The Book Of The Bush by George Dunderdale (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

Horseman Could Follow Them.  Wild Boars And Their Progeny Also Rooted

Among The Tall Tussocks In The Marshes By The Banks Of The River,

Where It Emerged From The Ranges Into The Plains.

Blackfish And Eels Were Plentiful In The River,  But They Were Of A

Perverse Disposition,  And Would Not Bite In The Day-Time.  The Bend

Nearest To Nyalong Was Twelve Miles Distant,  And Philip Once Spent A

Night There With Gleeson And Mccarthy.  A Fire Was Kindled And Some

Fish Were Caught,  But Philip Took None Home.  Gleeson And Mccarthy

Reserved Their Catches For Their Wives And Families,  And Philip's

Fish Were All Cooked On The Fire At Sunrise,  And Eaten For Breakfast.

Fishing Was Sport,  Certainly,  But It Was Not Profitable,  Nor

Exciting,  Except To The Temper.  Sometimes An Eel Took The Bait,  And

Then Twisted Himself Round The Limb Of A Tree At The Bottom Of The

River.  He Then Pulled All He Was Able Until Either The Line Or The

Hook Was Broken,  Or His Jaw Was Torn Into Strips.

After Midnight Philip Was Drowsy,  And Leaned His Back Against A Tree

To Woo Sweet Sleep.  But There Were Mosquitos In Millions,  Bandicoots

Hopping Close To The Fire,  And Monkey-Bears,  Night Hawks,  Owls,

'Possums And Dingoes,  Holding A Corroboree Hideous Enough To Break

The Sleep Of The Dead.

After Breakfast The Horses Were Saddled For Home.  Philip Carried His

Revolver In His Belt,  And Gleeson Had A Shot-Gun.  A Kangaroo Was

Seen Feeding About A Hundred Yards Distant,  And Gleeson Dismounted

And Shot At It,  But It Hopped Away Unharmed.  A Few Minutes

Afterwards,  As The Men Were Riding Along At An Easy Walk,  Three Other

Horsemen Suddenly Came Past Them At A Gallop,  Wheeled About,  And

Faced The Fishermen.  One Was Burridge,  A Station Manager,  The Other

Two Were His Stockmen.  The Six Men Looked At One Another For A Few

Moments Without Speaking.  Both Gleeson And Mccarthy Had The

Tipperary Temper,  And It Did Not Remain Idle Long.

"Well," Asked Gleeson,  "Is Anything The Matter?"

"I Dinna Ken Yet," Said Burridge.  "Did Na Ye Hear A Gunshot Just Now?"

"Yes,  I Fired At A Kangaroo."

"A Kangaroo,  Eh?  Are You Sure It Was A Kangaroo?"

"Yes,  It Was A Kangaroo.  What Of That?  Oh,  I See,  You Think We Are

After Shooting Your Cattle.  Is That It?  Speak Out Like A Man."

"Sometimes A Beast Is Shot About Here,  And I'd Like To Find Out Who

Does It."

"Oh,  Indeed!  You'd Like To Know Who Does It,  Would You?  I Can Tell

You,  Anyway,  Who Is The Biggest Cattle Duffer Round Here,  If You'd

Like To Know!"  Gleeson Touched One Flank Of His Horse With His Heel,

And Rode Close Up To Burridge With The Gun In His Right Hand.  "His

Name Is Burridge,  And That's Yourself.  Everybody Knows You,  You Old

Scotch Hound.  You Have As Many Cattle On The Run With Your Brand On

Them As Your Master Has.  There Is Not A Bigger Cattle Thief Than Old

Burridge Within A Hundred Miles,  And You'll Be Taken Off The Run In

Irons Yet.  Get Out Of My Way,  Or I'll Be Tempted To Send You To

Blazes Before Your Time."

Burridge Did Not Go Off The Run In Irons; He Left It Honourably For

Another Run Which He Took Up,  And Stocked With Cattle Bearing No

Brand But His Own.  Evil Tongues Might Tattle,  But No Man Could Prove

That Burridge Ever Broke The Law.

One Fishing Excursion To The Bend Was Enough For Philip,  But A Pig

Hunt Was Organised,  And He Joined It.  The Party Consisted Of

Gleeson,  Mccarthy,  Bill The Butcher,  Bob Atkins,  And George Brown The

Liar,  Who Brought A Rope-Net And A Cart In Which All The Game Caught

Was To Be Carried Home.  Five Dogs Accompanied The Party,  Viz.,  Lion

And Tiger,  Crossbred Bull And Mastiffs,  Experienced Pig Fighters,  Sam

As A Reserve,  And Three Mongrels As Light Skirmishers.

The First Animal Met With Was A Huge Old Boar,  The Hero Of A Hundred

Fights,  The Great-Grandfather Of Pigs.  He Stood At Bay Among The

Tussocks,  The Dogs Barking Furiously Around Him.  Bill The Butcher

Said,  "Keep Back,  You Men,  Or He'll Rip The Guts Out Of Your Horses.

I Know Him Well.  He Has Only One Tusk,  But It's A Boomer.  Look Out

Sharp Till The Dogs Tackle Him,  He Might Make A Rush At Some Of Us."

The Boar Was A Frightful-Looking Beast,  Long,  Tall,  And Slab-Sided,

In Perfect Condition For Fight,  All Bone,  Muscle,  And Bristles,  With

Not An Ounce Of Lard In His Lean Body.  He Stood Still And Stiff As A

Rock Watching The Dogs,  His One White Tusk,  Long And Keen Sticking

Out Above His Upper Lip.  The Loss Of The Other Tusk Left Him At A

Disadvantage,  As He Could Only Strike Effectively On One Side.  Lion

And Tiger Had Fought Him Before,  And He Had Earned Their Respect.

