The Book Of The Bush - George Dunderdale (tharntype novel english .txt) 📗
- Author: George Dunderdale
Book online «The Book Of The Bush - George Dunderdale (tharntype novel english .txt) 📗». Author George Dunderdale
Were Of Little Value; They Were Placed On The Camp Fire One After
Another, And Reduced To Ashes.
The Warriors Sat Around On Logs And Boxes Enjoying The Good Things
Provided And Talking Cheerfully, But They Made No Set Speeches.
Dinner Oratory Is Full Of Emptiness And They Had Plenty Of That Every
Day. They Dipped Pannikins Of Tea Out Of The Iron Pot.
When Burke And Wills Were Starving At Cooper's Creek On A Diet Of
Nardoo, The Latter Recorded In His Diary That What The Food Wanted
Was Sugar; He Believed That Nardoo And Sugar Would Keep Him Alive.
The Pioneers At The Old Port Were Convinced That Their Great Want Was
Fat; With That Their Supper Would Have Been Perfect.
Mcclure Was Dying Of Consumption As Everybody Knew But Himself; He
Could Not Believe That He Had Come So Far From Home Only To Die, And
He Joined The Revellers At The Camp Fire. He Said To Kindly
Enquirers That He Felt Quite Well, And Would Soon Regain His
Strength. Before That Terrible Journey Over The Mountains He Had
Been The Life And Soul Of The Port. He Could Play On The Violin, On
The Bagpipes--Both Scotch And Irish--And He Was Always So
Pleasant And Cheerful, Looking As Innocent As A Child, That No One
Could Be Long Dispirited In His Company, And The Most Impatient
Growler Became Ashamed Of Himself.
Mcclure Was Persuaded To Bring Out His Violin Once More--It Had
Been Long Silent--And He Began Playing The Liveliest Of Tunes,
Strathspeys, Jigs, And Reels, Until Some Of The Men Could Hardly Keep
Their Heels Still, But It Is Hard To Dance On Loose Sand, And They
Had To Be Contented With Expressing Their Feelings In Song. Davy
Sang "Ye Mariners Of England," And Other Songs Of The Sea; And
Pateley Jim Gave The "Angel's Whisper," Followed By An Old Ballad Of
The Days Of Robin Hood Called "The Wedding Of Aythur O'braidley," The
Violin Accompanying The Airs And Putting The Very Soul Of Music Into
Every Song.
But By Degrees The Musician Grew Weary, And Began To Play Odds And
Ends Of Old Tunes, Sacred And Profane. He Dwelt Some Time On An
Ancient "Kyrie Eleeson," And At Last Glided, Unconsciously As It
Story 10 (Autobiography Of Froebel.) Pg 166Were, Into The "Land O' The Leal."
I'm Wearin' Away, Jean,
Like Snaw Wreaths In Thaw, Jean,
I'm Wearin' Awa, Jean,
To The Land O' The Leal.
There's Nae Sorrow There, Jean,
There's Nae Caul Or Care, Jean,
The Days Aye Fair, Jean,
I' The Land Of The Leal.
At Last Mcclure Rose From His Seat, And Said, "I'll Pit Awa The
Fiddle, And Bid Ye A Good Nicht. I Think I'll Be Going Hame To My
Mither The Morn."
He Went Into His Tent. It Was High Tide, And There Was A Gentle
Swish Of Long Low Waves Lapping The Sandy Beach. The Night Wind
Sighed A Soothing Lullaby Through The Spines Of The She-Oak, And His
Spirit Passed Peacefully Away With The Ebb. He Was The First Man Who
Died At The Old Port, And He Was Buried On The Bank Of The River
Where Friday First Saw Its Waters Flowing Towards The Mountain.
Thirty Years Afterwards I Saw Two Old Men, Campbell And Montgomery,
Pulling Up The Long Grass Which Had Covered His Neglected Grave.
Story 11 ( Glengarry In Gippsland..) Pg 167
Jack Shay Was Not Sorry To Leave The Old Port. The Nocturnal Feast
Made To Celebrate The Repulse Of The Blackfellows Could Not Conceal
The State Of Famine Which Prevailed, And He Was Pleased To Remember
That He Had Brought Plenty Of Flour, Tea, And Sugar As Far As The
Thomson River. Davy Had No Saddle, But John Campbell Lent Him One
For The Journey, And Also Sold Him Shot And Powder On Credit. So
Early In The Morning The Two Men Took A "Tightener" Of Roast Eggs,
And Commenced Their Journey On Mcmillan's Track, Each Man Carrying
His Double-Barrelled Gun, Ready Loaded, In His Hand. By This Time
The Sight Of A Gun Was A Sufficient Warning To The Blackfellows To
Keep At A Safe Distance; The Discharge Of The Nine-Pounder Had Proved
To Them That The White Man Possessed Mysterious Powers Of Mischief,
And It Was A Long Time Before They Could Recover Courage Enough To
Approach Within View Of The Camp At The Old Port. On The Second Day
Of Their Journey Davy And Shay Arrived At The Thomson, And Found The
Mob Of Cattle And The Men All Safe. They Built A Hut, Erected A
Stockyard, And Roughly Fixed The Boundaries Of The Station By Blazed
Trees, The Bank Of The River, And Other Natural Marks.
