The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) - William H. Thomes (large screen ebook reader txt) 📗

Volume 2 Chapter 49 (Catching A Tarl As Well As A Cassiowary) Pg 32

The Lieutenant Added.

 

"It Will Give Me Great Satisfaction To Forward Two Pieces That I Owe To

Our Worthy Chief, And Will You Tell Him That I Anticipate Obtaining A

Third Piece After I Am Exchanged?"

 

"And What Report Had I Better Carry Back To Melbourne?" The Lieutenant

Asked.

 

"You Can Say That You Gave Me The Necessary Instructions, But There Is

No Hope Of Coping With The Miners Unless Five Thousand Troops, With

Cannon, Are On The Ground. That Will Startle Government, You May

Depend," The Inspector Answered, Earnestly.

 

"And Let Us Keep Our Counsel. There Is No Need That We Should Inform Our

Superiors That Through Our Stupidity Their Well-Laid Plans Have Been

Destroyed, And The Miners Acquainted With What Is In Store For Them. Eh,

Mr. Brown?"

 

"Certainly Not, Sir," Promptly Responded That Individual.

 

"Ve Should Lose Our Reputation For Shrewdness If Ve Did," Muttered Steel

Spring, But His Master Overheard Him, And Gave Him A Kick As A Reward.

 

And In This Manner Was It Settled, That Government Should Not Be

Enlightened In Regard To The Information Which The Miners Had Obtained,

And It Was Owing To The Plot Being Overheard At Our Store That The

People Of Ballarat Were Enabled To Abolish The Odious Mining Tax, And To

Accomplish That, Were Prepared For The Soldiers When They Did Arrive.

 

The Inspector Left Us For His Quarters, And The Rest Of Us Retired For

The Night, With The Intention Of Rising Early And Riding Out To Meet

Smith, Who Could Not Be More Than Ten Miles Distant, According To

Murden's Report.

 

We Were On Horseback About Sunrise, And Rode Slowly Out Of Ballarat,

Leaving Steel Spring To Look After The Store And Its Effects. The Miners

Were Cooking Their Breakfasts As We Passed Along, And The Fumes Of Fried

Pork And Boiling Coffee Greeted Our Nostrils At Every Turn.

 

Stretched Out As Far As The Eye Could Reach Were Tents Of Every Color

And Hue, From The New Comer Of Yesterday To The Old Stager Blackened By

The Dust And Rains Of Nearly Twelve Months. We Met Parties Of Chinese,

Who Had Been On A Hunt For Lizards And Other Insects, And To Judge From

Their Jargon, They Had Been Eminently Successful.

 

Two Of Them Were Staggering Under The Weight Of An Enormous Snake, That

They Had Found Dead A Short Distance From The Town, And They Strung It

On A Pole, And Were Congratulating Themselves On The Many Stews That It

Would Make. They Regarded It In The Light Of A Present From Their Gods,

And Danced With Joy.

 

We Left The Main Road, And Followed An Almost Imperceptible Trail That

Led Us In A Parallel Course, And Within Sight Of The Road That We

Volume 2 Chapter 49 (Catching A Tarl As Well As A Cassiowary) Pg 33

Expected Smith Would Choose For Reaching The Town. By Doing So We Were

Enabled To Avoid The Dust And Confusion, And Ride More At Our Leisure;

And Before We Were Five Miles From Ballarat We Were Repaid For Our

Precaution, For Just As We Were Passing A Small Clump Of Half-Stunted

Vegetation We Heard A Fluttering Of Wings, And On Looking Up, We Saw One

Of The Largest Birds That Australia Can Boast. It Was A Full-Grown

Cassiowary, And Stood Nearly Eight Feet High, We Judged, With Long,

Stout Legs, Black And Muscular, And A Foot That Would Cover A Peck

Measure.

 

The Bird's Beak Was Like An Ostrich's, Stout And Sharp, And Its Head And

Body Greatly Resembled One. The Cassiowary's Wings Were Also Small, And

Seemed As Though Intended To Help Its Progress When Running; For It Was

Impossible To Lift Its Huge Body Into The Air With Such Puny Ones.

 

The Bird Did Not Seem Much Alarmed At Our Presence, And By Keeping

Rover At Our Sides, We Were Enabled To Examine It At Leisure. After

First Stretching Out Its Long Neck, And Uttering A Peculiar Whistle, The

Bird, After A Second Glance At Us, Continued To Feed, And Seemed

Disposed To Let Us Continue Our Journey Without Further Attention.

 

"It's A Cassiowary," Murden Said, In A Low Tone, "And I'll Give Five

Pounds For Its Skin. I Never Saw A Live One Before, Although I Have

Frequently Seen The Stuffed One At The Government House, Which Is Valued

So Highly By Sir Charles Latrobe. What A Prize It Would Be, If We Only

Had Our Rifles?"

 

The Lieutenant Was Right; If We Had Only Have Taken Our Rifles With Us,

We Could Have Killed The Bird From Where We Stood; But The Distance Was

Too Great To Expect A Fatal Result With A Revolver, And We Knew That If

We Advanced Nearer It Would Take To Flight. If We Went Back To Ballarat

After A Rifle, It Was Not Likely That The Bird Would Stay There Until We

Returned, And Under These Circumstances We Looked Towards Fred For His

Advice.

 

"Let Us Capture The Bird Alive," He Said, And We Laughed At His Words,

Thinking That He Meant To Ridicule Us.

