A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE BUSH.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 418, 14 October 1875, Page 4

A NIGHT ADVENTURE IN THE BUSH.

[From the Town and Country.]

Many years ago I was travelling along the main Southern road with a son of a squatter in the district, Avho had charge of a party of four men and three teams laden with station supplies. We had arrived at a spot about half-way between Myrtle Creek and Upper Picton or Redbank. At that time theic were not to be seen the homesteads and the flourishing farms, with their pleasing adjuncts, that are now presented to the eye in that locality. On each side of the rugged road was nothing but the primeval forest, and, instead of the peace which now reigns throughout, there was on every hand apprehension of danger from a desperate baud of marauders, who terrified the few settlers in that district by their threats and depredations ; and their terrors were further excited by the local tribe of aboriginals, whose predatory attacks had become so frequent and daring that great care and watchfulness were required to secure solitary homes from their assaults. It was about six o’clock in the evening; the teams had been drawn off the road to a kind of camping ground ; the bullocks had been unharnessed, and were quietly feeding about, and we were all sitting around the fire partaking of our rudely-prepared meal, when a horseman rode suddenly up to our camp. We were somewhat startled by his appearance, but he quickly allayed our fears by stating that he came to enlist our services. He stated that a few hours before the daughter of one of the neighbouring settlers, aged about IG, had been decoyed from her home by a black gin who had been tolerated about the farm for some time previously ; and the poor girl having been seized in the bush had been carried off by some of the tribe. The horseman thought they had taken this step for the purpose of obtaining some concession or reward from the whites. He could hardly think they purposed anything worse, but their real intention was open to question, and speculation was naturally rife. It was evident to all, however, that immediate and combined action was necessary, and this course was quickly determined upon. Although there was much valuable pro perty on our drays, my friend, with creditable manliness and humanity of feeling, at once intimated his willingness to head a rescuing party and leave his property to the care of two .teamsters. In a few moments, after arming ourselves with rifles and two formidable horse-pistols, the appearance of which would have given a gunsmith of the present day the horrors, we were hastening along the road in the direction whence the horseman had come. Our party consisted of four —my friend Hawthorne, myself, and two of the teamsters, one of whom was an aboriginal of remarkable acuteness and marvellous powers of tracking. Charley, for that was the aboriginal’s name, soon dispelled our gloomy forebodings—‘Moon—big fellah moon—get up bime bi; see some way first. ’ We hastened along, and in less than twenty minutes came to the farm road, at its junction with the main road, where we met the father of the young girl and her two brothers, all of them, of course, in great grief, but fully prepared for any undertaking, however desperate, that could lead by any possibility to the young girl’s release. Soon we wei'e conducted to the spot to which the unfortunate young girl had been dt coyed by the gin, and in a second Charley was on his knees carefully examining the surface of the ground round about. We stood apart leaning on our guns, and watching the manoeuvres of the black, and thinking to ourselves how much the success of our pursuit would depend on his acuteness and faithfulness. ‘ Ha !’— an expression of exultation—came from him, and then he told us he had found tracks. There were 1 Blenty black-fellah ; take em white gal boot off; make em walk along alubra.’ Then he pointed out the direction the blacks had taken. The local tribe it was well known had their camp many miles away in another quarter. Charley, however, indicated that this diversion might be a ruse on the part of the tribe. It turned out that the blacks, in order to avoid crossing the road so near the farm, took a circuitous route, and crossed it a few miles further down. Our progress at first was slow, owing to the approaching darkness ; but much time had not elapsed when Charley gave a loud exclamation of surprise, at the same moment pointing to a broken bush. He examined the marks near the bush, and said* ‘ Blackfellah boy break ’em bush, tell ’em whitefellah which way em go.’ At once the farmer recollected there was an aboriginal youth who had visited the farm more than once, and received kind treatment. This might be his grateful return. At a distance of every 20yds or 30yds there was a broken twig or bough, and although the indications would most likely have escaped our observation, they were readily perceived by Charley, whose eyes seemed able easily to pierce the gathering gloom. Our progress through these marks became more certain, yet not so rapid as we desired. In the course of an hour we had crossed the road and entered the bush on its eastern side. We had not gone more than a mile or mile and a half in this direction when Charley informed us of the approach of a storm. We still proceeded on our march until we came to a place of shelter in the shape of a cluster of huge gum trees and thick brushwood, and here we awaited the storm. Presently there was a stillness in the forest, and the surroundings were so depressing that conversation naturally flagged ; each was left to his own thoughts. Then the dead leaves began to fall from the timber, and dry twigs to drop, and now and again kangaroos and wallabies, with the peculiar “thud, thud” of their tails, would pass close by, apparently in search of shelter. This fleeing from the approaching storm of animals anything but nocturnal in habit, but whose instinct taught them to fear it, made our situation seem more depressing than before. Then there came an ominous sound through the streets, and in a few minutes it gave way to the appalling noise of the storm as it tore its way through the woods. The rustling of the leaves and the drifting of the scuds of dark clouds overhead indicated that it had reached us, and the next moment every tree in the bush was yielding and swaying to a perfect tornado. Dead trees, huge heavy-topped giants of the forest, were laid low before the storm, timber was falling in every direction, crash succeeded crash, and the howling of the wind overhead and through the trees was enough to appal the stoutest heart and make man feel his impotency as against the elements in fierce strife. In a short time the bush was again as still as the grave. The father’s and brothers’ thoughts were set on the object of our pursuit, whose anxiety and

