The Book Of The Bush, George Dunderdale [thriller novels to read .txt] 📗

Other Lives,  Except In Matters Of Feeling And Intelligence. Indeed The

Power Of Manifesting Myself Properly Was A Very Late Accomplishment With

Me,  And Was,  In Fact,  Not Gained Until Long After The Recommencement Of

My Present Educational Work.[63] I Cannot Now Remember,  During All The

Time Of This Educational Work,  That My Personal Life Stood Out In Any

Way From The Usual Ordinary Existence Of Men; But Before I Can Speak

With Certainty Upon This Point I Must Procure Information As To The

Circumstances Of My Earlier Life. This Much Is Clear,  That My Life At

The Time I Am Speaking Of Has Remained In My Memory Only In Its General

Ordinary Human Aspect. It Is True,  However,  That Then,  As Always In My

Later Life,  It Was And Ever Has Been Very Difficult To Me To Separate In

Thought My Inner Life From My Outer,  And To Give Definite Form And

Outward Expression To The Inner Life,  Especially As To Religious

Matters.

 

I Dare Not Deny,  That Although The Definite Religious Forms Of The

Church Reached My Heart Readily Bal Of One Bushel

Of Wheat To The Acre.  For Some Time The Township Of Tarraville Was A

Favourite Place Of Residence,  Because The Swamps Which Surrounded

Port Albert Were Impassable For Drays During The Winter Months; The

Roads To Maneroo And Melbourne Mentioned In Mr. Reeve's Advertisement

Were As Yet In The Clouds.  Captain Moore Came From Sydney In The

Revenue Cutter 'Prince George' To Look For Smugglers,  But He Did Not

Find Any.  He Was Afterwards Appointed Collector For Gippsland,  And

He Came Down Again From Sydney With A Boat's Crew Of Six Prisoners,  A

Free Coxswain,  And A Portable House,  In Which He Sate For The Receipt

Of Customs.

 

For A Time The Commissioner Resided At Tarraville,  And Then He Went

To The Lakes And Surveyed A Township At Flooding Creek,  Now Called

Sale.  His Black Troopers Were In Some Cases Useful,  In Others They

Were Troublesome; They Indulged In Irregularities; There Was No Doubt

That They Drank Rum Procured In Some Inexplicable Manner.  They Could

Not Be Confined In Barracks,  Or Remain Continually Under The Eye Of

Their Chief,  And It Was Not Always Possible To Discover In What

Manner They Spent Their Leisure Hours.  But Occasionally Some

Evidence Of Their Exploits Came To Light,  And Mr. Tyers Became Aware

That His Black Police Considered Themselves As Living Among Hostile

Tribes,  In Respect Of Whom They Had A Double Duty To Perform,  Viz.,

To Track Cattle Spearers At The Order Of Their Chief,  And On Their

Own Account To Shoot As Many Of Their Enemies As They Could

Conveniently Approach.

 

There Were Now Ladies As Well As Gentlemen In Gippsland,  And One Day

The Commissioner Sailed Away In His Boat With A Select Party.  After

Enjoying The Scenery And The Summer Breezes For A Few Hours,  He Cast

His Eyes Along The Shore In Search Of Some Romantic Spot On Which To

Land.  Dead Wood And Dry Sticks Were Extremely Scarce,  As The Blacks

Used All They Could Find At Their Numerous Camps.  He Was At Length

So Fortunate As To Observe A Brown Pile Of Decayed Branches,  And He

Said,  "I Think We Had Better Land Over There; That Deadwood Will Make

A Good Fire"; And The Boat Was Steered Towards It.  But When It

Neared The Land The Air Was Filled With A Stench So Horrible That Mr.

Tyers At Once Put The Boat About,  And Went Away In Another Direction.

Story 14 (Gippsland Under The Law..) Pg 201

Next Day He Visited The Spot With His Police,  And He Found That The

Dead Wood Covered A Large Pile Of Corpses Of The Natives Shot By His

Own Black Troopers,  And He Directed Them To Make It A Holocaust.

 

The White Men Brought With Them Three Blessings For The Natives--

Rum,  Bullets,  And Blankets.  The Blankets Were A Free Gift By The

Government,  And Proved To The Eyes Of All Men That Our Rule Was Kind

And Charitable.  The Country Was Rightfully Ours; That Was Decided By

The Supreme Court; We Were Not Obliged To Pay Anything For It,  But

Out Of Pure Benignity We Gave The Lubras Old Gowns,  And The Black Men

Old Coats And Trousers; The Government Added An Annual Blanket,  And

Thus We Had Good Reason To Feel Virtuous.

 

We Also Appointed A Protector Of The Aborigines,  Mr. G. A. Robinson,

At A Salary Of 500 Pounds Per Annum.  He Took Up His Residence On The

Then Sweet Banks Of The Yarra,  And Made Excursions In Various

Directions,  Compiling A Dictionary.  He Started On A Tour In The

Month Of April,  1844,  Making Alberton His First Halting-Place,  And

Intending To Reach Twofold Bay By Way Of Omeo.  But He Found The

Country Very Difficult To Travel; He Had To Swim His Horse Over Many

Rivers,  And Finally He Returned To Melbourne By Way Of Yass,  Having

Added No Less Than 8,000 Words To His Vocabulary Of The Native

Languages.  But The Public Journals Spoke Of His Labours And His

Dictionary With Contempt And Derision.  They Said,  "Pshaw! A Few

Mounted Police,  Well Armed,  Would Effect More Good Among The

Aborigines In One Month Than The Whole Preaching Mob Of Protectors In

Ten Years."

