The Kangaroo Hunters; Or, Adventures in the Bush

CHAPTER XXVIII

The Cookery disturbed. – A Signal-rocket. – A Surprise and Capture. – Pillage. – The Taste of Gunpowder. – A Fatal Explosion. – The Contrivances of Necessity. – A Region of Famine. – Renewed Hopes. – An Unfair Advantage

A nook was soon cleared, where the family landed, and the light canoes were drawn close to shore, and moored to the canes. Then the fine rushes were cut down and spread to form seats for Margaret and her father; and Arthur, with Wilkins and Jack, set out with guns and bows, leaving Hugh and O'Brien to guard the encampment. Baldabella then went off with her spear, and soon pierced several large fish; and while Mr. Mayburn took out his book, and Margaret talked to Nakinna, Jenny and Ruth made a fire to broil the fish.

Already the cooking began to smell temptingly, and the hungry little girl was dancing joyfully about the fire, watching till the repast was ready, when Baldabella suddenly threw down her spear, started forward, and laying her hand on Margaret's arm, she held up her finger in an attitude of warning, and bent forward as if listening. Then drawing a deep sigh, she whispered through her closed teeth – "Baldabella hear him, missee; black fellow come – one, two, many – eat missee – eat Nakinna – burn all!" Then snatching up her child, she gazed wildly round, and her fears were confirmed a minute after, by the fatal cry ringing through the reeds, which announced the proximity of the dreaded natives.

The boys, who were rambling about among the bamboos, searching for nests, at the vexatious sound of the coo-ee, left their spoil to hurry to the encampment, and entreat their father and sister to embark at once and seek safety; but Mr. Mayburn could not be persuaded to leave the absent.

"Then let us make a sally to bring them up," said Gerald; "no time should be lost; we have our bows to defend ourselves, though they carried the guns with them."

"But they must have heard the coo-ee as well as we did," replied Hugh, "and, depend on it, they are on the road back to us. I say, nurse, we must eat our fish cold; just pull that fire to pieces."

Ruth the unlucky, always officious, took a bucket of water and threw it over the blazing sticks; on which a dark, dense smoke rose up from them like a column, and the cries of the natives were now heard loud and triumphant.

"Oh! Ruth, Ruth!" said Hugh, "you have sent up a signal-rocket to them. Margaret and papa, do step into the canoe; there is more safety on the river than here."

"I do not see that, Hugh," answered Mr. Mayburn; "the water is so shallow here, that they could wade to us, and we must not run down the stream and leave our kind foragers."

A loud rustling and crackling among the reeds prevented more words; the boys would have sent their arrows into the thicket, but Margaret besought, and Mr. Mayburn commanded, that they should not begin aggression, and a few minutes rendered these weapons absolutely useless, for they were closely surrounded by a numerous tribe of natives, carrying spears. But the anxious voyagers soon discovered that the people were peacefully inclined, for they made no attempt to injure the strangers, but with loud cries and rapidly-uttered words, seemed to express astonishment rather than anger.

One man took Margaret's large sun-hat from her head and placed it on his own, which so much delighted the rest, that all the hats of the party were coolly and speedily appropriated, without any opposition from the rightful owners, except from Ruth, who tied her bonnet so firmly under her chin, that the rough attempts of the man to tear it from her head nearly strangled her, till Margaret stepped forward to relieve her by loosing the strings.

O'Brien, also, was so indignant when one of the savages came to claim his hat, that he flung it into the river, but the man leaped in and rescued it, and at the same time he discovered the canoes, and summoned his friends vociferously to look on these new treasures. In the mean time the fish already cooked was devoured by some of the natives, and the rest revived the fire to cook the remainder of Baldabella's spoil.

Jenny's shawl was next discovered, and appropriated by a bold marauder, who threw it, in not ungraceful drapery, over his uncovered shoulders. Another savage stripped from Ruth a large cloak which she had hastily put on to conceal the basket which contained her last two fowls, which she held on her arm. This basket was a new prize, and the fowls were regarded with much curiosity.

"Oh! tell 'em not to twine their necks about, Mistress Baldabella," cried Ruth. "Tell 'em what bonnie creaters they are, laying every day, too."

But Baldabella, shy and fearful, had slunk behind the rest, and Margaret undertook to point out to the robber the value of the fowls, by showing him the eggs and caressing the birds. The man grinned, to express that he understood the explanation, sucked the eggs, and then walked off with basket and fowls, leaving Ruth in complete despair.

Just at that moment, Arthur issued from among the reeds, and started back, overcome with amazement and dismay, at the sight of the dark crowd which thronged the little clearance. He was immediately surrounded, and before he could offer any effectual resistance, his gun and hat were taken away, as well as a bag of pigeons that was hung over his arm.

