CHAPTER XXIII.
A Bark Sledge.--The Friendly Tribe.--The Wild Melon.--A NocturnalAlarm.--The Wombats.--The Bivouac on the Heath.--The Savagesagain.--Away to the South.
The women had prepared breakfast, and Arthur was becoming impatient,before Jack and the two young boys appeared, dragging after them a largesheet of bark, to which they had attached ropes.
"It was Jack's thought!" exclaimed Gerald. "Is it not a capitalplan?--the baggage-wagon! Off with your knapsack, Arty; Jenny, bringyour pots and pans. Every thing must be tied on our sledge, and we willdraw it in turns--two men to form a team."
"It will be a great relief, certainly," said Arthur, "so long as theplains continue tolerably clear and level; but, I fear, over the mattedbrush or the rugged mountain we shall find it useless."
"Why then, Mr. Arthur," said Jack, "it will only be taking up our loadsa bit, and leaving the sledge. We can soon cut another sheet when theroad gets smoother."
The sledge answered admirably, and, relieved from their burdens, theywent on for several days, over well-watered and well-wooded plains,without interruption, and without delay, except when the disengagedyouths lingered behind to shoot a few pheasants or cockatoos, that thebread might not be too soon exhausted. In a week after they had left thecave, they saw kangaroos again, and even the sledge was abandoned, thatall might join in the chase. After a long hunt, they succeeded inkilling one; and the weather being now less sultry, they were able topreserve the meat for two days. The skin was cleaned and dried, and thenconverted into bags for the biscuit, for showers of rain still felloccasionally, and they had been compelled to take off their cloaks toprotect their valuable food.
One evening, an unwelcome return of the heavy rain induced them to lookanxiously round for some shelter, and turning round a clump of tallbushes, they came suddenly on a cluster of scattered huts, formed ofgreen boughs and open in front. Beneath these canopies several women,wearing cloaks of fur, were employed in pounding grain or nuts betweentwo stones, while they sung some song in a low, musical tone, and inperfect harmony.
Outside the huts stood several tall men. They had a single loose garmentof fur cast round them, but the bust was wholly uncovered, and marked bymany raised cicatrices. They were engaged in making arrows or spears,and never raised their heads from their employment; but, with the usualdignified indifference of the savage, did not appear to notice theapproach of the strangers, though probably they had never before seenthe white man. Even the women continued their work and their song; andit was only when Baldabella, who had been introduced by her protectors,went forward, holding her child, to ask the women to give some goodwhite people shelter from the rain in their huts, that the men turned tolisten, and the women suspended their labor. The head of the family,pointing out an empty hut, spoke to Baldabella, and said, as sheinterpreted his words, "That very good for white man; for black man;plenty rain make much cold."
Glad of the refuge, while Baldabella remained to talk to the women ofthe tribe, the rest took possession of the slight hut, and preparedtheir supper of the remains of the kangaroo, of which they invited theirfriendly hosts to partake. The natives now assembled round them withsome curiosity, tasted the seethed kangaroo, and seemed to relish it;rejected the roasted potatoes with disgust, but greedily enjoyed thebiscuit, especially the jumbles, as the boys called them, which wereflavored with the juice of the figs.
Then the women in return for this hospitality, brought to them somepods, which Arthur recognized to be the fruit of the _Acaciastenophylla_, the seeds, or nuts, resembling in flavor the cachou-nut.They brought also a small melon, or cucumber, now ripe and sweet, withwhich the plains that the travellers had crossed this day had beencovered; but they had not ventured to eat it till now, when they saw howthe natives enjoyed it.
"It certainly belongs to one of the most useful orders of plantsconsidered as the food of man," said Mr. Mayburn; "and, as far as I candetermine from recollection, I believe it to be the _Cucumis pubescens_.This is truly a country of rich and abundant resources; wanting but thelight of civilization and religion to render it a paradise."
"Surely, papa," said Margaret, "our countrymen acted unwisely when theysuffered the first steps into these lovely and untrodden wilds to bemade by the vilest of criminals. Alas! alas! what must the ignorantnatives think of such Christian missionaries!"