There Were Three Brothers Imlay In The Twofold Bay District--John,
Alexander, And George--The Latter Residing At The Bay, Where He
Received Stores From Sydney, And Shipped Return Cargoes Of Station
Produce And Fat Cattle For Hobarton. Two Stations On The Mountains
Story 11 ( Glengarry In Gippsland..) Pg 168Were Managed By The Other Two Brothers, And Their Brand Was Iii.,
Usually Called "The Bible Brand." When The Station On The Thomson
Was Put In Working Order, The Imlays Exchanged It For One Owned By P.
P. King, Which Was Situated Between Their Two Stations In The Monaro
District. The Gippsland Station Was Named Fulham, And Was Managed By
John King. Jack Shay Returned To The Mountains, And Davy To The Old
Port.
Soon Afterwards The Steamer 'Corsair' Arrived From Melbourne,
Bringing Many Passengers, One Of Whom Was John Reeve, Who Took Up A
Station At Snake Ridge, And Purchased The Block Of Land Known As
Reeve's Survey. The New Settlers Also Brought A Number Of Horses,
And Norman Mcleod Had Twenty Bullocks On Board. The Steamer Could
Not Reach The Port, And Brought-To Abreast Of The Midge Channel. The
Cattle And Horses Were Slung And Put Into The Water, Four At A Time,
And Swam To Land, But All The Bullocks Disappeared Soon Afterwards
And Fled To The Mountains.
Next The Brig 'Bruthen' Arrived From Sydney, Chartered By The
Highland Chief Macdonnell, Of Glengarry. In The Days Of King William
Iii. A Sum Of 20,000 Pounds Was Voted For The Purpose Of Purchasing
The Allegiance Of The Glengarry Of That Day, And Of That Of Several
Other Powerful Chiefs. On Taking The Oath Of Loyalty To The New
Dynasty, They Were To Receive Not More Than 2,000 Pounds
Each; Or, If They Preferred Dignity To Cash, They Could Have Any
Title Of Nobility They Pleased Below That Of Earl. Most Of Them Took
The Oath And The Cash. It Is Not Recorded That Any Chief Preferred A
Title, But The Macdonnell Of 1842 Was Lord Glengarry To All The New
Settlers In Gippsland. His Father, Colonel Alexander Ronaldson
Macdonnell, Was The Last Genuine Specimen Of A Highland Chief, And He
Was The Fergus Mcivor Of Walter Scott's "Waverley." He Always Wore
The Dress Of His Ancestors, And Kept Sentinels Posted At His Doors.
He Perished In The Year 1828, While Attempting To Escape From A
Steamer Which Had Gone Ashore. His Estate Was Heavily Encumbered,
And His Son Was Compelled To Sell It To The Marquis Of Huntly. In
1840 It Was Sold To The Earl Of Dudley For 91,000 Pounds, And In 1860
To Edward Ellice For 120,000 Pounds.
The Landless Young Chief Resolved To Transfer His Broken Fortunes To
Australia. He Brought With Him A Number Of Men And Women, Chiefly
Highlanders, Who Were Landed By Davy In His Whaleboat. For This
Service Glengarry Gave A Cheque On A Sydney Bank For Five Pounds,
Which Was Entrusted To Captain Gaunson Of The Schooner 'Coquette' To
Purchase Groceries. On Arriving In Sydney The Gaunsons Went On A
Pleasure Excursion About The Harbour, The 'Coquette' Was Capsized In
A Squall, One Or Two Of The Family Perished, And Davy's Cheque Went
Down With The Vessel. But When The Schooner Was Raised And The Water
Pumped Out, The Cheque Was Found, And The Groceries On The Next
Voyage Arrived Safely At The Old Port.
Glengarry's Head Man And Manager Of The Enterprise Was A Poor
Gentleman From Tipperary Named Dancer, And His Chief Stockman Was
Sandy Fraser.
Story 11 ( Glengarry In Gippsland..) Pg 169
By The Regulations Then In Force In New South Wales, Glengarry Was
Entitled, For A Fee Of 10 Pounds Per Annum, To Hold Under A
Depasturing License An Area Of Twenty Square Miles, On Which He Might
Place 500 Head Of Cattle Or 4,000 Sheep. He Selected A Site For His
Head Station And Residence On The Banks Of The Tarra. The House Was
Built, Huts And Stockyards Were Erected, 500 Dairy Cows Were Bought
At 10 Pounds Each, And The Business Of Dairy Farming Commenced.
But The Young Chief And His Men Were Unused To The Management Of A
Station In The New Country; They Had Everything To Learn, And At A
Ruinous Cost.
A Number Of Young Men Bailed Up The Cows Each Morning, And Put On The
Leg Ropes; Then They Sat On The Top Rails Of The Stockyard Fence And
Waited While The Maids Drew The Milk. Dancer Superintended The
Labours Of The Men And The Milkmaids. He Sat In His Office In A
Corner Of The Stockyard, Entering In His Books The Number Of Cattle
Milked, And Examining The State Of Their Brands, Which Were Daubed On
The Hides With Paint And Brush. Some Cheese Was Made, But It Was Not
Of Much Account, And All The Milk And Butter Were Consumed On The
Station.
At This Time The Blacks Had Quite Recovered From The Fright
Occasioned By The Discharge Of The Nine-Pounder Gun, And Were Again
Often Seen From The Huts At The Old Port. Donald Macalister Was Sent
By His
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