you
can't take it away with you when you go."
"No, surely not; that's very true. Well — it is a
nioeish bit. Do you know I've a notion you might grow
hops in that bottom. 1 put the spade in it one day, and,
my eyes I if it isn't all loam as far as you can dig, as
black as your hat, for I don't know how deep !"
" I see," said I, '' that you have an inkling for it ; so
we had better have it measured at once, as the surveyors
are in the district."
•' Well, well, do as you like. Measure away ; but if
you think I'd stay in this country for all the land
that's in it, you are much mistaken ; that's all I can say
about it."
*' Why, you can sell it, if you don't like it," said I,
"and I'll buy it of you."
" Will you, though ?" said Crab. " Well, that's very
friendly of you, I must say ; but it's worth nothing."
" It's worth a dollar an acre, at any rate; but what-
ever it may be worth, I'll engage to buy it of you. I
think it's worth two hundred pounds down, as it is."
" But what's the use of that ? I can't sell it till I've
had it three years, and used it as a farm. I declare,"
he continued, looking through the window, " there's that
young fellow coming that killed my bull, and he wants
it, I know; but he shan't have it, I'll be hang'd if be
shall. I'm first, and I've the first right to it, and I'll
have it, or I'll know the reason why."
And so it was settled; the pleasure of preventing
young Beresford from having this particular bit of land
having more weight with Crab than all the arguments
wc could make use of; so strong was his anger against
334 Survey THE Land.
the slayer of his pet bull. I shall have to show, how-
ever, hereafter, how Crab was disappointed in his vindic-
tive determination.
The assistant-surveyor was polite, and his men were
ready, so after breakfast we set off to Cherry-Tree Bot-
tom, taking two of my men with axes to mark the trees.
"Now," said Crab, when we arrived at the spot, '^I'll
have this bit just here, do you see; beginning at this
gum-tree, and going over the point of that little rise just
across the rivulet yonder."
'Til soon see," said the surveyor, "how the lines
run, and you can begin where you like."
"How the lines run!" said Crab: "what's that to
me? The lines may run which way they like; but I
want this bit of land, and this is the bit I'll have
measured."
"Your side-lines," replied the surveyor, "must be
drawn according to the colonial regulations, parallel with
the rest, or there would be nothing but a confusion of
blocks and angles. Now for it ; that is the direction of
your side-line; where shall I begin?"
" You shall never begin for me," said Crab, very
angrily, " if I can't have the bottom. It's all scrub,
except just here."
" Let us see," said I, " if we can't manage it. Sup-
pose you begin at this mimosa-tree to the left ; then your
base-line would extend to that Httle green hill, and so
you would take in all the best part of the rivulet, and the
whole of the bottom."
" Well, measure away," said Crab; "it doesn't mat-
ter; I shan't be here long to be worried with your side-
lines and your angles, as you call 'em — though there's
Important Information. 335
not much angling to be had in that puddle, I'm think-
ing — measure away, and let's have done with it, and not
lose such a day as this for ploughing."
The surveyor adjusted his instrument accordingly,
and his two men going before with their chain, we fol-
lowed after, marking the trees as we went along, by
slicing oif a piece of the bark, front and back, on each
side of the trees that formed the boundary line. The
survey was soon concluded, and then Mr. Crab, regard-
ing his landed possessions with a condescending eye —
" I say, Mister," said he to the surveyor, " don't you
tell the Governor that I'm going home again, by the
very next ship, may-be; let that come of itself; no
need to anger people before the time ; and governors, of
all others, don't like to be made fools of."
"Never fear," said the good-natured surveyor; "I'll
keep your secret, you may depend. I dare say I shall
find you on your farm seven years hence."
"If you do," said Crab, "you shall eat me."
" Eat YOU !" said the surveyor, making an impromptu
survey of Crab's extraordinary person and habiliments;
"my dear sir, make yourself perfectly easy; I am quite
satisfied with the survey without wishing to appro-
priate you in so exclusive a manner to myself; and now
I must bid you good-day, and go to work in another
direction."
With that he quitted us, and we returned homewards,
where I found my friend, the magistrate, who communi-
cated to me some information about the little girl, the
child of the bush-ranger, whose wretched fate I have
recorded, which determined me to lose no time in going
to llobart Town to make inquiries, and to take measures
336 Timely Interference.
for establishing, bejond the possibility of future ques-
tion, the identity of my new charge. It will be seen that
my interference was just in time to save her from a
deeply-laid plot to steal her away from the island. The
curious story of the Gypsey's daughter, I am inclined
to think, will be considered not one of the least interest-
ing parts of the memoirs of my busy life.
Crab's contradictions — French Fashions penetrate into the Interior
of Van Diemen's Land — A Parson wanted — Smoking a Ship — A
Plot discovered — A Disguise, and a new Adventure.
It was on a fine winter morning, in the month of
July, that I put the saddle on my horse for a ride to
Hobart Town, to inquire for the bush-ranger's daughter.
Some snow had follen in the night, and it lay on the
ground about an inch thick, presenting an appearance of
striking contrast with the evergreen foliage of the native
trees and shrubs. The air was sharp, but bracing and
pleasant, and of that exhilarating pureness and freshness
which I have sometimes fancied peculiar to this island.
Crab stood by with his hand on the holster : he was
thoughtful that morning. His new dignity as a landed
proprietor sat uneasily upon him, and it was plain that
an inward struggle was going on between the temptation
to make use of his land, and the embarrassment of his
habitual vituperation of the colony.
"I suppose," said he, " I must build some sort of a
hut on the land, to show that it's mine — not that it mat-
ters whether it's mine or anybody else's for the short time
that I shall stay here. But I must get some money to
pay for the things, if there's a dollar to be had in tli.;
colony, which I don't believe. Do you carry your pis-
tols loaded ?'' lifting up the cover of one of the holsters,
22 ( 3-7 )
338 Farming Preparations.
and exposing to view the brass butt-end of one of the
large horse-pistols which formed my usual companions
in my journeys to town.
''Best to be prepared, Crab," said I; "I carry them
for use, not for show ; and what's the use of an empty
barrel in a hurry 1"
" Very true. It 's dreadful to think of the horrid con-
dition of this place, where a man can't step outside his
own door without pistols and blunderbusses ! But I must
try to get to the other side of the country, and sell a
matter of a couple o' hundred sheep or so, that I may
have money to make things tidy a bit at the bottom
yonder. It 's too late to put in any cuttings, but I think
we may make a good garden there, and in two or three
years I may gather an apple from my own tree, on my
own land — that is, some body else may, because, of course,
I shall not be here : and we may have some real cherries,
not those outlandish things, like a hawthorn berry
squashed, with the stone growiog outside ! I'm deter-
mined to see if hops won't grow there, and grow they
shall, or I '11 know the reason why ! And only to think
of making my own beer with hops grown on my own
land. It would be a charity to teach the folks here how
to do it I"
I admired the contradictory emotions which I saw per-
plexed my old friend, and I took care not to check his
aspirations after a farm of his own. I encouraged him,
therefore, to go over to his sheep-runs and dispose of
some stock to meet his necessary outlays. I shall have
to describe in another place the amusing occurrences of
Crab's journey to Launceston, so I shall say no more of
them at present.
French Fashions. 339
I was gathering up the reins to start, -n-lien I was
stopped by my wife, who put into my hands a list of
various articles wanted by the family. As I glanced my
eye over the items, I road — " bonnet for Betsy," '' bonnet
for Mary," '' bonnet for Lucy." Three bonnets ! StuiF
for summer dresses, gloves, kid shoes. " Why, my
dear," said I, '^we shall be ruined this way; why can't
the girls wear kangaroo-skin bonnets, as they used to do
when we first came here ? This is a new state of things
entirely."
" To be sure it is, my dear. When we first came here,
there was nobody in the wild bush but ourselves, but now
we have settlers all round us, and I don't like the girls
to go about such figures I Besides, I want a bonnet
myself, and I see by the Hohart Town Gazette, that a
consignment has come from Madame Somebody, at
Paris ; so you had better buy all we want while you are
in town^"
'' The deuce take the newspapers," said I, " for putting
things into people's heads that otherwise they wouldn't
think about. The idea of French fashions up the coun-
try in Van Diemen's Land ! I suppose the girls will be
wanting parasols next, to preserve their complexions."
" I am glad you have mentioned it, my dear; I knew
there was something that I had forgotten, and it's the
parasols. You can get four, and then we shall have one
apiece."
" Upon my word," said I, " I can 't stand this. Pa-
rasols in the bush ! Why, the kangaroos would laugh
at us !"
" The kangaroos may laugh as much as they please,
my dear, but I don't like to see the girls get so freckled.
340 Delicate Commission.
You forget that Betsy is a young woman now, and it 's
right that she should take a proper pride in herself."
"I see," said I, "how it is. That affair of the bull
is at the bottom of all the mischief. Well — time moves
on. Nothing else wanted, I hope ?"
" We want another chest of tea ; the last one is
nearly out; but this time I wish you would buy a little
green to mix with the black ; and you see I have put
down a couple of bags of sug-ar, and a bag of rice."
" I see," said I, "and now I'm off, or I shall be late
in town."
" Wait a moment," cried young Beresford, out of
breath j " I have a little commission for you. I wish
you would do me a favour."
" With pleasure," said I, " what is it ?"
" I don't suppose it would give you much trouble, or
I would not ask you."
'' Never mind the trouble. What is it? I'll do it if
I can."
"Why — you see, I can't go to town myself just at
this moment, and writing will not do -"
"But what is it that writing will not do?"
"I don't want you to do anything — exactly, but it's
just to make some inquiries."
" Inquiries about what ?"
"Oh, it's not about anybody; but you see don't
you think, Mr. Thomley, it's a great inconvenience not
to have a resident clergyman at the Clyde ?"
"What ! are you going to (urn parson?"
"Me! nonsense! that's not it; you don't understand
what I mean."
" How can I, if you don't tell me ? what is it that has
kindled this sudden religious zeal in you, pray ?"
>
A Parson Wanted. 341
."It's not religious zeal, as you call it. Upon my
■word, it's very provoking that you can't understand me.
You remember when poor Moss was carried off by the
bush-rangers ! In short. Miss Moss . . . ."
" Oh !" said I.
"Well, now you understand my meaning perfectly."
"But you have not told it."
" Haven't I ? why I have been telling you all the time.
But we can't be married without the parson ; wo can
manage all the rest ourselves. Now, just do me the
favour to Hud out what we must do. AYe must go to
town, I suppose, because Miss Moss wishes to be mar-
ried in the church. So if you can contrive to see the
Reverend, I want you to say that we propose being in
town on the twenty-fourth of this month — the tweuty-
fourth, mind — don't forget the day — and that's all."
"And enough too," said I. "Are you aware, ua-
happy man (I had just looked round and saw that my
wife was out of hearing), of the rash step you are about
to take ? It's only the other day that the parson had to
attend a very respectable gentleman on his last^ appear-
ance for killing one of his wives — although he had tried
three before; you see how difficult it is to find one to
suit ! — and now it seems it is your turn to require his
professional assistance, though not precisely in the same
way. Well, if it must be so, I suppose I must consent
to be an accessory before the fact, although why I should
help you to marry I'm sure I don't know, for you never
did me any harm. And now I'm off."
I rode leisurely on to towu, stopping for about two
hours at the Green Ponds. As soon as I had seen my
horse properly taken care of, I set about the principal
342 Mysterious House.
object of my journey, and walked to the part of the town
■where the person who had charge of the bush-ranger's
orphan resided. I tapped at the door, and was surprised
not to receive any answer. I tried the latch, and found
that the door opened easily; there was no particular ap-
pearance about the house, so far as I could observe, but
it was empty J and I thought it odd that it should be left
unsecured.
As I stood before the door musing on what I should
do, and expecting every moment that some one would
appear to give me information of the inmates, I cast my
eyes towards the Derwcnt — for as the house before
which I was standing was at the upper part of the town
on the eminence to the north, I had a fine view of the
river and the harbour. I thought I observed an unusual •
bustle on the jetty, and I descried a corporal's party
of soldiers stepping into a boat, whose destination seemed
to be a vessel about a quarter of a mile from the end
of the jetty, with her sails unfurled ready to start out^
ward bound.
As no one came, I conjectured that the occupants of
the house, which stood at some little distance apart from
any other dwelling, had gone out for some purpose, so I
closed the door, and prompted by that curiosity which
is apt to seize on us when we have nothing particular to
do, I walked down to the jetty, where I observed a num-
ber of persons congregated, and apparently excited by
some object of interest. The boat with the soldiers had
already pushed away from the shore, and was on its way
to the ship.
I quickly reached the spot, and found myself in the
midst of a crowd of the miscellaneous character usual
A Runaway. 343
on such occasions in Van Dicmcn's Land. The princi-
pal part was composed of prisoners, those in government
employ being distinguished by their yellow jackets, and
the others bearing that peculiar physiognomy which
characterises those in the bondage of punishment — a
sort of cast-down expression of countenances, averting
themselves shrinkingly from the eye of any observer that
is cast inquiringly upon them. The remarks which I
heard around me soon made me acquainted with what
was going on.
" Have they found him?" said one.
*'No: found him ! don't you see the soldiers are going
after him now ?"
" They'll never find him," said another.
The constables rummaged every hole in the ship that
a rat could get into, and they could find nothing.
" They say they're going to smoke the ship."
'' That will puzzle him ; there's nothing like smoking
a ship to unkennel a runaway."
"Who has run away?" inquired another. "Some
chap tired of his lag ?"
" It's Black Jack," said a roguish-looking fellow in a
yellow jacket; " they say he's got stowed away in a
cask, and that some of the crew have helped him."
"Jack had plenty of money," said the first speaker;
" but where he got it from always puzzled me."
"It puzzled more than you," said the yellow jacket;
'' Jack seemed to be always a scheming after something,
but we never could make out what."
" Was he a government man ?" inquired a farming-
looking person in a velveteen coat, and a straw in his
mouth.
344 Smoking the Ship.
''Yes, a lifer; but he got a ticket of leave nobody
knows how ; it wasn't for his beauty, at any rate. But
money can do anything. They say he was an attorney's
clerk before he came here — the one that did the swearing
part of the office business, serving the notices and mak-
ing any davys that were wanted — I do believe that fel-
low could swear through a two-inch board. But it's all
up with him now if they find him."
'' What will they do with him, if they catch him ?"
asked the farmer.
'' Scrag him," replied the yellow jacket ; " don't you
know it's a job for the sheriiF if a prisoner tries to
escape ?"
•'They wouldn't hang him," observed a decent-look-
ing man who had listened to this colloquy; ''they would
only send him to Macquarie Harbour."
" Only !" exclaimed the yellow jacket. ''Do you call
Macquarie Harbour nothing ? I'd rather give a jump
and a kick from the parson's hustings any day, than go
to that cursed place; they kill 'em there by inches.
There go up the soldiers ; see they are ranging them-
selves in line across the deck ; we shall have some fun,
I suppose, presently."
I got interested about this attempted escape, though I
knew nothing about the man whom I had heard called
" Black Jack," and I made my way through the crowd
to the edge of the jetty, where I saw one or two persons
with whom I was acquainted. We watched the vessel
for about a quarter of an hour, when we observed some
smoke to issue from the fore part of her, and presently
afterwards a signal was hoisted on board, which was an-
swered from the bhore. Some little bustle now took
The Capture. 345
place on deck, and a small party of soldiers ^^■hicb had
been marched down to the jetty, advanced to the edge of
the water, to keep clear a space for the expected landing.
In a minute or two some person huddled up was lowered
into a boat alongside, which was rapidly rowed towards
the shore.
" There 's Black Jack !" exclaimed a voice, which L
immediately recognised as that of the yellow jacket ;
*' they 've smoked him out of his hole, and now they've
got him, and he 's booked, and no mistake !"
With that he edged himself closer to the spot to which
the boat was approaching, as if impelled by a sort of
restless curiosity.
" Keep back !" said the sergeant who commanded the
party of soldiers at the landing ; " what are you pushing
in here for ? tliere 's plenty of room on the jetty without
crowding on us."
" I ain 't a-crowding," said the yellow jacket; /' only
I want to see how a fellow looks after he 's been smoked.
He looks preciously down in the mouth ; he 's Black
Jack now, if he never was before."
Two constables now took charge of the poor wretch,
holding him up by his arms; he seemed to be in the
last stage of exhaustion, and so helpless was his ap-
pearance that they forebore to handcuff him. As he
tottered on he passed the spot where the man in the
yellow jacket was standing ; I fancied he gave him a
look, and immediately afterwards he staggered and fell
fr(jm the arms of the constables. The yellow jacket
ciBciously stepped forward, and caught hold of his liand
to assist him in rising, and I again observed Black Jack
give to this man a peculiar look. I was struck with this
31:6 A Suspicious Personaqe.
cii'cumstance, and it immediately occurred to me that the
captured man was acting a part, and that the other was
a confederate in some plot understood between them.
My curiosity was roused, and I kept my eyes on the
yellow jacket, who I observed took no further notice of
the prisoner, but seemed solicitous to make his way out
'of the throng as quickly as possible. I don 't know what
feeling prompted me, other than a vague idea, that there
was some confederacy between them — and anything like
a plot among the convicts was sufficient to excite sus-
picion — but I felt a strange inclination to watch the man.
He contrived to make his way quietly and rapidly
through the crowd, but I followed him closely. With-
out turning his head, and affecting a careless manner,
he hastened towards the upper part of the town. He
stopped when he had turned the corner of the sti-eet, and
looked at something in his hand, which he read atten-
tively^ He was about to move forward again hastily,
when he caught sight of me, and seemed surprised and
confused to see me near him. He hesitated for a mo-
ment, and then, as if he had made up his mind to aban-
don his present intention, he retraced his steps, and
taking oif his hat as he passed me, he went away in
another direction.
I mused for a minute or two on this occurrence, and
regretted that I had not questioned the man. I looked
after him, but he was out of sight.
The afternoon was now drawing to a close, and I
thought that before I went to my inn, I would make
another visit to the house in which I was led to believe
the bush-ranger 's little girl resided. I walked up the
hill accordingly, and knocked at the door of the house
He is Watched. 347
with my stick : there was no answer. I opened the door
and found the house still untenanted, and apparently no
one had visited it since I was there before. I thought
this odd ; and being tired with my ride to town and
walking about, I sat down by the window.
As I looked down the road in the opposite direction to
that from which I had reached the house, I saw at a
little distance the man in the yellow jacket, who seemed
to be making his way to the same spot. This unex-
pected rc-appcarance of the man roused me, and vague
surmises crossed my mind, that he was in some way con-
nected with the personis whom I had come to seek.
^There was no one in the street but himself, and I ob-
served that, after giving a careless look around him as
if to be sure that he was not watched, he came straight
to the house. He laid his hand on the latch, but cheeked
himself; and I heard him slowly walking round the
building.
It instantly struck me that his object was to ascertiiin
whether there was any one behind it or near it, and I
determined to counteract his project.
There was a window at the back with the shutter
closed, the house consisting only of one room and a
kitchen at the side. It was getting dusk, and I thought
that if I could open the door so as not to be heard, I
could go round one side of the house while he was going
round the other, and so avoid being seen by him. I
opened the door cautiously; it made no noise, and I
moved silently to the left, and looked round the corner.
There was no one to be seen, and I immediately stopped
to the left side of the house ; in a few seconds I heard
the man lift up the latch, and enter the house.
348 An Accomplice.
Without losing a moment, I stationed myself at the
back of the house by the window, and waited for what
might happen. I remained in this position for nearly
half an hour, and was getting tired of waiting, being at
a loss what to do next, when I heard in the direction of
the bush — for this house was the last one on the outside
of the town — the pleasing note of the native magpie,
which seemed to me, however, to be an imitation, though
a very good one. I guessed that it was some signal.
As I was between the house and the bush, I moved
away to the side, and it was just in time, perhaps,
to avoid being discovered, for I had scarcely done so,
when a light was shown at the window at the back of
the house, upon which the signal was immediately re-
peated.
It was now nearly dark, and I remained stuck up
against the wall, my curiosity being now excited more
than ever, for I felt convinced that the present proceed-
ings had some reference to the absence of the child whom
I had come to town to see. In a minute or two I heard
the footsteps of some one cautiously approaching, and I
was terribly frightened lest I should be discovered in my
hiding place.
Luckily for my project, the party who approached,
from an excess of precaution, crept in by the back win-
dow or opening, for there was no glass to it, only a shut-
ter. Anxious to catch the conversation of these worthies,
I crept on my hands and knees round the corner as softly
as I could, and ensconced myself under the window
through which the man had crept. I could see no light,
so I supposed the candle had been put out. The first
words that I caught were these : —
Conversation Overheard. 349
''So Black Jack is caught ; it was a clever trick though,
to got hooped up iu a cask with two false heads, and with
water top and bottom."
"Yes," said yellow jacket; "but the smoke found
him out ; he lost his senses in the dark, and began to
kick before his time, and so they nabbed him. It's all
up with him now."
"Is it a scrag, d'ye think?"
"It's all one; he's of no mWe use to us. We must
tliink now of the job; what's to be done next?"
" I'll be hanged if I know. What's the use of keep-
ing the girl stowed away, now that Jack's done up ?"
"Oh, it's not Jack's work," said yellow jacket; "he's
only second fiddle; there's a swell at the bottom of it,
and he don't spare money, as you know."
" But what's the game ?" said the other; " one don't
like to go blindfold to work in this way. Do they want
to put the girl out of the way — that's the long and the
short of it?"
" I guess it's something like it," said yellow jacket.
" You see she's very much in the way at present, at least
so Jack said. There's somethino; about estates in Ens-
land that she has a right to, but Jack couldn't well
make out the whole secret. We were all to be well paid
for it, and that's enough for us to know; we have only
to do the trick."
" Then that's not the trick for me," rejoined the other;
"I know I'm book'd fur Macquarie Harbour, if I'm
caught, let alone this job; but the Gypsey was a good
friend to the prisoners, and he died game; and I'll have
no hand in harming his child. As to keeping her close
for a while, that's nothing; but I want to know what
350 A Plot Discovered.
they're at ? And why was it that Black Jack tried to
escape just at this time, when he's wanted ?"
"That's more than I can tell," said yellow jacket;
''but I've got a scrap of paper from him."
" Ha ! how was that? What does he say ?"
" Here's the paper; but it doesn't tell much."
" Get a light, and let us look at it."
I now redoubled my attention, and I became aware by
the light that gleamed through the cracks of the shutter
that the letter was being perused.
"Well," said yellow jacket, "what do you think
of it?"
" It doesn't say much : —
" ' If I am taken, carry this letter to the red-house
in Emu-street, and the bearer will receive a handsome
reward.' "
"I suppose," said yellow jacket, "that you will not
attempt to take it?"
" No, not I ; the town is too hot for me ; you must do
it ; and as to the reward, I suppose I must trust to you
for my share of it."
" Never fear, that will be all right : but I must be going
now ; I must show myself by seven o'clock."
" Then I'll be off, too; when shall we meet again?"
" Be here to-morrow, at the same time, and make the
same signal."
"I will."
The window-shutter was now opened, and I slipped
round the corner, and lay hid at the side of the house.
The stranger, without waiting to look behind him, and
indeed it was too dark for him to see much, hastily
retreated in the direction of the bush. As soon as he
Important Letteii OuTAiNE D. 351
was at some distance, I resumed my position under the
shutter, and I observed by the light that it was not
quite closed. Prompted by a powerful curiosity, I cau-
tiously raised myself up, and peeped through the open-
ing between the shutter and the wall. I saw the man
in the yellow jacket lifting up a stone in the floor, under
which he deposited a letter, which I guessed was the
same to which allusion was made in their conversation.
Having done this, and trodden down the stone so as
to efface any appearance of its having been disturbed,
he quitted the house to the right, and returned into the
town.
After waiting a short time to guard against being sur-
prised by his sudden return, I entered the house. It was
dark, but I had noted the spot, and I easily found the
stone, and raised it with my fingers. I seized the letter
with no small satisfaction, and taking the left hand road,
I deliberated with myself on my way into the town what
step I should take next. I resolved to lose no time
in communicating the circumstance to the proper autho-
rities ; but first I thought I would try the effect of the
letter on the mysterious inhabitant of the red-house, be-
fore he could be put on his guard. I examined the let-
ter; it had no address, and it was closed with a wafer,
and also sealed with wax, with the initials rudely en-
graved of I. S.
I deliberated with myself as I walked along, whether
I should open the letter, and get at the information it
contained; but I considered that it was probably so
worded as to be intelligible only to the party to whom it
was addressed, and that the breaking of the seal might
awaken alarm, and prevent me from arriving at the know-
352 IDisGuisE Myself.
ledge of facts which might be communicated to me as a
supposed party in the confederacy. With that view I
thought it best to deliver the letter unopened, and act
according to circumstances, for if it came to the worst, I
thought that I could seize on the letter before I left the
house, and so get at its contents.
I repaired, therefore, to a friend's house, and told him
that I was engaged in an affair which required disguise.
My friend could not avoid exhibiting considerable sur-
prise at this request, but he was too polite to give ex-
pression to his thoughts, further than to hum in a sub-
dued tone the well-known air of "Mr. Lobsti." I let
him have his joke, for I was too intent on my project to
mind his chaffing, and he soon furnished me with a
sailor's dress, which, with a very small, and very round
hat, having an abominable fishy smell, changed my ap-
pearance from a respectable, middle-aged settler, to that
of a sort of fresh water sailor.
My friend strongly recommended me to wash my
hands in a tar-bucket, to give a better resemblance to
the character, and hinted that a slight application of the
same substance to my face and whiskers would assist iu
the personation of my new character. I declined these
kind suggestions, but I thought it advisable to acquiesce
in a huge quid, which he thrust into my mouth, in or-
der, as he said, "to inspire me with some seafaring
lingo," and I was not aware of the malice of this latter
suggestion until I found myself getting sick with the
nastiness of the " knock-me-down" tobacco.
Fortified by this disguise, I hastened to the red-
house, wlilch I found to be of tolerable dimensions,
and furnished with the aristocratic appendages of a
Carry out my Object. 353
bell and knocker. Not wishing to appear presuming,
I left the knocker alone, and applied myself to the
bell, at which I gave a vigorous and sailor-like pull,
and waited with no small anxiety for an answer to my
summons.
28
Clmiitn Cjiirtii-strniiii.
First Appearance in a new Character — The Disguise discovered —
The Struggle— Three to One too much— An Apartment for a
Single Gentleman.
It was about nine o'clock, and the night was very
cold. Some light fleecy flakes had begun to fall, just
sufficient to spread a thin white carpet over the ground,
and from the dense clouds which hid Mount Wellington
from the sight, I anticipated a heavy fall of snow.
As I stood with my hands in my pockets, and the
abominable quid in my mouth, assuming as well as I
could the air of a sailor, and balancing myself as I have
observed sailors do on land, as if they missed the mo-
tion, with my legs stretched out apart, and my toes
turned in, I could not help admiring at the odd variety
of adventures in which I had been engaged, very unlike
the dull plodding life of an old Surrey farmer ; and now
I found myself embarked in an afiair about a little girl
whom I had never seen, which seemed likely, to judge
from the beginning, to turn out an awkward business to
interfere in.
All these thoughts passed through my mind while I
was waiting for the door to be opened ; and I wondered
then, as I have often wondered since, on the number of
by-gone scenes which can be conjured up by the imagi-
nation in a very short time, the events of a lifetime be-
ing re-acted as it were in a moment. But this contem-
(364)
My New Character. 355
plation is too deep for a plain man like me, who lias not
had the advantage of bnok-loarning in my early years,
though I sometimes think tliat the experience of actual
life is worth more than all the book-learning in the
world — so I leave this inquiry to the philosophers to
explain if they can.
One thought, however, came suddenly on me like a
puzzle, and it gave me a shock like striking one's plough
against an old stump of a tree that you didn't expect, and
that was, that I had neglected to ascertain the name of
the occupier of the red-house, and that I should look very
foolish if I should be asked who I wanted to see. But
it was too late to deliberate, for I heard the lock shot
back, and the door opening, a woman, who from the
glimpse I caught of her face by a light in the passage,
seemed very old and very ugly, put to me the very in-
convenient question that I apprehended.
" Who are you wanting to see, pray ?"
I shall be in a mess here, thought I, if I don't mind;
so taking a hint from the advice that I heard a lawyer
give one day, that " when you can't reply to a question,
answer it by asking another," I said whisperingly, '' Is
he at home V
" Is who at home ?" said the perverse old woman.
"Who?" said I; "Why him; don't you know?"
Here I tried to recollect some seafaring phrase, but for
the life of me I could think of nothing but " shiver my
timbers;" and that observation somehow didn't seem
appropriate to the occasion. So I contented myself by
replying, " I 've got a letter for him."
" A letter ! Eh ! give it to me."
" Beg pardon," said I : "avast there ! that's what I
356 Take the Letter.
can't do by no manner of means (I flattered myself that
this style was the real thing) ; I was told to give it into
the gentleman's own hands, that is, if he's got any; so
I clapped my helm hard a-starboard (what this meant I
didn't exactly know, but I was obliged to chance it), and
here I am come into port."
I saw that the old lady was considerably struck by my
display of nautical phraseology; so to follow up the
favourable impression, and to keep up my character, I
gave the quid — which during this brief colloquy I had
stuck scientifically into my cheek, producing thereby I
trusted a forecastle cast of countenance — a determined
squeeze with my teeth, which almost made me vomit ;
and committing an Americanism with a knowing sort of
air, I gave a professional hitch to my trousers, and waited
for a reply.
" You nasty beast," said the old woman, in a shrill
tone, and retreating down the passage ; " how dare you
foul people's houses with your filthy tobacco juice ; do
you think I 've nothing to do but to clean after filthy
sea-sailor men, you dirty-seaweed ?"
''What's the matter?" said a voice from the parlour
door, which was now opened; "what's all this noise
about at this time of night ?"
" Noise ! here 's a nasty sailor spitting into people's
houses, and he says he 's got a letter for you."
