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

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

Were,  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.

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

Were 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.

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