"Baldabella," said he, "ask the chief of the tribe what he wants from us. We will give him the birds, and some knives and axes; but his people must then go away, and leave us our canoes and our guns."

Baldabella reluctantly came forward, and bending her head down as she approached the chief, repeated her message in a submissive tone, and the savage replied in a long harangue which made the poor woman tremble, and which she interpreted to her friends, greatly abridged, saying: – "Black fellow say, he take all: he very angry. Good white friend all run – fast – go away! Meny, much meny, black fellows come – all very hungry – eat fish – eat bird – eat all white friend. Go fast, massa; – missee, good friend, go away!"

This was decidedly sound advice; but under the present circumstances it was no easy task for the large party to run away. Wilkins and Jack had joined them, and were immediately seized by the savages, disarmed, and held fast by their captors. The attack was too sudden to allow them any opposition, and Jack looked deeply distressed, while Wilkins was absolutely furious, till a few words from Arthur induced them to submit with quietness to have their game and their hats taken away from them.

Then the robbers paused, evidently lost in admiration of the complicated dress of their captives, which they seemed desirous to possess, but were puzzled how to separate the garments from the wearer, or probably doubtful whether they did not actually form a part of that anomalous creature, a white man. It was plain, however, that Baldabella and her child were of their own race, and the chief went up to her, and commanded her to follow him, and become one of his jins. The poor woman, in terror and indignation, refused his request, and turned to flee from him; the savage immediately seized the child, and the alarmed mother, supported by Arthur and Hugh, tried in vain to rescue the screaming girl, till the man, in a violent rage, sprung forward to the river, and flung the child into the water. But in a moment Hugh leaped in after it, and brought the half-senseless child to the distracted mother, who had plunged in after him herself.

But now the chief's attention was diverted from Baldabella to the spoils of his victims; and some of the men were sent off with baskets, portmanteaus, knives, axes, guns, and all the precious possessions of the unfortunate travellers, who momentarily expected to be murdered as well as pillaged.

When the canoes had been completely ransacked, four of the men carried them off, while the rest were collected round a skin bag which contained their valuable ammunition. One of the natives drew out a canister of gunpowder, forced it open, and filled his mouth with the powder. With ludicrous grimaces, he spat out the nauseous mixture, and raised his hand to fling the rest upon the fire. Arthur saw the motion, and calling on his friends to escape, he rushed up, hoping to arrest the arm of the ignorant man; but he was too late, and though he retreated the moment he saw the canister flying through the air, he was prostrated senseless by the fearful explosion that followed.

The very earth shook beneath their feet, and such of the natives as were not actually stunned by the shock, fled, with cries of horror, into the bush, which was already blazing in several places from the burning fragments of the fire cast in all directions. The emancipated prisoners had all, with the exception of Arthur, reached in safety the edge of the river; and though trembling and much shaken, they had not sustained any injury. Arthur was brought to them perfectly insensible; but in a few minutes, when water had been plentifully poured over him, he recovered, and except a nervous tremor that lasted many hours, and the loss of his hair, which was completely scorched off, no serious consequences succeeded his perilous accident.

But though temporarily relieved from the presence of the savages, they were still in the midst of great dangers. The dry blazing reeds rendered further progress impossible; and they gratefully thanked God that the little spot they had cleared for their landing now afforded them a secure refuge.

The wind carried the flames rapidly down the east bank of the river towards the south; and they waited in great agitation till a path should be opened for them to proceed. Their anxious silence was interrupted by the sound of a low musical wail, so expressive of sorrow that it pained every heart; and on looking round, they saw the dirge proceeded from Baldabella, who was bending over the body of the native who had perished in the explosion caused by his own ignorance, and now lay a blackened corpse on the spot from whence he had flung the canister.

The little girl was kneeling by her mother, seeming to be conscious of the solemnity of the ceremony, and raising her feeble voice, in imitation of her mother. Much affected, Mr. Mayburn drew near them, and briefly and simply explained to the tender-hearted woman the uselessness of mourning over the hapless dead, and the lesson his sudden fate afforded to the living; and he begged her to join him in the prayer that they might all live so watchfully, that the hour of death might never surprise them unprepared. The plain truths of Christianity had fallen with good effect on the mind of the grateful and gentle woman, and Mr. Mayburn hoped earnestly that she and her child had been, by God's mercy, rescued from darkness.

"And now, let us turn away from this sad spectacle, my good woman," continued Mr. Mayburn, "and endeavor to escape from this burning wilderness, for we all have work to do in the world. Arthur, will you, with your usual prudence, decide which way we shall turn? The flames are raging before us, and these savage natives may, at any moment, beset us from behind. My judgment fails to point out any escape; but, Arthur, I will pray for God's assistance, that you may be enabled to save us all."