" Yes, sir," said I ; " I 've got a letter for you — that
is, if you 're the gentleman it 's meant for ; and if you
are, of course you know it 's right for me to be cautious
who I give it to."
''Shut the door," said he, quickly, to the old woman;
'' lock it ; draw the bolts. There, now (to me), come
in, come in."
Proceed Cautiously. 357
I found myself in a small decently-furnished room,
with nothing particular in its appearance. There was
another door opposite to that by which I had entered,
but it did not strike me as being unusual or suspicious.
**Now," said my host, in a rough way, " where 's the
letter?"
I glanced at him to see what sort of a looking person
he was, and I must say that his appearance was not at all
in his favour. He was about forty years of age, dressed
in a rusty black coat and waistcoat, with a red handker-
chief round his neck ; I noted that he had on drab-col-
ourcd trousers, with black gaiters ; altogether his dress
struck me as if it was a disguise, for there was some-
thing incongruous between a certain air that he had and
the clothes that he wore; they seemed to sit on him as if
he was not used to them. I f;incied also that the rough-
ness of his manner was assumed, and I remarked that
the hand which he held forward to receive the letter he
expected from me was white and delicate. His counte-
nance was not the countenance of an ordinary man, and
it reminded me obscurely of some foce that I had seen
before, but I could not bring to my recollection where
or when; I should have thought it rather handsome than
otherwise, if it had not been for a peculiar expression
which I can describe no better than by saying it gave
one the idea that he was always plotting something, and
• was fearful of detection. He repeated his demand
sharply : —
"Give me the letter."
'' Excu.se me, sir," said I, " if I appear disrespectful, '
but I should like to be sure that you are the gentleman
for whom the letter is intended. Perhaps you would
358 Close Questioning.
tell me your name (he looked at me searcliingly), to
see," I added boldly, " if it corresponds with the name
on the letter."
He turned his eye to the door on the other side of the
room, and seemed to be considering for a second or two,
whether he should do something that he had a mind to;
but he altered his intention, and turning to me : —
"Well," said he, "my name — to be sure, why
shouldn't I tell you my name? You know my name,
of course ?"
"You may guess," said I, ''that I shouldn't have
been trusted with this letter if I wasn't in the secret.
But the risk is too great," I added, ''as you know,"
looking hard at him, " for any one of us to trifle with
the consequences. Before I give up the letter," said I,
in a determined way, " I must be sure that you are the
right person."
" And pray," said he, " what is yours ?"
Here was a puzzler ! I was all of a sudden, as the
sailors say, " taken aback," and I almost lost my pre-
sence of mind ; at the moment I did not know what name
to take, but as I was obliged to give some one without
delay, for I felt that any hesitation on that point would
excite suspicion, I gave my right one.
" William Thornlcy."
" Is that a purser's name, or the true one ?"
" The true one," said I; " and I give it you at once,'
to show that as we arc all bound up together, the best
way is to trust one another."
"Indeed!" said he; "and so it's come to this; but
we — yes, we are all alike now, I suppose. We — we
must all trust one another ! Come, we can't be all night
Give the Letter. 859
about this matter. I am known by the name of John
Wolscy ; -will that do for you V
" Thought I to myself, it must, for I can't make
anything more of it." I gave him the letter.
]Ie looked at the place where he expected to find the
address, but there was none.
'' How is this," said he, coming a step forward, " there
is no name on the letter, and you have made me give you
mine?"
" Look at the seal," said I, at a loss to escape from the
difficulty.
He held it to the candle.
''That is right," said he, "but there is something
about you, my friend, that I do not understand. Sit
down while I read the letter."
He opened and read it ; and its contents seemed to
give him satisfaction, which was presently succeeded by
an expression of doubt and anxiety.
" You know the contents of this letter?" said he.
'' Of course," said I.
" And the letter says that you are acquainted with the
interior of the country."
" Pretty well for that," said I ; not knowing what was
meant by the question.
" Do you think you could guide me this night to the
spot where they have taken her ?"
" Easily," said I, at a venture, and my flesh quivered
on my bones to learn what would come next, for I
guessed I had got hold of the clue to the Gypsey's daughter.
" At the ruined hut, near Seven-mile Beach," eaid he,
musingly. " Can you ride on horseback ?"
" I have done nothing else all my life/' said I, thrown
360 Am Discovered!
off my guard by the suddenness of the question. The
moment after I was conscious of my error, but it was
too late.
"All your life on horseback!" exclaimed my host.
*' How is this ? Let me look at your hands. Ha — you
are no sailor. You have deceived me — there is treachery
here. Who, and what are you, man ? Speak ! I have
the means of forcing from you the truth. What is your
object? Why do you come here? and from whom did
you receive this letter ?"
He opened the door behind him as he spoke, and
called out. I felt that the decisive moment was come,
and that all that remained for me to do was to get pos-
session of the letter, which was lying open on the table.
I made a clutch at it, and seized it before this Mr. Wol-
sey could prevent me, but at the same moment two men
appeared in answer to his call. I rushed to the door
leading to the passage, and opening it, I gained the
street door; but it was dark, and I could not readily
find the way of undoing the bolts by which it was
fastened. In the meantime the two men grappled with
nip I caught hold of the door-chain, and struggled
hard, kicking at the door, and shouting with all my
might for assistance.
" Knock him on the head," said a voice, which I re-
cognised as that of the host of the red-house. In this
extremity I drew out one of the pistols with which I was
provided, but before I could use it, I felt a violent blow
on my head, given, I fancy, by some elastic instrument,
like one of those powerful and destructive weapons
called a "life-preserver." I immediately fell down
stunned.
Perilous Position- 3G1
When I recovered, I found myself in the dark, I did
not know where. I felt an aching pain in my head, and
I was very cold and sick. I endeavoured to raise myself
up, 1mt in attempting to rise, I struck my head against
the brickwork above, which nearly , stunned me again.
When I recovered myself, I reached about as I lay, and
conjectured that I was in a sort of vault or cellar, for I
felt nothing but bricks, which were cold and damp, and
arched over my head.
I confess I was in great terror, fearing the worst, as I
could not doubt that those who had me in their power
would not hesitate to take away my life without scruple,
if they thought it necessary for their own safety. This
dismal thought made me repent having so rashly encoun-
tered such an adventure in the night-time, and under
circumstances so suspicious.
The buoyancy of my spirits, however, sustained mo
even in this perilous position, and as soon as I could
gather my senses together, I began to cast about me how
to escape from my confinement. I thought of my friend
who had helped me to my sailor's dress, and who had
been so facetious in disguising me, and wondered whether
curiosity or any other feeling would prompt him to seek
after me if I did not return in reasonable time. But
that seemed an unlikely thing to happen, and at any
rate he would not learn till the morning, when he might
make inquiries after me at my inn, perhaps; and what
was to become of me the meanwhile ? for I calculated
that my swoon could not have lasted more than half an
hour at most : so that it wanted five or six hours to
morning, and when the morning came, it would bring
no daylight to me in my cavern.
3C2 Buried Alive!
This thought disturbed me sadly, but I did not lose
heart. There was a great bump on my bead, -which
pained me a good deal, but there was no blood, and my
hands were free. Thought I to myself, " while there is
life there is hope." I felt about, and found that I was
confined, as I at first conjectured, in a sort of vault or
cellar, about four feet high, and as well as I could mea-
sure as I crawled about, ten or twelve feet long, and five
or six broad. I examined with my hands the bottom,
and sides, and top of my prison all over, but I could
discover no place of outlet, which surprised me exceed-
ingly. I examined it again with great minuteness, but
it seemed to me nothing but rough brickwork, as well
as I could make out. I was puzzled at this, for I
could not make out how I had got in.
My examination of the vault tired me very much, and
I felt myself getting more sick and faint, which I at-
tributed to the closeness of the vault. I was at a loss
what to do. I feared that if I remained long in that hor-
rible den I should be suffocated. In this state minutes
seemed hours, and I felt myself falling into a sort of
phrenzy of excitement.
Strengthened at last by my very despair, I determined
to search again, and in passing my hands over the damp
brickwork, some of the mortar at a particular place at the
top felt softer than elsewhere. The horrible conviction
now came over me, that my murderers had bricked up
ray prison-hole, and that I was buried alive J
Cliii|itrr '^iiirtij-tliijK
Necessity the Mother of Invention — Advantage of a Good Mem-
ory — An Anatomical Experiment — Courage and Persevarance
overcome all Difl5culties — An unexpected Meeting — The Mys-
terious Letter gives a clue to a Hiding-place — Search of the Red-
House.
I REMAINED stupified for some time at my helpless
condition, and I suflfered from pain in ray head very
much ; but as it was too probable that no help would
come from without in time to save me, I felt that I must
find the resource from within myself I roused up my
faculties, and by dint of thinking and revolving over and
over again all posi^il)lc means of escape, 1 hit upon something
at last. If, 1 reasoned, the ruffians who had me in their
power, have bricked up so recently the opening through
which they had thrust me, the mortar must be still un-
set and soft, and the bricks might, with a little labour
on my part, be displaced. With that thought I felt in
my pocket for my bush-knife, and in feeling for the knife
I found the letter which had led to my disaster.
I felt quite glad at this even in my dismal dungeon,
for at any rate I had got the letter safe, though it was
of no use to me in the dark, and whether I should ever
live to take advantage of it was very doubtful. I put
it as carefully by, though, as if it was a matter of per-
sonal importance to myself, for I had got interested
(363)
r
36-1 My Spirits Revive.
about the girl that occasioned mc such a mishap, and I
believe there was something in the pertinacity of my
disposition that supported my courage, for all through
life I never began a thing without being determined to
go through with it.
I did not like to be baulked or defeated in anything
that I undertook, and having gone through gi-eat perils
before, and having escaped from danger and from death
so imminent and seemingly so certain, that I had given
myself up for lost, I thought that I might escape again,
sore as was the strait in which I was then cast.
Fortunately my big knife was safe in my pocket, and,
to my still greater surprise, one of my pistols, with a
small flask of powder and some balls. This latter dis-
covery convinced me that my enemies had some potent
and pressing reason for concealing me without delay,
supposing me dead, perhaps, and that, as their object
was not plunder, but merely to secure me out of the
■way, they had not taken the trouble, or had not had
time to search me ; and that the bricking up of the vault
was done in order to prevent my being discovered. How-
ever that might be, the finding of my knife, and espe-
cially the pistol, acted as a powerful encoui'agement to
me, as in the case of any attack being made on me in my
cavern, or on my getting out, I felt that I had the means
of defending myself, for my knife was an efifective weapon
of itself. Having first ascertained that my pistol was
loaded, and that tlie charge was home, and having felt
the priming with my finger, and found it right and dry,
I set about the task of delivering myself from my prison.
I could not sit upright, so I was obliged to work on my
knees in a very inconvenient position. I easily scraped
Determined Exertions. 365
away the mortar from between some of the bricks, but I
found them so tightly wedged together, that I could not
stir them, and to cut an opening with my knife seemed
an endless job, for the bricks were as hard as flints.
I laid myself down to consider what I should do, and to
rest myself, for the position was so fatiguing that I could
not work for more than a minute or two together. My
head was very painful, and I felt a sufi()cating sensation
about the temples that almost determined me to make
myself bleed somewhere to relieve the pressure of blood
on the brain.
I was sorely perplexed what to do, and tried again with
my knife on the bricks, but I could make nothing of it ;
all of a sudden it struck me that as the weight pres.sed
downwards, and as the strength of the arch was in that
direction, if I could apply a force upwards, it might raise
up the weight of bricks which had not had time to be-
come firmly cemented together by the setting of the mor-
tar. But how to do it was the question ? I could not
stand upright to give the bricks a push, and I had no
strength in my arms while bending on my knees.
As I was thinking with all my might how to manage it,
I remembered to have read a story of some mutineers
having confined (he captain and officers below the deck on
board ship, and that by exerting the force of the muscles
of their backs all at the same time, with a simultaneous
effort, they burst up the hatchway. Whether there was
any truth in that story I do not know, but I resolved to
try the same experiment. I put myself under the centre
of the recent brickwork, and then, straightening my
back, I made a powerful eflfort, and the superstructure
gave way. A loosening once made, I soon cleared away
sufficient bricks to admit of my exit.
366 Escape from the Vault.
It was quite dark, and I had no idea wliere I was, but
I judged I could not be far from the spot where I had
been struck down. I scrambled out of the vault, and
stood upright. Feeling about me, I met a wall of brick,
roughly plastered, apparently, which was higher than I
could reach. I knew I was in some sort of room or
btorehouse, as, had it been in the open air, I could have
seen the sky.
Groping my way cautiously along, and fearing to fall
into some pit, I came to the end of the wall, and continu-
ing my way at right angles, I came to a massive door,
which was fastened. I soon found the lock, and ascer-
tained that it was a huge lock of coarse manufacture, put
on the inside, to secure the door from without. It was too
strong for my knife to force, and in the attempt I should
only have broken the blade, which I wanted as a weapon,
for I did not know what resistance I might meet with ;
so I felt all over the floor, in the middle of which was
the vault from which I had escaped, for some means of
forcing the lock.
I found in the furthermost corner a whole heap of all
sorts of things ; bits of iron, pieces of wood, and odds and
ends of nails, and staves of casks, and old iron hoops,
which showed that this strange apartment had been used
as a place to cast lumber in. I selected from the heap
of materials what I thought suited to the purpose, and
applying myself to the lock, I soon forced off the hasp,
and opened the door. "Now," thought I, "is the mo-
ment of danger, and I must be prepared." Holding part
of an iron crow-bar in my right hand, and having my
pistol handy for use, I peered cautiously through the
open door. It opened into the air. I extended my left
I Wait for Daylight. 367
hand, and advancing a step or two, I came upon a wall,
which I conjectured to be the wall of the red-house. It
was pitch dark, but the suow had fallen abundantly,
and I could trace by its white mark the line of the op-
posite building.
The fresh air revived me wonderfully. All was still,
and I could discover nothing by the eye or the ear to give
me any information. I felt along the side of the house,
and found a door opposite the one which I had forced
open. I listened, but I could hear nothing. Being de-
sirous of avoiding the house, I felt all round about, but
could discover no other means of exit but that door.
I did not like the venture, so I went buck into my old
lumber-room, and sat down on the arch of the vault to
consider what I had best do. 1 had no great fear of
being surprised, or of being easily overcome where I was,
being armed, and having the advantage of position to re-
sist my attack.
Besides, I calculated that if I fired off my pistol, it
would most likely give an alarm, and bring assistance to
me, though I did not depend much on that, for I might
be murdered by numbers before help could reach me, and
the detection and hanging of the rascals after my death,
although it would be a great satisfaction to justice, would
be no satisfaction to me. Under these circumstances I
thought it would be best to remain quiet and leave well
alone, and wait for daylight, for let the night be ever
so long, the morning must come at last.
It seemed longer in coming that night than ever it was
before, and I never suffered so much from cold and
anxiety as on that wretched night ; but the cold was the
worst, for as there was not space enough to allow me to
368 Morning Dawns.
walk about to keep myself warm, I was obliged to sit
still and bear it. I had a mind once or twice to creep
into my vault again for warmth's sake, but the idea of it
revolted me ; I was too glad to be out to get in again
voluntarily.
In this way I passed the night, longing for the morn-
ing; I looked out of my door now and then to listen.
The night was bright, and the frost crisped the snow,
which lay thickish and sparkling on the narrow ledge of
ground between my fortress and the red-house. I looked
up at the stars, and tried to make out how long it would
be till morning; but I was not astronomer enough to tell
the time of the night fi'om the small space that I could
see from my confined yard ; had I been able to see more
of the heavens I could have told pretty well.
At last I fell into a sort of dose in my lumber-house,
and waking up in a fright at catching myself asleep, and
exposed to be surprised at a disadvantage, I observed to
my great joy that I could distinguish the objects about
me, and that the long-desired daylight was come. I can
scarcely describe the pain that I suffered from the cold at
this time of daybreak ; it was so intense and so exces-
sively painful as to amount almost to agony : it was the
cold I dare say that waked me up.
It was not the first time that I had felt the biting
sharpness of tlie cold of the early morning in Van Die-
men's Land, but I never felt it before in a degree so pain-
ful. I banged myself about, and stamped with my feet,
but it was as much as I could do to recover myself suf-
ficiently to be ready for action.
When I felt myself a little restored, I looked about me
to Bee how things stood. I found that the vault into
Courage and Perseverance. 369
whh-d I had been thrust was, as I thought, in the dark,
situated in the middle of the storehouse or lumber-room,
to which there was no window or other outlet except the
large door. What the vault was originally intended for I
could not guess, and did not trouble nij-self with resolv-
ing, as I had a more pressing matter to think about. The
wall of this building ran flush with the wall of the house,
and was bounded on each end by a short wall about
twelve feet high. There was no window at the back of
the house ; nothing but the door which I had felt in the
dark, and which, on a cautious examination, I found
secured on the inside.
I did not like to attempt the forcing of that door, for I
feared being overpowered by numbers, before assistance
could reach me, so I cast about to get out of the yard by
some means or other. The wall was too high to scale,
but I fancied if I could steady the door of my lumber-
room, which opened outside, I could get on to the top
of the building and drop down into the street on the other
side.
The light increased apace, and there was soon sufficient
to enable me to distinguish the heap of odds and ends in
the corner. I took some of the staves of old casks, and
pieces of wood lying there, and silently jamming them be-
tween the two buildings and the door, I contrived to steady
it between them.
It was no easy matter for mo to get on the top of tho
door, particularly as I was fearful uf making a noi.-^o, fur
it was more than six feet high, and I was wealc with my
night's watching, and from the blow on my head, and my
limbs were benumbed with the cold; but by the aid of
the great lock, which formed a convenient resting-plaoe
24
370 My Esc ATE.
for the foot, I got on the edge of the door, and mounted
on the roof of the store-room, which was formed of strong
planks, with an inclination inwards. It was very slip-
pery, from the snow which lay on it nearly three inches
thick.
I stood on the wall and prepared to drop down from it
into the open space, beyond which was the. bush, the
ground being all covered with snow. As I had need of
both hands to assist me in holding on by the wall, I laid
my bit of crow-bar on the roof; but the weight of the iron
caused it to roll over the smooth boards through the snow,
and to fall heavily on my apparatus for steadying the
door, on which it descended with a crash sufficient to be
heard by the inmates within the house.
This accident made me hasten my movements, but as
my hands were cold and the boards were slippery, I could
not immediately get into a position preparatory to my
drop, and I was on my hands and knees when the door
of the red-house opened, and the man in the yellow
jacket, whom I had observed on the jetty, and whose
conversation I had overheard the evening before, appeared
at the entrance. He made a movement as if to come
after me, but I pulled out my pistol, and presented it at
him. He seemed scared at the sight of the pistol or of
me, I don't know which, for he hastily disappeared and
shut the door.
In a few seconds after I dropped from the wall, and
although I had a tumble, I got up unhurt, and instantly
ran off into the heart of the town. I made my way
straight to the inn, meeting no one on the road, and rang
the bell lustily. The waiter was soon roused up, for I
kept up a peal without stopping, and glad enough was I
when I found myself safe inside.
The Clyde Magistrate. i]71
'' What's o'clock?" was ray first inquiry.
"Just five, sir; we wondered you didn't come home
last night. The magistrate from the Clyde has been
asking for you. He came in about ten last night, and
was very anxious to see you. He sat up for you a long
time, and couldn't make out why it was you did not sleep
here last night."
" Show me to his room directly," said I, " and don't
talk of my having been out ; make a fire as quick as you
can, and get a cup of hot tea, and something to eat. I
have business that will take me out again directly."
In another minute I was in my friend's room.
*' Why, what on earth," said he, '' has been the
matter ? You look perished ; what have you been doing
uU night ?"
I told him in a few words what had happened to me.
" And where," said he, '' is this mysterious letter ?"
" Here it is ; I have not yet read it; do you read it
for me ; I can hardly see out of ray eyes."
He took the letter, and read the following : —
"It's all done. The gal is hid in Jim Burk's hut at
Seven-mile Beach. The schooner may easily take her
off near there, but there's no time to be lost, for there's
no trusting one another in this country. Mike can show
you to the place. Yours, J. S."
" It doesn't say much, but it says enough for our
present purpose. Who is this Mike ?"
"I don't know ; perhaps it's the Yellow Jacket."
" Or his companion who went off into the bush the
other evening?"
" Perhaps so ; he was to meet tli ; Vcllow J;i(kot .again
this evening about seven o'clock."
372 Search the House.
" "We'll provide for both of them ; but first we must
secure the inhabitants of the red-house. But we had
better do things quietly. Are you strong enough to
take a note to the police station ? if so meet me with
the constable, who will accompany you, at the corner by
the post-ofiice, and I will get ready in the meantime."
Taking a drink of tea, and munching away at a hunch
of bread, I immediately proceeded to the police-office,
where, at the magistrate's requisition, I was aided at once
by four constables, without questions, and, accompanied
by one of them, I went to the place of meeting, the
other three straggling singly to avoid remark, but keep-
ing me in sight. It was still early morning, and there
were very few people about. Mount Wellington had a
fine white mantle spread over him, and the morning was
brilliant and frosty. I found the magistrate at the spot
agreed on, and we immediately proceeded to the red-
house.
"Go round to the back," said the magistrate to two
of the constables, " and secure any one who tries to es-
cape ; if they resist, fire without hesitation."
One of the constables then knocked at the door.
" Do you think we have force enough ?" said I.
" Oh ! plenty for the daytime ; besides we are in reach
of assistanf^e if we want it, and these constables are used
to the trade. They don't answer ; knock again."
" Try if the door is fast."
" The door seems fast enough, but we will soon prize
it open, if your honour will give the word."
" Knock and ring once more. No answer ! Lose
no time, my men; we'll stand no nonsense; get open
the door the shortest way."
A Slight Clue. 373
" Stay," said one of the constables to the other, who
was about to apply a sort of crow-bar to wrench opcu
the door; "perhaps they have bolted themselves, and
only locked the door; let me try with my quiet per-
suader."
With this he produced a buuch of large skeleton keys,
and selecting one with a sort of instinct, he applied it to
the lock, which yielded readily, and the door stood open.
'' I thought it was so," said he; " they've bolted."
*'Now search the house carefully," said the magis-
trate, '' and lose no time about it."
"We'll search," said the constable, "but we shall
find nobody, you may depend on it."
The house was searched accordingly from top to bot-
tonj, and every cranny examined, and the flooring taken
up, but no one was found. All this took up some time,
and it was now past eight o'clock. There was a writing-
desk in the parlour in which I had had the interview with
the person who called himself John W^olsey, which was
open and deranged, as if some papers had been hastily
abstracted from it. The magistrate looked rapidly
through it, and then sealed it up, and gave it into the
charge of one of the constables. Various parts of dress
were scattered about in the principal room, which seemed
to have been left in a hurry, and among them the pair
of drab trousers and the black gaiters which I had ob-
served the evening before. 1 pointed them out, and the
constable, who had opened the door with his skeleton
key, examined them closely.
" These are country made," said he, "I'll swear, by
the stitches. Perhaps the maker has put his mark on
them, as they do sometimes in the country at home."
374 Start in Pursuit.
Turning up the waistband, he showed us a bit of
canvass, on which was the words " Thomas Sparks,
York."
"It's very thoughtless," said the constable, proud of
his cleverness, ''for a gentleman that is engaged in this
sort of fun to go about with breeches with a brand-mark
on 'em. We have got a clue to where these clothes
were made at any rate."
''York!" said the magistrate; ''that corresponds
with the information contained in the Gypsey's papers.
Take care of all these clothes, and especially of these
trousers ; make them into a bundle, and I will put my
seal on them."
''And now," said I, '' what's to be done next?"
" The rogues have got the start of us," said the mag-
istrate ; " I should not wonder if they have gone to the
place of rendezvous at Seven-mile Beach ; we must go
' after them ; but first I must provide for the Yellow
Jacket and his friend, at their meeting this evening, in
case we should not be back in time. Go," said he to
one of the constables, " and get the ferry-boat ready to
cross over to Pitt-Water — the horse ferry-boat — we may
want to ride. Two of you will go with me on a secret
expedition."
We then repaired to our inn, and having made a hasty
breakfast, we went down to the jetty, and, accompanied
by two of the constables, we leaped our horses into the
ferry-boat, and pushed off from the shore.
Cjjfljittr '(^Ijirtii'/nnrtl;.
The Colonel Constable — The Track in the Snow — Soven-milo
Beach— The Desolate Hut— The Discovery— Baulked again.
We urged the boatmen to make the best of their way
over the river to the Pitt- Water side, and the constables
assisting, we soon neared the opposite shore.
"The snow lies thick on the land," observed the
magistrate.
" It won't lie there long," said one of the boatmen j
" the wind has got into the north, with a little west-
ing in it ; when the sun comes out, the snow will dis-
appear in no time ; see how the light air draws down
the river."
"Many persons passed this morning?" asked my
friend.
" Not many; may be half a dozen or so. There was
one party in a precious hurry to get across, a little be-
fore six o'clock ; they took a wherry and sculled over to
Kangaroo Point. It's a shame to let people go over
that way when there's a regular ferry-boat ! Keep her
off the point a bit, Bill ; mind the shoal. It's a shame ;
and the Governor ought to stop it. But they were no
good, I'll warrant. There was one pale-faced chap in a
black coat that looked as if the baillies were artcr him."
" Which way did they take when they landed ?"
Baid I.
" Oh ! we couldn't see which way they took from the
(376)
376 Tracks in the snow.
jetty ; but they told me they went off in the direction
of Knopwood's Farm ; but I dent see what could take
'en> that way ; ' that's not the way to Pitt^Water.
They're arter no good, I'm sure, or else they'd ha' gone
by the reg'lar ferry what's provided for people on pur-
pose."
So saying, by a shift of the helm, he brought the
broad-side of the boat abreast of the landing-place ; and
we all got out of the boat, — our horses, who were used
to the work, jumping out with the same readiness as the
biped. .
Taking a hint from the boatman's communication, we
immediately proceeded in the direction of Knopwood's
Farm, and it was not long before we came to marks of
footsteps in the snow. There were marks of two persons
having passed that morning, the impression of the feet
of one being large and broad, and of the other small and
narrow.
"These are our game," said one of the constables;
" they have been in a hurry to get over the ground ; see
how they have digged their toes into the snow in their
haste. You see when a person walks slow and leisurely,
he puts his foot flat on the ground, and takes it up even;
but when he runs or walks quick, he bends his foot, and
digs his toe into the ground, leaving quite a diiFercnt
trace from the other."
'' Well — that's good," said the magistrate ; " I should
never have thought of that. Why (to the constable),
you can track like a native !"
" Better, I hope, a little," replied the constable ;
" though those black chaps have a knack of tracking in
the bush quite wonderful to see at times; but I know a
Start ON Their Track. 377
trick more thau they, I fancy. Look at this; hero's a
shoe that I found in the red-house. A native wouldn't
have thought of that now. Look hefe ; it j5ts exactly
the small print in the snow. Now we're right on the
scent, I reckon; but they're a good bit ahead of us,
and we have no time to loose, if we are to spoil their fun."
" Now we are sure of our track," said the magistrate ;
'' I think you and I, Thornley, bad better ride on. The
marks are so plain that we cannot miss them ; and we
will leave the constables to follow us."
''That's the way," said the constable, ''try to get up
■with them, sir, if you can ; but I don't think you'll bo
far before us, if I guess right."
"VVe trotted on accordingly, and easily tracked the foot-
steps till we came to one end of the Seven-mile Beach,
when the marks were lost in the sea. We tied our horses
to a tree, and searched narrowly about, but we could not
recover the trace of the footsteps. The tide was still
coming in, but it was nearly high-water. We directed
our eyes along the beautiful margin of the crescent-
shaped beach, on which the sea was breaking loudly.
The white foam of the waves sparkled in the sun, giving
an animated appearance to the scene, that inspired cheer-
fulness and activity, but we could see no sign of living
thing; but a low-masted vessel was disappearing in the
distance. We were quite at fault, and we rambled from
the stony beach to the bush, and from the bush to the
beach, quite at a loss how to recover the track, which
seemed lost in the sea. While we were still searching
for it, the constables came up at a trot, and Sanders, the
one who had exhibited his knowledge of tracking in the
snow, sat down on the shingles.
378 The Constable's Adroitness.
''Excuse me, sir," he said, '' but I'm blown with this
run. Here 's a beautiful place ! It's remarkable that
the sea is always rough on this beach ; it always breaks
more or less as you see it now, and you may hear the
roaring for miles and miles when there's a high wind
setting in-shore. Well, sir, your honour seems dead beat.
Water leaves no track ?"
" We have searched all about for more than a mile
round, and we can find nothing," said the magistrate.
" I fancy they must have been taken oif by a boat, for
it's plain they have gone to the water's edge, but here I
lose them."
" Let me think," said Sanders. "Jim Burke's hut
must be about midway between this and the other end of
the beach, and about half a mile inland, behind that rise
yonder that you see in the distance, with some scrub on
it. I '11 be bound they 've kept on the sands, knowing
the tide was coming in, and then cut over to the hut,
but we'll soon find that out."
We proceeded in a body along the margin of the
shingle, the other constable searching inland, and con-
tinued our way without discovering the track for three
or four miles, when the other man, who was a little in
advance of us, made a sign with his hand.
" That's the way to do it," said Sanders ; " never shout
out or make a noise when you're after game in the bush,
whether it's man or beast."
" He's found the track, I suppose?" said I.
'' To be sure he has, and so have we ; look here ; let's
try my shoe — fits exactly ! Now we have 'em again, sir."
" Follow us as fast as you can," said the magistrate,
" we'll push on."
The Deserted Hut. 379
" You'll see the hut directly you round the little hill,"
said Sunders; "but if they show fight, better wait till
•we come up. Soft and easy does it."