 

"I Am Serious," He Said, "For I Believe That It Is Possible."

 

"Let Us Know How," Cried Murden; "And If Your Plan Succeeds, The Best

Supper That Can Be Obtained In Ballarat Shall Reward Your Ingenuity!"

 

"For How Many?" Inquired Fred.

 

"For The Party, And Mr. Brown."

 

"That Will Cost You More Than Five Pounds; But As You Are Anxious For

The Bird, I Will Try And Devise A Way Of Relieving Your Purse."

 

Fred, As He Spoke, Uncoiled His Long Halter,--A Rope That We Used To

Hitch The Horses To During The Daytime, So That They Could Wander Over

Considerable Ground, And Feed Upon The Dried Grass,--And Made A Running

Knot In One End, And Thus Formed A Slip-Noose, Like The Mexican's

Volume 2 Chapter 49 (Catching A Tarl As Well As A Cassiowary) Pg 34

_Reatta_.

 

"What Next?" We Asked.

 

"Why, I Want Both Of You To Follow My Example, And If You Get Near

Enough To The Bird, To Throw The Rope Over Its Neck, And See That One

End Of It Is Made Fast To The Pommel Of The Saddle."

 

"Why, That Is The Way That The Spaniards Capture Ostriches," Murden

Said.

 

"Precisely," Returned Fred, "Only They Have To Ride Many Miles Over A

Sandy Soil Before The Ostrich Will Consent To Be Taken; And It Strikes

Me That We Can Imitate Those Same Spaniards, And Even If We Can't Get

Near Enough To Cast Our Reattas We Can Try The Effects Of A Shot."

 

"By George, I'm In For The Sport!" Cried Murden, And He Commenced

Preparing His Rope In A Manner Similar To Fred's.

 

In A Few Minutes We Were Ready, And Rode Off A Short Distance, And Then

Gradually Closed In Until The Unconscious Bird Was Surrounded. I Then

Allowed Rover To Start, And With A Low Bay He Dashed Towards The

Cassiowary.

 

The Latter, When The Dog Was Within A Few Feet, Stopped Feeding, And

Seemed To Be Somewhat Astonished; And Just Us The Hound Sprang Upon His

Intended Victim, The Bird Turned Tail To, And Started On A Run, In The

Direction Of Fred.

 

The Animal Made Awful Clumsy Work Of Running, And Yet It Got Over The

Ground In A Surprisingly Rapid Manner; And Although Rover Exerted

Himself To The Utmost, He Had Some Difficulty In Gaining On The Chase.

 

We Hallooed The Hound On, In Hopes That He Would Seize The Bird By One

Of Its Legs; And In Fact, Just As He Was About To, The Cassiowary

Suddenly Stopped, Raised One Of Its Huge Feet, And With A Vigorous Kick

Sent Rover Rolling Head Over Heels.

 

The Dog Got Up And Looked Somewhat Astonished, And Then Recommenced The

Chase With Renewed Vigor And Enthusiasm.

 

The Bird Continued Its Irregular Course, Lifting Its Huge Legs In A Slow

And Mathematical Manner, Yet Running With Great Speed, And Seeming To

Care No More For Bushes, And Such Like Obstructions, Than An Elephant.

 

As I Said Before, The Bird's Course Led Directly Towards Fred; But Upon

Getting Sight Of Him As He Sat On His Horse With Rope In Hand, It

Changed, And Fled Towards Me, Plunging Its Long Neck, And Uttering A

Short Whistle, As Though Blowing Off Steam. Even While Running, The

Short, Stumpy Wings Were Used To Aid Its Flight And Steady Its Body,

Which Rocked, And Rolled, And Swayed To And Fro Like A Ship In A Head

Sea.

 

"On, Rover, On!" We Shouted, And The Faithful Dog Strained All Of His

Volume 2 Chapter 49 (Catching A Tarl As Well As A Cassiowary) Pg 35

Energies To Overtake The Chase, And When He Again Got Within A Few Yards

Of It, Up Went A Claw, And We Could Hear The Powerful Blow That

Descended Upon The Dog's Head, And Sent Him Rolling Over And Over Again,

And This Time A Slight Yelp Told That He Was Somewhat Hurt.

 

"Look Out For Him!" Shouted Fred And Murden, Spurring Towards Me, But

There Was No Necessity To Caution Me. I Had My Rope All Ready, And When

The Bird Was Near Enough, I Whirled It Over My Head _A La Mexicano_, And

Let It Fly At The Long Neck That Was Stretched Out To Its Fullest

Extent.

 

The Cord Fell Directly Upon The Bird's Body, But Was Shook Clear In An

Instant, And Its Course Was Changed; And Instead Of Seeking To Pass Me,

It Turned And Ran Towards The Lieutenant, Who Was Laughing Most Heartily

At Our Attempts To Imitate The Cattle Drivers Of Spanish Climes.

 

"Look Out!" Shouted Fred, But The Warning Was Unheeded, And Before The

Lieutenant Could Command His Presence Of Mind The Bird Charged Upon Him,

Startled His Horse, And The Next Moment The Officer Was Thrown To The

Ground Directly In The Path Of The Cassiowary.

 

Luckily Murden Struck The Ground Face Downwards, And Before He Could

Turn Over The Bird Was Upon Him. With One Vigorous Jerk Of Its Beak On

That Portion Of His Anatomy Where The Flesh Is Supposed To Be Firmest,

He Tore Away Cloth, And Perhaps An Inch Or Two Of Skin; For At