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

I Was Full Of Youthful Energy And In High Spirits,  And Did Not Always

Know How Properly To Moderate My Vivacity. Through My Want Of Restraint

I Got Into All Kinds Of Scrapes. Often,  In My Thoughtlessness,  I Would

Destroy The Things I Saw Around Me,  In The Endeavour To Investigate And

Understand Them.

My Father Was Prevented By His Manifold Occupations From Himself

Instructing Me. Besides,  He Lost All Further Inclination To Teach Me,

After The Great Trouble He Found In Teaching Me To Read--An Art Which

Came To Me With Great Difficulty. As Soon As I Could Read,  Therefore,  I

Was Sent To The Public Village School.

The Position In Which My Father Stood To The Village Schoolmasters,  That

Is To Say,  To The Cantor,[5] And To The Master Of The Girls' School,  And

His Judgment Of The Value Of Their Respective Teaching,  Decided Him To

Send Me To The Latter. This Choice Had A Remarkable Influence On The

Development Of My Inner Nature,  On Account Of The Perfect Neatness,

Quiet,  Intelligence,  And Order Which Reigned In The School; Nay,  I May

Go Further,  And Say The School Was Exactly Suitable For Such A Child As

I Was. In Proof Of This I Will Describe My Entrance Into The School. At

That Time Church And School Generally Stood In Strict Mutual

Relationship,  And So It Was In Our Case. The School Children Had Their

Special Places In Church; And Not Only Were They Obliged To Attend

Church,  But Each Child Had To Repeat To The Teacher,  At A Special Class

Held For The Purpose Every Monday,  Some Passage Of Scripture Used By The

Minister In His Sermon Of The Day Before,  As A Proof Of Attention To The

Service. From These Passages That One Which Seemed Most Suitable To

Children Was Then Chosen For The Little Ones To Master Or To Learn By

Heart,  And For That Purpose One Of The Bigger Children Had During The

Whole Week,  At Certain Times Each Day,  To Repeat The Passage To The

Little Children,  Sentence By Sentence. The Little Ones,  All Standing Up,

Had Then To Repeat The Text Sentence By Sentence In Like Manner,  Until

It Was Thoroughly Imprinted On Their Memories.

I Came Into School Onsed,  Looked Up To The Gum Tree,  And Said,  "By Golly,  Who's

Dere?"  The Echo Was Repeated,  And Then He Wheeled About In Real

Earnest,  Transfixed With Horror,  Unable To Move A Limb.  The Blacks

Were Close To Him Now,  But Even Their Colour Could Not Restore His

Courage.  They Were Cannibals,  And Were Preparing To Kill And Eat

Him.  But First They Examined Their Game Critically,  Poking Their

Fingers About Him,  Pinching Him In Various Parts Of The Body,

Stroking His Broad Nose And Ample Lips With Evident Admiration,  And

Trying To Pull Out The Curls On His Woolly Head.

Sambo Was Usually Proud Of His Personal Appearance,  But Just Now Fear

Prevented Him From Enjoying The Applause Of The Strangers.

At Length He Recovered His Presence Of Mind Sufficiently To Make An

Effort To Avert His Impending Doom.  If The Blacks Could Be Induced

To Eat The Dinner He Was Cooking Their Attention To  Himself Might Be

Diverted,  And Their Appetites Appeased,  So He Pointed Towards The

Pots,  Saying,  "Plenty Beef,  Pork,  Plum Duff."

The Blacks Seemed To Understand His Meaning,  And They Began To

Inspect The Dinner; So Instead Of Taking The Food Like Sensible Men,

They Upset All The Pots With Their Waddies,  And Scattered The Beef,

Pork,  Plum Duff And Potatoes,  So That They Were Covered With Sand And

Completely Spoiled.

Two Of The Blacks Next Peered Into The Nearest Tent,  And Seeing Some

Knives And Forks,  Took Possession Of Them.  But There Was A Sound Of

Voices From The Waterhole,  And They Quickly Gathered Together Their

Stolen Goods And Disappeared.  In A Few Minutes Captain Leebrace And

The Wreckers Arrived At The Camp,  Bringing With Them Kennedy And His

Wife,  Who Had Recovered Their Senses,  And Were Able To Tell What Had

Happened.

"Black Debbils Been Heah,  Cappen,  Done Spoil All De Dinner,  And Run

Away Wid De Knives And Forks," Sambo Said.

Captain Leebrace Soon Resolved On A Course Of Reprisals.  He Went Up

The Ladder To The Forks Of The Gum Tree With His Telescope,  And Soon

Obtained A View Of The Retreating Thieves,  Appearing Occasionally And

Disappearing Among The Long Grass And Timber; And After Observing The

Course They Were Taking He Came Down The Ladder.  He Selected Two Of

His Most Trustworthy Men,  And Armed Them And Himself With

Double-Barrelled Guns,  One Barrel Being Smooth Bore And The Other

Rifled,  Weapons Suitable For Game Both Large And Small.  During The

Pursuit The Captain Every Now And Then,  From Behind A Tree,  Searched

For The Enemy With His Telescope,  Until At Last He Could See That

They Had Halted,  And Had Joined A Number Of Their Tribe.  He Judged

That The Blacks,  If They Suspected That The White Men Would Follow

Them,  Would Direct Their Looks Principally Towards The Tents,  So He

Made A Wide Circuit To The Left.  Then He And His Men Crept Slowly

Along The Ground Until They Arrived Within Short Range Of The Natives.