They Were Wary And Cautious,  And With Good Reason. Their Best Hold

Was By The Ears,  And These Had Been Chewed Away In Former Wars,  Till

Nothing Was Left Of Them But The Ragged Roots.  Bill The Butcher

Dismounted,  Dropped His Bridle,  And Cheered On The Dogs At A Prudent

Distance,  "Good Dogs; Seek Him Lion; Hold Him Tiger."

The Dogs Went Nearer And Nearer,  Jumping Away Whenever The Boar Made

An Attack.  At Last They Seized Him By The Roots Of His Ears,  One On

Each Side,  And Held On.  Bob Atkins And Bill Approached The

Combatants,  Carrying Some Strong Cord,  Of New Zealand Flax.  A

Running Noose Was Secured Round The Hind Legs Of The Boar; He Was

Then Thrown On His Side,  And His Forelegs Were Tied Together.

Lion And Tiger Stood Near Panting,  With Blood Dripping From Their

Open Jaws.  Philip Could Not Imagine Why Bill Did Not Butcher The

Beast At Once; It Seemed Impossible That A Leathery Old Savage Like

That Could Ever Be Transformed Into Tender Pork.  For The Present He

Was Left Prone On The Field Of Battle,  And The Pig Hunt Proceeded.

There Was Soon Much Squealing Of Pigs,  And Barking Of Dogs Among The

Tussocks.  Gleenson's Dog Pinned A Young Boar,  And After Its Legs

Were Tied Philip Agreed To Stand By And Guard It,  While Gleeson

Fetched The Cart.  But The Boar Soon Slipped The Cord From His Legs,

And At Once Attacked His Nearest Enemy,  Rushing At Philip And Trying

To Rip Open His Boots.  Philip's First Impulse Was To Take Out His

Revolver,  And Shoot; But He Was Always Conscientious,  And It Occurred

To Him That He Would Be Committing A Breach Of Trust,  As He Had

Undertaken To Guard The Game Alive Until Gleeson Came Back With The

Cart.  So He Tried To Fight The Pig With His Boots,  Kicking Him On

The Jaws Right And Left.  But The Pig Proved A Stubborn Fighter,  And

Kept Coming Up To The Scratch Again And Again,  Until Philip Felt He

Had Got Into A Serious Difficulty.  He Began To Think As Well As To

Kick Quickly.

"If I Could Only Throw The Animal To The Ground I Could Hold Him Down."

The Dogs Had Shown Him That The Proper Mode Of Seizing A Hog Was By

The Ears,  So At The Next Round He Seized Both Ears And Held Them.

There Was A Pause In The Fight,  And Philip Took Advantage Of It To

Address His Enemy After The Manner Of The Greeks And Trojans.

"I Have Got You At Last,  My Friend,  And The Curse Of Cromwell On You,

I'd Like To Murder You Without Mercy; And If Gleeson Don't Come Soon

He'll Find Here Nothing But Dead Pig.  I Must Try To Throw You

Somehow."  After Examining The Pig Narrowly He Continued,  "It Will Be

Done By The Hind Legs."

He Let Go One Ear And Seized A Hind Leg Instead,  Taking The Enemy,  As

It Were,  Both In Front And Rear.  For Some Time There Was Much

Kicking And Squealing,  Until One Scientific Kick And A Sudden Twist

Of The Hind Quarters Brought The Quarry To Earth.

Philip Knelt On The Ribs Of His Foe,  Still Holding One Ear And One

Hind Leg.  Then He Proceeded With His Speech,  Gasping For Breath:

"And This Is What Happens To A Poor Man In Australia!  Here Have I

Been Fighting A Wild Beast Of A Pig For Half An Hour,  Just To Keep

Him Alive,  And All To Oblige A Cockatoo Farmer,  And Small Thanks To

Me For That Same.  May All The Curses--The Lord Preserve Us And

Give Us Patience; I Am Forgetting The Twelve Virtues Entirely."

Gleeson Came At Last With The Cart And George Brown The Liar; The

Pig's Legs Were Again Tied Together,  He Was Lifted Into The Cart And

Covered With The Rope Net.  Four Other Pigs Were Caught,  And Then The

Hunters And Dogs Returned To The Place In Which The Old Boar Had Been

Left.  But He Had Broken Or Slipped His Bonds,  And Had Gone Away.  He

Was Tracked To The River,  Which Was Narrow But Deep,  So He Had Saved

His Bacon For Another Day.

At The Division Of The Game Philip Declined To Take Any Share.  He Said:

"Thanks,  I Have Had Pig Enough For The Present."

So There Were Exactly Five Pigs For The Other Five Men.

Having Been Satiated With The Pleasures Of Fishing And Pig-Hunting,

Philip Was Next Invited To Try The Pursuit Of The Kangaroo.  The

First Meet Of Men And Hounds Took Place At Gleeson's Farm.  Mccarthy

Brought His Dogs,  And Philip Brought Sam,  His Revolver,  And A Club.

Barton Was Too Proud To Join In The Sport; He Despised Inferior Game.

It Might Amuse New Chums,  But It Was Below The Notice Of The Old

Trooper,  Whose Business Had Been For Many Years To Hunt And Shoot

Bushrangers And Black-Fellows,  Not To Mention His Regular Duty As

Flagellator.

Gleeson That Morning Was Cutting Up His Pumpkin Plants With An Axe.

"Good Morning,  Mr. Gleeson," Said Philip.  "Is Anything The Matter?

Is It A Snake You Are Killing?"

Gleeson Began To Laugh,  A Little Ashamed Of Himself,  And Said,  "Look

At These Cursed Pumpkins.  I Think They Are Bewitched.  Every Morning

I Come To See If The Fruit Is Growing,  But This Is What They Do.  As

Soon As They Get As Big As A