"It was an error, Margaret," answered her father, "wide in its mischief,fatal in its results; and generations must pass away before the errorcan be rectified. But a purer and holier influence is at work; and, inhis own good time, God will assuredly enlighten the people, through theefforts of his faithful servants. Would that I were able to take myshare in the great work! but, alas! I am but the barren fig-tree, andcontinually I hear that awful sentence ringing in my ear, 'Cut it down;why cumbereth it the ground?'"
The earnest father then called on his family to kneel in prayer, whilethe natives stood round in silent wonder, especially when they remarkedthe devout demeanor of Baldabella, and heard the little child murmuringin English the responses, in imitation of her kind teachers. Afterprayers the women seemed to be earnestly questioning Baldabella; andMargaret was pleased to hear the woman speak long and earnestly to thequestioners, for she was convinced that Baldabella was truly a Christianin faith, so far as her simple mind could comprehend the faith.
Though they considered it prudent to keep a watch, the sleep of thefamily was not disturbed by any fears, for these natives seemed quietand inoffensive; and through Baldabella they learnt that they had evershunned the restless and destructive tribes to the north, and a stillmore dangerous people, whom they spoke of with terror, as the tribes ofthe "Great River," to the south. But, the interpreter added, they didnot like the white people who came to kill the _menuah_, as they namedthe kangaroo; and the emu, and to carry off their weapons. But they weresatisfied that these white strangers were peaceful like themselves, andthey wished them well, and would show them the way through themountains.
The weary travellers gratefully accepted this offer, for the prospect ofhaving to ascend, without guidance, a line of mountains which cut offtheir progress to the south, and of being compelled to resume theirheavy burdens, was alarming. Early in the morning they sought the women,to present them with some biscuit and with a pair of fowls, of whichBaldabella undertook to explain the great usefulness, and the domestichabits and proper mode of feeding.
Then they once more set out, guided by the chief among the natives; andhaving skirted the mountains for three or four miles to the east, founda narrow gorge, through which a shallow rill ran towards the south,along the flowery margin of which they passed till they came uponanother wide plain, less wooded and fertile than that which they hadleft, but grown over with the _Cucumis_ laden with fruit. This plain wasperforated with dangerous holes, which their guide told them were thedens of a large animal, very fierce, which he called the Wombat, andwhich the boys were filled with a great desire to encounter andvanquish.
Once on the plains, the native pointed out the direction which they wereto follow, greatly to the east of south. He shook his head when theyintimated their wish to proceed due south, and, according to Baldabella,declared there was "no water"--a most important objection to the route.Arthur gave the man one of the table-knives, much to the discontent ofJenny and the great delight of the receiver; and the gratified nativestood watching them for some time, and then slowly returned to hispeople.
"Now for the wombats!" exclaimed Gerald, looking anxiously down into oneof the dens of these unknown animals. But all was still and dark; andArthur begged that there might be no delay, as, in all probability, theanimals could only be drawn from their retreats by dogs, or be surprisedby long watching, and time was now too precious to be spent on such anuncertain pursuit. Continuing, therefore, to follow the course of theslender rivulet, which, however, soon became but a chain of pools, theytravelled for several miles, eating, as they went on, the juicy melons,as they called the _Cucumis_, till the sight of a smoke in the dire
ctionof the pools induced them reluctantly to forsake even this small supplyof water, and to diverge directly to the south, till they should havepassed the danger of encountering another tribe, who might prove lessfriendly than their late hosts.
The sudden fall of night compelled them to rest at a spot where no waterwas to be discovered, and, too late, they regretted that they had notbrought a supply from the pools. Reluctantly they made their only mealof the day on bread; fortunately they were able to add melons; still theprivation was felt; they were unsatisfied and much depressed, tillcalmed by the blessed influence of prayer. Then all anxiety was hushedby a sound sleep on the wide, treeless plain.
They had slept some hours, when Arthur was awaked by a startling cry,and, springing up in alarm, he seized his gun, and called hastily toJack to follow him. The moon was shining brightly, and they were enabledto see some moving objects at no great distance, towards which theyquickly directed their steps, and, on drawing near, they heard the voiceof O'Brien crying out, "Arthur! Arthur! come and kill these frightfulbeasts! I shall be worried!"
