Though I Had Now Become Hardened To The Many Injuries Thus Heaped Upon Me,
And Had Almost Discontinued All Attempts At Cultivation, I Still Retained
The Habit Of Stepping Out Into The Verandah Every Morning With My Gun, But
More With An Eye To The Pot Than For Any Other Reason.
Beautiful as the scene always was, it struck me that day as being of
unusual splendour.
The tall gum-trees, with their naked stems, and curious
hanging leaves that exasperate the heated traveller by throwing the
scantiest of shadows, glistened dew-beaded in the rising sun. The laughing
jackass, perched upon a bare limb, was awaking the forest echoes with his
insane fits of laughter, alternating from a good-humoured chuckle to the
frenzied ravings of a despairing maniac. Suddenly ceasing, he would dart
down upon some hapless lizard, too early astir for its own safety, and,
with his writhing prey in his bill, would fly to some other branch, and
after swallowing his captive, burst forth into a yell of self-gratulation
even-more fiendish than before. The delicate little "paddy melon," a small
species of kangaroo, turned his gracefully-formed little head, beautiful as
a fawn's, and, startled at the strange figure in the verandah, stood
hesitatingly for a few seconds, and then, bending forward, bounded into the
scrub, the noise caused by the flapping of its tail being audible long
after the little animal itself was lost to sight. The white cockatoos,
alarmed by the outcry of the sentry - for, like the English rooks, they
always tell off some of their number to keep a look-out - who with
sulphur-coloured crest, erect and outstretched neck, kept up a constant cry
of warning, rose from the maize patch, the spotless white of their plumage
glancing in the sun, and forming a beautiful contrast to the pale
straw-colour of the under portion of their extended pinions. With
discordant screams they circle about, as if a little undetermined, and then
perch upon the topmost branches of the tallest trees, where they screech,
flap their wings, and engage in a series of either imaginary combats, or
affectionate caresses, until, the coast being clear, they are again enabled
to continue their repast.
A curious and indescribable wailing cry is heard in the air, singularly
depressing in its effect, and a string of some dozen black cockatoos flit
from tree to tree, the brilliant scarlet band on the tail of the male
flashing as he alternately expands and contracts it, to keep his balance
whilst extracting the sweets from the flowers of the 'Eucalypti'. Few
things present so great a contrast as the cries of these two birds - of
the same family, and so alike in everything but colour - and yet both are
disagreeable: that of the white variety from its piercing harshness, and
that of the black from an indefinable sensation of the approach of coming
evil it carries with it - at least, such is the effect it always has upon
me. On strolling to the paling and looking into the clearing - for
although my gun is in my hand, it is loaded with ball cartridge, and I do
not fire - the nimble little bandicoot scuttled away towards his hollow
log, looking so uncommonly like a well-fattened rat, that I mentally wonder
how I could ever have had the courage to eat one, and a flight of
rainbow-hued Blue Mountain parrots, who have held their ground to the last,
whirr up with a prodigious flapping of wings, and, alighting on a gum-tree,
can be seen hanging about the blossoms, head downwards, sucking out the
honey with their uncouth beaks and awkward little tongues, which seem but
badly adapted to such a delicate task. But I find I am digressing
terribly, and the gloomy winter days of England, which make the
recollection of a bright tropical morning so agreeable a task to
contemplate, must be my excuse.
After breakfast, I hurried down to the beach to see if Tom Frewin, the
skipper of the little cutter, 'Daylight', would be likely to keep his
promise, and have the vessel ready to start by noon. I found him busily
engaged with his not over-numerous crew - for it consisted only of a man
and a boy, besides himself, though Mrs. Tom, who also lived in the tiny
craft, ought to be counted as no inconsiderable addition to the vessel's
complement, for she did the cooking, and on occasions could take the tiller
and steer as cunningly as the gallant Tom himself. I found him hard at
work hurrying the cargo over the side, assisted by the townspeople, who all
showed the greatest anxiety that no time should be lost in setting out for
the relief of the shipwrecked men. Everything thus pointing to the
probability of our getting away that afternoon, the provision question had
to be next considered, for the party would be numerous, and the exact time
our expedition would take could scarcely be correctly estimated. We knew
Government would refund us for any reasonable outlay, and so determined our
search should not be cut short by any scarcity of food, and our fears of
overshooting the mark and laying in more than we could consume, were
allayed by Mr. McB - , the store-keeper who generously offered to supply us,
and to take back, without charge, anything that remained at the expiration
of the trip. All difficulties being thus disposed of, we were left at
liberty to make our own private arrangements, until one o'clock, by which
time the 'Daylight' would have laid in her water, etc., and be ready to
start.
But I must now say something of the party itself, which we were compelled
to limit to ten men, inclusive of the native police. These consisted of
the pilot and his crew of two men, Mr. Dunmore, the officer in command of
the police, with the two troopers, Ferdinand and Cato, three volunteers,
and myself.
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