"We may retrace our path up the river – a discouraging journey!" said Arthur; "or we may wait till the devouring flames have cleared a road for us; but the delay is perilous. Even should we try to force our way east, into yon barren desert, destitute as we now are, we should only obtain a change of evils; and I am reluctant to leave the friendly river, where alone we can hope to obtain food and water."

Baldabella pointed across the broad river, and said, "Go quick there, find many root, many nut, no black fellow. Bad black fellow come back soon, paint all white; very angry, see brother dead; kill all white man, eat Nakinna, carry away Baldabella! God never come to black fellow."

To cross the river did certainly seem the most desirable plan; but how to effect the transit was a perplexing question. It was about a hundred yards across, but, as far as they could judge, not more than from four to five feet deep at any part; so that the young men would have no difficulty in wading across; but to the women, and even to Mr. Mayburn, such an undertaking would be very difficult, if not impossible.

Jack looked round in despair; there were no trees, and even if there had been any, he had no axe. They examined carefully the field of plunder, in hopes some tool or utensil might have been overlooked by the plunderers; but, except the spear of the fallen native, and the fishing-spear of Baldabella, nothing had been left behind. Wilkins had fortunately preserved a long knife which he wore under his blouse; and, from the mysterious form of the dresses, the pockets had escaped being rifled.

Jack looked joyfully at the knife, and said, "We might cut some of these thick tall reeds, and make a float for them, Mr. Arthur. I have a few loose nails in my pocket, and here's a stone with a hole through it; we can fix a reed handle to it, and then it will make shift for a hammer. We could easily guide them over on a float of this sort, it's my opinion."

It was at least desirable to make the experiment; so without delay the strong bamboos were cut, broken, or torn down; a range of them placed flat, close together on the ground, connected by transverse bars, which were fastened somewhat imperfectly with Jack's precious "loose nails." A quarter of an hour completed this slight frame; in which time the conflagration, which had run to some distance down the banks of the river, had left a scorched and smoking clearance, disclosing the bodies of three more victims, who had not been able to escape the rapid flames. The boys found also several nests of half-roasted water-fowls, which they snatched away at some risk from the heated ground, and brought forward for a needful repast.

"If we had but saved the ropes!" exclaimed Jack. But ropes were not attainable, nor even that excellent substitute for them, the stringy bark; and the raft was launched on the river, to be drawn or urged across by the strong arms of the men. Margaret, at her own request, was the first to venture on the frail machine, guided on one side by Jack, and on the other by Wilkins, who waded, and in some places swam, and brought their charge in safety to the opposite bank, which was covered with reeds like that which they had left.

In this way the strong men successively brought over Mr. Mayburn and the two women. Baldabella, with her child on her shoulder and her fishing-spear in her hand, plunged at once into the water, followed by Arthur, who insisted on her holding his hand through the deepest part. Finally, after a sorrowful look at the scene of their losses, and a vain search for any trifling article of their property, the two boys followed their friends. Then the disconsolate travellers, forcing their way through the reedy thicket, stood to gaze with consternation on the wild barren region that spread before them.

"God has pleased to cast us feeble and destitute into this wide wilderness," said Mr. Mayburn; "of ourselves, we can do nothing, but He is mighty to save. He rescued us from the murdering savage, from flood, and from fire, and He will not suffer us to perish from famine, if we pray and trust. Let us lift up our hands and voices in thanksgiving and submission."

The rough convict, the ignorant Baldabella, and the simple child joined earnestly in the devotions of their more enlightened friends; and refreshed and hopeful, they rose from their knees, "to walk in faith the darkling paths of earth."

"If we can but keep near the river," said Margaret, "we cannot perish for want; and, besides, it seems to lead us in the very path we wish to follow."

"Fish is better nor starving," said Wilkins; "but I reckon we'se soon tire on't, if we come on nought better. What's come to t' lass now?" addressing Ruth, who was weeping.

"I've gone and roven a hole in my boot," sobbed she, "and I don't know how ever I'se to git it mended."

The boys laughed at the small distress of Ruth; but, after all, it was no laughing matter for her. To walk over the brush-covered plain, or among the dry reeds, was a trying exertion even for the well-shod, and Margaret was dismayed when she considered how this could be accomplished when their boots should fail. "Yet why dare I doubt?" she said. "See, Ruth; Baldabella, and even little Nakinna, walk as well as we do, and they are barefooted. We must not shrink from such small trials as this."

Just then a pair of the splendid bronze pigeons, so unequalled in beauty by any of their race, winged their flight from the water above the heads of the travellers; and though they no longer had the means of obtaining these birds, as delicious in taste as they are lovely in plumage, they were satisfied to see there were animals in the waste around them.