They now saw the head of O'Brien, who, supported only by his hands, hadsunk into a hole or den, and was surrounded by a troop of hideous largeanimals, with the form of a bear and the nose of a badger. They wereactually running over the boy, and apparently very uneasy at hisintrusion. Jack's spear soon despatched one of the animals; the restfled to their dens at the sight of more invaders of their homes; andO'Brien was dragged from the hole he had accidentally taken possessionof, and scolded by Arthur for his imprudence. It appeared that he had,while lying awake, seen one of the wombats roaming about in search offood, and while pursuing it with his spear he had fallen into the den,and by his cries raised the whole community of these social and harmlessbeasts, which, powerful and numerous as they were, had attempted noinjury against the rude invader.
The wombat Jack had killed was about the size of a sheep; they divestedit of its smooth thick fur skin, which was hung up to dry immediately.In the morning they had an opportunity of examining the curious, clumsyanimals, which were still busily feeding. Wilkins declared their fleshto be delicate and excellent food; but, without water, no one felt anyappetite for meat.
"Doubtless," said Mr. Mayburn, "this creature is the _Phascolomysursinus_, partaking of the form of the bear and the hog; but, like thegreat majority of Australian animals, marsupial."
"He is an ugly fellow," said Hugh, "with his huge body and short legs;but his skin is capital; we will clean it to make a mattrass for papa,and we must have another skin for Margaret. After all, Jenny, awombat-steak will be more juicy than this dreadful dry, husky biscuit;and I suppose we must try to eat, or we shall never have strength to getout of this desert."
The steaks were really excellent with sliced melon, if the travellerscould have relished food without water; and after breakfast they setout, again eagerly watching for signs of water; but no one feelingsufficient energy to execute another wombat before they departed. Theycontinued to struggle on over a loose sandy soil, covered with a bushresembling the heath, so dear to the northern people of Great Britain;the very sight of which cheered the thirsty wanderers in the dry desert;and they talked of the moors of home till their steps grew lighter. Butthe toil of dragging the light sledge over or through the bushes becamehard labor; and at length Mr. Mayburn, exhausted with thirst, was soovercome that two of the young men had to support him, as they slowlymoved on to escape from this desert.
"Keep up your heart, master," said the attached Wilkins; "and Jenny,woman, be getting yer cans ready; we'se have a sup of rain afore long,depend on't. Now some of ye light-heeled young uns, run on, and seek outa shelter for t' master."
The sky was dark, the thunder rumbled at a distance, and the youngpeople looked round in happy anxiety for some shelter; but in vain,--noteven a tree was to be seen; and at last they were obliged to contentthemselves with a little cleared spot, backed by a low brush-coveredhill, and surrounded by the tea-shrub mingled with the graceful heath.There they hollowed out a sort of recess in the soft sandy hill-side,before which they hung the skin of the wombat, that Mr. Mayburn andMargaret, at least, might be sheltered. By this time the rain had begunto fall in torrents, and every vessel they had brought away was placedto catch the precious drops.
Then the boys made _forms_ as they called them, beneath the brushwood,into which they crept, to escape, as far as they could, the deluge ofrain. But ever and anon a hand was stretched out to obtain a draught ofthe long-pined-for water; and though they declared it tasted warm, theyfelt so refreshed that there succeeded a great appetite forwombat-steak, which could not, however, be gratified; for to attempt tomake a fire was hopeless.
"What charming dormitories we have!" said Gerald. "The rain drippingthrough these narrow-leaved shrubs and dabbling your face all nightlong, will be so comfortable. I don't think a wombat's den would be sucha bad thing to-night. Ruth, how do the cocks and hens like thisweather?"
"I keeps 'em covered an' under my cloak, Master Gerald," answered she;"but, bonnie things, they tremmel and cower all of a heap. You see,birds and such-like, are all for sunshine."
"And sunshine enough they've had here, Ruth," replied he; "and now wemust not be unthankful for the rain we wanted much. Pleasant dreams toyou all, my friends!" called out the lively boy, as he dived under thebushes, to scratch himself out a den, as he said. But the rain and thethunder prevented much sleep, and at the first gleam of light, the boysissued from their comfortless dens, with some dry twigs which hadformed their beds, and with which they proposed, though the rain wasstill falling, to make a fire to cook some meat. But before they couldaccomplish their plan, they were disturbed by a trampling among thebushes, and the sound of human voices.
