Some years ago two travellers, mounted on wiry yet strong looking
steeds, were wending their way through a forest in Australia. They were
both young and dressed much alike in broad-brimmed pith hats, loose red
shirts, corduroy trousers and high boots with spurs.
Each of them had stuck in his belt an axe, a brace of pistols, and a
long knife; while at his back was slung a serviceable-looking rifle,
showing that they were prepared to defend themselves, should they
encounter any treacherous blacks, a very possible contingency at that
period of the country's history.
They were followed by an active native also mounted, who led a horse
carrying their baggage. The scenery was not especially attractive,
indeed so great was its sameness that alone they would have been utterly
unable to find their way. On either side rose tall stringy-bark and
other gum-trees, their curious and narrow leaves affording scarcely any
shelter from the rays of the almost vertical sun, the huge white stems
from which the bark hung down in ragged masses giving them a weird and
dreary aspect. Tracks there were, but they branched now in one
direction now in the other, and were more calculated to bewilder the
travellers than to guide them aright. Their map--for being new arrivals
in the country they carried one--told them that they should soon reach a
broad stream. They were now looking out eagerly for it, wondering
whether they should have to wade through it or should find a ferry-boat
ready to take them and their animals across.
I may as well say--having thus begun, after the fashion of a writer
whose pure and wholesome works I used heartily to enjoy in my boyhood
days--that one of the travellers was myself, Maurice Thurston, and the
other my brother Guy, a year only my senior. We had lately lost our
father, with whose sanction we had settled some time before to come out
to Australia and seek our fortunes. We, our mother, our two sisters,
and another brother, had been left with a very limited income; and Guy
and I, wishing to push our own fortunes and establish a home for the
rest of the family, agreed that no time should be lost in carrying our
plan into execution. As soon therefore as our mother's affairs had been
settled, we set sail from England, and, about two weeks before the day I
am describing, arrived in Australia. We had not come entirely on a
wild-goose chase. A cousin of our father's, Mr Oliver Strong, had long
been settled in the country, and had replied to an application made to
him some time before by our father, saying that he should be happy to
receive us and put us in the way of doing well for ourselves, if we were
sober, steady, strong, active, willing fellows with heads on our
shoulders and without any "fine gentleman" notions.
We were now making our way toward his station, some hundred miles in the
interior. Though we had not ridden far from our camping place, the
intense heat of the sun made us feel very thirsty, and sympathise with
our horses which must have been equally so; thus we were anxious as soon
as possible to reach the river, where we hoped to find an abundance of
water.
From our black guide we could not obtain much information; for, although
we were well assured that he spoke English when we engaged him, we found
that it was of a character which would take us some time to learn.
However he understood us better than we did him, though we had to put
questions in all sorts of ways and repeat them over and over again. We
then had to puzzle out his replies, not always arriving at a
satisfactory conclusion.
Guy frequently stood up in his stirrups and looked ahead, hoping to
catch the sheen of water. At last we began to have some uncomfortable
suspicions that, although our black attendant professed to know the way,
he had managed to lose it--a circumstance not at all unlikely to occur--
and that we were wandering far out of our proper course. Though the sun
was of some assistance, yet we might be going too much to the north or
too much to the west, and might pass a long way off from the station
which we wished to reach. All we could do therefore was to exert our
wits, and, should we have got out of the direct path, to try and find
it. At length the foliage before us became somewhat thicker, but no
sign of water did we see. We were riding on when a loud cry reached our
ears.
"There's some one in distress!" I exclaimed.
"I fear that you are right, we must find out," answered Guy.
We were urging on our horses, when a peal of mocking laughter seemed to
come from the wood close to us.
"What can that be?" I asked; "some natives who want to frighten us, or
an unfortunate maniac."
The shout of laughter was repeated.
"Him one jackass!" observed our guide, Toby.
"Jackass! What can the fellow mean?" cried Guy.
Then looking up we discovered a large bird not far off who was evidently
uttering the extraordinary sound we heard. It was, as Toby told us, a
laughing-jackass, or a gigantic kingfisher. So ridiculous were the
sounds that we could not help laughing too.