"These thin bamboos would make capital arrows," said Hugh; "and I have no doubt we can bend one of these tall canes for a bow, if we had but the means of stringing it."

"We might, at all events, sharpen some of the canes for spears," said Arthur, "not only for defence in need, but to be useful if we should be so fortunate as to encounter a kangaroo, or meet with the burrows of the wombats."

"What has become of our raft?" asked Margaret "You had there a good stock of bamboos ready cut."

"With all my nails in them," exclaimed Jack. "What a fool I was not to remember that in time; now it will be far enough down the river."

It was too true: the raft had already been carried away by the stream out of their sight; and all deeply regretted their negligence, as they moved slowly through the entangled scrub, frequently compelled to walk actually over the low bushes. On the opposite shore of the river they could still discover the wild flames flying down before the wind, and leaving behind a black smoking surface.

When wearied with the excitement and toil of the day, they were compelled to seek rest among the comfortless reeds, they sat down and looked at each other for some time rather sorrowfully, for the pressure of hunger had fallen on all. It was Baldabella who first relieved their distress; with untired energy she went to the river with her spear, and returned very soon with a large river-cod, and an apron filled with the fresh-water mussels, now truly prized for their useful shells. A fire was soon made, the fish was spitted on a sharpened reed, and while it was roasting, Hugh, with Wilkins's invaluable knife, cut a number of short thin reeds into chopsticks, as he called them, to enable them to convey the roasted fish from the reeds on which it was dished to their mouths. Rude as the contrivance was, and laughable as were the failures made in using their new utensils, they managed to make a satisfactory supper, and were content to sleep among the reeds in the open air, though the nights now felt exceedingly cold.

For several days they continued to toil on along the reedy banks of the river, over the same cheerless bush, and subsisting on the same unvarying fish diet. Then the banks became rocky and precipitous, and the river so difficult of access that it was only at rare openings they were able to obtain water or fish. But soon after the landscape was enlivened once more by tall trees. Their path was over the grassy plains, which were even now, in the winter of the year, gay with bright flowers. More than once they remarked with thankfulness the track of the kangaroo, and the chattering of birds gave them hopes of new food, and they anxiously sought the means of obtaining them.

With what joy they recognized the stringy-bark tree, and gathered the fibres to twist into bowstrings, and with what triumph did Hugh, the first who finished the rude weapon, draw his rough string and bring down pigeons and cockatoos sufficient for an ample meal even to the half-starved, but which taxed the ingenuity of the women to cook in any way. They were finally made into what Gerald called a Meg Merrilies stew, which was cooked in a very large mussel-shell, and even without salt or vegetables was fully enjoyed by the dissatisfied fish-eaters.

Then they all sat down earnestly to make a complete stock of bows and arrows; even Baldabella worked hard in twisting the bark for strings, and when they set out to continue their journey, they felt more confidence, for they were now provided with the means of obtaining food, and of defending themselves against hostile attacks; and in another day they again met with wild oats, and, to the joy of the women, with the tea-bush. The fig-trees no longer bore fruit, but they were still covered with their usual inhabitants, flocks of brilliant pigeons, chattering cockatoos, and the satin-bird, distinguished by its flossy plumage and dazzling bright eye. Occasionally they still met with the cucumber melon, a pleasant refreshment when they were weary; and now, strong in hope, they went on their way, still keeping within sight of the river.

"Every hour must bring us nearer to some of the most remote settlements of enterprising squatters," said Margaret, as they rested beneath a fig-tree one evening; "and all our trials would be forgotten if we could once more feel the blessing of a roof over our heads and hear the language of civilized life."

"It'll be a gay bit yet afore we come on 'em, Miss," said Wilkins. "Folks is not such fools as to squat on bare commons; and there's another thing ye'll find, – we'se meet a few more of them black dogs yet, specially if we come on a bit of good land; they're up to that as well as we are. And now, as things look a bit better, I'd not wonder if they're nigh at hand."

"I agree with you, Wilkins," said Arthur. "We are now certainly in danger of encountering tribes of natives, especially as we are on the track of the kangaroos, a great temptation to them."

"I wish we could see one of the mountebank beasts," said Gerald; "wouldn't I send an arrow or a spear into him. Take notice, all of you, I intend to bag the first old fellow that shows his long nose."

A sudden spring from a thicket behind them brought a large kangaroo into the midst of the circle, and before they had recovered the surprise sufficiently to take up bows or spears, a succession of rapid bounds had carried the animal completely beyond their reach.

A burst of laughter from his friends somewhat disconcerted O'Brien, but with his usual good-humor he said, "Very well; I allow you to laugh to-night. The fellow took an unfair advantage of me; but wait till to-morrow."