We cantered on to the little hill before us, and in a few
minutes we reached the hut. It was the very picture of
desolation. The sides were constructed of that which is
technically known in the colony by the name of " wattle-
and-dab," formed of upright stakes, with twigs interlacing
them hurdle fashion, and rudely plastered with mud.
The roof, which was thatched with native grass, was rough
and out of order, and some planks nailed together and
fastened to a cleft log by hinges of bullock's-hide, com-
posed the door. A curtain of kangaroo-skin, much the
worse for wear, and looking as if it had the mange, was
pegged over the opening which formed the window.
Some big pebbles from the beach, with rough slabs of
the stone which is abundant almost everywhere in Van
Diemen's Land, were piled up with an intermingling of
'mud, to serve the purpose of a chimney. We saw in a
moment that it was empty.
" Poor country house for an independent gentleman,"
said Sanders ; " but retired — very ! Nobody would think
of looking for this rural retreat, unless he knew where to
pitch on it. Many a stolen sheep has been cut into mutton-
chops in this hut, I'll be bound, without troubling the
butcher to call at the Marine Villa for orders."
"Don't lose any time, Sanders," said the magistrate,
" we must go to work again ; you're a clever fellow, so
try if you can discover anything to give us information
of the parties we are in pursuit of."
" Let Scroggs try first, please sir," said Sanders, " and
that will give me time to rest, for I'm almost knocked up."
380 Some Discoveries.
The other constable made a rigorous search, but he
could find nothing in or near the hut but the remains of
some scorched sheepskins, which had most likely been
burnt to avoid detection.
"Now Sanders," said the magistrate, "try what you
can do ; but you must look sharp, for the sun is melting
the snow fast, and we shall soon lose the tracks."
" Ay, ay, sir," said Sanders, roused by this remark,
" I did not think of that. Now let's have a look at the
premises."
"Scroggs," said he, 'Miave you searched the thatch
where it has been disturbed there V
" It's only the wind," said his less observant coadjutor;
" the wind has blown the thatch about all round."
" Yes," said Sanders, '' but that's to leeward of the
wind ; don't you see, by the bend that the trees have got,
which way the wind blows in these parts ? That thatch
has been disturbed late^, I'll swear, and not by the wind,
or I know nothing of my trade."
Thus speaking, the acute and practised constable
mounted on the shoulders of his fellow, and thrust his
arm into the part of the thatch which had excited his
suspicions.
" I thought so," said he ; "but what have wo got here ?
A tinder-box ! No great find this. Lots of tinder, with
flint and steel all complete ! Handy to get a light with,
but no great use at present."
" Let me look at it," said the magistrate. " Turn out
the tinder, and see if there are marks about the box."
" No marks about it, sir," said Sanders, *' except the
tinman's. Don't let the wind blow away the tinder, Sam \
one never knows what one may want in the bush. I've
Important Discovery. 381
known the time when its weight in gold would have been
given for that bit of tinder at Oyster Bay. Let me put
it back again Eh ! what's this ? Look here, sir,
here's a name on the unburnt part of the tinder ? The
rag has been the upper part of an old stocking, and here's
the name of ' John Shirley ;' who's this John Shirley
now, I should like to know ?"
The magistrate took the tinder-box, without making
any remark, and drawing me aside, we conversed for a
few minutes apart.
" George Shirley is the real name of the Gypsey," said
the magistrate, "if his packet speaks truth. It seems
that we have lighted on a near relation when we least
expected it."
" I see it all," said I, a sudden flash of light breaking
in upon me ; " the person that called himself John Wol-
sey struck me that night as resembling some one whom
I had seen before ; it's the bush-ranger. lie gave me a
look, when he discovered my disguise, which reminded
me of other features which I could not call to mind ; it
was the look of the Gypsey bush-ranger as he rolled
over the precipice at the Clyde. That's it ! I see it all !
This is the brother who is next heir, if the girl was out
of the way. Depend upon it, that's the clue to all this
mystery."
" I think as you do," said the magistrate ; " but there's
a great deal to be explained still. In the mean time let
ns try to recover the poor child, for if our surmises are
correct, the party who has gone so far will not stop short
in effecting his object. I hope the poor girl may not be
murdered before we come up with her. I don't like the
appearance of that schooner that we saw in the distance
382 Our Mortification.
when we came to the Seven-mile-Beach. But we have no
time to lose, let us be moving ; the men are rested by this
time, and we can push on."
"There ought to be a third track here," said Sanders,
'' but I don't see it. A child's foot is light, but it ought to
leave its mark on the snow. Here are the other two, and
a new one, as if making off in the direction of the creek,
where a boat could take them off, but I don't see the little
one's. The large foot makes a deep mark in the snow,
and deeper than before. How's that ? I have it ; the
large foot has carried the child, to conceal the taking of it.
Thoughtful that; but it's hai'd if I can't match any one in
the colony at this game. There they go ; and large-foot
doesn't like his load, for you see he goes stumbling on,
and here he has been down ; but he's up again — and
there they go; and, by George, here's the print of the
little one's foot, when her bearer had the tumble. They
trod it out, as they thought, but here it is as plain as can
be on the top of this tuft of native grass, with the snow
on it, like the sugar of a twelfth-cake ; Hurrah ! my
lads, we have 'em ! Three miles will bring us to the
creek, and then we shall see what comes next."
In little more than half an hour we came to the edge
of the creek, which at high water is deep and na^^gable,
but at the full of the tide is a succession of shoals, through
which it is difficult to direct even a small boat. The
searching eye of Sanders soon espied an indentation
which had recently been made by the prow of a boat
striking against the bank, and we had the mortification to
feel that the parties of whom we were in pursuit had by
that means escaped for the present beyond our reach.
d^jjnjitrr ^jjirttj-Ziftji.
Tho Consultation — Middle-aged Gentleman gets tired of Adyen-
tures at last — Tho Track regained — An extempore Dinner and
fresh Oysters — A new Horror.
The diligent constable examined with great care all the
parts about, but there was no trace of footsteps. The
snow was now disappearing fast, but there was enough on
the ground to show the mark of the foot. The sun shone
brilliantly and warm, and we stood round the spot for
some minutes looking into the water, as if by some miracle
we should see the track of the boat. The magistrate
was the first to break silence.
" Where's the nearest boat to be got ?"
" Nothing to be had nearer than Pitt "Water," said
Sanders, " and it's all a chance if there's one there ; but
if we had a boat, what could we do with it ; how could
we tell which way they have gone ?"
" They might have made use of some boat to cross
over to the land on the other side," said tho magistrate,
"for the purpose of baffling our track; in that case, the
track would be visible on the other side."
" To be sure," said Sanders; " how was it that I didn't
think of that? If it was not for the shoals and the
mud, we niight swim it with one of the horses ; but
there's no help for it; we can't get on without a boat
of some sort."
(333)
38-4 A C O x\ S U L T A T I O N .
"Then we must lose no time about it; can you show
me the shortest cut to the township at Pitt Water ?"
''Let me alone for that," said Sanders; ''I should
like to know the place in Van Diemen's Land that I
couldn't show you the shortest cut to."
" Then come with me, and perhaps Mr. Thornley will
lend you his horse, that we may get over the ground
the quicker."
" One word with you," said I, ^' before we go further.
I don't quite like this new adventure," I added, drawing
the magistrate aside ; " to tell the truth, I am tired of
being dragged into new scrapes ; as soon as one ends, an-
other begins. Besides, we are not prepared for a
lengthened pursuit, and my head is not right; that
knock on it from the life-preserver has left a sensation
which is anything but agreeable ; and we are not
armed."
"You have your double-barrel."
" But you have no arms, and the constables have no-
thing but their sticks. Sanders, have you got any
weapon about you?"
Sanders exhibited the huge stick which served as his
walking staff."
" I don't mean that; have you got any fire-arms?"
" You don't see any, do you ?"
" No; that's why we ask."
"Do you think," said Sanders, "that an old hand
would ever engage in anything that looks like business
without his tools?" and opening his waistcoat, he dis-
closed two small pistols in a concealed pocket on each
eide of his waistcoat,
" And your mate?"
I GET Tired of such Adventures. oS5
" He has nothing but his staiF. But Lord bless you,
sir I it seldom comes to that. I carry mine for caution's
sake, but it's seldom necessary to show 'em, even. You
see, when a man's pounced upon by a constable, he's
cowed like, because he thinks that an officer has a right
to take him, and his mind is used to feel that he can't
resist an officer; it's a habit like that loose characters
get. So while he is nonplused, we just take him gently,
and clap the darbies on him, and then we have him like
bricks."
"That's all very well," I continued, walking a few
steps aside, " but really I don't see that I am called on
to expose my life in this matter. Had we not better let
the police magistrate take it up ? He is clever, and
used to these things. Besides, I don't see the necessity
of taking the matter into our own hands : it is an affiiir
for the authorities to interfere in ; for if the girl is the
daughter of the Yorkshire George Shirley, and the Gyp-
sey's tale is true, she is an important personage, and it's
a matter for the government to take up."
*' All very true, my dear fellow," said my friend,
"but it's the time. While we are going back, and going
about the business formally, these rascals may convey
the girl away, or, God knows I murder her, perhaps."
"I rather think," said I, "they have some motive
for not killing her, or they would have done it before,
and not have encumbered themselves with her in this
chase ; to marry her, maybe, to some one. But we have
no time to indulge in surmises on that point, nor would
it De of any use to us to resolve it at this moment.
The matter in hand is to consider the propriety of our
taking on ourselves the finding of the girl."
25
380 Magistrate makes a Discovery.
" As to that," said the magistrate, "my mind is made
up ; I can act in any part of the colony, my commission
being made out for the whole of the island, though for
convenience sake, we are all appointed to particular dis-
tricts, and we are expected, of course, not to meddle
with matters beyond them unnecessarily. But I con-
sider this a case of necessity, and a pressing one, and I
think it my duty not to neglect it. I must in fairness
allow that I like these excitements, but I am differently
circumstanced to you, who have a family. But wait
here, at all events, till we return to relieve you ; this
spot ought not to be left unwatched ; and indeed, I want
your horse, if you have no objection, to mount the con-
stable as a guide, as he is the only one among us who
knows the road."
" Well," said I, " if it must be so, it must j but I must
say frankly, I am tired of these expeditions. I'm wanted
at home, and I've had enough of them."
"I see," said my friend, " you are not romantic."
" Not I ! I'm a plain Surrey farmer turned into a
settler, and as to your romance, I leave that to young
fellows like you. I would rather have half a dozen mut-
ton-chops just now than any dish of romance that you
could cook up for me." And so saying, I sat myself
down by the side of the water, with the other constable
for my companion, and the magistrate and Sanders can-
tered off in the dh-ection of Sorrell-Town, the nascent me-
tropolis of Pitt-Water.
I was almost tired out, when a shout from the opposite
side of the inlet attracted our attention, and I sprung to
my feet. I saw the magistrate on hor.s'.cback, standing
on the high bank. He took off his hat and waved it,
The B a t m a n ' s 1 n f u r >i a t 1 \ . cifeT
from which I concluded that he had some good news for
us ; but I could not tell what, for it was too far for his
voice to reach us. My companion thought he could dis-
tinguish the word ''boat," but to mc it seemed only the
usual " cooee," the colonial way of throwing the voice
to a distance. But my companion was right, for pre-
sently afterwards we discovered a boat making its way
to us thripugh the intricate passages of the inlet, for it
was now almost low water, and the numerous shoals
made the navigation very difficult. As it was, we had
to plunge into the mud before we could get into the boat,
and we were obliged to make a long round before we
could reach the shore. While we were making the pas-
sage, I asked the man in the boat, for there was only one,
what the news was.
''No news," said he, "except that I hear you are in
pursuit of two men and a girl who passed over here in the
morning. I was down here looking after some fish, when
I saw them just about where I took you up, and they said
they wanted to cross over, and they offered me, that is,
the gentleman did, a couple of dollars, if I would put
them over. I thought it odd to see the girl with them,
but it was no business of mine."
" What sort of a girl was she ?" I asked eagerly, for
this was the first person I had met who had seen my
troublesome charge.
"Oh ! just like other girls, but I did'nt see her face;
but she seemed very tired and sick, poor thing ! One of
the men carried her in his arms, and I think she had
been crying a good deal ; but she didn't cry in the boat ;
she seemed afraid of the man in the black coat. She
can't be more than six or seven years old, I talce it; and
388 Land Sharks.
what their game is I don't understand. However, it's
no business of mine."
" Much fish hereabouts ?" said I.
"Fish! bless you, the waters hereabouts are as full
of fish as they can cram ; but they are poor things for
eating, most of them. As you get farther up the inlet,
the creeks and little ponds that the tide leaves are full
of fish J and the ground-sharks are as thick as they can
swim."
" Ground-sharks ! that's unpleasant. How big are
they?"
"Not big enough to do much mischief; they're most
of them as big as a large codfish — some bigger — weigh-
ing a matter of ten, or fifteen, or twenty pounds. The
natives eat 'em, but they're rank things to my taste."
" How do the natives catch them ?"
"They don't catch them at all; they spear 'em with
their long thin spears; and then they put them over the
fire a bit, and eat 'em half raw ; but they don't seem to
like 'em much. It's only when they can't get other food.
And now, masters, this is as near as I can bring you ;
the mud is awkward, but it isn't above leg-deep, and the
bottom is hard enough when you get there. But if
you are good climbers, I can run you right against the
cliff yonder, and so you may get on the shore dry-
footed."
Receiving my assent to this latter proposition, he ran
his boat to the bank accordingly, and with a good deal
of difficulty I and the constable scrambled to the top.
We found the magistrate and Sanders waiting to receive
us, with another man on horse-back, and on the ground
was a huge basket which they had brought with them.
The Track Regained. 389
A bush-fire of dead wood which they had kindled was
burning briskly.
The snow had almost disappeared, but there wis still
sufficient for a keen eye accustomed to the bush to dis-
tinguish the sunken traces of the party wc were in
pursuit of.
" You see," said the magistrate, pointing to the almost
obliterated footsteps, "we are on the scent, but they
have got the start of us, and the snow is nearly melted,
for it don't remain long on the gi-ound in this country."
" Upon my word," said I, " I think I must decline
going any further. I am so weak and faint, that really
I am not fit for a bush excursion ; and I must confess
I am so vulgar as to want something to eat."
"We have thought of that," said Sanders, "there's
the prog ; we wouldn't break into it, but waited till you
could join us."
" Now, my lad," said the magistrate, " produce your
provisions."
The stranger, who had the appearance of a respectable
servant, immediately spread on the log of the tree on
which we were sitting a white table-cloth ; and arranged
plates, and knives, and forks.
" I wish I could get a drink of something," said I,
" but I suppose there's no water hereabouts but what's
brackish."
"Water! who thinks of water?" said the magistrate,
gaily; "here's a bottle of Barclay's own stout. Who
has got a corkscrew? Here's a job ! no corkscrew ! It's
strange how people will go about without a corkscrew, the
the only thing that is ever useful, and never to be had
when wanted. Oh, you have got one, my lad, that's
390 A Good Dinner.
very clever of you. Here, Thornley, drink. There's
nothino' like porter in the hush, only it's not to be had
everywhere. You see, I did not forget you."
''What have you got to eat?" said I, considerably
refreshed with my draught ; "1 had but a scanty break-
fast."
" Then you shall make the better dinner. Bring him
out, my lad ! There's a splendid fellow ! A goose is
better hot, perhaps, but I think we can manage him as
he is ; — allow me," helping me to a leg and a wing, and
alloting the same portion to himself; — ''and as to our
friends the constables, they may solace themselves with
that cold shoulder of mutton."
" I'll have a dig at the mutton in a minute," said
Sanders; "but I shall treat myself to a few oysters
first."
"Oysters! Is the man distraught with fasting?
Tou're not near Billingsgate-market, friend. What puts
oysters into your head ?"
" I'll put the oysters somewhere else in five minutes,"
said the constable; "you don't know whereabouts you
are; — this little bay is full of oysters, as I'll soon show you.
Scroggs, my boy," said he to his mate, " will you have
some natives ?"
" I don't mind if I do," said the accommodat-
ing Scroggs; "a few dozens of oysters sharpen the ap-
petite."
Without more ado, the two constables took off their
"shoes and stockings, and stripping their trousers high
up their legs, they borrowed a large cloth from the lad
with the basket, and waded into the water thirty or
forty yards. Beaching dowu their arms, they soon
Goosa AND Oysters. 391
filled the eloth with oysters, aud brouglit them to us,
rattling them down in a great heap, and went back to
the water for a fresh supply.
"Here, my lad," said my friend, "chuck some armsful
of these into the fire to roast, while we pass away the
time with the others. Who'sgot an oyster knife ? That's
another thing that people never think of carrying about
with them, though they never know when it may be
wanted, as you see. Oh! you've got a knife; handy
knife this. There, lad, hook out the oysters directly
you hear them crack, or they'll burn. No bad fare, my
friend, for the bush — cold goose and oyster sauce. I say,
this knife puts odd ideas into my head. Suppose this
most respectable gentleman, John Shirley, Esq., was to
use the same sort of tool on the poor little girl — oh '!
There, don't lay down your knife and fork — I only
hinted it. Take some more goose, a leg and a wing are
nothing for a hungry man. Don't spare the oysters,
plenty more where those came from. I'll join you in
another glass of stout."
'' With all my heart," said I, feeling better and stronger
for my meal ; " and, after all, it would be a pity not to
make an eflFort to recover the poor girl. I shall never
forget the agony of the Gypsey when he talked of her
before he was dashed to pieces over that horrible pre-
cipice."
" Come, you feel in better heart now, and all ready for
another start, eh ? We must make our men despatch and
get ready for our march ; we have brought a couple of
muskets with us, and lots of cartridges ; and you see my
Sorrell-Town acquaintance has lent me this fowling-piece,
shot-belt, and powder-horn, all complete. I found a party
392 A New Horror.
just sitting down to dinner with malice prepense against
this late goose — peace to his remains ! But I soon ex-
plained matters to them, and they despatched this lad on
horseback with the provender. The lady of the house was
so interested about your yoimg heroine, that a little per-
suasion, I think, would have induced her to join us in the
pursuit. Come Sanders," he continued, raising his voice,
"another batch of oysters! Why, man, you'll grow
shelly if you take in so many of those testaceous deli-
cacies ! Holloa ! — what's the matter with the men ? They
have thrown down their load on the beach, and are stand-
ing aghast at something. Look, Thornley."
I turned my head, and beheld the two constables
anxiously and fearfully examining something that they
saw on the beach. We hastened to the spot ; and San-
ders, pointing to the spot that had attracted his attention,
said, to our dismay, in a more feeling tone than I had
given him credit for : —
''I fear they have done for the poor child, sir; — this
is sadly suspicious."
We looked, — and in the shade near the base of the
overhanging cliff, we saw the marks of tramping feet,
and the white snow was crimsoned with large drops of
blood.
The sight of the blood filled us all with the most
anxious apprehensions ; and even the phlegmatic Scroggs
was moved at what appeared to denote the sad catastrophe
of the little girl's murder.
" I've knocked many a bullock on the head," said he,
'* and cut many a sheep's throat, and never cared for the
sight of the blood — it was natural, and it's what animals
are used to ; but me ! if I ever felt like this before,
Alive or Dead? o93
— it's enough to turn one sick — after eating oysters, too !
I couldn't have cut the throat of that little girl, now —
though I've never seen her, — but a child 's u child, — no,
nut for a hundred dollars — no, nor a thousand neither.
Poor little thing! how she must have scriggled!"
Clmptrr -^Iiirtti-liitji.
Who is the Murderer and the Victim ? — A Settler's Fare — An Ex-
cuse for a Glass of Grog — Kangaroos in Miniature — The Chase.
"The blood looks bad," said the magistrate, after a
pause, " but that might happen a thousand ways. It's
the trampling of the earth round about that looks most
suspicious. See I here has been a tuft of rushes pulled
up in the struggle. These rushes are thick and strong —
too strong for a child to pull up, I think, even in a death-
struggle. No, this was not done by a child's hand ! Let
us make a closer examination."
Pursuing our investigation, we found the mark of the
heel of a man's shoe, which had been digged violently
into the ground, apparently in a struggle to rise, and
beyond the circle where our own footsteps had trodden
down the snow, and which for a moment had prevented
our observing the space beyond it, we traced the ap-
pearance of some heavy body having been dragged for
some distance to a spot where there was a deep hole, at
the foot of some straggling rocks. By throwing in peb-
bles, we ascertained tliat the hole was of considerable
depth. In looking about, the intelligent constable ob-
served the mark of a stone of a large size having been
removed, the earth in which it had been imbedded ex-
hibiting a surface which, from its freshness, it was plain
(394)
My Sympathies Excited. 395
had been but recently exposed to the air ; and at short
distances two more indications of the same sort were dis-
covered,
''That pool holds the dead body of somebody, I'll be
sworn/' said Sanders; "but that's a secret that lies at
the bottom, and I don't see the way to get at it just now ;
but time will show, for there never was a murder ever so
secret that was not found out at last."
After a diligent search, we could find nO other marks
of blood than those which had first attracted the atten-
tion of the constables ; but it was clear that a desperate
struggle had taken place on the spot, but who was the
victim, or whether there was more than one, was involved
in mystery.
]Jy this time, having recovered from the effects of my
pre^nous night's suffering, I began to warm to the work;
and being moved at the sight of the blood, and the
thought of the peril that the poor girl was in, if she was
still alive, I was eager to continue the pursuit. I pro-
posed, therefore, that we should not lose time in discus-
sing the probabilities of what had taken place, but mark
the exact spot, so as to be able to find it again witliout
difficulty, and move forward without delay to the rescue
of the child, whose precarious fate had inspired me with
an interest which I was surprised at myself; — but I
thought of my own children, and could not but feci
strongly for an orphan who had been cast on my care
under circumstances so remarkable, and against whose
life or welfare it was evident there was some nefirious
design.
We sent back our Sorell-Town purveyor liberally re-
compensed, and started off on the track, now become
396 The Pursuit Continued.
very faint, at a rapid pace, Sanders taking the lead. It
was now drawing towards tlae evening, and the sun was
sinking fast, affording to us the not very agreeable pros-
pect of passing the night in the bush under a winter'9
sky, with the likelihood of a heavy fall of snow for
feather beds. We were glad, therefore, when we found
that our course led us in the direction of the Coal-River,
where we knew there were many settlers, some of them
indeed verging towards the position of wealthy agricul-
turists. We skirted a succession of small farms, looking
very cold and desolate at the decline of the day in the
winter season, till we came to where a log fence had been
broken down ; we followed on, and presently came into
view of the red-brick house of some thriving settler in a
hollow beneath the hill. The marks of the footsteps in
the snow became more and more indistinct, but after
passing the centre of the enclosure, we observed the
])rints of the shoes of a horse.
" This looks like business,^' said Sanders. "You see,
sir, these chaps are determined to go through with their
work. They have taken some poor devil of a settler's
horse, and depend upon it, sir, they have made up their
minds for a run."
"I have no doubt,'' said the magistrate, "that their
object is to get away from the island ; and having been
stopped at IIobart-Town, I shouldn't wonder if they were
to make an attempt at Launceston."
" That would be leading us a pretty dance," said T.
"It's a chase of a hundred and twenty miles at least;
but we must hope to conic up with them before then. If
they keep their horse, they will leave a good track behind
them ; we must take care not to lose it. It would be
A Settler's Hut, 397
well," I added, '*to measure tlie size and shape of the
horse's shoes while wo have light enough."
Sanders took the hint, and found that the horse had a
broad shoe on the left fore-foot and a narrow-shaped one
on the other. He took down the exact size of each shoe,
and noted them with a pencil in a pocket-book.
Some flakes of snow now began to fall, and the dusk
came on, warning us that if we thought of seeking a shel-
ter for the night, it was time to look about us; but we
kept on our way as long as we could distinguish the
track, but the snow falling faster and faster, and dark-
ness coming on beside, we made a halt, and deliberated
on what was best to be done.
"AVith submission to you, sir," said Sanders to the
magistrate, "it's of no use to follow a track at night;
there's more lost than gained by it; for the fatigue
makes one the less able to do the work next day. You
see, we have 'em safe if this snow continues, which
looks likely, for they cannot rub out their marks, and
they must go between the river and the tier of hills; so
that, by crossing the line between, we shall come on
their track again. If I might venture to advise, sir,
fou will be all the better to-morrow for a night's rest,
and if we could borrow a couple of horses hereabouts, it
would be all the better, and we could make more speed
in the morning."
We thought the experienced constable's advice good,
and under his guidance we turned aside to the left, and
after half an hour's march we came to the door of a set-
tler's hut, where we asked permission to pass the night.
It proved to be the dwelling of a man for whom the
magistrate had procured a ticket of leave about two
398 A Settler's Fare.
years before, for good conduct, and who had since rented
a farm of three hundred acres, of which there were
about fifteen under tillage, with the working-bullocks
and farming conveniences usually let with the land on
such occasions. This was a lucky hit. Our first busi-
ness was to make inquiries after the parties we were in
pursuit of, but our new acquaintances could give us no
information.
We were made welcome with all the means which the
humble dwelling afforded, and the united efforts of the
farmer and his wife were cheerfully rendered to furnish
out our entertainment. Fresh logs were thrown on the
fire, and some very lean mutton-chops, cut from a lan-
tern-looking sheep, which was suspended from the branch
of a tree outside, were immediately put into the frying-
pan by the man, while the woman busied herself with
the tea-things; mutton-chops for eating, and tea for
beverage, being the usual repast on almost all occasions
in the houses of the poorer class of settlers.
While these preparations were being made inside, we
looked to our horses out of doors. There was but poor
accommodation for them, but a sort of shed protected
them from the snow, and they were obliged to put up with
a bran mash for supper, and a tolerable feed of barley.
Hay and oats were for the most part unattainable luxu-
ries in Van Diemcn's Land at that time, and not often
to be obtained now; barley and wheat, or barley in the
straw, being their customary food, with the grass of the
country as it grows in its natural state. We were
quickly summoned by our host to the repast prepared
for us.
''Rallur poor mutton for you, sir," said the man;
An Excuse for Grog. 399
" we have but a poor run here for sheep, and it's not
easy to get them through the winter with anything on
their bones, but you shall have our best."
''Why, you're getting on, lliehard," said the magis-
trate, '' if you have got a flock of sheep. How many
have you ?"
" There's near three hundred of 'em ; but they are
not my own ; I wish they were. I have 'em on the
thirds ; they were part of the farming stock, and thanks
to you, sir, the owner has trusted me with them, with
the rest of the farminfr things."
" Can you manage a cow ?"
" Not yet, sir ; we have four working-bullocks, pretty
good ones; but we can't manage a cow yet. This
is no place for stock. If we could contrive half a dozen
cows, we could make our money of them, for wife's a
good dairy-woman, and we are within reach of Camp,
where we could get half-a-crown a pound in money for
every pound we could make. But won't you eat, sir ?
the things are clean, though they're homely. Will you
drink tea with your meat ?"
" Have you nothing but tea, Dick, for the gentlemen,"
said Sanders, making a wry face, which was reflected by
Scroggs, '' in these parts ? There used to be better stufi"
to be had not long ago."
Dick pointed with his hand to the magistrate, and
shook his head.
I understood the meaning of these masonic signs very
well; so as I wished to please the constables, whom it
was important for us to keep in good humour, without
compromising my friend's ofiieial dignity, I displayed
two five dollar notes to Sanders, who thereupon gave a
significant nod, and disappeared with Scroggs."
400 The Magistrate Winks at It.
"■ Good water, hereabouts ?" said the magistrate.
" There's not much water for stock till you get to the
river, but there's a spring handy by, that serves for our
own use."
" It doesn't taste well out of a pannikin. Bah ! it's
like a mineral spring. You haven't got a glass tumbler,
Kichard ?"
"We had one, sir, but it's broke, and we can't be
very nice at first; but there's a teacup if you like it
better. It's done enough now," said he to his wife, who
had been frying a cake in the pan, and her own face at
the same time, while we were discussing our dish of
mutton-chops and damper. "There's a real settler's
cake for you, gentlemen, made nice and light, like a
pancake, only it wants eggs and milk."
" A glass of grog, now, would be no bad thing," said
my friend ; " but I suppose that's not easy to be got
here. How far are we from any public house ? Kum
is better than nothing, at a pinch, though it's sad stuff
generally — new and rank — the common rum from Ben-
gal, one of the most unwholesome of all spirits ; but as
a medicine, now and then "
The worthy magistrate's dissertation on the qualities
of Bengal rum was cut short by Sanders, who appeared
with a bottle of that popular liquor, the same having
been only half-watered, in deference to the distinguished
company, for whose especial refection Sanders had en-
joined the sly-shop, it was on this occasion particularly
dedicated.
" Where does this come from ?" asked the magistrate,
in a little absence of mind, and pouring into the panni-
kin a decent portion of the licjuid.
Liquor Disappears. 401
" Out of the bottle," said I.
"I take it as a medicine," rejoined my friend, taking
the hint at the same time — '' only as a medicine (San-
ders and Scroggs shook their heads doubtfully) ; for,
after all, it only spoils the water — but this water is
brackish."
With this my excellent friend imbibed, with consider-
able relish, as it seemed to me, a tolerable dose of the
medicine, and knocking the table with the edge of the
tin pannikin, which made a ringing sound, as if com-
plaining of being empty, he laid his hand promiscuous-
like on the neck of the bottle, and tilting it over, directed
its muzzle, in a sort of fit of abstraction, towards the
capacious mouth of the pannikin.
"Any sugar, Richard?"
"Only brown, sir; we never have anything but brown;
white is too expensive for new settlers."
"True, Richard, true; — this is brown sugar, but it
tempers the spirit. I think I'll try it this time with hot
water. Bale out a little from the tripod with the other
pannikin. In cold weather, it's well to keep up the
yital heat, Dick."