 

When A Race Of Men Is Exterminated Somebody Ought To Bear The Blame,

And The Easiest Way Is To Lay The Fault At The Door Of The Dead; They

Never Reply.

 

When Every Blackfellow In South Gippsland,  Except Old Darriman,  Was

Dead,  Mr. Tyers Explained His Experience With The Government

Blankets.  They Were Now No Longer Required,  As Darriman Could Obtain

Plenty Of Old Clothes From Charitable White Men.  It Had Been The

Commissioner's Duty To Give One Blanket Annually To Each Live Native,

And Thus That Garment Became To Him The Queen's Livery,  And An Emblem

Of Civilisation; It Raised The Savage In The Scale Of Humanity And

Encouraged Him To Take The First Step In The March Of Progress.  His

Second Step Was Into The Grave.  The Result Of The Gift Of Blankets

Was That The Natives Who Received Them Ceased To Clothe Themselves

With The Skins Of The Kangaroo,  The Bear Or Opossum.  The Rugs Which

They Had Been Used To Make For Themselves Would Keep Out The Rain,

And In Them They Could Pass The Wettest Night Or Day In Their

Mia-Mias,  Warm And Dry.  But The Blankets We Kindly Gave Them By Way

Of Saving Our Souls Were Manufactured For The Colonial Market,  And

Would No More Resist The Rain Than An Old Clothes-Basket.  The

Consequence Was That When The Weather Was Cold And Wet,  The

Blackfellow And His Blanket Were Also Cold And Wet,  And He Began

To Shiver; Inflammation Attacked His Lungs,  And Rheumatism His Limbs,

And He Soon Went To That Land Where Neither Blankets Nor Rugs Are

Required.  Mr. Tyers Was Of Opinion That More Blacks Were Killed By

The Blankets Than By Rum And Bullets.

Story 14 (Gippsland Under The Law..) Pg 202

 

Government In Gippsland Was Advancing.  There Were Two Justices Of

The Peace,  The Commissioner,  Black And White Police,  A Collector Of

Customs,  A Pilot,  And Last Of All,  A Parson--Parson Bean--Who

Quarrelled With His Flock On The Question Of Education.  The Sheep

Refused To Feed The Shepherd; He Had To Shake The Dust Off His Feet,

And The Salvation Of Souls Was,  As Usual,  Postponed To A More

Convenient Season. At Length Mr. Latrobe Himself Undertook To Pay A

Visit To Gippsland.  He Was A Splendid Horseman,  Had Long Limbs Like

King Edward Longshanks,  And Was In The Habit Of Making Dashing

Excursions With A Couple Of Troopers To Take Cursory Views Of The

Country.  He Set Out In The Month Of May,  1844,  And Was Introduced To

The Settlers In The Following Letter By "A Brother Squatter":

 

"Gentlemen,  Look Out.  The Jackal Of Your Oppressor Has Started On A

Tour.  For What Purpose?  To See The Isolated And Miserable Domiciles

You Occupy And The Hard Fare On Which You Subsist?  No!  But To See

If The Oppressor Can Further Apply The Screw With Success And

Impunity.  You Have Located Yourselves Upon Lands At The Risk Of Life

And Property,  Paying To The Government In License And Assessment Fees

For Protection Which You Have Never Received,  And Your Quiesence

Under Such A System Of Robbery Has Stimulated Your Oppressor To Levy

On You A Still Greater Amount Of Taxation,  Not To Advance Your

Interests,  But To Replenish His Exhausted Treasury.  Should You

Strain Your Impoverished Exchequer To Entertain Your (In A Family

Sense) Worthy Superintendent,  Depend Upon It He Will Recommend A

More Severe Application Of The Screw.  Give Him,  Therefore,  Your

Ordinary Fare,  Salt Junk And Damper,  Or Scabby Mutton,  With A Pot Of

Jack The Painter's Tea,  In A Black Pot Stirred With A Greasy Knife."

 

Mr. Latrobe And Sir George Bore All The Weight Of Public Abuse,  And

It Was Heavy.  Now It Is Divided Among Many Ministers,  Each Of Whom

Carries His Share With Much Patience,  While Our Governor's Days In

The "Sunny South" Are "Days Of Pleasantness,  And All His Paths Are

Peace."

 

No Gentleman Could Accept Hospitality Like That Suggested By "A

Brother Squatter," And Mr. Latrobe Sought Refuge At The Port Albert

Hotel,  Glengarry's Imported House.  Messrs. Tyers,  Raymond,  Mcmillan,

Macalister,  And Reeve Were Pitching Quoits At The Rear Of The

Building Under The Lee Of The Ti-Tree Scrub.  Davy,  The Pilot,  Was

Standing Near On Duty,  Looking For Shipping With One Eye And At The

Game With The Other.  The Gentlemen Paused To Watch The Approaching

Horsemen.  Mr. Latrobe Had The Royal Gift Of Remembering Faces Once

Seen; And He Soon Recognised All Those Present,  Even The Pilot Whom

He Had Seen When He First Arrived In Melbourne.  He Shook Hands With

Everyone,  And Enquired Of Davy How He Was Getting On With The

Piloting.  He Said:  "Now Gentlemen,  Go On With Your Game.  I Like

Quoits Myself And I Should Be Sorry To Interrupt You."  Then He Went

Into The Hotel And Stayed There Until Morning.  He No Doubt Obtained

Some Information From Mr. Tyers And His Friends,  But He Went No

Further Into The Country.  Next Morning He Started With His Two

Troopers On His Return To Melbourne,  And The Other Gentlemen Mounted

Their Horses To Accompany Him; But The "Worthy Superintendent" Rode

Story 14 (Gippsland Under The Law..) Pg 203

So Fast That He Left Everyone Behind And Was Soon Out