Presently a number of cockatoos, rising with loud screams just before
us, flew over the trees to pitch again not far off. As we were watching
them we found ourselves at the top of a bank, some thirty or forty feet
in height. Below it, to the right and left, stretched a sandy bottom
scarcely less than half a mile in breadth, and on the opposite side rose
another bank. Below the one on which we stood was a stream of water,
flowing sluggishly along, scarcely twelve feet wide, and so shallow that
we could see the bottom.
"Can this be the river we were to come to?" I exclaimed, examining the
map.
"No doubt about it," answered my brother; "perhaps sometimes this broad
bed of sand is covered, and if we had found it so, we should have had
considerable difficulty in crossing; so it is as well as it is, here is
water enough for ourselves and our weary beasts." We accordingly agreed
to stop and dine. Having watered our horses, we hobbled them and turned
them at liberty under some trees where grass was growing; then
unslinging our guns, we went in search of the cockatoos we had seen. I
killed one, and Guy a parrot; but the report of our guns frightened away
the birds, which were more wary than usual, and we had to return
satisfied with this scanty supply of food. On reaching the spot we had
selected for our camp, close to the water where our black boy was
waiting for us, we found that he had during our absence made a fire, at
which we cooked the birds, Toby devouring the larger portion.
We would gladly have eaten some fruit, however sour it might have been,
but none was to be found. We had just finished masticating the tough
parrot, when we caught sight of two natives scampering along as if they
were mad, so it seemed to us, for they had their eyes fixed in the air
and appeared regardless of all impediments in their way. We shouted to
them, but not hearing us, on they went, now leaping over the fallen
trunk of a tree, now rushing through a bush, now tumbling into a hole,
still keeping their eyes fixed on the object which engaged their
attention. We asked Toby what they were about.
"Dey huntee bee. Soon catchee!" he answered. The reply was
intelligible enough, but why they should hunt a bee puzzled us. They
however stopped, while yet in sight, under a large tree, the stem of
which they began to climb. Hoping, as was really the case, that they
were going to rob the hive of its honey, we followed them. As we
approached we could see their dusky forms among the lower branches, with
vast numbers of bees flying about them, whose presence they seemed
almost to disregard.
The two natives were so busily employed that they did not at first
perceive us; but when they came down, they regarded us with much
astonishment, and we were afraid that they would turn tail and run off,
without giving us the honey which it was our object to obtain. We
therefore made all the friendly signs we could think of, and I having
fortunately a gaily printed cotton handkerchief in my pocket, presented
it to them, signifying at the same time that we wished some of the honey
in return.
Our quiet manner quickly disarmed their suspicions, and returning with
us, they poured out as much honey as our two tin pots could contain.
I may as well describe the mode of finding the honey the bee-hunters
adopt. On perceiving a bee sucking the juice from flowers, he hurries
to the nearest pool and selects a spot where the banks shelve gradually.
He then lying on his face fills his mouth with water, and patiently
awaits the arrival of the bee: as the insect requires moisture, he knows
that ere long it will come and drink. The moment it approaches him he
blows the water from his mouth over it, thus slightly stunning it.
Before it has recovered, he seizes it and by means of some gum fastens
to its legs a tuft of white down, which he has obtained from the
neighbouring trees. The insect flies in a straight line towards its
nest, while the white down serving to impede the progress, enables the
hunter to keep it in view, till it reaches its home.
We ate the honey with a small supply of biscuit, and found it far more
satisfactory food than the tough parrots had proved.
Having taken a last drink and filled up our waterbottles, we parted on
friendly terms with the natives; when, saddling our horses, we continued
our journey.
"There is little chance of our reaching another river with more water in
it than the last, to camp by," observed my brother; "I see none marked
down on the maps for leagues ahead."
We passed through the same sort of scenery as before, with the same
dreary views on either side, so that we might have fancied that we had
already crossed the country a dozen times.
We at length came to the bed of a stream, no longer however containing
water, though I doubt not that we should have obtained it by digging
beneath the surface.
The appearance of the bee-hunters had warned us that there were natives
about, and we had been cautioned against trusting them. We heard that
they had at different times murdered a number of unfortunate hut-keepers
and shepherds up the country, so that we were inclined to form very
unfavourable opinions of the aborigines. Toby, to be sure, was faithful
enough, but then he was semi-civilised. We now asked him if he thought
that there were many natives in the neighbourhood to whom the
bee-hunters belonged.