The Cooey in the Bush.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 58, 19 August 1875, Page 7

The Cooey in the Bush.

i 3£ $& osossHthftlecltar£)tKß;r^_die^WV n l^ % on. any subject connected Jwith emigration : to O^talot been asked. ; 'ing-bej^n to disperse, but a good j few "lingered about to have a word with' the lectpferj.and, pjm^ng-sithat.nuni.ber were Will Pattie — wbo had to set.tje about -the- dateof sailing— iaud -his two fern inine friends;- When tbey got On to £he\ platform an old woman was therjemakihg inquiries as ' to the fate of h;pr son who had "sailed to Otago about ten y sara. before, and fromiwhom only two letters had bpenxreceived^anp! that was shortly after,la^dingi a^The ( l<ißt r pine.gta ; ted fhati &.s^fqr4)ie phpep shear-; ing, from j^feiph b&heped to return 1 in aboutrsix^eks7-w^en4je^wopld-writej but nine long^years hid 'been spent by her and his father waiting, hoping against hope,, and still .no " good | tidingsl from .-' tbe /far country."" SnP ,was. pleading, da .sorrow* s, stricken accents that on his return, he., wpuld endeavor fo ascertain the fate "o' her long lost bairn" ' .. . r • After the old woman came a decent looking man;who by his dress could be put 1 down as an agricultural laborer—* a bona fide? one. He stated thai he wished to ?o£ago. "A When , asked, tlie rn^mber f .o|'.,Jliis. .family hej re\j pliedj "There's Jack.wha's noo isaxteeh; Jerinyi a gey 'winsome queen of fiftMn;summeTß~^Kltie73usf turnedTtwal ; the^herst ane deed] : pure thing, when Bhe was sax ; tbeh Tain, a wild young scppn'relj, w.ba'll be: ai?ghj; ,nei3t/Ilammas (August) j. and Qeordie, a perfec' divert; she pawkey an' slee; an'; the pockshakins (seeing Mr A. laugh)-^-it's as— fee's — deaths— Nannie -a dauted tawpie, wl|ase,:!theAvera' imagp o'jher . mither,?.an',tbe<;ilicht:o!<my ees" .After having satisfied; ; himself by further questioning that allt was righ, Mr Ai exclaimed i" You'ra the sort of men we want in Otago; You'll get land which you can pay at your leisure, and with a little help from your- B family, you will, in a few years, be able to say," I owe no man anythingv'. -'? Thank ye, Maister ; gude nichtj rila.wa.hame.",,. , „v -. .. ..,.. „ Now it was Will's turn, jvhp ; re* minded bini that he Had spoken to him some time^preyiously of. bis intentibn to seek a iiome in Otagol By, referring to "his" notebook he repd-r---•'[N^mpjlWil.rjamcPatile.c;,. age, twentyfive ; occupation, ploughman, un" i " ", Na, na,'.'; exclaimed Will, " married an' here's the wife ; come forrit Qhirsty." '? Well, well, so be it, 'married '". : .-. On saying = which -he hastily shook Chirsty's hand, and wished her a happy married- life x . and ?a '. safe passage- to Otago in -the- Ocean Wave, "which was to;?sail Jhat; day week. After this Was settled Jeannie was introduced as' " a nebour lass wha wanted tae gang tae." One lopk at hen waa sufficient j her healthy rosy_pheeks; her plain prin.t.dress,. and her .reserved and modest demeanour, while she was being questioned, spoke volumes in her favor as a likely female domestic servant, and the wish, that .she. should... sail -with her * friend^y^Srat:pnGer T iponceded. Arrangempj^|i»vitig^eeaf%^ so far,; the l^ffl^nij^py^e|^was ,j^^*ajb > in sewing, ' genpj^fe|ia^|t^jttSr their departure.. T^e^^^^^iti^^ir and mother was tW^mU^^m^^^ef^^e derest tie n ? lie a y in questo^^#^^®plyr%rmer, Mapu " Tiatf InbTTTearbV from ' Tamlu^ce he left a good number of years before. He also quietly ..intimated "that he ..feared that Tairi had fallen a victim to souie of the swiftr-flowing rivers of the Province, or had been lpist; among the. rranges-where hp had perished^. This -was ; not very encouraging news f . for Jean. .Will told? him, of^. Jean's.. arriyaV and .of i^he intimacy existing between them,Vand tnat Bhe...and;his.own;wife : ;,we,re awaiting his return with,impatience.s,buthe dreaded to disclose : tp them -what he. had just heard.. On .Hearing, that Wilt iwas newly married* a„ bright thought struck him j he was just in want of $ ploiigh r - man,and if Will would engage' he wbujd; give him; Tam> ; wag6Sj jglOCPa-yeaiT with a free house and': firewood. He - -ventured -• to -make— this—offer on the r n ßtrepg|h f pf w;hat he -knew .of-Tam's su,/pep9r r ability >7 anrt 7 Will being his. sue-; .pesspr^bp^^ . „sajqijB o p^ce 1 r rte ; 'alsojpro^ised to speak to JSlryJi.'jß.Tansey^tbe !mar .