My friend sipped his boiling grog with a philosophic
cheerfulness, and a readiness in accommodating himself
to circumstances extremely gratifying to an intelligent
mind, and when he had got half through his second
pannikin, he condescended, with much complacency, to
observe, that " after all, it was a tipple not to be despised,
if taken now and then, and in moderation I"
Sanders and Scroggs, however, did not view the alarm-
ing deficit, which was increasing, in the solitary bottle,
with the same composure, their minds, I presume, not
20
402 Australian Boomahs.
being so philosophically constituted ; and it was with the
most lively apprehensions, therefore, that they saw the
magistrate raise his hand for the third time in a threat-
ening way to the neck of the bottle, which stood handy
to his reach. The intellects of the latter functionary
being sharpened by the pressing nature of the danger,
he forgot, in his agony, the deep respect due to the offi-
cial dignity of his worship, and being unable to repress
his feelings, he vociferated a tremendous " Oh !"
"What's the matter?" said the magistrate; "have
you done your supper ? You had better have a glass
of grog. Here, Sanders, take the bottle. And now
for a turn in, Richard, how can you manage for us ?"
" If it wasn't for my wife, sir, you should have our
little room, but we'll make you up a shake-down in
this corner by the fire, and you'll lie soft enough on the
wool."
"Wool! No boomahs! I hope— eh ! Dick?" begin-
ning to scratch himself instinctively at the sight of the
wool.
"Pretty well for that, sir, but they will come where-
ever there's a house. It's the dogs, I suppose, that har-
bour them ; but they don't meddle with us much ; or
else we are used to them."
" Used to them ! Bless ye !" said Sanders, "all the
settlers' houses in this district are full of 'cm ; they're
Migenous to the place. You may see 'em in summer
time going down to the Coal-River to water quite regu-
lar, and hopping back again, like Christians. Lively
little creturs they arc, and love company. They're a
sort of kangaroo in minature ; and I dare say if you
took the trouble to examine 'cm, you would find 'em
Liveliness of the Boo.maiis. 403
with tails and false bellies, all complete. There's one :
and there's anotlier ! he's a regular boomah ! Ah ! my
fine follow ! I can see you are grinning at me, and ex-
pecting an elegant supper on my unfortunate person,
but (here we heard a peculiar sort of crack) I'll disap-
point you, you blackguard! And you too (another
crack), and — confound them ! here's a regular colony !
Well, bite away, my hearties, it's of no use trying to
get rid of you, I see ! What must be, must ! I'm a
doomed victim !"
The night passed away in similar complaints from the
whole party, each individual waging unsuccessful war
against hosts of assailants, and seasoning his maledic-
tions, according to his quality, with such oaths and
curses as came most readily to hand. As soon as the
first gleam of the morning light appeared, we were on
our legs; and, after the usual preliminaries of fried mut-
ton chops and hot tea, without milk, and damper without
butter, we prepared for our march.
" Well, Richard," said the magistrate, " much obliged
to you for your night's lodging. But we must not cat
you out of house and home. You will just give this to
your wife (proffering a four-dollar bank note) to make
the pot boil."
''Not I, sir," said our host; "you don't think I'd
take money from you, sir, after all your goodness to me.
You are welcome to all I can oflPer you ; but you don't
think, sir, I would be paid for seeing my" — friends, he
was about to say, but he checked himself—" for being
hospitable."
" Very well, Dick, just as you like."
But as I did not like to consume the man's provisions
404 Try to Find the Lost Track.
without recompensing him for it, I pressed a two-dollar
note on the lady of the mansion ; and as my friend told
me that he had contrived to convey the rejected four-
dollar note to the same quarter, we had the satisfaction
of feeling that our visit would not put the family to any
inconvenience.
There had been a heavy fall of snow during the night,
and it lay some inches thick on the ground. The clouds
threatened more ; and we resumed our pursuit with no
very agreeable anticipations.
"Now, Sanders," said the magistrate, "let me see
what you are worth in a difficulty. Which is our way ?
and how are we to find the track of the runaways ? for
this snow will have covered up all traces of their footsteps
— the horses' and all."
" Never fear," said the constable, " the same snow that
has hid one track will show another. If a snow-track
is bad for following, it's worse for hiding; they can't get
away from us; and if I don't find 'em, as sure as ever
Scroggs would nose a bottle of rum in a plant, I'll for-
feit my ticket of leave."
With this professional encouragement, we set our-
selves diligently to work to discover the lost track.
Clmiitn €liirtt[-snjiitli»
The Chase — Scroggs'a Pathos — Confirmation of the Fugitive — Un-
expected Information — A Sailor on Horseback — A new Arrival.
We were now in the most fertile part of Van Die-
men's Land, the agricultural district in which the
greatest part of the wheat grown in the colony was then
raised, and which, from its fertility and its propin(|uity
to water-carriage, is particularly adapted for tillage-
farms. The soil in this district is above the averaoje
quality of the land in the island; some of the wheat
lands having yielded good crops for more than fifteen
years without manure or artificial irrigation ; but it is
not suited for sheep and cattle, the unlocated grazing-
ground being too limited in extent. From the desirable
nature of the locality — the facility of water-carriage be-
ing such a prodigious advantage for the transport of
grain in a young colony — small farms soon became nu-
merous in this neighbourhood, but, from their close
proximity, there can be, of course, but few opportunities
for back runs.
Our direction lay on one side of these settlements,
and as it was early morning, we did not meet with a
single person on our route, nor did we think it worth
while to go out of our way to seek for information, as it
would have been a certain loss of time, which was very
precious, for a very uncertain benefit ; besides, we could
not tell whether we might not do more mischief than
(405)
406 ScROGo's Pathos.
good by entrusting our object to promiscuous persons.
We kept steadily on, therefore, for five or six miles, and
then we crossed the line on which we calculated the pur-
sued party would pass, hoping to hit on their track, but
without success, and it was not until we got near
Brighton Plains, to the right, that we came on their
footsteps.
<' You see, sir," said Sanders, "we have 'em; they
can't escape us now ; but by the sinking of the marks,
they must have made good use of their time in the
night."
" The poor little girl must have suffered terribly from
the cold of last night," observed the magistrate; "it
was brutal to expose a child of such tender years to the
inclemency of a winter's frost and snow."
" Poor little thing !" the passive Scroggs ventured to
remark ; " poor little thing ! you don't think they cut
her throat then, sir, do you ? The sight of that blood
has been worrying me ever since. I remember once,
before I came to this country, I had to slaughter a lamb
for my master, and, by mistake, I killed the pet-lamb of
my young Missis. She came up just as I was a-doing
of it, and I never shall forget the look she gave me. I
was standing with the lamb's head between my legs and
my knife "
" Well — well, my man," said I, for the picture that
he had conjured up made me feel sick — "that will do.
We can't be sure whether the child is alive or not, but
it is likely that she is, by their taking the horse; I wish
we could find some sign that would relieve us from our
suspense. Keep your eyes open, and there's a bottle of
rum for you, if you can discover anything to help us in
our search."
Two Tracks. 407
" Ay, ay, sir, I'll keep a sharp look-out ; not that I
care about the rum ; it's the child, poor little thing. I
fiincy I am always sec•in^ her with her poor little head
han^iu"; dowu, aud her throat "
" There — there, say uo more about it, but get on
ahead, aud try if you can make any discovery. An
hour — nay, a few minutes — may make the diflference of
life or death."
Thus urged, the obedient Scroggs moved forward in
advance with some appearance of alacrity, and, stimu-
lated partly by the present danger of the child, whose
fate I believe he sincerely commiserated, and partly by
the bottle of rum in prospective, he cast his eyes vigi-
lantly about on all sides, and it was not long before he
had the satisfaction of detecting a digression in the path
of the pursued.
" There's been something new going on here," .said he ;
" the small-footed man has gone away to the left, and
the other man and the horse have gone on."
^i It's the small foot, " said Sanders, '^ that's plain
enough; and he has gone oiF to the left, and I don't
see the sign of his having come back. What's to be
done now ? There is some dodge in this that's certain."
" Do you three," said the magistrate, " go on till you
get to the rise with the big gum-tree on the top of it,
and wait there till I join you. I will follow this track
for a mile or so, and then we can consult on the best
mode of proceeding, should it appear that the parties we
are in pursuit of have separated."
He cantered off, accordingly, and we presently lost
sight of him behind a little hill, but before we reached
the big gum-tree, he passed us at an angle, and waited
408 Satisfactory News.
for our coming up, wlien he communicated the result of
his visit.
Behind the hill there was a stock-keeper's hut, which we
could not see from the spot where we were, and there
the magistrate learned that before dawn of day a new
settler had called at the hut, and asked for refreshment,
saying that he had a companion whom he had left at a
little distance, and for whom, as well as for himself, he
wanted a supply of provisions.
" It was easy to tell he was a new settler," said the
stock -keeper, " because he had on a black coat and waist-
coat, and a new hat in the bush, and didn't mind show-
ing his money to strangers !"
The stock-keeper gave him what he had ready, which
consisted of some cold mutton-chops, and nearly a whole
damper, with about ten pounds of uncooked meat, for
whicli the stranger gave him a four-dollar note. My
friend asked to see the note, and, pretending that he
wanted a note of that particular signature, the stock-
keeper readily exchanged it for other small notes.
" This note," observed the magistrate, " may help to
trace our man."
jMy friend did not think it necessary to tell the inha-
bitant of the hut that we were in pursuit of this new
settler, '' as it was better," he said, " not to be making
confidants without necessity." As the track of the
small foot in the snow was easily seen on leaving the
hut, he followed it up to the point where we rejoined
him.
This was so far satisfactory ; we were on the track of
this John Wolsey, or John Shirley, and we could not
be very far from him, but still there was no trace of the
Hungry! 409
little girl ; but the manner of his obtaining provisions,
in going alone to the hut, seemed to show that he had
left the child with his companion, from the fear of being
traced the more easil}^ if she was seen with him. This
consideration gave us a hope, so that we continued the
pursuit with renewed spirit.
We were beginning to feel the want of food ourselves,
however, and we were at a loss where to obtain it with-
out considerable delay; and it was necessary that we
should not neglect to procure a supply while we were
within a reasonable distance of the settled part of the
country, for our route was leading us more and more
into the bush ; the parties whom we were pursuing being
obviously desirous of keeping away from the inhabited
parts of the district through which they fled.
We did not allow these thoughts to slacken our pace,
and leaving Bagdad on our left, we continued our way
through a very difficult country, still with the track in
view, till we came to a point which we calculated was
abreast of the Green Ponds. It was now considerably
past noon, and we were desperately hungry, but we did
not like to relax in our pursuit, for we expected every
minute to come up with the fugitives, when the track
made a sudden bend to the left, and we observed the
same divergence as before, but this time it was the broad-
footed man. Not caring for him, we did not stop to
examine into his movements, but the reason of his ab-
sence was presently explained, for about three miles far-
ther we found the track of a second horse joining the
track which we were pursuing ; and from the appearance
of the strides of the two horses, and the marks of the
snow that was kicked up, it was plain that thoy had con-
410 Rapid Pursuit.
trived to get possession of a second horse, and that Wol-
sey, not being detained by his companion being on foot,
was pushing forward with all speed.
On this the magistrate immediately decided what to do.
He wrote on a leaf of his pocket-book, in pencil, a re-
quest addressed to any one who might read it, that, for
the purpose of furthering the ends of justice, the con-
stables might be supplied with horses, for the hire, or
the purchase of which, if necessary, he would be respon-
sible.
" Now Sanders," said he, ''there's not a moment to be
lost J I and Mr. Thornley will follow them up on horse-
back, and take the chance of what comes ; get up with
them we must, or we may be too late. Try to procure
horses and follow us with all speed, for we may want
your assistance. And now do your best. You will not
leave me at this push, I suppose, Thornley?" said he;
" but if it does not suit you to stay away from your
farm, I will go alone."
" I will not leave you," said I; — "if you have duty
to prompt you, I have inclination."
" I have both duty and inclination," said he, and off we
set at a smart canter. The party whom we pursued was
evidently guided by some one who had an accurate know-
ledge of the country, for their track proceeded in a
straight line across the island, so far as was consistent
with their keeping clear of the various small settlements
and farms in their route. In this way wc passed through
a country much less hilly than before, skirting on our
left the fat flat of the '' Cross Marsh," and a few miles
farther the beautiful district of " The Lovely Banks,"
till we came to the base of the Tier over which the road
The Pursuit Grows Warm. 411
bad been cut by a steep bill to Jericbo, whicb is about
forty miles from Ilobart Town. Having got over Spring-
Hill Tier, wbicb winded our horses a bit, we bad a stronnf
inclination to make a tour to our left, to Jericbo, to get
some refreshment ; but the sight of the fresh track pro-
voked and incited us, and we pushed on after them
through Fourteen-Tree Plain, and past Lemon Springs,
till we got to Oatlands, the neighbourhood in which
the notorious bush-ranger Howe, performed many of his
exploits. It was in this part of the country that he mado
the remarkable escape which is still remembered in tho
colony, and related to new-comers over a bush fire and a
kangaroo steamer. He had been taken, and his arms
bound behind him ; one soldier with a loaded musket
went before him, and another behind. By some means
never discovered he contrived to get possession of a knife,
with which he cjuietly cut the bands that fastened him.
Watching his opportunity, as they passed round tho
narrow base of a high hill, and before the soldier behind
Lad come into sight, he sprung on the one before, and
stabbing him in the back laid him prostrate. Seizing
his musket he fired at the soldier behind, who was has-
tening up, and shot him dead. He then escaped into
the bush.
But we met with no living thing, and we still kept
on, angry at not being able to overtake the black-coated
gentleman and his victim, and we passed, with longing
eyes and ravenous appetites, Albany Vale and St. Peter's
Pass. We had now a fine level country, but thinly cov-
vcred with trees, to the neighbourhood of Antill's Ponds.
By this time our horses were nearly exhausted, but tho
tracks now appeared fresher and fresher as we gained
412 S A L r - P A N P L A I N S .
upon the fugitives ; we were tempted to make another
eiiort, and we presently reached Salt-Pan Plains. At
any other time we should have taken time to admire the
magnificent view of these extensive plains, where the eye
can range for many miles without obstruction; for in
a country where timber abounds, which forms one of the
n)ost serious obstacles to the increase of a settler's tillage,
the sight of a large expanse of country clear of trees
never fails to excite in a colonist of Van Diemen's Land
the most pleasurable contemplations. We could not
help pulling up our tired horses for one minute to ad-
mire the sinking of the setting sun behind the lofty
mountains to our left, causing their cloud-capped tops
to glow with a peculiar light of serene and placid bril-
liancy.
To the east of these plains are extensive ponds satu-
rated with salt, from which the settlers within reach ob-
tain their supplies in the summer season by evaporation,
by means of the sun's heat. In front of us was the
superb mountain of Ben Lomond, the outlines of which,
though the dusk was coming on, were still distinct in
the white line of snow which covered its towering summit.
" One effort more," said the magistrate, " and we shall
come up with them."
But our horses were sadly fagged, and in want of food,
as well as ourselves. We alighted, took off their sad-
dles, and rubbed down their backs with our handker-
chiefs.
" Don't let our horses get stiff," said my friend ; " as
long as they're warm, they will keep on, but if they get
stiffened in the cold they will knock up. One effort
more."
Our Horses Exhausted. 413
But our horses, good as they were, and fitted, like most
of the horses on the island, to bear long and continued
fatigue with but scanty refreshment, soon showed une-
quivocal symptoms of exhaustion. We turned to the
left, therefore, towards Blackman's Bridge, near which
we knew we could obtain food and shelter.
With that sort of instinct which I have often observed
in the animal, our wearied horses pricked up their ears
as we turned them in the direction of the inn; and snort-
ing with visible signs of gladness, their strength appeared
to revive, and they bore us gaily to our place of rest.
Our first care was to see them properly tended. We gave
them a warm mash of siftings, and let them pick a little
at some barley in the straw, till they had recovered from
the excitement of their travel. In the meanwhile, we
put some barley in soak in boiling water, for there were
no oats to be had, which we mixed with a small portion
of siftings, and fed them well, taking care not to give too
much at a time. We took particular pains to have them
well rubbed down, particularly their legs and heels, for
a good dressing is as good as meat and drink to a tired
horse.
" You've given them a warming," said the ostler, who,
from a weaver in England, had become the tender of
horses in Van Diemen's Land ; they seem to be made of
a good sort of stuff, these beasts, but they look a little
mottled now with sweat, like shot silk by a side light.
Where are you come from ?"
"■ We have come some distance," said wc, '' but we
have ridden very fast, which has blown the horses a
bit." I did not choose to tell him that we had come
nearly seventy miles without pulling up, although, for
'il4 A Sailor on Horseback.
the honour of colonial horse-flesh, I had a strong inclina-
tion to brag of it.
Having seen our horses' feet steeped witli a cooling
application, and our minds being at ease about their com-
fort, we entered the public room of the inn.
I need scarcely say, that while we were looking to our
horses, the usual meal of the country, the eternal mutton •
chops, were prepared for our entertainment by the peo-
pie of the house, to which were added some kangaroo-tail
soup, and the unusual luxury of pancakes made with
eggs. Some capital bottled stout, Barclay's, of course,
added a zest to our supper, and by the aid of some excel-
lent brandy, we soon found ourselves restored to our
usual spirits.
We were discussing the propriety of a second tumbler,
when the clattering of a horse's hoofs, which suddenly
stopped at the door of our hostel, and the slight bustle
usual on such occasions, announced the arrival of a new
guest. As there was only one room for travellers in the
inn, which had been hastily built of weather-boards on
speculation, the landlord ushered in the new-comer to
the apartment where we were sitting, and he entered the
room without ceremony, shaking from his rough great
coat a plentiful shower of snow.
" Servant, gentlemen, hope I don't intrude. Land-
lord — steward — landlord — d' — , that is, bless my eyes,
get us something to eat. Here have I been riding on
that rickety old craft; d' — him — that is, bless him —
he's as crank as a Norway timber-ship — for I don't know
how long, and the cold has made me so sharp set, I'm
ready to eat the purser !"
The stranger, whom we had regarded with some cu-
Sailor or Landsman? 415
riosity, as he gave vent to bii, nautical eflfusious, was a
seafaring man, by his dress, which his language seemed to
corroborate ', but as I had recently attempted the per-
sonation of that character myself, I was not disposed
to give him credit for the reality without further exami-
nation.
Thought I to myself, "It's all very well to call a horse
a ' craft,' and to sport your ' starboard,' and * larboard,'
but who knows that this is not another would-be sailor?"
I gave a glance at the magistrate, as I revolved these
thoughts, and I saw by the gleg of his eye that he had
the same suspicion as myself; so by a sort of tacit con-
federacy, we began to sift our new acquaintance.
"You don't seem to have enjoyed your ride, sir ?"
said my friend.
" Enjoy it ! Lots of enjoyment in riding an old brute
like that in a snow-storm. I thought it never snowed
in this country?"
"Sometimes," I said, "but not often, and snow does
not remain long on the ground. You seem, sir, to have
had a feathering ?"
" Feathering, do you call it? It wasn't much like a
feather bed, I can tell you. Three times have I been
capsized coming from that last place — Antill Ponds, I
think they call it; they have the queerest names for
places in this country. Oh ! here's my supper ; mutton-
chops ! of course — I'm d' — that is, I'm blessed if I've
ate anything but mutton-chops since I've been in the
country ; the sheep in these parts are all chops, from
head to starn, I think I"
" There's some capital kangaroo-tail soup," suggested
the landlord.
416 Not used to Horseback.
" Kangaroo-tail soup ! Ah! there it is again. I'm
blessed if I've heard about anything but kangaroo-tail
soup all the while I was at Launceston. They souped
me there night and day. It was a regular caulking.
If I'd gone on with it, I do believe I should have been
quite transmogrified, for I felt a tail a-growing, and was
beginning to hop already ! But d' — "
" "What's the matter ?" said I, for our facetious friend
suddenly stopped, and with knife and fork outstretched,
seemed to be taken with a fit. I got up instantly, with
visible signs of alarm, to assist him ; but he held up the
hand that had the fork in it.
''Avast there!" said he, "I was only counting
twenty."
"Counting twenty! what on earth do you count
twenty for ?"
'' Oh, you see, my wife made me promise, whenever I
was going to swear, to count twenty, to stop it's coming
out ; so I always do it, 'cept in a gale of wind or so,
when one can't be particular; and that's why I say
'bless me,' because, as my wife says, if I must say
something to relieve myself, better say something good
than the other. Ay, ay, she's the one to keep a good
look-out ahead; there's nothing in the voyage of life
like having a consort. She was like to lose me though,
once, for my craft gave a tremendous lurch just before I
got here. I held hard on by the leather tackle, but it
was of no use ; down I came by the run."
'' You are not used to riding on horseback, I sup-
pose?" said my friend.
" Used to it ! no — nor never shall be. I started off
to see the interior of the country, ten days ago, and
The S a 1 l o k ' s D i; s t i .\ a t i o n .
inanaged very well -while I trusted to my own legs,
though it's not so pleasant walking on shore as at sea —
there's no motion to steady you. But when I was at
Jericho — there's a rum name for a place ! — I got a letter
from my skipper to tell me I must come back with all
sail. So what did I do, but I hired that horse, that
somebody wanted to send back to Launceston."
" But that enabled you to get on quicker ?"
" Slower, by four knots ! for such a pitching about I
never had before ! It wasn't easy to get steerage-way
at all, the thing was so slow and lumbcrsome; and when
you did, it wasn't much better, for somehow the cantan-
kerous brute never would answer the helm the rijiht
way, let alone the awkwardness of the tiller ropes coming
aft instead of for'ard, which kept confusing me ; at last
I clapped my hand to his tail, and then the brute stopped
and gave a heave up with his starn legs, but 1 contrived,
by twisting his tail hard to starboard or larboard, as I
wanted it, to make him steer this side and that; for I
tried to keep him in the middle of the road, to have the
force of the tide, and he kept sheering to the side, as if
he was in a back eddy. It was a rare sight to see, I
fancy ! But here I am, safe at last !"
'' Starboard and larboard !" said I to m^-self, " it's all
very well, but it won't do !" " And pray, sir," said I,
aloud, " how was it that you happened to get aboard
that clumsy craft that has occasioned these mishaps ?"
^ " Eh ?" said he, inquiringly, and suspending his
draught of rum-and-water ; '^ and pray, mate," said he,
with an incredulous grin, '* what ship do you belong to ?"
" Me !"
" Ay — look at vour rig : Oh, oh I — I see ! — Yea,
27
418 News from Yorkshire.
yes," putting his finger on his nose j "false colours!
Want to steal ofi"! — Blue jacket better than a yellow
one — eh ?"
" Why," said I, " what do you take me for ?"
" Not for a sailor ! But, never fear, never tell tales !
No business of mine ! Wish you well out of it, and
better luck another time, that's all I can say."
Thought I, to myself, " the tables are turned drolly
enough," for I had on the sailor's dress in which I had
disguised myself in Hobart Town, with the exception of
the little tarpaulin hat, which I had replaced by my own
black beaver, and I was exposed to the very suspicion
which I had rather too hastily formed of our new ac-
quaintance. This was provoking, especially as the real
sailor obstinately persisted in mistaking me for a pris-
oner in disguise, trying to escape from justice.
" And pray," said I, "how do you know I am not a
sailor ?"
" How do I know ? Lord love ye ! D'ye think one
sailor can't tell another, and know a landsman from a
blue-jacket ? Did you ever see a sailor sit with his back
against a chair, and one leg crossed over another that
fashion ? what would become of his sea-legs ? But never
mind ; I'm as mute as a stock-fish ; a Yorkshireman,
you know, can see through an inch-board, but he never
tells what's behind it."
" A Yorkshireman, are you ?" said I eagerly; " from
what part ?"
"From Whitby ; that is, I served my time at Whitby,
but I was born on Squire Shirley's estate, near Lime-
dale, close by Ilcron Abbey — everybody knows it in
Yorkshire. My father was a tenant of Squire Shirley's,
but I would go to sea, as boys will sometimes."
A Consultation. 419
" Then you know this Squire Shirley ?"
" To be sure I did — William Shirley ; but he's dead
now."
" IIow long ago?"
"It's about two years since."
" Had he any children?"
''No children, but he had two brothers."
''And what is become of them ?"
" The eldest, George, went away somewhere, nobody
hncw whither. He was a wild chap in his youth, was
George ; but the youngest, John, is at the Abbey, be-
cause, as there was no account of George, of course John
was next heir to the estates."
" What are the estates worth?" asked I.
" I don't know that, but it is one of the prettiest es-
tates in the county."
"Did William leave any will?" asked the magistrate.
''There was a talk about some will, but I never
knew the rights of it. It was said George died years
ago, but some people thought there was some mystery
about it."
I exchanged looks with my friend the magistrate at
this information, which had come on us thus unexpect-
edly, and in so strange a way, but we did not think it
necessary to communicate to our new acquaintance the
deep interest which we took in these inquiries; and, un-
der the pretext of our seeing our horses well littered
down for the night, we left the ro.v.v., and had a short
private conversation together on our way to the stable.
" Can we make any use of our new acquaintance?"
said I.
"I don't see that he would hv >!' ,- ny use at present,"
420 A New Arrival.
said the magistrate ; " te would be rather in the way tlian
otherwise. But we shall see when we get to Launceston,
and then we can act accordingly."
The snow lay two or three inches deep on the ground,
but the night was clear and bright, and we regretted the
time that we were losing, but it was unavoidable; for the
darkness of the night, which aids a man to escape, is an
effectual bar to his pursuit in a country where he can
be followed only by the foot-marks that he leaves behind
him. We were obliged, therefore, to put up with the
delay, and, indeed, our horses would not have been in a
condition to travel before the morning ; so, bidding our
new acquaintance good night, and leaving him to the
enjoyment of a large tumbler of grog, in which we had
induced the landlord to join him, we retired to our beds,
having made arrangements for resuming our journey at
the first dawn of day on the morrow.
But the course of events did not allow us to enjoy our
rest unbroken. A little after midnight we were waked
up by a vigorous knocking at the door from the butt-end
of a heavy whip, and we heard a voice outside demand-
ing admittance.
(C^tjajitrr ^jiirttf-rigljt I|.
The Van Diemen's Land Jockey — Swopping— The Chase Renewed
— Retributive Justice — The Natives — New Dangers.
" You need'nt knock the door in with your hammer-
ing," called out a voice, which I recognised as that of
the landlord of the Emu — " can't you wait till people
put a bit of clothes on ? Who are you ? and what do
you want at this time of night?"
<* Who am I, and what do I want ? Well, that's a
good one ! Don't you know Charley Chaffem ?"
" The Sandy Bay Jockey ! By George ! here's a spree !
Why, what has brought you to this side of the island ?
— and snow on the ground too."
" Why, a horse has brought me; that is, two horses;
one that I'm on, and one that I'm off; and there's a
riddle for you, Master Jemmy."
'' And where have you come from ?"
" I only left the Coal River this morning. Wbat do
you think ? Some busy gentleman has walked off with
my bay horse ! He didn't come home last night for his
corn, and I knew there was something wrong, but I could
do nothing till daylight, and then I tracked him right
across the country, with two other blackguards with him,
for there were three horses in all, and afterwards a fourth
— so there's a lot of them in for it — till the dark came,
and then I cut across to the high road. But don't stand
( 421 )
422 The Jockey's Arrival.
talking there ; open the door, and be alive ', I want to
come in and get a snack of something."
As I guessed that this visit from the owner of the
stolen horse would render some explanation necessary, I
thought it best to meet the difficulty at once, so I got up
and dressed myself. By the time that I had entered the
public room, which was next to my bedroom, the inqui-
sitive Charley Chaffem had visited the stable, which I
expected, where he had examined the magistrate's horse
and mine, which were comfortably reposing themselves
on luxurious beds of straw.
" He can't be far off," said he to the landlord, alluding
to the thief, in continuation of some comments in which
he had been pleased to indulge in the stable, "for here
are two of the blackguards safely housed with you. I
know them by the shoeing of their horses ; they're Nick
Naylor's shoes, of Frog-street, in Camp. You ma}' al-
ways swear to his shoes when they're new. I tracked
them all the way, and I could pick 'em out among a
hundred. A pretty pass the country is come to, when
people take to stealing of horses ! but I'll make the
rascals swing for it, if there's law to be had in the
colony."
'' A very pleasing compliment," thought I, "to me
and my friend. My good sir," I said, " I am the owner
of one of those horses, and my friend is the owner of
the other. I could not help overhearing what you said
as you entered the room, but I assure you you are mis-
taken, as I could easily explain to you if I was at lib-
erty to do so."
" Hear him !" cried out our acquaintance of the night
before, who had risen from his wooden sofa with the ha-
II I S A C C L' 6 A T 1 N . 423
bitual readiness df a seaman — ''hear ^lini ! he was a
sailor last night, and now he's jawing away like a sea-
lawyer ! I say my friend," said he to me, " no go I eh ?
grabbed! rather unlucky ; but sailors shouldn't meddle
with horses; always come to mischief when they try
to show off like the long-tails.''
" The devil's in it," thought I, " I shall be in another
mess if I don't take care !"
" The long and the short of it is," said I aloud, " I
know no more where your horse is than you do, except
that I have been following it all day as well as yourself."
** The long and the short of it is," said the angry
jockey, ''that you must answer for this before a magis-
trate, and then, I think, my hearty, it won't be long be-
fore they make short work of you," giving a significant
chuck under his left ear.
" Why, what's all this about ?" said the magistrate,
who now entered the room, with a silk handkerchief
round his head, and a blanket by way of dressing-gown.
"What ! Charley Chaffem ! what brings you here ?"
"Hurrah !" cried Charley; "here's the Clyde magis-
trate. Now, my beauty, you're booked, and no mistake ;
You needn't laugh — you'll laugh on the wrong side of
your mouth presently. I charge this fellow with steal-
ing my horse," pointing to me viciously; ''and I give
him into custody."
•' What, my friend Thornley ! why, what have you got.
into your head, Charley ? Oh ! — I see — I see — it wag
your horse that the rascals stole last night — or I suppose
I must call it the night before last, for it's two o'clock
in the morning now. We have had a rare hunt after
him all day."