Three Of The Blacks Were Wearing The Stolen Shirts,  A Fourth Had Put

On The Lilac Dress,  And They Were Strutting Around To Display Their

Brave Apparel Just Like White Folks.  The Savage Man Retains All

Finery For His Own Personal Adornment,  And Never Wastes Any Of It On

His Despicable Wife,  But Still Captain Leebrace Had Some Doubt In The

Matter.  He Whispered To His Men,  "I Don't Like To Shoot At A Gown;

There May Be A Lubra In It,  But I'll Take The Middle Fellow In The

Shirt,  And You Take The Other Two,  One To The Right,  The Other To The

Left; When I Say One,  Two,  Three,  Fire."

The Order Was Obeyed And When The Smoke Cleared Away The Print Dress

Was Gone,  But All The Rest Of The Plunder Was Recovered On The Spot.

The Shirts Were Stripped Off The Bodies Of The Blacks; And After They

Had Been Rinsed In A Water-Hole,  They Were Found To Have Been Not

Much Damaged,  Each Shirt Having Only A Small Bullet Hole In It.  It

Was In This Way That The Lilac Dress Escaped,  And Was Found In The

Canoe At The Old Port; The Blackfellow Who Wore It Had Taken It Off

And Put It Under His Knees In The Bottom Of His Canoe,  And When The

White Men's Boat Came After  Him,  He Was In So Great A Hurry To Hide

Himself In The Scrub That He Left The Dress Behind.

Next Day There Was A Sudden Alarm In The Camp At The Old Port.

Clancy And Dick The Devil Came Running Toward The Beach,  Full Of Fear

And Excitement,  Screaming,  "The Blacks,  The Blacks,  They Are Coming,

Hundreds Of Them,  And They Are All Naked,  And Daubed Over White,  And

They Have Long Spears."

The Men Who Had Guns--Campbell,  Shay,  And Davy--Fetched Them Out

Of Their Huts And Stood Ready To Receive The Enemy; Even Mcclure,

Although Very Weak,  Left His Bed And Came Outside To Assist In The

Fight.  The Fringe Of The Scrub Was Dotted With The Piebald Bodies Of

The Blacks,  Dancing About,  Brandishing Their Spears,  And Shouting

Defiance At The White Men.  They Were Not In Hundreds,  As The Boys

Imagined,  Their Number Apparently Not Exceeding Forty; But It Was

Evident That They Were Threatening Death And Destruction To The

Invaders Of Their Territory.  None,  However,  But The Very Bravest

Ventured Far Into The Cleared Space,  And They Showed No Disposition

To Make A Rush Or Anything Like A Concerted Attack.

Campbell,  After Watching The Enemy's Movements For Some Time,  Said,

"I Think It Will Be Better To Give Them A Taste Of The Nine-Pounder.

Keep A Look-Out While I Load Her."

He Went Into His Store To Get The Charge Ready.  He Tied Some Powder

Tightly In A Piece Of Calico And Rammed It Home.  On This He Put A

Nine-Pound Shot; But,  Reflecting That The Aim At The Dancing Savages

Would Be Uncertain,  He Put In A Double Charge,  Consisting Of Some

Broken Glass And A Handful Of Nails.

He Then Thrust A Wooden Skewer Down The Touch-Hole Into The Powder

Bag Below,  Primed And Directed The Piece Towards The Scrub,  Giving

It,  As He Judged,  Sufficient Elevation To Send The Charge Among The

Thickest Of The Foe.  As This Was The First Time The Gun Had Been

Brought Into Action,  And There Was No Telling For Certain Which Way

It Would Act,  Campbell Thought It Best To Be Cautious; So He Ordered

All His Men To Take Shelter Behind The Store.  He Then Selected A

Long Piece Of Bark,  Which He Lighted At The Fire,  And,  Standing

Behind An Angle Of The Building,  He Applied The Light To The

Touch-Hole.  Every Man Was Watching The Scrub To See The Effect Of

The Discharge.  There Was A Fearful Explosion,  Succeeded By Shrieks

Of Horror And Fear From The Blacks,  As The Ball And Nails And Broken

Glass Went Whistling Over Their Heads Through The Trees.  Then There

Was A Moment Of Complete Silence.  Campbell,  Like A Skilful General,

Ordered His Men To Pursue At Once The Flying Foe,  In Order To Reap To

The Full The Fruits Of Victory,  And They Ran Across The Open Ground

To Deliver A Volley; But On Arriving At The Scrub No Foe Was To Be

Seen,  Either Dead Or Alive.  The Elevation Of The Artillery Had Been

Too Great,  And The Missiles Had Passed Overhead; But The Result Was

All That Could Be Hoped For,  For Two Months Afterwards Not A Single

Native Was Visible.

Two Victories Had Been Gained By The Pioneers,  And It Was Felt That

They Deserved Some Commemoration.  At Night There Was A Feast Around

The Camp Fire; It Was Of Necessity A Frugal One,  But Each Member Of

The Small Community Contributed To It As Much As He Was Able.

Campbell Produced Flour Enough For A Large Damper,  A Luxury Unseen

For The Last Eight Weeks; Mcclure Gave Tea And Sugar; Davy Brought

Out A Box Full Of Eggs And A Dozen Mutton Birds; Scutt And Pateley

Furnished A Course Of Roast Flathead; Clancy And Dick The Devil,  The

Poor Pirates,  Gave All The Game They Had That Day Killed,  Viz.,  Two

Parrots And A