^ortb^ serson; j{ a^ r bpflsekeepei\.. 7 £his i ?g^i?? fi?o4 W^rMmt sV'Cbeer Will a little^and , , fake i the edge Wffi L the their guest, Were i^their : M^l ' from which Jean MUm^n^SU^ n S i week to be transferred to the office of i housekeeper of Gladbrook, Mr Tansey's, at the handsome salary of £45 a year

■ i. " " ' . L.. 'j '. ' , As time wore on without any news' of Tarn, Jean heaf d, first from one |then from another, of the probable fate of her lover, but though she thoroughly believed that he Was dead, she would not yield to the solicitations of iiore thanron&of Gotago's esquires. to .become? their^bride 1 . hatf Wowed j aifd| she Would solemnly perform. She hoped to, live witht her i present .master,, who was very kind to her, until old age, if she wj3re>sparißd}!and:by .that;?tinj§ she WofilcT bave as much saved as would keep her the remainderyofther ttayfi 5 and she was; buoyed . with the blessed hope tbat th^ugVtney^werb-tnna 'severed on^Parth they wouldone day meet " where all are fair." v " 1 ■'{''* ~s ■^Pf'py^^^s'ds^oi Mr Makpenny^s plougbman and his yife, and a pledgrrof-affeotion had been given them to cheer, hearth. Chirsty, l the faithful J^si^i)|^!ii^(pjh^ fpith^ ml wife and mother, and as Jekn'nbade their^hpnse, her home. she, was the confidentia'r adviser df her Iqss highly favored comrade^ — j A Tarn, after .his departure from i the Kafraroy followed^tf-ftwid 1 leading* to .lanas T of lower, altitudes, reckless of where it led tb^' atnd ; Pre be gained; his ■ wonted t> composure of mra'd, 1 :- he found himself in- the -midst of . a; fine agricultural district in the nortirpf the province! Again hip old manner of living passed before him : the quiet; sleek farm horses moved Quietly 4 aiongj the furrow, . wbile the, kindly , -WPfd from their driver' seemed to inspife'them' with fresh confidence.— The hum of the busy thrashing machine rose on his ear, while his orbsroi? Vision jwere cheered by! the sig-htrof the^ indusf ribus hive,'- frdmj the feeder and band-cutter to the engineer and -watejßl'-bbjr*.* The fat, lazy milch cows haying satisfied the exceedingly limited demands of nature, stood riiminating at the slipypanels,-or basked in the rosy sunshine of an autumn eve. All? seemed >to: remind: hint of a peace of mind, to which :for years he, had beeiiTa stranger, and made him Wish for such a life again. He asked "to bepmployed and was successful. The roving habit already formed' was hard- to* s curb r >| but curb it he did ; and after feeling settled he wrote home to Jean, telling her of his change from melancholy to gladness, and of his bright prospects in the future, and giving^ her reason to believe that ere another year would, pass he would be^ready to receive her; ln ; vain did he • wat Ho- J ean's repry; for before the letter reached home Jean had sailed and * her late master having been rouped out of the- Craigton, . the letter lay uncalled for. Feeling^ uneasy at this he: wrote to Mr Makpenny, asking if any letters had been sent to his care. Mr Makpenny replied in£ the negative, outsold him that. Will Pattie, was out, frho would give him all the requisite information, at the same time giving him Will's- address. About a year after Jean's arrival in Otago; and just -as a bleak, winter's