424 His Suspicions Removed.
"Indeed !" said the jockey, puzzled to understand the
meaning of what he heard — " then what t'other chap —
_ beg his pardon, Mr. Thornley — said was true, and you
and he have been in pursuit all day of the rascal who
made oiF with my horse ? "Well ! that beats everything !
But you might as well have run after the wind as after
Roderick ! if the rascal knew how to ride him. I think
the magistrate knows there's not a faster horse nor
sounder bottom in the colony !"
" The riddle's out !" said my friend ; " I wondered we
could not overtake the runaways ; we have been hunting
the Sandy Bay racer all day ! But with your assistance,
Charley, I think we may do it now. Do you know this
part of the country ?"
'' Every inch — all over the country, wherever cattle
have strayed, or wild horses run. I'll be bound I know
every pass and every ford in the country wherever the
foot of white man has been, and more too, for the matter
of that. But what's to be done, sir ? Of course, now
we are with you, it's all right; and if you're taking
the matter in hand, we shall be sure to get well out
of it?"
" Can we make any progress at night, Charley ? What
do you think ?"
"No use in life, sir, to try to follow tracks in the
night ; better go at it fresh in the morning."
"That is my opinion. It is now half-past two; when
will there be light enough to follow the track?"
"Not before six o'clock, after breakfast," said the
landlord; "but it's hardly worth while for you to go to
bed again. Shall I get some supper for you all round ?
There's capital brandy, and rum, and bottled stout — so
that you may pass an hour pleasantly before you start."
ASocialParty, 425
"Do so," said the magistrate; "and we can talk jyer
the matter leisurely. It will take us half an hour to
trot to the point of the track from which we broke off,
BO that we must start at five to be read}' to take advantage
of the first light."
Upon this we formed a social party round the table,
and discussed the likelihood of the fugitives crossing the
Macquarie Eiver by the bridge, or by a ford, which was
passable, about twelve miles up the stream.
"Bless your heart," said the jockey, "that horse —
Roderick — that's his name, sir (to me), Roderick would
as easy swim the jMacquarie as walk from here to that
stable — his rider may go with him anywhere and over
anything in nature !"
"I have reasons to think that they would not attempt
to swim the Macquarie," said the magistrate, " so that
we must make for the ford, if we don't find the trace of
him towards the bridge. But I think he can't escape
us now, with you, Charley, to help us."
'* You know him, then?" said the jockey.
" We think we do, but we are not sure; but there ia
reason to believe that his object is to get over the coun-
try to Launceston as quickly as possible."
"Then his mark is to go by the Jupiter," said the
sailor ; " she is to sail to-morrow morning, my skipper
writes me, and that's why I'm wanted back in such a
hurry. I say, master," said he to the jockey, "as you
are so knowing about horses, couldn't you do something
to my brute? for I'm blessed if I can make anything
of him ; he steers so wild, I defy the best hand that
ever held a tiller to keep him on a wind — one tack or
t'other — and when you let him go free, he stands with
426 Jockey Information.
A\3 head between his legs, and backs all sail, so that he
gets starn-way ; how I'm to get to Launceston on him
IS more than I can tell !"
" I'll tell you how to manage him," said the jockey;
"1 know him well; he's a Sydney horse, and near
twenty years old, and as cunning as a fox. He was bred
out of a mare that TilcCarthy reared at Parramatta j
Captain Firebrace brought him over to Hobart Town,
and then Parker bought him, and Weston had him after-
wards, and BuUfield kept him as a stock-horse, but no-
body could make anything of him, and Bullfield
swopped him with Spring for thirty ewes heavy with
lamb ; and he thought he had done Spring nicely ; but
the biter was bit, for the ewes were all old 'uns, and past
their time, and the devil a lamb did they ever have
again, for they hadn't got a tooth in the heads of 'em
all ; and then Spring exchanged him for a pair of work-
ing bullocks, and of course they ran into the bush next
day, for they were young ones, only put into the yoke
for the swop, and it's supposed they are somewhere
beyond the lakes towards the Western Coast ; and how
many hands old Slyboots has been in since then is more
than I can say, but I'll tell you how to be up with
him."
The receipt for a vicious horse was for that time lost to
posterity, for the rapid clattering of hoofs suddenly called
off the attention of the jockey, and in half a minute after
two horsemen rode up to the door of the inn, whom we
immediately recognised as the ingenious Sanders and the
phlegmatic Scroggs.
"Ha! Sanders, my buck 1" said the jockey, "are you
come to join us? And Scroggs! — why, what brings
you so far from home, old boy ?"
Start Again. 427
"We are on a secret expedition," said Sanders, with
as much dignity as he could assume on a sudden, with a
very red face and a very blue nose. '' And I see I am
come to the right place, taking off his hat to the magis-
trate, and entering the house. I have been lucky enough
sir," he added, '' to get horses, as you sec, and right
good ones they are."
"So they are," chimed in the jo.ckey; "that roan is
as good a horse as ever put one leg before the other.
Mr. Fallowfield, of the Green Ponds, gave sixty guineas
for him, and cheap too. That white horse, that Scroggs
was on, has been a racer in his time ; and I've seen a
hundred and twenty guineas, dollars down, given for
him within these eight years; he is getting aged now.
Young Oakley gave two pair of working bullocks and a
cow heavy with calf for him — and that's as good as forty
pounds — the autumn before last; and he's worth all the
money, for there's half a dozen years' work in him yet.
I'll go and look after them for you. Better give 'em a
mash of sifting.s, for horses are apt to feed greedy at
first, and corn does 'em no good, if they arn't cool when
they eat it."
" You must make haste with your preparations," said
the magistrate, "for it is past three o'clock, and at five
we must start."
"It's pushing the horses rather too hard," said the
jockey, "but what's the use of them if they can't help
you at a pinch ? Ah ! if I only had Koderick under me,
I should like to see the heels of the horse that I couldn't
pass in no time !"
At five o'clock we set off, the jockey leading the way.
The sailor thought it best to make a start at tbc same
428 The Sailor's Awkwardness.
time, but as his destination was the high road, which he
called, ''keeping in the stream," we did not wait for
him to accomplish the difficult feat of getting aboard his
" craft," and we left him, therefore, with one foot in the
stirrup and the other hopping on the ground in chase
of his cranky steed, which performed an unceasing gyra-
tion in resistance to the attempt to mount him. The
last words that we heard of the enraged sailor were
" D' — , that is, bless — no, I won't be balked this time
— I say, damn him I"
" You followed 'em to the valley between the two
banks of mimosas, by a sugar-loaf hill, didn't you say ?"
said the jockey, after we had gone about four miles.
"Then this must be near the spot where you turned off.
Let us walk leisurely, if you please, sir; no need to go
over more ground than necessary. About here, was it ?
You are right ; here are your tracks, see ! There's the
track of Mr. Thornlcy's horse — he throws out the right
fore-leg as he trots, a leetle more than the left; and there's
the track of Roderick. Look at his stride; any one
may tell that stride from a hundred; and there's the
print of the jackass shoe that I was obliged to put on
him, poor fellow, for I had no other at hand ; but I little
thought anybody could be such a brute as to make him
gallop in it. You see he don't like it, for he just fa-
vours that leg the least bit in the world. No one else
would observe it, but I know his ways. Now, gentle-
men, if you are of a mind to push on, I'll engage to
keep on Roderick's track. Pretty country this, for a
pack of hounds. What a glorious run you may give a
horse on Salt-pan Plains. There's nothing to stop you
one way for twenty miles."
Fresh Tracks. 429
The track now led us over Blackman's Bridge,
" Oh, ho !" said the jockey ; " I see the rascal shies the
water; he prefers the bridge; now, I think, we shall
have him."
But, contrary to our expectation, the track led us some
miles to the left, to a ruined hut, where it seemed the
fugitives had passed the night; for there were marks of
a fire having been kindled the night before, and the
hearth still retained some heat.
'' Stole away I" said Chaffem; " but the form is still
warm, and puss can't be far oif. The rascal has got the
start though, and Roderick is not the horse to lose his
ground."
We left the hut, and followed the track in the direc-
tion of Ross Bridge, on the Macquarie River; but here
it seemed the fugitives had misgivings of the prudence
of proceeding on the highway, for within half a mile of
the bridge they crossed the road, and made a circuit to
the right.
"They don't like to chance the bridge," said the con-
stable. ''Now, if their point is Launcestou, they must
either swim the river or make fur the ford. There is
one higher up the stream, but it's a long round ; do you
know it, Charley ?"
"■ Know it! ay, and many's the time I've crossed it;
and Roderick knows it, too; but they'll never go all
that way round; they'll take to the water, you'll see,
when we come to the bend."
But in this the jockey was mistaken, for we passed
the bend, and the tracks continued to a spot about half
a mile from the ford, near which there was a clump of
mimosas standing apart on the plain, and at a short dis-
430 Marks of the Natives.
tance from a forest of thickly-growing trees. At this
place they had evidently made a halt, for the ground
was trampled down within a small circumscribed space,
as if they had been hiding there for a time. We did
not wait to examine it further, but pushed on in the
direction of the ford. But here a sight met our eyes
that explained the cause of the halt, and the hiding of
the fugitives. The quick-eyed Sanders was the first to
detect the traces of numerous naked feet.
'^Pull up !" he cried out — "pull up for a minute.
Look, sir, the natives have been prowling about here.
Look to the right there. Don't press the marks — let us
see how many of the black fellows have been together."
We drew up on the margin of the tracks of the na-
tives, which were in the direction of the ford, and it
seemed as if there had been about twenty of them, to
judge from the confused prints of their naked feet."
" I'll bet a guinea," said Sanders, " this is what made
'em hide up for awhile among those mimosas. They
saw the natives between them and the ford, and they
feared to face them."
'' Keep on," said the magistrate, '' their tracks lead
to the ford — and I think I see some object on the bank
of the river."
He was right ; a few minutes' trot brought us to the
ford, and by the side of the stream was lying a man in
a fustian dress, whose countenance I thought I remem-
bered. On examining him more closely, I recognised
the face of the man in the yellow jacket whom I had
met on the jetty in Ilobart Town, and who was one of
those who attacked and overpowered me in the red-
house. In two words I told this to the magistrate.
The Murdered Man. 431
The poor wretch was still alive, but his appearance
told the tale of his miserable fate. Hia skull was
pounded in by the waddics of the natives, and his body
was pierced in many places by their thin and pointed
spears.
" If we could only get him to speak now," said the
constable, "he might give us some useful information.
Scroggs, where's your bottle ?"
Upon this the provident Scroggs produced a pint
bottle of rum — a sovereign remedy, in his opinion, for
all disorders.
" What's the use of giving him rum, if he's dead ?"
remonstrated Scroggs; "it's only wasting it that way."
" He's not dead," said Sanders, " though it won't be
long first, seemingly. Let us try to make him speak;
he may be able to tell us of the other one. It's Bill
Simmons, one of the biggest rascals in the whole colony,
but that's no matter now. Give us the bottle."
He raised up the expiring wretch, and Sanders poured
down his throat a portion of the rum, while the magis-
trate dashed some cold water from the river over his
head and face. For a considerable time the man gave no
other signs of life than a faint breathing, and it was not
until after the lapse of two hours, which seemed to us
two ages, that he was able to articulate.
" We are losing time sadly," exclaimed the impatient
jockey, << and what has become of poor Roderick all this
time? Entangled, perhaps, with the reins, and his
head kept down, and drowned in the river ! That's
dreadful !"
" Hush !" said the magistrate, " the man is going to
speak."
432 He gives Us News.
" They have got the child," murmured out the dying
man.
" Who have got the child ?"
" The natives — they — attacked — me in — the ford."
" And your companion, where is he ?"
"I saw him swimming in the river — but — in his
haste — he abandoned — the child — to save himself — and
the natives took the child — the Gypsey — the Gypsey —
the Gypsey's child ?"
" Did the natives kill the child ?" asked I, full of
anxious horror at the probable fate of the poor girl.
" They — have — killed — me. Their waddies — my
head — spears — child carried off. "
" How long ago is it," asked the magistrate, "since
they attacked you ?"
" I don't know — it — was — just — at — daybreak. I —
didn't — like to pass the bridge — so — I made for the
ford — and the natives — attacked us — and they have
taken the — child. ..."
" What's o'clock ?" asked Sanders.
" Half past ten," said I.
" Then the natives have got the start of us by about
four hours and a half," resumed the constable ; " and if
they have taken to the hills, it will be a difficult job to
follow them on horseback."
"We can easily track them in the snow," observed the
magistrate.
"While the snow lasts," replied the constable ; " but,
by the look of Ben Lomond, we shall have a change of
weather, and there's a northerly wind this morning, and
that, with the sun, will soon melt this snow. Following
the natives in the bush is no easy matter. A white
M U S Q U E E T O WITH THE NATIVES. 4o3
man might as well try to track a bird as a native in the
bush !"
'' I shall go after them," said the magistrate; "what
do you say, Thornley — shall we leave this little girl to
the mercy of the savages ?"
"I'm ready to go with you," said I, "but let us go
prepared ; this is a bad time of the year for bushing it.
Is there no place near here, Sanders, where we could
borrow some kangaroo-rugs, and get a supply of provi-
sions ?"
"I have it!" said Sanders; "Mark's sheep-run is not
more than two miles from the ford, and if he will let one
of his shepherds. Black Tom, go with us — he's a Syd-
ney native — we'll set a black fellow to hunt black fel-
lows, and come over them that way."
"Come on, then," said the magistrate, *'and lose no
time. I will go with you to remove any objection. Stay!
the dying man is going to speak again. I think he un-
derstood what we were saying. What is it, my man ?"
he added, in a soothing tone to the dying man ; " what
have you got to say ?"
" Mus — quce - - to !" said the man, with his last
breath.
"Musquceto!" said Sanders, ^'then there's no time
to be lost ; that's the cruelest savage that ever tormented
a colony ; he kills for killing sake, without reason."
" I have had a taste of him," said the magistrate.
" And so have I," said I.
" There's no time to be lost, if we are to save the
child."
The magistrate, guided by Sanders, immediately gal-
loped off; and in less time than we expected, they rc-
28
434 The Girl Carried off by Natives.
turned at a brisk pace, laden with kangaroo-rugs, and
various necessaries for a bush expedition, and followed
by Tom, a fine tall native of the continental island of
Australia, dressed with much neatness, in a cloth jacket
and trousers of good texture ; the civilized natives soon
catching the colonial predilection for cloth of a superior
quality.
'' And what's to become of me ?" said the disconsolate
jockey ; " and what has become of Roderick ? I say,
friend, didn't you say your rascally companion crossed
the ford ? He's as dead as a door nail ! There's no
getting any more out of him ; it serves him right for
making off with poor Roderick ! I never knew a horse-
stealer to come to a good end ! But I'll be after him !
Good day, gentlemen ; I wish you luck. Take care of
your horses, and let them take their time up those terri-
ble hills. I'll go after Roderick !"
And so saying, the jockey plunged his horse into the
stream, and we turned our attention to the object of our
expedition.
" Will not the native, being on foot, retard us?"
inquired I; "he can never keep up with our horses."
" Never fear," said Sanders; " if our horses can keep
up with him we shall do very well. Now, Tom, my boy,
are you ready ?"
Tom nodded his head.
" Which way are you going to take us ?" Tom looked
at the tracks, among which the prints of tiny feet were
plainly discernible, and pointed to the hills.
"Now," said the magistrate, ''for another adven-
ture. I never had a hunt after natives before. Not
the best of weather for lying out at night's; — but it
We Pursue Them. 435
would never do to leave that little girl to bo butchered by
Musqueeto I"
We moved on at a good pace, Tom, with his long legs,
keeping our horses just beyond a quick walk, and wo
were soon buried in the deep recesses of the woods.
Winter in Van Diemen's Land — The Pursuit of the Black Fellows
— Native Habitations — News of the Child.
The dense mass of spreading branches, with their win-
ter leaves of sombre green, which formed a canopy high
above our heads, had allowed but little snow to foil on
the forest ground ; but there were ample signs of the
natives to enable the sagacious Sydney black to guide us
through the intricacies of the tall straight stems of the
stringy -bark trees, with their ragged, shreddy coats,
without hesitation. Ever and anon he would turn round
to us, without discontinuing his course, and displaying,
with a self-satisfied grin, his formidable rows of ivory
teeth, he would point to the track, and seek, with his
piercing and restless black eyes, deep set in his woolly
head, for our approbation of his sagacity.
It occupied us nearly two hours to pass through the
forest, and we then emerged into an ample plain nearly
clear of trees, resembling a vast park. The noonday sun
had melted nearly all the snow, and it was only here and
there, under the shade of some gigantic gum-tree, or
umbrageous mimosa, that any signs of it were vi.sible.
We were glad to get rid of the snow, as, under the gui-
dance of the black, we had no fear of losing the tracks
of the natives, and we pushed on without stopping for
nearly twenty miles, in a south-easterly direction, over a
(43G)
Winter in Australia. 437
fine-country of undulating hill and plain, till wc came to
the foot of a tier of low hills, on which were scattered a
few of the trees of the she oak. These trees present a
scraggy appearance to the eye, but their wood is much
prized as fuel, from its pleasing fragrance and good qua-
lities for burning. It is not easy to get a plank from
these trees of more than six or eight inches in width, but,
■when polished, it is admirably adapted for ornamental
furniture. Here we made a pause to rest our horses,
which we tethered out by the hide ropes, which we car-
ried with us on the front of our saddles, giving them the
range of a circle of about eighty feet in diameter, to feed
on the native grass, shifting them occasionally as their
food grew scanty. The constables kindled a fire, and
proceeded with the usual arrangements for a bush meal.
They put a handful of black tea into the kettle, which
Scroggs bore in his portion of the luggage, and set it on
to boil — tea forming the favourite beverage of settlers of
every degree in their bush expeditions. The dexterous
black, who carried a long-shanked, narrow axe, quickly
sliced from an adjacent gum-tree some pieces of bark,
which formed extempore plates and dishes, and some
steaks of young beef being duly broiled, aided by one of
the dampers, which formed part of our provisions, we
made, with the relish of hunger, a satisfactory repast.
The constables then got up a second edition of the feast,
with some additional supplies, for Black Tom, not liking
to remain idle during our banquet, had contrived to catch
three kangaroo-rats and a bandicoot, which he disem-
bowelled with much delicacy, and threw them in their
furry coats on some clear embers of the fire. Scroggs
produced from the recesses of a mysterious garment a
438 Coldness of the Nights.
bottle of rum, but it was unanimously decided that this
luxury should be reserved as a medicine for special occa-
sions. Much to the disappointment of the thirsty indi-
vidual, therefore, the cork remained undrawn, and the
disconsolate Scroggs was obliged to solace himself with a
pannikin of hot tea from the boiling kettle. Our rough
repast ended, we proceeded on our way, till the sinking of
the sun behind the snow-topped mountains to the west,
warned us to turn our attention to the means of passing
the night ; for the nights in the winter season in Van
Piemen's Land are too cold to allow of their being passed
with impunity in the open air. As we felt the fullest
confidence of coming up with the natives, we did not push
our horses to the extreme, for we knew that Musqueeto
and his mob would not travel many days without making
a stop in some locality favourable for the collection of
gum, and the resort of opossums. We had but one axe
among us, but there were more than one who knew well
how to use it, the cleverest of whom was the Sydney
black ; so that, in a short time, they managed to erect
two bush-huts well covered in with heavy branches. The
opening of the huts being next to the fire, which was
kept up all night, we contrived, with the aid of our
warm kangaroo-rugs, to pass the night without incon-
venience.
Towards the early morning, the air became frosty, and
the next day, under a clear sky and a brilliant sun, we
continued our pursuit of the natives. At noon the air
became mild and warm, and if it had not been for our
apprehensions of the calamitous fate of the child to whose
rescue we were hastening, we should have enjoyed the
beautiful scenery of the almost unexplored country
Several Days Elatse. 439
tlirough which we travelled ; but a second day and night
having passed without coming up with the natives, our
uneasiness increased to a pitch of painful anxiety. "Wo
could discover no trace of the little foot, nor indeed could
our less acute sense of sight detect any marks of the
retiring natives, although, to the black's stronger and more
sensitive organs, the marks were so plain as to cause him
no apparent trouble to pursue. We consoled ourselves,
however, with the reflection, that the absence of any mark
. of the child's foot which Tom could not trace, might be
accounted for by her having been carried in the arms of
the natives, though what could be their object, or the
object of Musqueeto in bearing her away, we were at a
loss to conjecture, and we feared the worst.
With these doubts and fears, we passed an uneasy
night; the more so as our provisions being nearly ex-
hausted, we could not keep up the animal strength to
counteract the depression of the spirits. Under cir-
cumstances so favourable for the opening of the grog-
bottle, the longing Scroggs made several insinuating at-
tempts to get our assent to that measure, but it was
steadily resisted, and with a stoicism on the part of his
reflecting coadjutor which I particularly admired.
" Cold work this I" said Scroggs to Sanders ; '' and
cold water is poor stuff to put heart into a man. A fire
is very well to warm the outside, but the inside is the
place to keep up the heat ; then it spreads all over one
in a glow ! It's surprising how small a quantity of spi-
rit — a single glass or so — I've often tried it — will warm
a man's whole body, to the very tips of one's fingers !"
" To the tip of your nose, you ought to say, old buck,"
rejoined his mate, ^' for you have put that sponge of
440 We Get Depressed.
yours into such a glow some time, that it has never got
cool again."
''None of your nonsense; — it's all owing to smoking
out of a short pipe ; I went to sleep with it one night in
my mouth, and I slept so sound, though I had drunk
nothing to speak of, that the end of my nose got briled
on the bowl of the pipe before I woke up."
" I wish you had thought to bring two bottles, instead
of one," said Sanders, " then you might have soaked your
nose in one and kept the other. But you don't know
what may happen in the bush, and a sup of rum may
save a man's life. Better keep it till it's wanted."
" But it is wanted," persisted the persevering Seroggs ;
" I declare I feel so queer I don't know what to make of
it ; and that bit of opossum that I was fool enough to eat
makes me smell all turpentine. What harm could it do,"
he added, in a melancholy tone, " if I took only the least
sip in the world — just a taste — only a smell at the
bottle ?"
But Sanders was firm, and as Seroggs stood too much
in awe of the magistrate to venture on so flagrant a
breach of duty as a burglary on the rum-bottle, he be-
took himself sadly to bed, and covering himself up in his
kangaroo-rug, after a few dolorous meanings, the sounds
which proceeded from his fiery nose proclaimed that he
was sound asleep.
The next morning found us much less fresh than the
preceding one, and no one seemed inclined for conversa-
tion, our spirits being damped by the unsuccessful pur-
suit, and by the contemplation of the uncertain distance
to which we might be led in our chase, and of tlie un-
certain time which might be consumed in it. We had
Discover the Natives. 441
bivouacked at the base of a tier of hills, and it was not
without anxiety that we shared the remainder of o\ir
provisions, and prepared for the steep ascent before us.
"We had not proceeded far, however, when, on some
moist ground beneath a spring, which trickled down the
hill. Black Tom pointed out to us the fresh mark of a
native foot. We were leading our horses up the ascent,
and it was with lively curiosity that we regarded the
sign of the probable propinquity of the natives. We
immediately looked to our arms, wiped our flints, re-
newed our primings, and examined our barrels, to see
that the charges had not become loosened in the journey.
The prospect of danger spread animation among the party,
mixed with some anxiety, for we had by this time pene-
trated into a part of the country never, perhaps, trodden
before by a white man's foot, and far removed from all
assistance. We advanced, therefore, with great precau-
tion till we got close to the summit of the hill, when the
magistrate directed us to stand still, and motioned the
black to reconnoitre.
Tom advanced cautiously and silently upwards, crawl-
ing on his belly, and winding his way like a snake over
the tufts of grass, till he was enabled to project his
black poll — hardly to bo distinguished from the rough
logs of charred timber that lay about over the ridge of the
hill. For some seconds he remained motionless, and
then withdrawing himself by imperceptible degrees from
liis place of observation, he communicated to us the re-
sult of his discovery.
" Bkck fellows in bottom," said Tom, softly ; " Mus-
(juceto with 'cm."
" What are they doing ?" asked the constable.
442 We Reconnoitre.
" Make fire — and eat."
" Is the piccaninny with them ?" said I.
" Can't see. Go behind trees, there," continued Tom,
pointing to the right, " then you see all."
On the right was a clump of bushes, to which we bent
our steps.
Leaving our horses under the charge of the constables,
we edged round the declivity of the hill and crept up to the
top, where we stationed ourselves behind the bushes.
From this position we observed the natives in the hollow
below. They had evidently arrived at a spot at which
they proposed to sojourn for a while, for they had raised
up in two or three places, and with more than usual
care, break-winds formed of branches of trees, and lined
with wide strips of bark. These rude protections from
the wind were about four feet high, and we remarked
that one apart from the rest had the distinction of an
attempt at a roof, but of dimensions not more than suf-
ficient to contain a single person. Large fires were
lighted before the break-winds, at which some of the na-
tives reclined ; others were standing listlessly here and
there, and some of the women were engaged in tending
their children. Almost the whole party was naked;
but one man, whom by his stature and bearing we re-
cognised as Musqueeto, was distinguished by a black
hat, with waistcoat and trousers, and one or two of the
women had something which looked like old and dirty
blankets thrown over their shoulders. We remained
for some time watching them from our hiding-place, but
we could observe no signs of the child whom we had
come so far to rescue; :ind we hud sad misgivings of her
safety. Having made all the observations in our power,
THE NATIVES OAJIRYING OFF THE OtPST'S DATTGHrER.
ARE THE Natives Cannibals? 443
■we retreated back to the brow of the hill, and consulted
together as to -the best course to pursue.
" If you would be pleased to take my advice, sir,"
said Sanders, " I would wait till nighf, when the natives
are afraid to move about, and then, by advancing two
together, we might take them by surprise, and the first
thing would be to shoot down Musqueeto, and the men
of the party, and then if they run away with the child —
that is, if they haven't murdered it already, which I think
most likely — we can pursue them with our horses, for
they're terribly afraid of a horse ; they think it bites,
and fights with its fore-legs."
" I confess," said the magistrate, " I am very much
disappointed not to see the little girl ; our object is to
release her, not to slaughter these naked savages. Did
you ever know them to eat a white person ? Let us
find out from Tom ; do you speak to him, Sanders ; he
knows you, and would tell you perhaps more freely than
us."
" Tom," said Sanders, " black fellow eat white picca-
nmny .'
Tom looked suspiciously at the constable with his
deep-set, restless eyes, one of the characteristics of the
natives of Australia, and seemed unwilling to reply ; for
the Sydney blacks, as well as the few who have commu-
nication with the settlements of Van Piemen's Land,
are well aware of the horror of the whites at the prac-
tice of eating human flesh.
"Tom never eat man," said Sanders, coaxingly,
" no — never ; but bad black follow eat man, and eat
piccaninny, sometimes ?"
"Bad black fellow eat man, sometimes," replied
444 Black Tom's Testimony.
Tom, " wliile he very angry, and fight; — me never eat
man."
"No, not you; but black man eat white man, some-
times ?"
" Yees."
"And eat white piccaninny, sometimes; bad black
fellow ?"
" Yees— bad black fellow."
" The nasty inhuman savages !" exclaimed Scroggs,
who was within hearing, holding the horses. "To
think of that poor little gal being eat by those black
devils, just as if she was mutton or beef ! Here, Sanders,
come and put your hand in my pocket, and take out tho
bottle of rum; — take it, I say ! I, for one, will give it
up, and let the natives have it for the child. I should
like just to have one sup of it before it goes ; but never
mind, I'll give it all, rather than the child should be cat
up by those black rascals !"
"Well done, Scroggs," said the magistrate; "depend
upon it this generous instance of self-denial shall not be
forcotten, for I know the eiFort which it must have ci^sfc
you ; but I think we can manage without putting your
virtue to so severe a trial. Tom," said he to our guide,
"will you go and try if you can see a little white pic-
caninny among the black fellows ? Piccaninny so high,"
describing the height of a child of six or seven years of
age.
Tom understood wliat was said to him in English much
more easily than he could find words to reply. He com-
prehended the magistrate in a moment, and looking on
the ground for a while in a thoughtful attitude, —
" Me go," said he.
Tom makes an Explanation. 445
Witbout further talk, for the natives are remarkably
taciturn and sententious among themselves, as well as
amnng the whites, Tom proceeded to strip himself of the
encumbrance of his clothes, even to his shoes and stock-
ings, and displayed himself in the natural undisguise of
our great progenitor, Adam, about whose colour there is,
among many of the nations of the earth, a difference of
opinion; but as the subject is foreign to the nature of
these humble memoirs, I shall not enter into that vexa-
tious question. The disencumbered Tom formed his plan
on tlie instant, and taking a wide circuit to the left, he
was soon lost to view, leaving us in a state of anxious
and nervous expectation.
After the lapse of an hour he returned, and in the
cold apathetic manner of the natives, he communicated .
his information with his usual sententious brevity : —
" White piccaninny with black fellows."
" That's capital," said the magistrate; " the poor little
thing is alive, at any rate. How does she look, Tom ?"
But Tom did not understand this question, and seeing
that an answer was expected, he replied, —
" Piccaninny in little house," — describing by gesture
the single break-wind which we had observed from be-
hind the bushes.
'* What are they going to do with the piccaninny?"
said I.
'' Eat her, I'll be bound," said Scroggs; " that's what
they are going to do with her; and they are fattening
her up in that pen as we do a lamb, till she's in good
condition. The bhick villains ! Let us march right at
'em and shoot 'cm down, every one. I'm ready for it I"
" There is something in this," observed the magistrate, .
446 Preparations.
" wLicli I cannot understand. It is difficult sometimes
to penetrate into the motives of savages ; but as they seem
at present to be in a peaceful humour, I think our best
plan is to send on Tom a little in advance to parley with
them, and to assure them that we have no hostile inten-
tions. We can follow immediately behind him on horse-
back, with our arms ready, in case of their showing
fight- but as we shall take them by surprise, I think it
very likely that they will not attempt any resistance.