"The savages! the savages!" whispered Hugh; "I think I can distinguishthe voice of Black Peter."
"Scatter the twigs," said Arthur; "put the water-vessels underneath thebushes. Draw these skins into your form, Margaret, and crouch out ofsight. Now! now! to cover, all of you!"
They had scarcely given the place the appearance of being unvisited, anddrawn themselves securely under the scrub, when the voices were so closeto them that they could distinguish, though they could not understandthe words. Only Black Peter, who pronounced the language slowly, wassufficiently distinct for them to make out the words signifying"mountains" and "plenty of water."
The party passed close to them, but without pausing, and when the stepsand voices sounded sufficiently distant, Arthur looked out, and saw thesame men who had besieged them in their mountain retreat, still headedby Peter. All the men were outrageously painted white and red, thoughthey were partially covered with opossum cloaks to shelter them from therain. Arthur observed that they moved on towards the east, where, at agreat distance, appeared a dark line, which he concluded was themountain-range Peter had alluded to.
One after another the alarmed family appeared from their hiding-places;Baldabella was eagerly questioned about their discourse, and she repliedthat she had heard Peter say, "White men go to mountain, find muchwater. Peter go to mountain, find plenty water, plenty white fellow,plenty gun, knife. Kill white man, kill bad fellow Wilkins."
"She's reet! I'll uphold her," said Wilkins. "Depend on 't Peter'sheared of some bush-rangers out ower yonder, and he'll want to join 'em.We'se have to keep clear of their track, master. Just look round ye,what chance should we have again a lot of them desp'rate rogues, wi'guns in their hands, and blood in their hearts; and when they're fairlyset on, them blacks is as bad; they reckon nought of a dozen lives toget haud on a gun."
"Whither shall we flee?" cried Mr. Mayburn, in a distracted tone."Speak, Margaret--Arthur--and you, my good man, who, steeped in evil,had yet strength given you to turn away from it, guide and save us!Alas! it is but too true; man, civilized or savage, preserves his innateand original depravity. 'There is none good; no, not one.' Men havespoken of the simple and pure life of the desert; we see what it is intruth."
"Yes, dear papa," said Margaret, "we must bid adi
eu to the fallaciousdreams of poetry, the romance of that golden age when men were virtuousbecause they were ignorant. These are men to whom the temptations of theworld are unknown; men who have never looked on the brilliantdecorations of vice; yet they are harsh, cruel, selfish, and faithless.Is this truly human nature, papa?"
"I fear, my child, it is too truly human nature," answered Mr.Mayburn,--"fallen, degraded, unredeemed human nature. Well does a greatand wise writer on the natural depravity of man picture the ignorantsavage as 'a compound of pride and indolence, and selfishness, andcunning and cruelty; full of a revenge which nothing could satiate, of aferocity which nothing could soften; strangers to the most amiablesensibilities of nature.' Then what weight of sin must rest on the soulsof those who, having been taught the way of truth themselves, takeadvantage of the frailty of humanity to lead these heathens into thegulf of crime. Woe to those men 'who know the best, and yet the worstpursue.'"
While they watched the gradual disappearance of their enemies, the rainceased, and Jenny summoned the party to the enjoyment of tea to theirdry biscuit, before they resumed their journey, the prospect of whichwas still unpromising.
"We must now, defying all the threatened deserts, go on towards thesouth," said Arthur, "and evade, if we possibly can, our implacable andinveterate pursuers. The temptation to cross the eastern mountains isgreat, but I fear, Wilkins, we should hardly be safe, even in the rearof such dangerous company."
"Nay, nay! Mr. Arthur, keep out of their way," said Wilkins. "Ye hearedwhat Baldabella said about their going to rondessvowse ower yonder wi'them roguish bush-rangers; and I see no sense in running into t' thickon 'em."
"Certainly not, Wilkins," answered Arthur. "Then we will decide on aroute due south. So, forward, my brave men, and let us carefully carryaway the water we have preserved, for I fear much we have not yet passedthe wilderness."