fear we could only imagine as utterly overwhelming. These thoughts gave us new energy, and we again zealously buckled to the work before us. On resuming our march, although the falling timber somewhat impeded our movements, we progressed satisfactorily. It was now getting towards midnight, and it was evident from the course we were passing that the blacks were making for their camping-grounds, which lay in the fertile and secluded valleys to the cast of the Bargo River, and we hoped to come up with them in the vicinity of the stream or one of its tributaries. As we approached the river, we thought that they had crossed by the bar, but on nearing the crossing-place, we found that they had taken a turn to the left. This somewhat puzzled even Charley, and it was arranged that while the tracks were pursued in *the direction indicated, one of the brothers and myself should watch the crossing, and also the eastern banks of the river, to° ascertain if there were any indications of the presence of the aboriginals. I have a vivid recollection still of the lonely hour that we passed on the bank that night. The woods on either side were as still as the grave, and nothing disturbed the death-like silence but the monotonous lull of the waters, which here, as may be seen in the sketch, fell over a rocky bar that crossed the stream. The moon was now up and shining brightly, and the smooth expanse of water which was dammed up by the bar, shone like a mirror, and added much to the impressive character of the scene. During our watch we saw nothing to indicate the presence of the natives, and anxiously awaited the return of the party who had taken up the tracks. At length they returned and informed us that the blacks had kept to the bank of the river for some time, but had about a quarter of a mile up taken to the water and descended again in such a manner as to destroy their traces —that was by walking in the water at its margin. As soon as this was ascertained we hastened to cross the river. This was a matter of some difficulty ; the water although not very deep, rushed past the eye in so rapid a way that it made one so giddy, and we were forced to provide ourselves with supports, with which we were all enabled to cross in safety. Once on the other side it became apparent that the blacks had used less caution in their proceedings, and the indications of the route becoming more easily distinguishable as the moon got higher, our pursuit became rapid, and there were hopes in every breast that we should come up with the blacks by daydawn. The bush as we progressed became more open and easy, and our route lay across Hat country or along lightly-timbered valleys, on each side of which the land rose gently—in many cases presenting spots of magnificent scenery. We had passed out from one of those valIsys, and were entering upon an expanse of flat country, when the watchful eye of Charley discovered evidence of a small fire on a ridge lying to the left. We were, of course, all eager to dash on to the camp of the blacks, for such it was thought by Charley to be, and indeed the father and sons were rushing forward with great impatience under that belief ; but the warnings of our faithful guide roused us to the imprudence of such rashness, and we willingly waited while he stealthily approached the camp and examined the strength of the party. This would enable us to ascertain the quarter from which the attack should be made to effect the desired rescue. Charley was not long away, and to the great joy of the father and brothers, and indeed of us all, he informed us on his return that he had seen the girl, and that she was apparently well. The party with her was small, and it appeared probable that some of the men had gone out to look for food. Charley said that those remaining, who numbered only about seven or eight, were lying carelessly about the fire, confident that for some time at least their camp was secure from assault. Long before this the first streaks of day appeared in the eastern sky, and without further delay, lest our presence should be discovered, we cautiously approached the camp as directed by Charley, in single file, and located ourselves on the rising ground above. We had not been in position more than a few minutes, eagerly watching and discussing how we should dash in and secure the poor girl, when suddenly a loud ‘ coo-ey’ came from the crest of the hill in the rear of us, and in a few minutes more two of the hunting party passed, I might say, almost through our hies, and entered the camp. They threw down the game they had secured and lay down by the tire, while others set to preparing a hasty meal. We approached to within twenty yards of the camp, and then, by given signal, hred upon the blacks before they recovered from the shock which the discharge of our firearms produced. Charley, with the agility of a cat, was instantly at the side of the girl, for he well knew that the treacherous spirit of the tribe might impel one of them to inflict injury if not death npon her when they found they could not prevent her rescue. We had fired with merely blank cartridge, which we deemed would be quite as effective, under the circumstances, as if we used ball, as it was by surprise the rescue was to be attempted. And so it proved to be; for the blacks were so completely astounded at our unexpectedly volley that most of them made off as rapidly as they could, one or two of them, who had not so quickly recovered from their shock, coming in for rough treatment from us with our fists and musketbutts.

The poor girl rushed to the arms of her father and brothers, and the joyful but affecting scene was ample return to us all for the fatigue and troubles of the night. There was an inclination on the part of one of the brothers to shoot the old gin who had decoyed the girl from her home ; but this the latter prevented, for she said the old woman had shown her many little acts of kindness, and had prevented her from being ill-used by the others.

After resting awhile and refreshing ourselves, we made a start for home, and arrived there just as evening closed in, all, but particularly the rescued girl, quite overcome with fatigue. N ext morning, after receiving the heartfelt thanks of the family for the great service we had rendered them, we proceeded on our road towards Berrima,