*CHAPTER XIX*
*CONCERNING WILD HORSES*
"Now welcome, welcome, master mine, Thrice welcome to the noble chase: Nor earthly sport, nor sport divine, Can take such honourable place." _Ballad of the Wild Huntsmen._
"Where's Floss and Jeannie, Harry? Don't see 'em in the yard thismorning."
"No, sir, they didn't come in with the others."
"Hoo's that, mon?"
"I harsk'd Jacky about 'em when he yarded the others, an' he said theywasn't with the rest. Too lazy, I bet, to look after 'em."
"But I dinna see Tallboy or Dolly, eyther," said the squatter as hepeered through the rails at the horses.
"I speck they're with the mares down by the dam, or p'raps campin' onthe box ridge."
"Weel, see that they're no missed the morn. Here you, Jacky," to theblack boy; "come along here."
"What's matter, Boss?"
"What for you bin no yard all yarraman?"[#]
[#] Yarraman--native name for horse.
"Bail me see some, Boss."
"You bin getting lazy. I'll hae to gie you a taste o' the stock whip."
"Me no 'fraid you, Boss," replied the black with a grin. "You not likemy ole boss, Cap'n White. Him murry quick with whip. Sandy bin tellin'me you only gammon."
"See that you drive in every hoof to-morrow morning, or, Sandy or noSandy, ye'll get a surprise, my boy."
"I cam across some brumby tracks yesterday aifternoon in the springers'paddock," continued the squatter to Harry, the head stockman. "Meant tohae spoken aboot it afore."
"They're a rare nuisance, they brutes! There maun be a gap in thedog-leg fence at the far side for 'em to ha'e got in. You'd better tak'Jacky and Denny at once, and mak' the fence secure. That pack o'rubbage'll be doing a lot o' mischief among the springers wi' theirgalloping. Ye'd better go across by the horse-paddock, an' see if yecan get a sicht o' the mares. It's almost as near as the other track."
"All right, Boss. Jacky, you go to Ah Fat an' tell 'im to put up somegrub. Git the billy an' tots, an' bring 'em along. Tell Denny I want'im. He's working in the garden."
"Oh, I say," bawling after the retreating boy; "tell Denny to git thesmall cross-cut, an' a couple o' tommies, an' a bit o' wire to do themendin' with. Slither away, now, ye son of a black buck!"
In a few minutes the men are on their way through the horse-paddock tothe slip-rails in the far corner, to carry on the repairing work in thespringers' enclosure.
It may be explained to the uninitiated that the horse-paddock is thatnearest the homestead, where the station horses in use are kept; alarger or smaller mob according to requirements. These are yarded atdaylight every morning. When the horses required for the day's work areselected the balance are turned loose for the day. The springers'paddock, reserved for the breeding cows, was a large one; one of thebest on the run, in fact. The men as they rode along kept a sharplook-out for the missing steeds. Separating as they neared thedam--which was a large sheet of water backing up in the gullies for amile or so--they rode on either side, coming together at the box-treeridge where the slip-rails were located. No sign of the horses!
"Strange, chaps! Wonder where they can be. Floss an' Dolly are fairterrors for hidin'. But--hello! there's the slip-rails down!"
Sure enough, the two topmost rails were down. Who could have done it?
The mystery is soon solved; the ground on the outside being trampledwith horse hoofs. It told its tale of cause and effect quickly enoughto these bushmen.
"The blessed brumbies hev got in an' coaxed 'em out, sure enough. It'sthe warrigal's[#] mob for a quid. Fifty of 'em, if there's a hoof.
[#] Warrigal--wild, savage; applied indifferently by the natives toanimals and men.
"How d'yer think they horses got the rails down, Harry?"
The speaker was Denny Kineavy, who was a new chum at this kind of work.
"Why, it's the ole warrigal's work o' course. Trust 'im fur findin' outa way o' gettin' up a flirt with the ladies. He's the cutest cuss inAustralia, bar none. Full o' blood he is too. New Warrior strain outera great arab mare of Kurnel Dumaresque. I know 'im well, fur I was withCaptain White just after he'd bought both dam an' foal from the oleKurnel; or rather, I should say, Dumaresque swopped 'em fur a studHereford 'e was terribly struck on.
"Yes; he was allus a wild un. My word, you should 'a' seen 'im as ayearling! Allus leadin' the other youngsters into mischief; breakin'into the lucem paddocks, an' chasin' the dorgs till they was in mortialterror of 'im; gettin' mad fits among the horses; kickin' an' squealin'an' chiveyin' em', till one day the Captain gits in a towerin' rage an'says to me an' one-eyed Bob, who was workin' fur 'im then: 'Run in thatdad-busted, bloomin' brute an' fix 'im; it's the only way ter take thedivvil outer 'im.'
"You see, 'e was a grand, upstandin' beast as a colt, an' the Captainwunst thought to have 'im fur stud purposes, fur all 'e was a mix breed;but 'e soon seed that was outer the question.