day was drawing to a close, a man, weary and footsore, heavily laden with a roll of blankets done up into a swag,! his billy-cock hat not wanting in ventila--tibn,y-and-hip -clothes tattered' ;and, patcheid, might be seen wending his way up one of the flax : bordered roads which -ran through the ~ Mapu Bush district. To all appearance he was; not an entire stranger to the roads ; jbut as het left. the well- tracked Toad-lines of the open land for the' network of pptjhs that crossed and re-crossed each otber in the bush/ his confidence, in • his knowledge of locality appeared to gki T shaken; ' He : would walk bir for some distance^ as if familiar with each prominent feature of the track, but on gaining a junction where two or more roads branched off, his indecision, again asserted itself." Sometimes, 'trusting Phanco than knowledge,; he would rush frantically along/ and after having traversed a mile or so would be rather chagrined "to find himself once more at his starting point. As dark- ; ness, to! crpwni his misfprtunps,th&d set in, he haade np his mind to encamp; for the night under the friendly shelter pfsome kios which grew at hand, although from his . previous knowledge of ;tne bush he had. good reason to believe that he was not 'far frdni the outer edge of it;. At this juncture the bark of a dog a short" distance away. caused him to tiirh' hastily on his hPel r for inviting though? a life in the a-la "Robin- Hoodibr otherwise, ' Tam^ f or • it ' was, no.other,^ thought that a !logßeat : at the ingle^sidp of. Will Pottle would be . much more preferable. So as a dernier ressprt -he g resolved to trust to ibis already "ovev-taxed lungs Iby indulging" in a vehement !" The result .pf the first and second attempts was ih&tj reyerbe rations upf hi^ own., ypipe i rebpundedloCsoJciiP In^isibie s solidbodyj but remembering that " the third (jime tries, a,'," he, again assayed to n^ake himself heard." *~ "This' time, in addijtion to the repercussion of his own voiced . aridlafter/i£ v hadiceasedj fc^^ reply,- silyery' and clear, which almost made him ashamed pf^is.^wn.jattempt, re-echoed through the vistas of" the forest " llosh preserve me I" cried Tarn, r once niore; ass«nlinyiQiß^TOffi6, (i its a wonian bodie, as shure's death, an' the sicntf { d w me '11 fricht her oot 0' her wuts." And again relapsing into superstition j hp~ gave vent to his thoughts as follow^ :— *♦ If this be some young glaikit hizzy wha wants tae get married, what am h tae dae ? for it is a noted fac' ihat whaever ansens the cooey o' ane lost in the bush, i.e., if baith be single an' ilk ane be 0' different sex, is tae be

theirs for" better" or waur; V but I'm determinpd^tbalilPUnotdae this frept'ih this Pasb 1 / for 'I^aihna get Jeanniey Todd 1$ neler j&*e anither." Du|ring.'! these audibfe'iitterancfls Tarn waj all j the time approaching his deliverer with heart. SThe^'sterm^w hich had been brewing for the most a: the • af^rnopUj, now . came, en jit allots :ury, and the creaking of the' trees' 'ant t the rustling of the leaves, With' an oecasipnal .falling^ branch j y was «« "Harmony in u|irbar;" which Tain hailed as Iverv loj^ortune. ,' He Ihad-id'elermlried on saying .little, as in his present grab he did not wish to be lenowfl. Now the person, .enveloped over head and-^ears in *a large shawl/which was disceriiible by the ' light of the laritbfn' Which; she carelessly swung -in hfef"' hatfdfj'' ap- , proached,- and Tarn after. : a - politpi for J his tongue hady greatly altej^pd during his digging career, apology ; /or 1 the trouble he had Paused, told hefthat%e T had lost his Way in the bush, audi was. in search' of orie Mr Rattle. . As luck would^^ have it' "this' wa r s f h ? PrVfghtj out and she had- just started Von her^bad.' to : that place when she heard the i last cooey j r but