You all know that it is the particular desire of the Colo-
nial Government, which is conformable, indeed, with
sound policy and with humanity, never to commit an ag-
gression on the natives uselessly and without the most
pressing necessity ; but on all occasions to treat them
with benevolence and tenderness, and to endeavour to
win them over by acts of kindness, instead of alienating
them by the wanton or thoughtless exercise of superior
power."
"If you please, sir," said Sanders, " Musqueeto has
committed more than one murder, and he's a Sydney
black, and ought to know better. We have orders from
Camp to endeavour to take liim if we should have the
opportunity."
"We shall act according to circumstances," replied
the magistrate. " At present, our object is to rescue the
child from the clutches of the savages ; and, in doing
that, we must endeavour to avoid shedding blood."
I agreed with the magistrate in the propriety of his
mode of action, and altliough I had a strong presenti-
ment that there would be a murderous conflict, I relied
on the superiority of our arms and our horses, and had
little doubt of the result.
Approach the Natives. 447
"We descended the hill, therefore, and forming our-
selves into the order laid down by our leader, we moved
round the hill to the right, that we might reach the
level ground before wo should be perceived by the na-
tives, and, advancing at a moderate pace, we soon found
ourselves in front of their curious habitations
A Native Encampment — Conference with Musqueeto — A Savage has
a Soul — The lost Child recovered — How to catch an Opossum — A
Kangaroo hunt by the Natives — The Apparition of Spears and
Waddies excites disagreeable suspicions.
The Sydney black preceded us about twenty yards in
advance, and as soon as he arrived within easy speaking
distance of the natives, we pulled up, and with much
anxiety waited for the issue of his conference. He had
previously resumed his clothes, but it was easy for the
natives to perceive by his colour and his features that he
was allied to their general race. To our extreme sur-
prise — although the aborigines of Van Diemen's Land
have a strong antipathy to the natives of the continental
island — our messenger was allowed to approach their
fires without exciting the slightest visible sensation.
Their simulated unconcern might have been produced,
perhaps, by the sight of our party on horseback ; but the
strangeness of this unexpected apathy, on the part of
Musqueeto and his companions, made us fear some
treachery, and we looked round to try if we could per-
ceive any appearance of an ambuscade ; but wc could
detect nothing to excite suspicion. I have often had
occasion to observe the dull, listless, and almost idiotic
appearance of the natives of Van Diemen's Land, when
not excited by hunger or some passionate desire. It has
struck me that in this respect they much resemble the
(448)
A Native Encampment. 449
unthinking beasts of tlie fields, so inanimate and log-like
in their usual manner. The women will sometiines
chatter a little, for it seems nature makes them all alike
as to that matter, but the men have the most reserved
and taciturn habit of any race of savages that I have
known or read of. The strange contrast of their silence
and immobility, with the yells and wildness for which
we were prepared, filled us with a vague sort of super-
stitious fear, which was heightened by the chilly
stillness of the vast wilderness in which we were now
enclosed.
In the mean time a monosyllabic ''corrobara" had
taken place between our guide and the chief of the sable
community, the meaning of which Tom concentrated in
the following brief communication : —
" Musqueeto say, you come."
" Why, what is the meaning of this ?" said the magis-
trate. *' They don't show any signs of fear, nor do they
look as if they thought of fighting ! Is there some strat-
agem in this ? what do you think of it, Thornley ?"
" Upon my word," I replied, " this takes me so much by
surprise, I don't know what to think of it. Sanders,
you know their ways, do you see any of their waddies
or spears about ?"
" One can never tell, sir," said Sanders, "what those
treacherous savages are at ; they're always hatching some
deviltry or other. You see, sir, I take it, we have come
on one of their places for encamping, if you can call
those bits of break-winds camps. But Musqueeto can
be civil enough, sometimes. Scroggs, you've often come
across Musqueeto, what is he after now ?"
"He's always after some wickedness," responded
29
450 Precautions Against Treachery.
Scroggs ! '' but I think the natives are going to have a
feast. Don't you see that string of opossums yonder, by
the blue gum-tree ? and there's something hanging up
inside the bushes ; — the Lord have mercy on us, it must
be the child I and the black devils are going to cook it
for their dinner !"
" The child !" exclaimed the magistrate; " no, impos-
sible ! — Tom saw the child alive a quarter of an hour
ago ! Go, Tom, ask Musqueeto if he has got the white
man's piccaninny."
Tom made the inquiry, accordingly, and presently re-
turned with a reply.
"Musqueeto say, white man kill piccaninny; Mus-
queeto kill white man. Piccaninny in piccaninny house
—there."
''This is very extraordinary," said the magistrate;
" the most extraordinary thing that has occurred to me
in all my adventures in the colony. What can be
Musqueeto's object in this ? However, as they seem
quietly disposed, let us advance close to them, and try
to get possession of the poor child by peaceable means."
'' Better let two of us stand on guard, in case of any
attack," suggested the constable; "no need, sir, for us
all to be sacrificed."
" That's a very prudent precaution, Sanders ; do you
and Scroggs remain here in charge of the horses, and I
and Mr. Thornley will go to them on foot — that is, if
Mr. Thornley has no objection."
"None in the least," said I; "the best way with
savages, and all animals in general, is to show that you
have no fear of them."
" Better take my bottle of rum," suggested Scroggs,
The Savage in His Lair. 451
in the exuberance of his generosity ; '' let Mu.-^quceto
have a sup at it, aud perhaps that will put him in good
humour/'
''No, no," said the magistrate, "keep the rum till
•we want it. A savage is awkward enough to deal with
when he is sober, but, with a little rum in hira he is
worse than a madman. Now, Thornley, let us go among
them boldly."
Accordingly we went up to Musqueeto, who was stand-
ing by one of the fires in front of the little wigwam in
which we had been given to understand the little girl
of whom we were in search, was secreted. He had, I
thought, the same stupid and sullen look which I had
remarked on other occasions, as he stood in the listless
and dozing attitude which was usual with hira when not
engaged in any hunting or predatory expedition. A
close investigation, however, might detect in his half-
shut, but ever restless eyes, a watchfulness that allowed
nothing to escape his observation. I confess it was not
without a little nervous apprehension, and some slight
bumping in the region of my leftside, that I approached
the formidable savage in his lair. He raised up his
eyes and glanced at us, but gave no sign of recognition,
or of being affected by our presence.
We remained for a brief space in this unpleasant posi-
tion, with the awkward feeling of having intruded on a
gentleman's privacy without an invitation. Neither of
us spoke — my friend being under the same difficulty as
myself to hit upon an appropriate topic by which to
commence a conversation with this chief of a band of
savages, and the usual salutation of a " very fine day,"
seeming to me, under the circumstances, inappropriate
452 A Consultation Dinner.
to the individual and the occasion ; but I was relieved
by the magistrate breaking silence.
"Much kangaroo, Musqueeto, in this part of the
country?"
"Boomah — there," replied Musqueeto, pointing out
an immense kangaroo in the bushes, which had attracted
the attention of the horrified Scroggs.
My excellent friend presuming, I suppose, that eating
and drinking among friends facilitated conversation, and,
being stimulated besides by certain internal promptings
that his fast had continued for more than a reasonable
time, immediately intimated to his new acquaintance his
inclination for a steak.
Musqueeto uttered a few words to one of his retinue,
and without further ceremony, some pieces of the kan-
garoo were brought to us ; we motioned to them to put
the venison on the fire, which they did with a readiness
to oblige which inspired us with some confidence in their
present sincerity.
When the meat was cooked, we sat down on the
ground, on which Musqueeto also squatted down oppo-
site. Some of his companions stood at a little distance,
eyeing us with much curiosity, but without rudeness ;
and in this way, with a charming absence of all ceremony,
we partook of a sociable meal with our new acquaintance,
but in perfect silence.
Thinking the occasion favourable, I suggested to my
friend the expediency of propitiating our host by a glass
of rum, as an appropriate introduction to the object of
our iourney. The magistrate agreed with me, and called
quietly to Scroggs to bring the bottle and a pannikin.
I observed that Musqueeto gave a flash of his eye at
MusQUEETo's Suspicion. 453
the magistrate's call, and gathered up his legs under
him, ready for a spring, upon which I instantly called
to Scroggs,
" Show the bottle of rum \"
ScroETSs raised on high his long-cherished bottle, at
the view of which, I saw that Musqueeto's eyes resumed
their usual expression, and he quietly returned to his
former position of repose. Meanwhile the disappointed
Scroggs, with his mouth watering at the sight of a re-
past in which he did not share, and his eyes becoming
tearful at the prospect of the total consumption of his
beloved rum, approached with slow and reluctant steps
to resign his treasure.
" These savages, sir," said he, in an insinuating way,
to the magistrate, "are very suspicious — very. If you
like, sir, I will taste a little of the rum first — that he
may see it is all right, and that we mean no harm to
him. Allow me to take out the cork ?"
"Make haste back," said the magistrate, "and mount
your horse, that you may be ready to act in case of need.
This rum may be of service to us, and we don't want it
for our own drinking ; we can get plenty more when we
go home."
So saying, my friend took summary possession of the
bottle, which the disconsolate Scroggs relinquished with
a pitiable sigh, and the salt and savour of life having
now departed from him, he resumed his seat lugubriously
on the back of his horse with his hapless body, leaving
bis soul behind him in the bottle.
The magistrate poured into the pannikin a portion of
the rum with the same seriousness with which it might
be supposed he would have offered a libation to the in-
454 A Savage has a Soul!
fernal gods, and proffering it to the presiding deity of
the spot, that condescending personage turned it down
with an off-handed dexterity which would have done
honour to an inhabitant of the far-famed St. Giles in
the mother country, and with gusto which overcame the
habitual reserve of a native. He evinced his delecta-
tion at the imbibing of the liquor by a grim smile, which
made me involuntarily grasp my fowling-piece a little
closer, and slapping his breast he held out the pan-
nikin for a fresh supply. But we thought this a fit
opportunity to enter into some sort of treaty for the re-
storation of the child.
" Musqueeto kill white man ?" said the magistrate;
" why Musqueeto kill white man ?"
" White man great rascal," replied Musqueeto, "try
kill piccaninny — Musqueeto kill him."
"Why Musqueeto take piccaninny?" pursued my
friend; ''Musqueeto want to keep piccaninny and make
her gin to black man ?"
Musqueeto shook his head, and it seemed to me if
he had known how he would have laughed at this in-
quiry.
" Piccaninny white !" said he; *'not good for black
man."
" Why take piccaninny ?" persisted my friend ; '' why
save her from bad white man ?"
It seemed that Musqueeto suddenly understood what
the magistrate was driving at, for his countenance as-
sumed an appearance almost of intelligence, and he im-
mediately replied : —
'' Gypsey's piccaninny ; Gypsey die ; Gypscy good to
Musqueeto — he Musquceto's brother ; Musqueeto not
let bad white man kill Gypsey's piccaninny."
1 M U S Q U K E T ' S I{ R T II E R ! 455
My friend and I gazed at cath other with astonish-
ment at these words, and reading each other's thoughts,
we could not but admire the strange concatenation of
events which had preserved the life of the bush-ranger's
daughter from such imminent perils ! But as I had been
constituted guardian of that deceased character's child, I
considered that there was a means of easy understanding
if I could make the native comprehend the nature of my
legal and social position in respect to his temporary
ward.
"Gypsey," said I, '* Musqueeto's brother."
" Gypsey, Musqueeto's brother," repeated the black
chief.
Thought I to myself the Gypsey's family would not
consider themselves very much flattered by this unex-
pected claim on their -relationship by my black friend
here, but at any rate he has done one good action to
atone for his multitude of crimes, and so I will not flinch
from claiming my right to be considered as a member of
the family.
"Musqueeto," said I, "you know me?" He had
been more than once at my house with his mob, and had
been regaled with damper and boiling hot tea plentifully
sweetened with brown sugar, not forgetting an occasional
glass of rum.
"You Mister Thornley?" said Musqueeto.
' Yes," said I ; " and I Gypsey's brother !"
Musqueeto gave me a quick look, which none but a
savage could give, in which was expressed the blended
wonder and suspicion which my assumption of relation-
ship with the Gypscy had excited, and I continued —
" Gypsey IMusquceto's brother; Gypsey Thornley's
brother; Thornley Musqueeto's brother."
45G An Australian Beauty.
I wished to lead the savage, bj this ingenious process
of ratiocination, as my friend the magistrate called it
in his jocose way, to consider me as an intimate friend
and relation, for my object was to get possession of the
child, with his concurrence, so as to avoid bloodshed.
Musqueeto mused, I observed, for a while, on these
words, and then, with the caution of the saA'age, he
asked —
" Why you Gypsey's brother?"
"The Grypsey," said I, ''when bad white man kill
him, say to me — ' Give bread and meat to my picca-
ninny — little, so big' " — said I, describing the size of a
child of six or seven years of age. "I say to Gypsey,
Thornley Gypsey's brother."
Musqueeto rose from his sitting position when I had
said this, and spoke to one of his people, who disappeared,
and presently returned with a tall and slender young
lady of a bright black colour, who, from her air and
pretentions we immediately concluded was the favourite
giu of the grim Musqueeto. A soldier's old jacket,
without buttons, and which, with a graceful negligence
remained open in front, formed an airy spencer suitable
for summer or for winter Avear, and a red cotton hand-
kerchief tied around her woolly black poll gave her a
superior air, which distinguished her from her less
favoured associates of the seraglio. No other article of
dress than that of which w^e have made modest mention,
prevented the free exercise of her supple and well-formed
limbs. As an honest historian I am obliged to record
that her nose was very broad and very flat, but her eyes
were large and bright. Various coquettish devices,
depicted in a mixture of resinous guin and red ochre,
The Child Recovered! 457
formed a striking relief to the monotonous hue of her
sable skin, and a fish-bone, stuck through her nose,
added a finish to the splendour of her personal appear-
ance.
To this amiable divinity Musqueeto gave some brief
du'ections, and the lady, retiring, quickly re-appeared,
leading by the hand the timid and shrinking form of
the Gypsey's daughter. I have often thought that when
her fancy reeals, in after life, the romantic scones of her
early youth, the recollection of this memorable day must
form a curious contrast with her present fortunes. She
raised up her large black eyes, which instantly reminded
xne of the last wild look of the Gypsey bushranger, and
sought among us for some familiar face ; but meeting
only with the countenances of strangers, she cast them
down again in disappointment and sadness, as if doubt-
ful whether to regard the white strangers as friends or
foes.
"Georgiana," said I, softly.
The little thing started at the secret name, and clasp-
ing her tiny hand, she stood with one foot advanced,
trembling and irresolute, while she searched me with
her lustrous eyes, to discover in me some trace of a
former friend.
I think I never saw so beautiful a child ; she was the
very picture of loveliness, and possessed that indefina-
ble and irresistible charm with which infancy and inno-
cence never fail to move the coldest human heart.
Struck with the desolate condition of the child, and
possessed with the sacred nature of the trust that I had
taken on me, I held out my arms, and said to her in
tones which touched her little heart —
458 The Savages Affected.
'' Come to me,my poor little orphan girl ; you shall be
a daughter among my children, and I will be a friend
and a father to you."
The child screamed with sudden joy ; bursting into
tears she bounded into my arms, and with passionate sobs
hid her little face in my bosom.
The very savages were affected by the scene. The
women gathered round us, gazing with earnest interest,
and the harsher lineaments of the faces of the men be-
came softened at the touch of nature, which makes the
whole world kin.
" Look out, sir !" cried Sanders, who with Scroggs
had approached in this moment of excitement close to
the mingled group ; " Take care, they don't take you at
a disadvantage. You never know when to trust a na-
tive."
" You've dropped the bottle," whined Scroggs ; " there
it is under your legs, and in another moment it will be
broken, and all the rum will be lost."
"And now," said the magistrate to me, "let us get
back to some place of settlement without loss of time,
while we are all in good humour. We can easily carry
the child with us on horseback. Now, my men," he
continued to the constables, "keep your eyes about
you ; home's the word."
" I've had no dinner," said Scroggs, with a woeful
face. " I declare I feel as if my two sides would come
together, I'm so empty. I've taken in my handkcr-
cliicf round my middle twice ; the next tie I shall come
quite in two."
" It will not do," said I, " to attempt going back
without a supply of provisions ; and vtO have no dogs
How toCatch an Opossum. 459
with us to pull a kangaroo. That was a sad mistake ;
you should never go into the bush without kangaroo
dogs ; they are at once sentinels and purveyors."
"Let us try the natives," said the magistrate; "per-
haps they can help us to some provisions."
" Musquecto, can you get some kangaroo for us?"
" Kangaroo ? Yees."
He gave some directions to his followers, who entered
into the project with much alacrity, and they immedi-
ately commenced their preparations, sharpening up their
spears and getting ready their waddies.
It is remarkable that the natives of Van Diemcn's
Land, like the natives of the Continental Island, have
not invented the bow and arrow, although they have
more than one sort of wood well adapted, from its tough-
ness and its straightness, for both purposes. The long
and tough sinews of the kangaroo are well fitted for
bow-strings, and the Van Diemcn's Land natives have
contrived to fabricate from the fibres of the bark of a
tree, to which the name of stringy -bark tree has been given
by the settlers, a sort of rough net in which they deposit
the edible gum which they collect in their journeys;
but they have not applied the sinews of the kangaroo
to the uses which might easily be made of them. Their
only weapons are the spear and the waddy, and the cres-
cent-shaped womera which they hurl at their enemies
in battle, and at the kangaroo in hunting.
The women understanding that we wanted meat for
the piccaninny, one of them approached us with a small
axe made of sharpened stone, in her hand, and laughing
and smiling, and using an abundance of words, which
we could not understand, invited us by jestures, to wit-
460 Extraordinary Feat.
ness lier operations. We accompanied her accordingly ;
the constables, to whom we had distributed the remainder
of our kangaroo dinner, still remaining on guard, with
the difference only, that we thought they might venture
to tether out our horses in a nook where there was a
tolerable show of native grass.
We followed the black woman to the margin of a
forest of stringy-bark trees at a little distance. After
snuffing about for a short time, like a hungry spectator
at the window of a savoury cook-shop, she fixed on a
tree in which, her olfactory organs informed her, opos-
sums dwelt. As she was unencumbered by any article
of apparel, she had no occasion to take off her clothes to
perform her dangerous exploit, which we presently un-
derstood was to ascend the naked stem of the tall tree
after an opossum. The woman first made an incision on
the bark of the tree not much more than sufficient to re-
ceive her great toe, at about two or three feet from the
ground. Placing her toe in the gap, she raised herself
up, sustaining her weight on that single member of her
foot, aided by a sort of clinging to the tree, which was
far too thick to be embraced with one hand and arm ;
with her other arm she made a second incision with her
native axe, and repeating her operation at the necessary
intervals, she rapidly ascended the tree to a height of at
least fifty feet, before she reached its spreading branches.
In the fork of the trunk, in a little hollow, was an opos-
sum, which she quickly pulled out and killed. Holding
the animal in one of her hands, she descended the tree
with an agility which excited our admiration, and with
a rapidity and apparent carelessness that made us tremble.
I had often heard talk of the natives performing this
Power of Finery. 461
feat, but I had never witnessed it before, and it was with
the most lively curiosity, therefore, that I watched the
operation. I felt quite relieved when she placed her
foot safe on the ground, although she did not seem aware
that she had done anything extraordinary. Holding the
dead opossum by one ear, she gave it, laughing, to my
little charge, and, with nods and laughter, retired. I
was at a loss how to reward this act of unaffected kind-
ness, when luckily, recollecting that I had a purple silk
handkerchief in my pocket, I presented it to our sable
benefactor; and I had the satisfaction to observe, from
the deference, mixed, I thought, with a little female
envy, which was paid to her by her less fortunate com-
panions, and from their eager examination and lively
admiration of the finery, that I had conferred on her a
gift of no trifling importance. She immediately tied it
round her waist, and casting a triumphant glance at the
sultana with the red cotton handkerchief, much iu the
same way as a young lady in the old country, in the
conscious superiority of a new bonnet, of the latost
foshion, regards a humiliated rival in an old one, she
took a seat on the log of a fallen gum tree, in an atti-
tude of easy dignity — not courting, but submitting to
the admiration which she excited.
In the meantime, the preparations for the chase of the
kangaroo, after the fashion of the natives, were com-
pleted, and Musqueeto, summoning the united strength
of his establishment, male and female, old and young,
we sallied forth from the encampment, leaving tlio con-
stables to guard the horses. Holding the little Georgi-
ana by her hand, for she would not quit me for an in-
stant, I and the magistrate accompanied the mob, which
462 A Kangaroo Chase
consisted of five-and-twenty persons, two or three females
remaining behind to take care of the children, half a
dozen of which had emerged from some back recesses on
the occasion of this general activity.
I did not much like the distribution of a bundle of
spears among the men who all had waddieS; which they
held in their hands with their spears.
'^ I hope," said I to the magistrate, " that all will go
on well; if these savages should become excited by the
hunt, they might try a spear on us."
''Especially/' replied my friend, "if Musqueeto, or
one of his fellows should recognise you as the hero who
gave them those disagreeable doses of swan-shot from the
hut among the hills some time since."
" Oh !" said I, " I had a beard of ten days' growth
then, and my dress was entirely difierent."
" That may be ; but these savages have sharp eyes, and
they never betray their emotions till the opportunity ar-
rives for action. Those spears and waddies make one
feel very disagreeable. Heaven grant that this hunting
may not prove as disastrous as the Chevy Chase in times
of yore."
With these doubts and fears we should have been glad
to back out of this ticklish expedition, but it was too
late.
Cjjnjittr JPurtij-first.
A Kangaroo Hunt by the Natives — Thoy recognise an old Enemy
— The Flight — The Skirmish — The Attack renewed — Scrogg's
generous Devotion — Return to the Clyde — Crab resolves to leave
the Country.
The usual torpidity of the natives was now changed
to the most lively activity, in which the women, and
even the youngest children, joined. The men jabbered
to one another, the women chattered all together, and
the children cut little savage capers, casting juvenile
spears at one another in sport and frolic. I made our
guide understand that we wished him to warn us of any
appearance of treachery, but he had no apprehension of
any hostile intentions.
" No want to fight now," said he j '' hunt kangaroo."
We observed, however, that he did not mingle with
the natives in their proceedings, but with a sort of in-
stinct that he was safer in our immediate vicinity than
among the ** black fellows," as he called them, he kept
close to our side.
The naked group made their way to the rear of the en-
campment, and, at the distance of about half a mile,
Musqueeto assumed the management of the hunt. He
directed half of his party to proceed, as Tom interpreted
to us, to a distance of about four miles from the spot
where we stood, and another party to extend themselves
(403)
464 Native Kangaroo Hunt.
circularly to the right, while others made a similar cir-
cuit to the left. By these means it was intended to en-
close a circle, and to » drive all the game to the centre.
In the dry season it is the practice of the natives to set,
fire to the woods and so dislodge the game, which they
slaughter as it flies from the flames towards their am-
buscades. But, on the present occasion, as the grass will
not burn in the winter season, they were obliged to
pursue a more laborious expedient.
Musqueeto now sat down on the grass, and we followed
his example, stationing ourselves on the log of a tree,
and Tom informed us that we should have to wait till the
first detachment of natives reached their destination be-
fore it would bo time for us to advance.
We endeavoured, in the meanwhile, to engage Mus-
queeto in conversation, but he was not inclined to talk,
and seemed to be engaged in some mental calculation.
" This is a new scene," observed the magistrate; " I
little thought that you and I should be engaged in a himt-
ing expedition with our equivocal acquaintance here."
" I hope it may all end well," said I. " Since you
have hinted about their recognising me, I have had very
disagreeable sensations. A fight with the savages would
be an awkward affair, encumbered as we should be with
our little charge impeding our motions."
The girl crept closer to me at the expression of these
fears, but said nothing.
"It was only a few days ago," said the magistrate^
"that I was reading a specious argument of a French
writer in favour of natural over civilised life ; I am in-
clined to think that if the eloquent sophist had possessed
the experience which wc have of these savages — whose
Primitive state of Society. 465
condition may be considered as the very perfection and
model of the primitive state of society which the Gcne-
vese philosopher extolled — he would have modified his
opinion."
" The natives of Van Diemen's Land," said I, " seem
to be but one degree removed from the animal creation —
a sort of connecting link between man and the brute.
Having only one idea above the brute, and that is — to
eat him ! But they have only one brute to eat — to
wit, the kangaroo. In my opinion, the degraded con-
dition of the natives of this island may be ascribed in a
great measure to the nature of the country itself. There
is no fruit, herb, or root indigenous to the soil which is
fit for the sustenance of man, and no animal, like an
ox, a sheep or a goat, capable of being domesticated so as
to furnish a regular supply of food. The only animal
fit to eat, apart from the opossum and such nasty things,
is the kangaroo, and to catch the kangaroo the natives
must be continually shifting their ground ; consequently
they are prevented from acquiring any fixed habitation,
and are deprived of the advantage of those domestic
habits which seem to form the first step in the progress
of civilization."
''Could you ever find out," said I, "whether they
have any idea of a Divine Being ?"
*' All that inquirers have been able to make out," re-
plied my friend, " is, that they have a belief in an evil
spirit, which seeks to do them harm, but they cannot
discover any notion among them of a good or creative
spirit. Cook and Flinders have described long ago the
religious, or rather the superstitious ceremonies of the
Sydney natives ; but the aborigines of this island cither
30
466 Excitement of the Chase.
do not practise tte same comicalities, or we have not
been able to witness them."
" Our ignorance of their language," I observed, " must
be an obstacle to our acquiring a correct knowledge of
their religious belief, or of their customs."
''No doubt; but their language, so far as we can un-
derstand it, seems capable of expressing only the most
simple ideas ; and indeed it is only the most simple ideas
that they want to express."
" They are good mimics," said I.
' ' So are all savages ; and many animals excel in the
same way; birds imitate sounds, and monkeys imitate
gestures. But our host is getting up ; I suppose the sport
is about to begin."
Musqueeto rose languidly from the ground, and ejacu-
lated an order right and left to the natives within hear-
ing, who repeated the word till it was lost in the dis-
tance. We then moved forward, Musqueeto taking, or
seeming to take little notice of us, and retaining his usual
sulky, stupid look. But as the shouts of his comrades
grew louder and louder, and the distant view of the game
occasionally met his eye, the passions of the savage were
roused up, and his listless demeanour rapidly changed to
that of intense animation, as he grew hot in the excite-
ment of the hunt. The spirit of the savage now began
to develope itself, and it was with hideous sounds and
frantic gestures, which I should in vain attempt to de-
scribe, that he performed his part towards frightening
the game into the centre of the circle, which at wide in-
tervals, was formed around the scared and terrified ani-
mals. But these intervals, as wc continued our advance,
gradually grew less and less, till we came within hearing
MusQUEETO Kills nis Game. 467
of those who fonncd the farthest verge of the enclosure.
As the circle narrowed, and as we caught occasional
glimpses of a terrified kangaroo, the cries and antics of
Musqueeto, and the other natives to the right and left,
who wiere in sight, became more violent and furious, and
the black naked savages, rattling their spears and bran-
dishing their waddies, and screaming and dancing about
in the most raging state of excitement, resembled a band
of demons engaged in some infernal orgies. And now,
with immense strides, a monstrous kangaroo standing six
feet high, and with his gigantic tail heaving up and
down behind him, hopped past us to the left. Mua-
(jueeto saluted him with a spear, which stuck in his
shoulder, but broke off among the bushes; he was met
by the natives at their post, who drove him back again
by their shouts. Musqueeto darted out to meet him, and
before the animal could stop itself in its career, he struck
it sharply on the crown with his waddy. The creature
shook its beautiful head and ears a little, stunned by the
stroke, and Musqueeto, taking advantage of its confu-
sion, repeated his blows, nimbly avoiding the dashes
which the kangaroo made at him with the formidable
claws of its hind feet, till he brought him to the ground.
A yell of triumph proclaimed this first success, and
Musqueeto, no longer the apathetic native which he so
lately appeared, now exhibited himself in all the ferocity
of the savage. His blood was up from his struggle with
the kangaroo, and his exertions had lashed him into a
state of almost ungovernable fury. Seeing him in this
state we repented having engaged in this perilous sport,
but to withdraw at such a moment would have excited
the suspicion, and perhaps the anger of the natives. We
468 A Sportsman's Habits.
kept our fire-arms ready, therefore, and endeavoured to
preserve our coolness and presence of mind in the midst
of the general excitement.
The circle had now become narrowed as close as was
desired, and we saw five kangaroos — foresters — in the
middle, and one prodigious fellow, whom the natives
greeted with the title of boomah ! boomah ! Three of
the foresters were quickly dispatched with spears and
waddies, but the boomah ! stood in the midst looking
with a sort of defiance on his enemies, who pressed upon
him. Several spears were soon fixed in his body. He
gave a bound as each sharp missile pierced his skin ; but
he still stood erect seeking for a passage through the ranks
of his assailants. At last, as a party of three or four
rushed at him from the point opposite to us, and tried to
reach his head with their waddies, he gave a sudden
plunge, and bounding towards the spot where the magis-
trate, with me and the little girl, were standing in silence,
he efiected his escape beyond the circle. Musqueeto
stamped on the ground with rage and passion at the loss,
and at that moment, the habit of the old sportsman taking
possession of me, I raised up my piece and selecting the
right-hand barrel, which always contained a ball, I fired;
I was lucky enough to hit the back of its head, the ball
passing through it. The animal made no cry, for the
kangaroo never utters any sound, and giving one last
tremendous bound into the air, fell dead. At the report
of my fowling-piece the cries of the natives instantly
cdased, and they became motionless as statutes, casting
rapid glances of suspicion and fear at me and at one
another. This sudden silence succeeding the furious
outcries of the preceding moment had a peculiar and
The Constables Alarmed. 469
startling effect. I immediately ran to tlic game, and first,
with the precaution of an old settler in the bush, I re-
loaded my piece, the natives gazing at me in silence. I
then beckoned to the nearest native to come to me, point-
ing to the kangaroo, and inviting him by gestures to take
the animal ; he hesitated, and looked at the others.