"Well, as I was sayin', the Captain orders me an' one-eyed Bob to yard'im. 'Twarn't no easy job nuther, I tell you; for the brute sooncottoned what we was up to. At larst, after a lot of trouble, we yards'im, and with 'im a couple o' colts an' a lot er fillies. Bob threw thelasso a dozen times afore 'e noosed 'im, cause 'e kept dodgin' in an'out among the fillies. It was the deuce's own job to separate 'em.
"At larst, I say, Bob fixed 'im, an' didn't 'e perform. Howe'er, Bob'olds 'im, an' I gits 'old of the slack to give a turn round the post,so's ter bring 'im up. But all of a suddent 'e makes a mad rush at Bob,sendin' 'im sprawlin' with three ribs broke; whisks the rope outer myhands, an' streaked fur the slip-rails--six on 'em there wor--an' by'evans! jumps like a cat at 'em; comin' down with 'is belly on top,smashin' the rail, but fallin' on the outside; never, of course,breakin' 'is bloomin' neck--an' galloped orf like mad.
"Must 'a' bin red mad sure enuff, fur 'e broke through the wire fencethe Cap had round 'is 'orse-paddock; and that's the larst we seen of 'imfur months.
"Then one day I was on the out station, lookin' after some steers, whenI come acrost 'im in a mob of brumbies he'd chummed up with. 'E was'aving a pretty rough time of it, I could see; fur there was a couple o'stallions in the mob as wasn't agreeable fur 'is company in the 'arem;an that's 'ow we come ter git 'im a few years after, I 'spect."
"Thin you did git hould iv th' grey divvil?" exclaimed Denny.
"Yes; we got 'im all right. But, look here, chaps, no time's to belost. These beggars may be still in the paddock. If not, they've gotout the way they came in, an' are 'eadin' fur the ranges. We'll cutacross to the north end where the fence crosses Rocky Crick. I 'spectthat's where they've broken in. It looked a bit shaky a fortni't ago,as I come by. I don't think they've got in at the dog-leg end, that theBoss spoke about. Anyhow, we'll try the Crick fust."
A sharp ride of about four miles brought the men to the spot indicatedby Harry. It was a rocky bit of country, and sure enough they found the"shaky" post and rails lying on the ground. The immediate cause of thiswas a big limb of a dry stringy-bark tree, which had fallen upon theweak spot and smashed it down. The horse tracks about the spot showedconclusively that the mob had gone in and out by this means.
According to Jacky, the black boy, the inward tracks were about threedays old; the outward, a few hours. Without doubt, the brumbies had"nosed" the rails to which the mares had been attracted by theirneighings, early in the night. Then in the dawning of the morning theyhad moved out to one of their haunts in the ranges.
"The only thing now is to get back an' tell the Boss. 'E'll be mad whenhe knows, you bet; thinks no end o' Floss an' Jeannie. Put up therails, boys, quick an' lively." In a few minutes the men had fixed upthe broken panels securely, and then rode homewards.
"Saay, Harry, me bhoy, how'd yees yard th' ould stag, as ye was sayin'when ye was talkin' forninst th' slip-raales?
"Wasn't an old stag then, an'
isn't now, fur that matter, the brute's in'is prime yet. Let's see, 'e's risin' 'leven now, an' we got 'im justafore I left the Captain fur the Boss here. Lemme think. Yes, it'sjust over five year ago; he'd be about six, then. Fur all his tricks,the two stallions had driven 'im off their beat. 'E'd got a couple o'mares, though, an' kep' 'em in the range country on the out-station; butit was all of an accident that we got 'im.
"One day me an' the Captain was ridin' through the run, havin' a goodlook at the stock; fur we had a notion of cuttin' out a mob o' fats.Well, as I was sayin', we was ridin' along the back part of the run, an'we came acrost a couple o' brumbies, each with a foal. 'Stead o'scootin', as they does in giniral, the mares galloped in a circle, butdidn't clear.
"'It's mighty strange,' ses the Captain. 'What are they 'angin' aboutfur, an' where's their mate? Never seed 'em parted afore.' 'It isstrange,' ses I; 'an' there's only one thing to account fur it, an' thatis the cove's about sumwheres 'andy.'
"We moved on to a rocky gully that opens out on to a big plain. At oneplace a log fence runs acrost to keep the stock in. Bymby we comesplump onter it, an', great gosh alive! if there weren't the grey. 'Eseed us as soon as we spotted 'im, an' set up a great squealin' an'pawin', but cuddn't get away. There 'e was, like a bandicoot in aV-trap. 'E was caught by the off hind-leg, between two big logs thatlay clost together. 'E was jammed tight enough. Wunder was 'e didn'tbreak a leg.
"When the Cap saw the fix 'e was in, didn't 'e just cuss fur joy. Then'e sends me back to the hut, about two mile away, fur ropes, an' oleJack the keeper. Well, I streaked fur the hut, you bet, an' was thereless'n no time. Soon me an' Jack, with two green 'ide lassoes an' an'emp one, also a axe, was on the spot.