no'# sbe^ would ; go first! and guide him to his ? destination. In he? wanderings along the narrow footpaths; sheep" 7 : or A cattle", tracks; 1 after?; they merged from the bush, his ferhiiniqe guide" Was ''very reticeh^'as^he-'di^' not altogether like his. Outward appearance; but r the simple., fact that- he was g bing to Tattle's' w.as-"a" sufficient guarantee, thatall Was :right.. T'am had r once or twice_Ventured to remark during' |heir journey? thatlt was anjd rePeiving very l^conip answers he had'sub^ d ;d into muteness. Jeantiie Todd> for it was , she, with "her follower, wet [ and wearied, ( arrived^ at Will Pattle's j cottage, and "witbout 'going through! th'eceremony of rapping at the door opened if and entered, with the exclamation " Hech me, but its wet " j and? as her mute , companion was crossing I the threshold, she; turned to Willra^d his wife and said,;" See here's a strange— ;" at this moment she gay& a glancle at the suppose ' stranger, and her j lips refused to articulate more, her limbs 8 - 10 . 0 l f » her eyes assumed a glassy, vacant look, and with outstretched ijrms to meet him she fell back in a swoon, In a moment the stranger was divjestd of his swag, and notwithstanding! his uncouth ; ? appearance,- "was"^tenderly raising" the ' unconscidus V form, pfi his "am dear Jean,*" imprinting a thousand : kisses oh her "snaw 'white' ; broa," Jand j using every endearmpnt -which his con- ' fused mind was capable of ponceivipg."J Then -through 7 the tattered' garments, the flowing beard and grim moustache, i did Will and .his ; astonished jwife recognise , the lineaments of their! old friend, Tarn Shanks. Tarn and Will hurriedly knd tearihlly shook hands, while Mrs Pattie applied restoratives to Jean. Oh recovering v Jeannie looked wddly around her and cried out, ". Is't true; is't true, is Tani still ? leeviji' T then fixing her eyes on him she- almost, sdreamed, its my aiVTam,' an' I daur ! ye tae- tak' him awa •frae 7 me !" Then again „the over-burdpned mind folindf relief: in -.insensibility. ;By careful treatment at the hands of I her nurses she was partially restored that night, jmd after, the refreshingrslumber of the night i; she. was able *to engage in the conversation of ; next day; Tarn was the hero of that little group, |and to them he told^his hardships- and toil, misfortunes and ; misei-ies, 'and hopesrand fears.,; Mr.Mackpenny was delighted to see : his old servani -once-morp/and at once proceeded to giye an account of his stewardship. Tom's stock had so increased that he ..bad ."occasionally tp sell a few. At present they amounted to five young" cows, and calves, with lfr one, two, and,- three yean .olds on! the run.,. Me had sold cattle to- the' amount ; of L 163, which he;had .devbted to fpncing in the r sp: : that;,np.w , he. (Tarn) had .100, acres! ofgrouiid securely fencedj . besides: 2fc head of .cattle toi stock it, and 4 head of borses to : -work ' it— the resultrof the i investiture of Tarn's ™°?^y J.4ft wit'h;his master JML„his trip to the diggings | and; %rthermore, it was agreed that in a month's time' he should lead /.JeahniV'Tbdd from ! the hymeneal altar to grace the cottage of Craigton, which name.be had resolved to bestow on, his place, and there once more tp resumejthei.even- tenor- of his F & f : ; Qf courselifowpuld notbe with- ? u £.^ difficulties, butiherpleasant 3mile ;pf his ;i^ ain wi'fie Jean was sufficient ;toraisethe lowered brows' and chase . dull cafe froWthbir; humble dwellirig. , Thus, througb; aspries' of years, were two fond hearts, though widely separated by <« mount, and i Strekm,* 1 a"n f d spai" bre- ; served; by an n altwise;;;Prdvidence, r and at last brougbt'tp reye] ! in . the sunshine yofTeach-, others' ; 4pye^ : andy toy beat in '•todfedn through' the l "' Cooey in i the ABwhSj^JAi jai:ax:ca^ SL I ..*