Calling black Tom, I bade him explain to the natives
that 1 considered the game belonged to them, and as
Boon as they understood my meaning they came forward,
but slowly and doubtingly. Musqueeto, however, came
up without ceremony, and, examining the venison with
the precision of a connoisseur, he evinced unqualified de-
light at the prize. Four natives, uniting their strength,
contrived to carry the kangaroo to their encampment,
which was at no great distance ; while the rest went for-
ward to make preparations for a feast. Before we ar-
rived at the fires we were met by the two constables, who
had been alarmed by the report of my piece. They had
lost no time in throwing the saddles on the horses, and
had started immediately to our assistance.
''We feared that you were in for it," said Sanders;
*< and Scroggs was all ready for a scrimmage, for he's no
flinchcr when it comes to business — and that's the use of
him."
"It's no use," said Scroggs, "to stand shilly-shally-
ing ; the best way is to shoot 'em down at once, and
then you're sure they can't do you any harm. Never
trust a native !"
"Better mount your horse, sir," advised Sanders;
"they've got their spears and their waddies ready in
their hands, and there's no knowing when they may be
inclined to use them. Look at those three black
470 A Suspicious Confidence.
guards yonder jabbering together, and pointing to Mr.
Thornley."
''They are talking about his capital shot," replied
the magistrate, " and wondering, perhaps, how it was
done."
" May-be, sir ; but I don't like the way they left off
when we looked at them. Better be on our guard, sir."
We had no apprehension of any violence being at-
tempted, but we thought it best to be ready, so we took
our horses from the constables and led them by the bri-
dle. I put the child on mine, telling her not to be
frightened, but to hold on fast by the mane. In this
order we proceeded back to the fires, and the natives
distributed themselves about, the game being cast in the
middle of the open space. I saw two snakes lying by
the side of the kangaroos, and I asked Tom what they
were going to do with them.
" Eat 'em," said Tom j " snake good — eat many snake
at Sydney."
As he spoke, a native took up the snakes, and, without
skinning them, or performing any other operation of
cleanliness, threw them on the fire ; and after they had
been done to his mind, he and one or two others, who
seemed to have a right to partake, devoured them with
much apparent satisfaction.
They now proceeded to dismember the' largest of the
kangaroos, and as the pieces of flint, which served as
knives, were but clumsy tools to work with, I took out
my bush-knife and presented it to Musquccto. The
knife contained one powerful blade and a smaller one,
with a saw. I opened the saw, and explained its use to
the natives around, who were much struck with the con-
Natives' Curiosity. 471
trivance; but the large blade pleased them most. Mus-
queeto condescended, on this occasion, to make use of
his new acquisition, by cutting to pieces the kangaroo.
IIo first cut off the head, which he threw on one side,
and then separated the shoulders and body from the
loins, and with more politeness than I had given him
credit for, he pushed towards us the hind quarters — the
best part of the animal — inviting us to take it. Sanders,
dismounting, threw it over the pommel of his saddle,
and resuming his seat, urged us to lose no time in set-
ting out, as we were now supplied with sufficient pro-
vision to last until we should reach sonic stock-hut, or
settler's farm. We mounted accordingly, but the mag-
istrate and I lingered for a few moments to observe the
curiosity with which the natives examined the head of
the kangaroo, which had been pierced by the ball from
my fowling-piece. From the examination of the hole
through the head, they were led to the examination of the
instrument that effected it, and three or four of them
crowded around me, pointing eagerly to the ornamental
stock which was studded with bright silver nails, and
had a broad piece of silver plate on the bend of the
stock, usually placed there to receive the engraving of
the name. As I had held the stock of my piece under
my right arm, the natives had not had the opportunity
of observing it before, but now they gazed on it with an
expression of eagerness and surprise as if they recognized
it as an old acquaintance.
'' Look out, sir," said Sanders, '' the same three sav-
ages that we remarked jabbering together before, have
got their eyes on your fowling-piece."
" Thornley," said the magistrate, earnestly, " I am
472 The Natives Attack Us.
sure you are recognized ; those natives remember your
piece ; we had better be off. Do you go first with the
child, and I with the two constables will bring up the
rear, three abreast. Can Tom run at a pinch ?"
"As fast as you can canter," said Sanders.
" Move on then, and let us lose no time."
I and the magistrate mounted our horse.s, when a yell
broke out from the clustering savages, which made the
woods ring again ; a yell so loud and thrilling, that it
made our horses start and champ their bits. Had any
other stimulus been wanting to hasten our movements,
it now appeared in the shape of a spear thrown by a
willing arm at me, but which missed and stuck in the
flank of Scroggs's horse. The animal did not wait for
a second spurring, nor Scroggs for a second hint, and
the sight of this open declaration of war operated on us
all. With one accord we gallopped off round the base
of the hill, Tom preceding us, who, however, was
quickly left behind. Seeing this, the magistrate called
out to us to pull up, and he directed Sanders to let Tom
mount behind him as the ground was level, till we got
beyond the reach of the natives. The delay, however,
enabled the natives to intercept us at the turn of the
hill, and we encountered them standing on the bank on
our right. We sheered our horses off beyond the reach
of their spears, but a womcra, cast by some vigorous
native, struck Scroggs's horse on the hind leg, and
caused a temporary halt.
" Steady," cried the magistrate, " we have a clear field
and no trees." A shower of spears interrupted his speech.
'' Sanders, pick off that native to the right, with the
bundle of spears in his left hand."
The Fight Continued. 473
The constable fired, and the native fell. At this
check the rest retreated among the trees and bushes.
" Now, Scroggs, my man, you must make your horse
go; man's life is worth more than a horse's. Keep up
for four-and-twenty hours, and we are safe."
But we could make but slow progress with the crip-
pled horse, and we would not leave the man behind.
We jogged on, therefore, for another hour, skirting a
thick wood to our right, till we came to the base of a
scrubby hill.
" Now, sir," said Sanders, "if the natives are deter-,
mined to make a fight of it, this is the place where they'll
do it. They have found out that Mr. Thornley is the
same white man whom they fought with before, and no
doubt he killed some of their relations at that time, and
the survivors will have blood for blood ; it's always the
way with the natives."
" How was it," said I, '' that Musqueeto was so quiet
then ? he must have known me."
" You see, sir, he's a Sydney native, and doesn't
rightly belong to any tribe in this island. If you had
hurt one of his gins, that would have been another mat-
ter, for the natives are like the whites in that — they
don't like our people to take their gins ; and that's what
gives rise to most of the quarrels between the natives
and the stock-keepers. The stock-keepers entice their
gins away by a tenpenny nail, or a bit of broken glass
bottle, or, best of all, a red handkerchief — there's no-
thing like a bit of red rag to come over a gal with, let
her be black or white, and then the natives don't like it,
and so they have to fight it out."
" And so must we fight it out," said the magistrate,
474 The Native's Challenge.
" for there are the natives coming forward in a body. I
am sorry for it, but if we must defend our lives, the best
way is to act decisively."
By this time we had reached the top of the hill, and
beneath us was a level plain of considerable extent, but
the descent of the hill was very steep and rugged. We
drew ourselves up on a clear space, and waited for the
attack. The natives also drew themselves up at a dis-
tance of about a hundred yards, and one of them, advanc-
ing towards us, with a waddy in his right hand, and a
bundle of spears in his left, began a speech in a loud
but calm voice, using abundant action, but without un-
seemly noise or passion.
" What does he say, Tom ?" said the magistrate.
'' He say you all bad white men."
"And what more ? he must say more than that in that
long speech."
" He say you come take his country, and eat his kan-
garoo, and take his gins. He say you very bad white
men. And he say, this gentleman, Mitter Thornley , very
bad white man indeed ; he kill him brudder — brudder
of black fellow dere — and he say he want Mitter Thorn-
ley to go stand there for him to throw spear at him."
" He sends you a challenge to fight a duel, Thornley,"
said the magistrate. '' As a gentleman and man of honour
you can't refuse, or Blackee will post you."
" Mitter Thornley go tand dere," said Tom, " black
fellow throw one, two, three, many spear at him; then
black fellow no want to fight ; only kill Mitter Thornley ;
then very good friends."
" Come, Thornley," said my friend, laughing, " it is
plain that you must perform the part of Quintus Curtius
on this occasion."
A Parley. 475
" Please, sir," said Scroggs, '' I don't know liow Squint-
ing Curtis managed with the natives, but if we have
only to do with that one jawing away there, we might
buy him off, perhaps, with something that we have about
us. There's the remains of the bottle of rumj offer
him that."
Tom advanced accordingly, calling out "corrobara,"
meaning thereby that he wished for a parley to talk the
matter over a bit with the aggrieved native. Tom pro-
posed that the half bottle of rum should end the affair
amicably, but the offer was indignantly rejected. Tom
reported progress, and the native continued his ha-
rangue, enumerating over and over again the injuries
•which he had received, and the vengeance which he
"would take.
"Let us try him with something more," said, the mag-
istrate, "it is something to get him to negotiate at all
for the price of his revenge; if it is only a question
of amount I think we may manage it. Let us consult
Tom; Tom, what shall we give him?"
"You give bottle of rum; Mitter Thornley's red
handkerchief for his gin; and give him buttons from
your coat."
" My coat buttons !" said the magistrate. " Well, to
save my friend's valuable life, and to prevent a breach of
the peace — for I see Thornley is red hot to fight this duel
— I suppose I must let him have them."
Tom was accordingly despatched with these new
presents; but the native now took a fancy to Tom's
axe, and, after some chaffering, Tom surrendered it.
But there was still a hitch, and our ambassador returned
again.
476 SCROGGS FOR A TARGET.
'' Black fellow say, that, 'cause Mitter Thornley hab
the piccaninny, he throw one little spear at that man
there instead."
" Throw a spear at me !" exclaimed Scroggs, " I won't
have any spears thrown at me ! Tell him to go and be
hanged !"
" Black fellow say," said Tom, '' he must throw one
little spear at somebody, 'cause if he no throw spear all
the mob point finger at him. He say, he no hurt white
man, only stick spear in him a little bit."
"■ Stick a spear in me a little bit !" said Scroggs; "I'll
stand no such thing ! Let him stick his spears into the
gum-trees, if he likes. What am I to have spears stuck
in me for, more than anybody else ?"
" My good fellow," said the magistrate, '' if the sacri-
fice of yourself will have the efiect of preventing a fight,
and of saving the efi"usion of blood, I should advise you
to consent ; but, of course I cannot order you in such a
matter j it is entirely for your own consideration and
generosity to determine whether you will be the means,
for a trifling smart perhaps, to save many human lives.
Remember Quintus Curtius !"
" Squinting Curtis ! He never stood up to have
spears shied at him I'll be bound."
"If you go through this part well," said the magis-
trate, '*I shall certainly recommend you to the governor
for reward and promotion."
" It's very hard," whined Scroggs, "but I am always
to be the one to have the worst hand at the game. It
was my bottle of rum that those black rascals swallowed,
and now that it has got their pluck up, I am to be a
cockshy for that rampaging devil there, that keeps bran-
dishing his spears about."
Money or Life? 477
"I'll tell you what, my man," said I, "I don't think
any harm will come of it, or I would not consent to your
going; but if you'll take the job off my hands, as I've
got the child to take care of, I'll give you a hundred
dollars !"
" Well, said Scroggs, " I'll go, but I dont like it.
You mean a hundred dollars in money, not property ?"
"Yes," said I, " a hundred silver dollars down."
" It's for the sake of the child I go, not the money.
But nobody can say I haven't a right to something for
making a target of myself for that black rascal to stick
his spears in."
" Why, he'll never hit you," said Sanders. " You
have a right to one spear to defend yourself with accord-
ing to the customs of the natives."
'' The desire to get the dollars outweighing his fears,
the doughty constable proceeded to the spot where this
novel sort of monomachia was to take place, and stand-
ing about forty yards from the native, waited with a
most rueful countenance for the commencement of the
ceremony. The native treated him in the first place
with an explanatory and expostulatory harangue, which
the miserable Scroggs received much in the same way as
a criminal listens to the congratulatory condolences of
the executioner before he is turned off. The native
then performed various mystic evolutions, which so pro-
tracted the proceedings, that the impatient Scroggs cried
out —
" D you, if you're going to throw a spear at me,
shy away, and don't keep me waiting in this manner !"
The only word which the black man understood was
the first, which almost all the natives had picked up from
478 How ScROGGs Stands it.
the frequent use of that expletive by the stock-keepers,
■with whom they mostly came in contact; but as he well
knew it was an epithet of vituperation, he took it as a
sign of heroic defiance from the magnanimous Scroggs,
and suddenly stopping short in his fantastic antics, he
cast a spear at the constable, which narrowly missed hia
arm, and whirred rapidly past him for more than twenty
yards.
'' Hulloa," cried Scroggs, " that's too close to be plea-
sant. Take it easy, will you, you ugly blackguard !"
The next spear struck him on his right side, but meet-
ing there with a tobacco-box, it was luckily stopped
from doing further mischief than staving in the lid of it.
But this was too much for Scroggs. Bestowing a hearty
curse on all the natives in the island, and including him-
self in his general execration for being such a fool as to
stand there to be made a sieve of, he ignominiously turned
tail, and the next missile projected by the savage took
effect in his fleshy protuberance behind. Scroggs gave a
roar that might have done credit to a wild bull, and with-
out waiting for further compliments, ran back to us,
Sanders laughing heartily at his condition.
" I say, Scroggs, my boy, you'll never be able to shovr
your wounds that way. Do you remember the sergeant
of the 40th showing us his wounds in front ? It will
never do to leave them behind. Go and let the black
fellow have another shy at your chest, that you may get
honourably marked and look respectable."
" A hundred dollars," said Scroggs, " in dollars, not
property !" pleased to find himself without more hurts.
"Well — I wouldn't mind standing another shy for the
Bame money."
Arrive at Home. 479
The native, wlio had given a yell of triumph when he
saw his victim with tlie speur sticking in behind him,
now gathered up his spoils, and returning to his compan-
ions we saw no more of the natives for that time, and we
proceeded on our way.
We had to sleep one night in the bush, which we
managed as well as we could, and towards the night of
the next day we reached a stock-hut to the east of Salt-
Pan Plains. Here we parted with Tom, the magis-
trate giving him an order on a storekeeper at Launceston,
to supply him with anything he pleased to the amount
of five pounds; and cutting across the country to Oat-
lands, we were glad to repose ourselves at a comfortable
inn. At this place we learnt that the Juinter ha^ sailed
two days before, and as I was anxious to get home with my
charge, I begged the magistrate to proceed to Launceston
and ascertain what had become of the uncle of Georgiana.
I may as well say here, that my friend found that ho
had escaped from the island on board that vessel.
The subsequent diflSculties which my charge had to
eacounter, I shall have to relate in their proper place.
Tlie constables, at my request, accompanied me to the
Clyde, striking across the country by a short cut from
Jericho. I rewarded them liberally for their activity
and good conduct, giving Scroggs an order on the bank
at Hobart Town, for the hundred dollars, according to
my promise. My wife and children received the stranger
with an affectionate kindness and sympathy, which soon
reached her little heart, and in a short time she con-
sidered herself as a child of the family. After recount-
ing my adventures, and my escape from the cavern of
the red-house, my wife scolding me, of course, for my
480 Crab comes Home.
rashness in running such a risk, I lost no time in turn-
ing my attention to the affairs of my farm, which had
been for so long a time interrupted by the various acci-
dents which had befallen me. On inquiring for Crab, I
was informed that he had set out for his sheep-run an
hour or two after I had started for Hobart Town, and
Lad not returned. His absence did not give me any un-
easiness at the time j but another week having passed
away without his appearance, I became alarmed, and be-
gan seriously to think of setting out in search of him.
As we were discussing the matter, towards the close of
the day, we observed our old friend proceeding across
the meadow, in the direction of the house. He seemed
faint and exhausted, and his clothes were dirtied and
stained with travel. He had a bundle on his shoulder,
the weight of which seemed to oppress him, and he
trudged along, leaning on a stick, in a manner unusual
to his vigorous habits. I immediately went out to meet
him, and to assist him into the house. He sat himself
down in the great chair with a deep sigh, casting his
load on the floor, which rattled on the ground with a
jingling crash.
" Thank God V "he said, " I'm at home again. I
thought I should never have seen you any more. Such
a country as this is ! No stage-coach — no nothing !
But it sarves me right; I ought to have left it long ago;
but now I have made up my mind. The next ship that
goes takes me. There's nothing but wretchedness here;
you'll all be ruined and murdered, every one — that's my
opinion."
" Why, what has happened ?" said I; " what on earth
is the matter with you ?"
Crab's Narrative. 481
''What has liappened ? why, everything has happened
that shouldn't happen. I'll tell ye if you'll give me
time; but, first I must have something to eat. Oh!
there's the mutton-chops. Only let mc get a little life
into my body, and then I'll tell ye."
But the adventures of Mr. Crab on tliis memorable
journey must fcrrm the commencement of a new chapter.
31
How Crab sold his Sheep — The embarrassment of Riches — Crab's
Misadventures — He resolves to leave the Colony.
" It's all owing to that bit of land at Cherry-tree Bot-
tom," said Crab, striking the table with his horny hand,
to give greater emphasis to his position, and causing all
the tea-things to give a simultaneous jump at the con-
cussion. " It's all owing to hankerino; after that land
which I had no business with, and it sarves me right,
and it's a judgment on me ! What have I to do with
land in this outlandish place ? If I hadn't let 'em give
me that land I shouldn't have wanted to build a house
on it ; and if I hadn't wanted to build a house on it, T
shouldn't have wanted to sell the sheep, and then I
shouldn't have been plagued with those confounded dol-
lars ! But I'll go by the next ship ! Betsy, my dear,
write a letter for me, there's a good gal."
"With pleasure," said Betsy, who was the old man's
favourite. " Who to ?"
" To the storekeeper at Hobart Town — Mr. Stikitinem."
" What an odd name !"
" He's a sort of Dutchman, my dear, that supplies me
with my things. I'd write myself, but living in this
wretched country has hurt my eyes, and I never could
see to read writing easy. I can make out big print very
well when I know what it's about, as a chapter in tne
(482)
Crab Sells HIS Sheep. 483
Bible or so. But I never did write much, because my
band is hard with holding the plough, and a little thing
like a pen comes unnatural to it."
" What are you going to do with this handkerchief full
of dollars ?" interrupted my wife. " I hope, Mr. Crab,
you are not going to keep them here; it's a dangerous
temptation in the bush."
" That's just what I don't know," observed Crab, sor-
rowfully ; " ever since I've had 'em, that's the very
question that every body has asked me, and the very one
I never could answer. But trouble enough have I had
to get 'em, and I do believe they're the last dollars left in
the colony?"
" You have sold some sheep, I suppose," said I ;
" what did you get for 'em ?"
" Nothing but mortification — and those dollars. One
chap wanted three years' credit, and ho oflFered thirty
shillings a head — and then he offered forty shillings a
head 3 but I said, ' Money down, that's my way of deal-
ing; that's the way I bought 'em, and that's the way I'll
sell 'em.' Then another Launceston chap, he offered to
give me I don't know how many head of cattle for 'em;
and, says I, ' What are they, wild cattle ?' * Of course,'
says he. ' And where may they be ?' says I. ' They're
somewhere near Circular Head,' says he. 'Then,' says
I, ' they may stay at Circular Head till their heads grow
where their tails are; I'll have nothing to do with wild
cattle, that go scampering about all over the island, and
you never know where to find 'em when you want
'em.' At last a new settler, that had heard that mine
were fine-wooled sheep, came and said he'd buy four hun-
dred of 'em."
484 Crab SELLS his Sheep.
'' ' How do you mean to pay ?' said I. ' Bant notes/
said he, ' of the Bank of Diemen's Land.'
" I don't know how it was — I was over-persuaded, for
he was a terrible talking chap, and if ever any one had
the git^ of the gab, it was he. And so we went to my
sheep-run at the back of Norfolk Plains, and then the
dispute began. He wanted to pick the ewes, all the
young 'uns, and the best, though, for the matter of that,
they're all good; but I said ' No ! that's a thing I won't
anyways permit. Take 'em as they run out of the
yard.' Then he talked at me I suppose for half an hour,
to convince me that the buyer had a right to pick 'em;
but I wasn't going to be convinced by the likes of him,
and so I said, ' Take 'em or leave 'em, a pound a head's
my price, money down, as they run out of the yard.'
Then he proposed that we should each pick one till he
had taken his four hundred. Well, I thought that was
reasonable, and so we managed it that way. When
he had pitch marked 'em with his brand, and was going
to drive 'em away, says I — ' Where's the money ?'
* Give me a pen and ink,' said he, in an off-hand way,
'and I'll give you a check.' 'A check,' says I, 'I
want none of your checks — it's the money I want.'
'Then,' says he, 'you must come with me to Launces-
ton, for I'm not such a fool as to carry money about with
me, and there I'll get you the cash,' 'That's all very
well,' said I, ' but in this country we never let the sheep
go without the money. So, if you please, the four hun-
dred sheep that you've marked must stay here till I'm
paid for 'em.' ' Very well,' said he.
" And he gave you the money at Launceston, I sup-
pose ?" said I.
IsPaidinNotes. 485
" You bball see. G ive me another cup of tea. Let me
tell my story my own way, or else I shall never ha' done.
So I went with him to Launceston, and we had a quart
of port out of the cask at the inn there — it wasn't bad
stuff, but nothing like the beer one gets at a public-
house at home ; and then he wrote a check, as he called
it, and told the landlord to take it to a merchant of the
town, and sure enough he brought back four hundred
bank-notes of four dollars each, as he said, but I couldn't
make out the writing on them, the letters were so flou-
rished about, but I thought it must be all right, as the
landlord was there witnessing it. lie wrote an order for
the sheep to my shepherd, and I signed it ; he asked me
what my christian name was, and I said Samuel, and he
said he shouldn't have guessed it, but he dared say my
shepherd would understand it, and so there I sat with
the four hundred bits of paper before me.
"The landlord came in, and sat down by me, and talked
of the news, and says he, ' Have you heard of the great
failure in Hobart Town ? That flashy cove that was
flying his paper kites hasn't been able to raise the wind
any longer ?' ' Flying paper kites !' said I ; ' what on
earth can a man want to fly kites for ? I used to fly a
kite when I was a boy. . . .' 'I see,' said he, 'you don't
take. Flying kites means issuing these things,' point-
ing to the dollar-notes, ' and then when it comes to pay-
ing them, its 'no eff"ects !'
" What the landlord said had a terible efiect on me,
for all of a sudden it struck me I had parted with my
four hundred prime ewes for four hundred bits of paper
that wasn't good enough to light pipes with. I broke
out into a cold sweat directly.
*< ' Landlord/ said I, * can you take me to the mer-
486 Has them Changed to Dollars.
chant that gave you these notes ?' ' To be sure I can/
said he, '■ it's only a step.' Says I to the merchant, ' I
have a particular reason for wanting silver instead of
paper just now. Couldn't you give me dollars instead
of these notes V 'Certainly,' said he, very polite-like,
' but I should have thought,' said he, ' you would find
dollars very inconvenient to carry about.' ' Not the
least in the world,' said I; so he counted 'em out, and
put 'em in an old guuuy-bag, and then I put the gunny-
bag in my handkerchief, so as to look like a change of
clothes, and hoisting them on a stick over my shoulder
I marched back to the inn. 'That's a large sum of
money,' said the landlord, ' to have in cash; and it's a
great temptation to servants; I hope you are not a-going
to keep it at my inn.' This was the first of my troubles.
* No,' said I, 'I'm going to take myself off home —
dollars and all.' ' I should advise you,' said he, ' not
to let anybody know you have that sum of money about
you; it might bring you to mischief.' 'Never fear,'
said I, ' I know how to take care of myself.'
" After I had had some dinner, I set out, but I found
the dollars a greater weight than I thought for, so I
stopped at a settler's hut about ten miles from Launces-
ton, and sat down, intending to stay the night there.
'' ' What have you got here V said he, trying to lift
up my load, and wondering at the weight of it. ' Why,
they can't bo dollars? and yet they feel like 'em.' 'Dol-
lars,' said his wife, ' Oh, Lord ! we shall all be murdered
in our beds. Pray, Mr. Crab, don't let 'em be here !
You're sure to have been watched, and the prisoners will
try to get 'em, and murder us all. How could you
think of bringing 'em here ?' ' If I have brought 'cm
The Trouble of Hiches. 487
Jiere,' said I, a little hurt-like, ' I can take them away
again. I'll go on to Old Simon's, and he'll give me
lodging for the night, I dare say.'
" The husband didn't want me to go, and said it was
nonsense ; but I saw his wife wished me to be off, so I
shouldered up my dollars, and went on to Old Simon's,
which wasn't above two miles off, by the road side.
" ' Can you give rae a night's lodging ?' said I.
' With all my heart,' said he ; ' Jem, put on some mut-
ton-chops. AVhat have you got here?' said he. 'I'll
tell you at once,' said I, * because I know I can trust
you; I've been selling some sheep, and these are the
dollars I got for 'em.' ' Dollars !' said he ; ' how can
you think of going about with such a heap of dollars ?
You'll be robbed and murdered before you get home.
But let's put 'em out of sight.'
"With that he clapped an empty tripod over 'efa, just
in time, for his man came in a moment after with the meat.
" I had hardly finished eating a few chops, when who
should come in but three strange men ; one was a ticket-
of-lcave man, and the other two were Government men
just arrived, and they were going on to Launceston to
the master that they had been assigned to. Simon gave
ine a look as much as to say, ' here's a mess !' but there
was no help for it; he couldn't well refuse shelter to
travellers on a winter night; so they looked about to sit
themselves down, and says one,
" ' Any harm in moving this tripod, master, to let
this seat come nearer the fire ?'
"Simon gave me another look, and I saw he didn't
like it ; so I got up, and said, ' Take my chair, I've been
sitting by the fire ^11 the evening, and I'm warm
488 Crab's uneasy Night.
puougli ;' so I sat myself down on the tripotl. It wasn't
an easy seat, for the three prongs stuck up very awk-
kard, let alone its being so low ; but I thought that was
the best thing to do ; so I sat there very uncomfortable,
but trying to look easy.
" ' You seem to have rather a hard seat, master,' said
one of the prisoners — kind-like. 'Not a bit,' said I,
for a thought came across me that he had a suspicion of
what I sat there for ; ' not a bit ; I had rather stay
where I am.'
" Then the others offered me their seats, but the more
they wanted me to get up, the more I wouldn't. ' No —
no,' thought I; 'here I'll stick, my fine fellows, till I've
seen you safe out of the house.'
"Old Simon was very fidgety; he had only one spare
bed, which the prisoners oiliered to me, seeing that I was
respectable-looking; but I wouldn't move from my tri-
pod, although the ends grieved me sorely ; and there I
was obliged to stay all night, for I didn't dare to move,
like a hen sitting on eggs; and a more miserable night I
never passed."
We all burst out a-laughing at this narrative, which
made Crab very indignant.
"It's all very well to laugh," said he, "but how
would you like to sit on a tripod all night yourself?"
"Well," said I, "and how did it end?"
" End ! I thought it never would end ! But every
thing ends at last. In the morning the men went away ;
and then old Simon said directly, —
" ' For heaven's sake, Mr. Crab, make haste home. I
haven't had a wink of sleep all night.'
"Says I, 'I won't trouble you long, you may depend
Crab's Riches a Burthen. 489
on it ;' and I tried to get up, but I couldn't. I was so
cramped with sitting, that I was quite stiff, and the tri-
pod seemed to have grown to me."
*' No wonder," said I, " but how did you manage to
get on r
" Old Simon was so wishful to get rid of me and my
load of dollars, that he lent me his bullock-cart to for-
ward me on a bit, and we put the bag of dollars in the
tripod, and covered it over with siftings, to make it look
natural-like. He helped me to lift it into the cart, and
his man drove the bullocks for about a dozen miles, and
then he stopped and looked at me, and then at the bul-
locks. I took that as a hint to get out, but I was sadly
puzzled to know what to do with my money, and the tri-
pod plagued me almost as bad. He took hold of one
side of the tripod and I of the other, and we set it down
by the roadside.
" Bless me,' said he, ' how heavy the old pot has got !
It can't be the siftings ) it's like a pot of dollars.'
" This made me quake, and I looked in his face; but
I saw he said it quite innocent-like, and gave it no more
thought, and so he drove back, and I stood there for
some time, by the side of my money, musing a bit, for I
did' nt well know what to do.
*' Presently I heard a precious noise of whips cracking,
and I saw a lot of cattle a scampering down the road,
that the stock-keepers were driving to the Government
Store at Launceston. There were thirty of 'em or more.
On they came helter-skelter, the stock-keepers after
them, cracking their whips, and hallooing to them to
keep on the road. My first thought was to sit on my
tripod to guard my dollars, but before I could well know
490 Crab Overturned by Cattle.
■what to do, on they came, and as I sat crouched up, they
did'nt see me till they were close upon me, and the
hindmost cattle pushed on the foremost, and the men
urging them on behind with their whips and shouts, be-
fore I could avoid them, they were on me, and one
heifer, giving a snort at me with her nose, and a nuzzle
with her head, tumbled me over and over, tripod and
all, and the stock-keepers damned me as they dashed
by for putting their cattle out of the road, and there I
lay !"^
" Upon my word," said my wife, at this pause — all of
us keeping very grave feces, for we did not dure to laugh
at the mishaps which he told with so much seriousness —
<^ you have been very unfortunate, Mr. Crab ; but how
could you think of carrying such a load of dollars across
the country V
" How could I help it ?" said Crab, angrily; '' I never
had to do so at home ; but in this wretched country
there's no way to carry anything when you want it."