"When the 'orse sees the ropes 'e yelled, an' roared, an' pawed, an'snapped 'is teeth, fur all the world like a trapt dingo. An', wud youbelieve it? _the blarmy mares hadn't follered us up_! There they wasjust ahind us, whinneying and screamin'; their way o' swearing an'cussin' I s'pose. Wish-I-may-die if we didn't have to put the stockwhip on 'em to roust 'em away.
"'How are yer goin' ter manage 'im,' ses I to the Cap when I comes upwith the things.
"'I'll soon let yer see,' ses 'e. 'Fust of all we'll pass a rope round'is free 'ind-leg well up on to the shank. Then we'll put another on thefront fetlock an' acrost 'is flanks.'
"Well, it took us a goodish bit to fix 'im up. I forgot ter say that wetied the third rope round 'is neck, an' that was no easy job, fur everytime the Cap threw the lasso he'd dodge it with 'is 'ed like a fightin'kangaroo. But, ter make a long story short, when we'd roped 'im, welevered one of the logs with saplin's so's ter git 'is other leg free.Then, didn't 'e play up! But by the time we'd given 'im arf a dozenfalls, an' two o' them riglar croppers, 'e seed it was no use, throws upthe sponge, an' comes along quietly.
"We didn't give 'im any charnse, you bet, as 'e was such a sly demon.So we got 'im ter the stockyard at the 'ead station, a matter o'thirteen mile or so. We put 'im in the crush fust, then got a 'evvy'alter on 'im, an' tied it to 'is front off leg so's 'e cuddent jump; inthat way we fixed 'im fur the night.
"Early nex' morning, just as I was thinkin' o' gittin' up, there comes atremenjious 'ammerin' an' bangin' at the door, shoutin' out sumthin' Icuddent understand. I jumps up an' opens the door, an' there was oleJack singin' out an' makin' a great fluster.
"'What in thunder's the matter, Jack?' ses I.
"'Warrigal's gone!' ses 'e, all tremblin' like. 'Cleared right out inthe night.'
"Off I rushes ter the yards, an' sure enuff, the beast had cleared; yetthe rails was up.
"''Ow the dickens 'e got out, Jack?' ses I, lookin' round. Presently Icomes ter the slip-rails, an' soon spots 'ow 'e done it. I'm blest ifthe ole cuss didn't lay down ter it at the rails an' 'riggled 'is wayout sideways. You cud see the ground all tore up by 'is 'oofs as 'einched 'is way out. There was a knot at the lower side o' the rail, an'it was covered with 'air an' blood, which shows what a tight squeeze itwas."
"But 'ow the blazes did he gat out iv th' pathock whin he wasknee-haltered?"
"Like enuff 'e worked 'is 'edstall off as 'e 'riggled through. Wethought we'd made it tight enuff fur anythin'. Anyways 'e cleared, an',what's more, 'e an' the mares moved off the run an' wasn't 'eard of furlong, then 'e was found bossin' a mob on Bullaroi."
By this time the men had reached the homestead. Leaving the others atthe stockyard, Harry proceeded to the house to break the bad news to theowner.
The squatter was greatly put out by the turn the affair had taken. Twoof the horses were brood mares on which he set a high value, and forwhich he had given a big price. They were full of breeding, having thefamed Gemma di Vergi strain on the sire's side. The occurrence was noless than a calamity in more ways than one.
Their location was in difficult country, and with such a rogue as thegrey outlaw to lead and direct, the job of rescue seemed by no meanseasy or certain. Mr. M'Intyre, however, was determined to regain hismares, and at the same time to capture or destroy that equine demon.One thing in his favour was the fact that in midsummer there was ascarcity of water in the ranges, and their run, for a while, at anyrate, must be in and about the foot-hills.
As was usual in those days, the neighbouring station-holders wereinvited to join in the brumby hunt, which is, as a rule, the mostexciting, and, at times the most dangerous, sport that Australia canfurnish, keenly relished by bushmen.
The brumby is no more a native Australian horse than the mustang is anative American horse; that is to say, it is not indigenous to thecountry. Brumbies are the descendants of imported horses which haveescaped into the bush and bred there.
When Australian settlements were confined to the barest fringe of thecontinent, it was very common for stock, both horses and cattle, tostray from the settled areas into the great wilderness beyond.
An historic illustration is to be found in the genesis of colonialexpansion. When the first expedition sailed from England, not only wereofficials, soldiers, and convicts shipped; but also an assortment ofdomestic animals to furnish the requirements of the penal colonyproposed to be established on the shores of Botany Bay.
As the cattle in the new settlements increased, many beasts strayedbeyond the borders of the occupied country to the interior forests andplains; and before very long "brumbies" (wild horses) and "scrubbers"(wild cattle) covered large tracts, often to the great annoyance of theadvancing line of settlers.