"But why didn't you take the bank-notes ? they would
have been lighter to carry."
" Catch me taking their bank-notes, as they call 'em,"
replied Crab; "do you think T never saw a bank-note
before ? Why, they're no more like real bank-notes than
chalk is like cheese ! No, no, nothing like the silver
dollars."
'' They seem to have been a sad inconvenience to you
on this occasion," said I, "these same dollars. But I
am anxious to know how you managed at last."
"I couldn't manage 'em any how. So I was obliged
to take 'em out of the tripod, and put 'em over my
ehouldcr again, arid then I did'nt know Avhat to do with
S U R R U X D E b BY C O N V I C T S . 491
the tripotl. While I was thiuking, I saw a gentleman
and lady coming along the road in a gig, with a roof to
it, and two horses, one before the other, the same as we
used to put 'em in a cart in Slu-opshire; but they came
spanking along at a precious rate. When I called out
to them to stop, the gentleman pulled up sharp at this,
and says he, ' What's the matter, my man ?' Says I,
' May I make so bold as to ask you, as you've got two
horses to your shay, and one to pull along the other, just
to leave this tripod at old Simon's, about a dozen miles
from here T ' D n your tripod,' says he, ' and you
tpo !' he did, upon my word, although he was a gentle-
man; and the lady laughed and said, 'Upon my lap, I
suppose !' and then the gentleman laughed louder, and
gave the fore-horse a twitch with his whip, and the horse
stood on his hind-legs just for a moment, turning round-
liko, and the lady gave a little scream, and off they went.
' G ood luck to ye, and better manners,' said I, and I took
up the tripod with one hand, and with my bag of dollars
on my other shoulder, I walked on, but it was a weary
job, and before I had gone a couple of miles I was quite
knocked up. I sat down again by the road-side, and I
was so tired that I was almost tempted to leave the dol-
lars where they were, or to bury them in the bush. While
I was looking about for a convenient place, I saw a lot
of people coming along the road, and I soon perceived
it was a road-gang of yellow jackets going to work. T
was terribly troubled at this, for I thought they might
be tempted to make an attack on mo, so I clapped my
bag into the tripod again, and sat down upon it, careless-
like, till they should pass by. But they stopped on the
road just where I was; and the overseer set them to work
492 Crab gets a Lift.
round about me. They laughed and jeered at me for
sitting that fashion on the iron pot, but I sat firm ; and
then the overseer came up and asked me if I was ill, but
I did'nt care to tell him my secret; when, luckily, there
came up a bullock-cart, drawn by four bullocks, and in it
was a fine buxom gal a-going to be married for a fancy in
the church at Hobart Town ; and the young man was with
her in the cart holding her, to keep her steady, because
the road was rough; and fine and merry they were.
There was her father and mother in another cart behind,
and seeing me sitting on my tripod, they stopped to look
at me, and the young gal laughed fit to split herself,
though what there was to laugh at I can't make out, for
I was miserable enough, not knowing what to do with
those confounded dollars, and the convicts all round me,
suspecting something, I'm sure. Well, seeing them so
jolly-like, I called out to them to give me a lift. ' I
won't have that tripod in ray cart,' screamed the gal,
and then she laughed louder than ever. 'Whatever
have you got in it?' said she. ' Hush,' said I, ' I'll tell
you by-and-by.' ' How heavy it is !' said the bullock-
driver. ' Its heavy with the damp,' said I, not knowing
what to say ; ' from being on the ground ;' and then
there was more laughing ; and the young man said I was
a wag !"
''And how did you get on with your new party?"
said Betsy, with her handkerchief over her mouth.
" I'll tell yc, but don't hurry me."
''I didn't like that such good-natured folks should
suppose I carried that tripod about for nothing ; so after
we had got about a dozen miles on our way, I told 'em
that I had been selling some sheep, and that I was car-
rying home the dollars.
End of Crab's Story. 493
" ' Dollars !' — shrieked the gal. ' Oh — heavenly gra-
cious ! we sliall all be murdered, and that road-gang of
prisoners will be after us to get the money. Do, pray,'
said she, ' get out of our cart, and get into the other one ;'
but the old lady was as afeared as the young one, and so
I was cast adrift again with my dollars and my tripod,
and with a very heavy heart I saw the carts drive out of
sight !
" At last I was obliged to leave old Simon's tripod be-
hind, and I set out again, till I reached a settler's house
just before you come to Elizabeth River. I had much
ado to prevail on 'em to let me and my dollars rest there
for the night, and the man's wife was so frightened, that
we all three sat up all night watching the money, she
declaring every minute that she heard the sound of
men's feet coming to break into the house.
"They started me off in their bullock-cart next morn-
ing, glad to get rid of me, and that took me twenty
miles, and I walked the remainder, and got into Jericho
just at dark. There's a sergeant's party at that place,
and I went into the guard-room, and asked 'em to let
me sit there all night. And so there I sat, with my
bag in my lap, just nodding, and afraid to sleep, and
almost killed by the weight of the dollars all the long
night. Next morning I started again at daybreak. I
thought I never should get up the Den Hill ; but here
I am at last, and there are those confounded dollars.
But they'll serve to pay my passage home, for in this
abominable place I'll stay no longer. Now, Betsy, my
dear, have you got your pen ready ?"
" I've been waiting for you all the time," replied
Betsy, "what shall I say?"
" Do you write what I tell you," .said Crab.
494 Crab's Letter.
*' Mr. Stickitinem.
''Sir,
'' This comes, hoping you are well, as I am at thia
present writing."
" But you are not well," said Betsy, " I never saw you
look so ill in my life."
" It's the way, my dear," said Crab, waving his handj
''a letter must be begun some way, and that's the way
I always begin mine : it's like the coulter that's in front
of the plough. Now, go on and say,
" This wretched country has been the death of me —
and I mean to go home by the next ship. So please to
take a place for me, and tell the captain to be sure to
let it be somewhere near the axle-tree, where there's no
motion.
"Because I remember I was qualmish coming over,"
added Crab, " but you needn't put that in the letter."
" And what else shall I say ?" said Betsy.
"You've said it all, thank'ee, my dear; but you may
just say that the last bug of sugar was wetted out of
all conscience, and as gritty as a gravel cart. And tell
him that I'll give forty shillings a bushel for all the
grass seed he's got left; and to try to get me some
strawberry plants from the nursery garden at Pitt-
Water; and to be sure to sec that my bed place on
board the vessel is long enough, for I lost two inches in
height coming over, cramped up in the steerage; and
ask him to see if he can't get a couple of brick-makers
lent from the government; I should like to see a tidy
house put up in the bottom yonder; nothing looks
neater than a nice red brick house, with a fish-pond in
front, and an arbour at the bottom of the garden. And
Crab buries his Riches. 495
that reminds me that I shall want a shingle hamuier
and a cask of shingle nails; and (this rum-and-watcr
makes one very sleepy) — and to see if the ship can tnke
home my last year's wool, and what's the price of lamb's
wool ; and I want a couple of sawyers, and a carpenter,
to saw the ship into planks — that is the logs — and —
this journey has so knocked ine up that I can't write
any more — my dear, write the rest yourself — you know
what I want to say — I'll just finish this tumbler, and
then I'll jro to bed."
" But what will you do with these dollars?" said my
■wife.
" The dollars," said Crab, his intellects worn out by
the fatigue of his journey, and confused with the three
tumblers of rum-and-water which he had unconsciously
indulged io, ''put 'em — put 'em — in the tripod."
The next day Crab got up with the early light, and
to get rid of the anxiety of having these unfortunate
dollars in the house, he buried them with great care
and secrecy in the bush; but the very same day the
prisoner whom I have before mentioned as having been
sentenced to one hundred lashes, and pardoned, pitched
upon the plant, and observing that the ground had
lately been disturbed in an out-of-tlie-way place, he dug
up the loose earth with a stake, and finding the gunny-
bag containing the dollars, he carried it, just as it was,
to the magistrate's house. An inquiry having been
made, which set the whole district a-talking, the news
reached us, and the bag of dollars was duly restored to
Crab, who found the number of the dollars correct.
For this act of honesty the magistrate recommended
the prisoner for a free pardon, which in due course he
496 Crab's Opinion or Currency.
roceived, and he is now a flourishing settler. But the
bag of dollars still remained to jierplex the distracted
Crab ; and as the existence of this amount of silver bul-
lion was now the talk of the whole district, we were
obliged to send it to Hobart Town, escorted by Crab
and two constables.
" Silver dollars," said Crab, "are a very fine thing to
talk about, and to wish for, but they're very troublesome
to carry about, and still more dangerous to keep by you.
If one could only trust those fellows at the Bank," said
he, " there's nothing like bank-notes after all."
Fourteen years pass by — The Emigrant's Wealth — A Letter Srom
the Gypsey's daughter — Death of Crab.
It was fourteen years after the occurrences which I
have related in my preceding memoirs, that I was sit-
ting in my garden, under a splendid mimosa tree which
we had cherished for many years as a favourite spot —
enjoying the calm of a peaceful evening.
I had for several years past resigned the active manage-
ment of my farms, with my flocks and herds, to my eldest
son, who, with his wife and family, resided with me in
our large stone house, after the old patriarchal custom.
My daughter Betsy, who had married George Beresford
in 1827, had five children, and resided at Cherry-tree
Bottom, in a comfortable cottage, of which Crab, now
very far advanced in years, and who for some time past
had grown very feeble, was the dissatisfied owner. Be-
resford, the elder, had married Lucy Moss, in 1824, and
they now resided on the banks of the Shannon lliver,
surrounded by a numerous family.
It was the close of the summer season, in the month
of March, and the face of the country had for some
weeks assumed that brown autumnal tint which is the
prevailing hue of the fields and foliage for the greater
part of the year, in Van Dicmen's Land. Two tiny
urchins, brother and sititer, were plnyiiig near mc on a
32 ( 497 )
498 Fourteen Years Later.
plot of English grass, whose lively green, and thick,
close sward, contrasted pleasingly with the brown, coarse
tufts of the native plains beyond. Rather too thickly
clustered, in a space that was covered with fruits and
flowers, were apple, pear, and peach trees ; the former
bearing the ruddy tint of the English fruit, and the
latter in its full ripeness. A fine boy of eight years of
age was coaxing a young kangaroo with sugar, and a
white cockatoo, raising up his yellow-feathered tuft,
screamed and chattered on the walk, to attract the notice
of his playfellows. In the park-like plain below were
grazing some of the dairy cows, with two or three horses,
and a small pet flock of merino sheep.
I was attentively reading a volume of a work which I
had lately received from England, for being now able to
indulge in my early taste for books, I had accumulated
about twelve hundred volumes in a small library, which
formed a room, looking on the river, especially devoted
to my own serious contemplations ; but the gambols of
my grandchildren interrupted me continually.
The perusal of my book had produced in me that feel-
ing of melancholy which sometimes takes possession of
one's mind without any definable cause. Indeed, of all
men, I was one of those the least inclined to melancholy
thoughts, and God had been pleased to bless me with
such prosperity and increase, that if tears rose in my
eyes it must have been from the very fulness of my
satisfaction.
I laid down my book, and was revolving, as I sat, the
many scenes of my busy and adventurous life, when my
dear wife, the companion of my labours and the sharer
of my prosperity, appeared at the end of the walk, with
Gypsey's Daughter. 199
a letter in her hand, and supporting on her arm her aged
mother, who, with the assistance of a staff, was still
able, though far advanced beyond the ordinary span of
human life, to take her accustomed walks in the garden.
My dear Mary was changed a little in her looks, but her
heart was still as warm and as affectionate as ever. She
wore her own gray hair, disdaining the artifice of con-
ventional disguise, and boasting that she was prouder
of being the grandmother of such a family than of all
the brown and clustering curls of her early youth. I
could tell by her countenance that she had some agree-
able news to communicate as she moved towards me.
She gave me the letter with a smile ; it bore the mark
of England, and on its seal was the single word '' Geor-
giana."
I ought to say here, that after the Gypsey's daughter
had been received in my family, immediate steps were
taken by me and the magistrate for securing her legal
rights in England. Various letters passed, and at the
end of four years an agent, duly empowered by her legal
guardians, arrived in the colony to take charge of her
on her passage home. Her uncle, J(»hn Shirley, he in-
formed us, had obtained possession of the estates as next
heir; but the elder brother, William, had made a will,
by which he devised the whole of his estates and property
to trustees for the benefit of George Shirley, should he
ever return to England, or to his children. It was im-
possible to dispute the will, but the uncle denied the
marriage and the identity of the child. These points
were easily proved in the colony ; but, as the trustees in
England were desirous of her presence at home for their
greater satisfaction, and for the better prosecution of her
500 She Returns to England.
cause, we took advantage of the opportunity of the return
of a friend and his wife to the mother country to place
her under female care, and, accompanied by the agent,
she set sail in 1828. She was then eleven years of age,
and one of the most beautiful little girls I ever saw, and
beginning to be highly accomplished, for our governess
had done her duty well, and the child had amply replied
to the unmeasured attention which she bestowed on her.
I remember when I told my old friend, the magis-
trate, of her intended departure, and expressed my satis-
faction that she would meet with no troubles in Enjr-
land, like those to which she had been exposed from the
machinations of her uncle, and from the caprice of the
savages in this country, my worthy and facetious friend
was pleased to observe that,
" Bad as that was she might be worse."
" Why, what can they do worse with her V said I.
" Why," replied my friend, " they can put her in
Chancery I"
My children, who had become attached to their affec-
tionate playmate, were very sad, I remember, at this
sort of evil prognostication on the part of my friend,
thinking that to be put in Chancery was some terrible
disaster; and they conjured up all sorts of horrid ideas
about a prison, and looking tlirough the bars ; but when
I explained to them that the Court of Chancery was a
place of refuge, curiously and ingeniously contrived for
the redress of wrongs, and for the protection of the or-
phan ; and that in twenty or thirty years, or, at least, in
the course of half a century, the rights of their young
friend would be in a fair progress of restoration, as
shortly after that period some succeeding Lord Chan-
A Letter from IIer! 501
ccllor would probably intimate •when her case might be
mentioned at some future time, with a view to its being
begun to be heard, thej were silenced ; although, I am
inclined to think, not quite satisfied with my well-meant
explanation.
"We had received many letters from Miss Shirley
since her arrival in England, and the first news that wa
had of her was that she was in Chancery, which spread
a gloom over my family, that was cleared up, however,
when we were informed that she did not sufibr in her
health in consequence, and that in the meantime her
guardians supplied all her wants with a liberal hand ;
for her case was so plain that no human being had any
doubt of the success of her cause, excepting, of course,
the high functionary who had to decide on it. We were
very anxious, therefore, to hear of the progress of our
young friend, and it was with lively interest that I
opened the letter, and read aloud its contents. It was
addressed to my wife in the inside, and ran thus : —
" My dearest Mrs. Thornley, •
" My previous letters will have taught you to expect
that the most important event of my life would soon
take pla^, and that I should again change my name ;
but the change, I assure you, has produced no altera-
tion in the heart, towards you and yours, of your grate-
ful Georgiana. I may now break through the reserve
which I have hitherto maintained in respect to some
points relating to my marriage.
" My first accjuaintance with my husband began at
Milan, whither my guardian had taken me two years ago
in the course of our travels through Italy. We had
502 The News in it.
gone to the opera on tlie evening of our arrival, without
being aware of the piece that was to be performed, or not
thinking of its application to myself. The opera passed
off very well, but the next piece was the ' Gypsey.' The
scene brought back to my recollection my early sorrows
in Van Diemen's Land, and by one of those strange coin-
cidences which sometimes take place to our wonder in
real life, the dark Italian eyes of one of the performers
brought back so vivedly to my recollection the look of
ray poor father when he caressed me shortly before his
melancholy fate, that I became troubled, and a tide of
painful thoughts rushing in upon me, I fainted. A
gentleman — young — ^and handsome, of course, assisted my
'guardian to convey me to our carriage, and such assist-
ance accepted was a sufficient introduction for the next
day. Our intimacy increased, and although he was
eight years older than I, he became attached to me : but
1 struggled hard to prevent my heart from becoming en-
gaged, fearful that, from his rank and connections, he
might despise me when he came to learn the secret of
the Gypsey's daughter. This continued for the two
years that we remained abroad, when, having learned to
appreciate his generous character, I determined to re-
veal to him my terrible secret. He declarftd that he
did not love me less, and esteemed me more for my con-
fidence and sincerity. Shortly after this he quitted our
society under the plea of his affairs in England requir-
ing his presence ; and on our return home he presented
to me a packet of pnpors, and immediately retired. I
was alarmed at this conduct, and instantly opened the
packet, when I found documents completely exculpating
my dear father from any share in the death of the
Hhe is Married. 503
game-keeper, for his supposed participation in which
he had been condemned to banishment. That ob-
stacle — which indeed existed only on my part — being
removed — with the consent of my guardians, I resigned
my future destiny to his care, and I now write to you
as hia happy wife.
" When I reflect on my present happiness, my dearest
second mother, I cannot but feel my large debt of grati-
tude for your fostering care of the forlorn Gypsey's
daughter ; and how can I repay you for all your kind-
ness, and for the kindness of your children to me?
Pray remember me to them all ; to the grave William ,
the merry Betsy, or rather I should call her Mrs,
Qeorge Beresford ; to the good-natured Edward, and is
he still called 'Sporting Ned?' to Mary, and to Lucy,
and though last not least, to my dearest Ellen, who
used to romp with me; nor must I forget my dear old
governess, Mrs. Eanisay, who I hope continues in your
family, and who was so kind and good to the orphan
wanderer. I am almost tempted to wish that you were
very poor that I might havcf the delight of sharing with
you what we possess, for we arc very rich ; but your
flocks and herds' I hear almost cover the island, and
with your-^rge estates, your carriages, and your hprses,
and your baronial house, and all your patriarchal abun-
dance, I am at a loss to know what to send out to you.
I wish you could convey your fifteen thousand acres of
land to England. And only think of that acre of land
which Mr. Thoruley bt)uglit in llobart-Town some years
ago turning out such a valuable property ; but of course
as land is wanted in a town for building houses on as
the inhabitants increase, every square foot, as my hu*-
Band says, becomes valuable.
504 And sends Presents.
" My dear husband has sent out two beautiful horses
for Mr. Thornley, and some curious cattle and Saxon
sheep for William ; and I have sent a grand piano-
forte with the latest improvement for Mary, which will
stand very nicely at the end of your large room ; and a
harp for Ellen, with quantities of music. I have also to
request Edward to accept the choicest double-barrel
gun, with all sorts of apparatus which I don't understand,
that can be purchased in London, and my husband has
taken particular pains in selecting it. I was at a loss to
know what remembrance to send to Lucy, but I have
been fortunate enough to find a beautiful cabinet at a
curiosity shop, made at Vienna for the empress Maria
Louisa of France, with which I think she will be pleased,
as it accords with the splendour of her romantic dispo-
sition. I have sent also a self-acting organ for Betsy,
that she may have music, as she used to say she should
like, without the trouble of playing. Don't you remem-
ber she used to say in her merry way, she would as soon
grind the old portable corn-mill as a hand-organ ? And
now, what have I to say more ? Oh ! it is to ask you
to send us another kangaroo, and some of the pretty
Piosina parrots that we made such pets of.
" Mr. John Shirley is living abroad, and my affairs
are still in Chancery ; but as wc are rich enough, we
have the satisfaction, my husband says, of considering
that the estates will some day come to our great grand-
children Mr. Shirley is inclined, I understand, to com-
promise the matter by his being allowed a small annuity
for life of three thousand a year, which would be nothing
for the property to pay, and our solicitors advise us to
accept it; but my husband will not forgive him for cn-
«
, H E R G D W I s rr E s . 605
deavouring to steal me away as he did, and exposing me
to the risk of being killed and eaten by the natives, in
order to marry me to his son. My husband says he
should have liked to know Musqueeto, for he was a fine
fellow for saving my life, and he says it was a shame to
hang him ; but the atrocities and murders that he com-
mitted are certainly very shocking. And now, my dear
Mrs. Thornley, and my dear friends, I bid you for the
present adieu; wishing you a continuance of your present
prosperity and happiness. And that you may long live
to enjoy the many dclights*of children, friends, fortune,
and independence, with which Providence has blessed
you, is the prayer of your ever affectionate and grateful
" Georgian A.
*' Postscript. — I declare I bad forgotten to ask after
my old friend Mr. Crab. He was very old, and getting
infirm, I thought, when I left the country. Is he still
alive? and does he still go on grumbling and declaring
that he will leave the ' horrid, wretched country by the
very next ship ?' Again,
" Yours,
" Georgt."
" Kind, good-hearted old man !" said I. "He will
be glad to hear that the little girl, whom he was so fond
of, has not forgotten her old friend ; but I fear, from
the account we received of him last night, that he
will not be in this world long, to receive such remem-
brances."
As I spoke, George Beresford arrived on horseback,
and in haste, to inform us that the symptoms which had
506 Appearance or Crab's Farm.
exhibited themselves the evening before, had become
inore alarming, and that Betsy wished me to come over
immediately. I desired a horse to be saddled instantly,
and leaving my wife to follow in the carriage, I made
the best of my way with my son-in-law to Cherry-tree
Bottom.
On our way we called at the surgeon's, and mounting
him on a led horse, which my groom had brought with
him for the purpose, he accompanied us to see if art
could do anything to prolong the life of my old friend.
" I fear," said the surgeon, " that all art is useless in
this case ; he is dying of sheer old age. How old really
is he ?"
" We don't exactly know," said I ; "he owns to eighty
two, but from his remembrance of past events in Eng-
land, we think he must be much older."
We soon arrived at Cherry-tree Bottom, which was
situated in a little hollow, embosomed among the sur-
rounding hills. Crab had made it the very model of an
English farm, and the rick-yard contained, in addition
to several imposing stacks of wheat thatched to a nicety,
and kept untouched, "because," as he said, "they made
a farm-house look warm and homelike," a tolerable stack
of hay made from native grass. The garden presented
the autumnal maturity of luxuriance, which is so strik-
ing in this country, and ;iu ample orchard of cherry-
trees proclaimed that the name of the favoured spot was
now deservedly bestowed.
On a stubble-field, enclosed within a hawthorn-hedge,
two horses in a line were ploughing, with a Shropshire
plough ; Crab holding in abomination the colonial prac-
tice of employing bullocks in ploughs and carts. With-
His Alarming Illness. 507
in sight of the house, a pond had with much labour been
excavated to receive the v^atcrs of a little rivulet that
took its source from a distant tier of hills. Indisputable
English geese and ducks disported themselves in this
capacious reservoir, gladdening the old man's eyes with
the picture of his early youth. But those eyes were
now about to close ; and with a heaviness of heart which
I did not attempt to suppress, I approached the door
of my ancient friend's dwelling.
We found the old man seated in an easy chair, his
silvery white hair hanging on his shoulders, by an open
window, having a view at the same time of his wheat-
stacks, his duck-pond, and his twelve-acre wheat field,
at which his servants were now at work-. He had been com-
plaining, Betsy told us, of the mistiness of the atmos-
phere, although the air was clear and pure — I well knew
what this mistiness meant.
" Here's father coming to see you," said Betsy, rais-
ing her voice a little, for a little deafness had been for
some time one of the old man's infirmities.
" Thornley, I'm glad to see you. Where Are you ?
come closer ; the air is very dim : I suppose its the na-
tives that have fired the country, and it's all smoke — as
it always is in this place !"
"There are no natives now," said Betsy, "to fire
the country ; they have all been removed this many
years."
'' Have they ? Ah ! I remember something about
those sweeping expeditions, and what fun it was !
making a line across the country, and tlie natives beiund
us all the while wondering Avhat we were after !"
"How do you feel, my dear friend?" said I, sooth-
ingly.
508 Crab's End Approaches.
'' Very weak— very weak indeed. You see, Thornley,
this wretched country has killed me at last. I always
said it would, but you never would believe me. But
it serves me right— yes, quite right ; I ought to have
left it long ago. It was those hops that deluded me
on."
" You have shown the colonists how to grow hops,"
said I, wishing to please him by a little praise which
he well deserved.
"Ah! haven't I? And taught them how to make
beer too ! Betsy, my dear, tell them to get your father
a jug of that last tap. Let me taste it." They put the
cup to his lips. '' How's this ? it tastes oddly ! Get
some more in another jug. Thornley musn't come to
my house, and not have a glass of ale ! But I shall grow
no more hops, and drink no more of my own home-
brewed ale !"
''My dear friend," said I ''you have lived a longer
life than is ordinarily the lot of man ; and your latter
years have been passed in a state of prosperity far be-
yond your early expectations. Let us hope that the
Great Being who has blessed the latter part of your
career with so much wealth and ease, will regard all
your complainings in this life with an indulgent cyej
and that your life hereafter may be such as he hi;s
promised to those who keep his word, and trust in him."
" I don't know," said Crab — in a slow and feeble
voice, his mind beginning to wander — " that I have done
much amiss — except the coming to this wretched coun-
try, and the staying in it, which is worse ; but I'll go
home by the next ship. Not a , drop of beer to be had
in the country for love or money ! What's the use of a
His Mind Wanders. 509
pul)l it" -house if there's no boer in it ? Half-a-giiinca
for a bottle of stout ! It's shameful ! Pid you ever see
a chap plough a field that way before ? Not know what
lying fallow means ! You're a cockney ! I don't wish
to be uncivil — but you're a cockney ! I say you're a
cockney?"
" His mind is wandering," said the benevolent clergy-
man attached to the Clyde church ; " but his life has been
so innocent, and all his intentions so good, that if ever
spirit ascended to the presence of its Maker with hope
and trust, such may be the reliance of this single-hearted
old man ?"
My wife now arrived ; but it was with difficulty that
our dying friend could be made to recognise her; and
when he did, his waning intellects referred to times and
scenes foreign to the present.
'< Mrs. Thornley," said he, in slow and feeble accents,
'' your poor husband has been killed by the natives ; but
we must bear it — we must bear it. To roast him alive;
The savages ! But we'll all leave the country. I'm
going to leave the country. Where's Betsy?"
Betsy took hold of the old man's hand, and spoke to
Ki|-p :^ ^ ^ ?(; ^ 5t^
The clergyman now asked him if there was anything
that he wished to say, anything that he wished to have
done?
The questions of the divine roused the old man to a
consciousness of his present state, and recalled his mind
from its feeble wanderinss. But his voice became
weaker and weaker, and his pulse grew more feeble in
its flutterings — and it was with difficulty that we coxild
make out the meaning of what he uttered.
510 Cbab's Death.
"I know," he said, in a wliisper scarcely articulate, —
'^ that — we — must — all die I — but — I — wanted to see
how that wheat turned out — in — the — new — field.
George — never — plough with — oxen — and — don't —
shoot — the bull, as you did — the — other one. I —
am — going — I — am — going. Betsy — hold — my — hand.
What do I feel? Betsy— I am— stifling! 1— I—
I — can't breathe my breath Thornley — I am —
going — at last — out — of this — wretch — wretch-ed —
country — home — at — last."
And so he died.
There was not a dry eye in the room. For my own
part, I sobbed like a child ; although my dear old friend
had died full of years and prosperity, and in peace and
hope. ]>ut he was my ancient friend, my earliest com-
panion in the colony, and I loved him for the very whims
and failings for which others laughed at him.
'' That was one of the best hearts in one of the rough-
est husks that ever I had to deal with," said the surgeon.
And so thought we all, but for some time no one spoke,
and I retired with a sad heart to the banks of the Clyde.
We buried our old friend in the churchyard which
had been consecrated with the church by the Bishop of
Australia. Over his grave I placed a modest tablet,
with this simple inscription : —
HERE LIE THE MOIITAL REMAINS
OF
SAMUEL CBAB
AN
ENGLISH FARMER,
AGED 86.
(C;ljii|ittr /nrli|-fniirtl].
CONCLUSION.
I -HAVE but little more to add to these memoirs.
The recent events in the colony are too well known to
render it necessary for me to enter into a description of
them.
With respect to my own individual case, I may fairly
take it as an instance of what may be done by industry,
frugality, and perseverance ; and of the advantages to
be derived from settling in a colony, in its early stage,
when its lands are unoccupied and almost worthless, and
easy, therefore, to be obtained ; but which, in the pro-
gress of years, and by increase of inhabitants, grow
into valuable estates.
I am now declining in years, but my health is strong
and firm, and I have never had a day's illness since I
have been in the colony.
My old friend, the magistrate, who is now grown very
rich and very fat, has been for some months past curiously
inquiring into the nature of my occupations, seeing me
always so busily employed in writing without any osten-
sible reason for such a labour. I showed the pile of
manuscript to him the other day, which had accumu-
lated to a formidable heap, and told him, in confidence,
what I had been about.
"And what are you a going to do with it?" said he,
(511)
512 Conclusion.
" why there is more than enough to make three volumes
in print."
" If I thought the printing of it would be useful," said
T, *' although I did not begin it with that intention, I
would not object to its being published." And there-
upon I offered to read to him the whole of the manu-
ficript from the beginning to the end. I thought my
worthy friend changed countenance at this offer, and
not liking to give me so much trouble, I suppose, he
replied : —
" For Heaven's sake don't think of such a thing: —
I'll take it all for granted. But what is it all about ?
Have you been writing a history of the island?"
" The island," I replied, " or rather the colony, is too
young as yet to have a history to write about. I have
been describing," I continued, " minutely, and from
my own experience, the individual process of emigration.
And I have endeavoured," I added, "to give such de-
scriptions of the colony, from my own observations, as
will enable those who may read them to form a tolerably
correct idea of what Van Diemen's Land really is; and
to teach those who have a mind to emigrate, how to set
about it."
" Well," my excellent friend was pleased to say, " you
have shut yourself up for a long time ; I hope you have
finished your task now ? You don't intend to write any
more of your adventures ?"
" No !" said I ; — " Here ends The Settler's Jour-
NAli.."
THE END,
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