Read The Kangaroo Hunters; Or, Adventures in the Bush Page 1

  THE KANGAROO HUNTERS;

  Or, Adventures in the Bush.

  by

  ANNE BOWMAN,

  Author of "Esperanza," "The Castaways," "The Young Exiles," etc., etc.

  "Light and limber, upwards driven, On the hoar crag quivering; Or through gorges thunder-riven, Leaps she with her airy spring! But behind her still, the foe-- Near, and near the deadly bow!"

  SCHILLER, _translated by Bulwer_.

  Philadelphia:Porter & Coates.

  "He faced round, and with his fore-feet--his arms Ishould say--he seized me, and gave me a heavy fall."]

  PREFACE.

  The rapid spread of education creates a continual demand for new books,of a character to gratify the taste of the young, and at the same timeto satisfy the scruples of their instructors. The restless, inquiringspirit of youth craves, from its first development, food for theimagination, and even the simplest nursery rhymes owe their principalcharm to their wonderful improbability. To these succeed theever-interesting tales of Fairies and Enchanters; and the ardent boyonly forsakes Ali Baba and Sindbad for the familiar and lifelikefictions of "Robinson Crusoe," and the hundred pleasant tales on the"Robinson Crusoe" model which have succeeded that popular romance.

  It is the nature of man to soar above the common prose of every-day lifein his recreations; from the weary school-boy, who relieves his mind,after arithmetical calculations and pages of syntax, by fancifuladventures amidst scenes of novelty and peril, and returns to his laborsrefreshed, to the over-tasked man of study or science, who wades throughhis days and nights of toil, cheered by the prospect of a holiday ofvoyaging or travelling over new scenes.

  This spirit of inquiry has usually the happiest influence on thecharacter of the young and old, and leads them--

  "To know The works of God, thereby to glorify The great Work-Master."

  In this belief, we are encouraged to continue to supply the young withbooks which do not profess to be true, though they are composed oftruths. They are doubtless romantic, but cannot mislead the judgment orcorrupt the taste; their aim being to describe the marvellous works ofcreation, and to lead the devout mind to say with the divine poet,--

  "Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite Thy power; what thought can measure thee, or tongue Relate thee?"

  A. B.

  RICHMOND, _October_, 1858.

  CONTENTS.

  CHAPTER I. page 1-16

  The Rector and the Soldier.--The Mayburn Family.--A Mission to India.--The Orphans of Wendon.--Ruth the Unlucky.--Jack's Project.--The Addition to the Mayburn Establishment

  CHAPTER II. 17-31

  Departure from Wendon.--Embarkation in the _Amoor_.--Ruth's Adventures in London.--The Deverell Family.--The Pleasures of the Voyage.--Tropical Wonders.--The Flying-fish.--The Stormy Petrel.--The Albatross.--Deverell's Plans.--The Indian Ocean.--A Storm

  CHAPTER III. 32-44

  Melbourne.--The Squatters.--The Two Convicts.--A Painful Separation.--The _Golden Fairy_.--Ruth's Misfortunes.--A Nocturnal Alarm.--Ruth's Confession.--The Ship on Fire.

  CHAPTER IV. 45-57

  Insubordination of the Sailors.--Rapid Progress of the Fire.--The Boats lowered.--Ruth's Prize.--A Man Saved.--Black Peter.--The Adventure of a Reprobate Crew.--A Dangerous Comrade

  CHAPTER V. 58-71

  Afloat on an Unknown Sea.--The Insubordinate Sailor.--The Coral Reefs.--An Island in View.--The Perilous Landing.--Peter's Rebellion.--The First Night on Shore.--Ruth among the Crockery.--A Valuable Prize.--The March from the First Encampment

  CHAPTER VI. 72-84

  A Pleasant Resting-place.--The Turtle.--A Knavish Trick.--Destitution.--An Exploring Expedition.--Lake Scenery.--A Wrecked Vessel.--Strange Footsteps.--A Prudent Retreat.--Return of the Explorers

  CHAPTER VII. 85-97

  The Results of the Expedition.--The Long Vacation.--Removed from the Landing-place.--Birds and their Nests.--Fishing.--Tapping a Cask of Potatoes.--Tent-making.--The Shell Spades.--Digging a Tank.--A Grand Attempt at Boat-building

  CHAPTER VIII. 98-111

  The Launch of the Boat.--An Alarming Catastrophe.--Disappointed Hopes.--Jack's Perseverance.--A Peep at the Old Encampment.--Black Peter again.--The Loss of the Boat.--Canoe-building.--The Luggage-van

  CHAPTER IX. 112-127

  The Foray.--Young Potatoes.--More Intruders.--Ruth's Introduction to the Savages.--The Sailing of the Fleet.--The Desert Shore.--The Giant Ant-hill.--Once more at Sea.--A Storm, and the Loss of the Catamaran

  CHAPTER X. 128-142

  A Total Wreck.--An Unknown Coast.--The Green Ants.--The White Cockatoo.--Waifs.--The Gourd Tree.--The Fresh-water Rivulet.--A River Voyage Projected

  CHAPTER XI. 143-156

  The Voyage up the River.--The Way to China.--The Note of a Strange Bird.--A Hasty Flight.--A Tropical Storm.--The Loss of the Canoes.--The Cave of the Bats.--A Toilsome Pilgrimage

  CHAPTER XII. 157-172

  Alligators.--The Giant's Staircase.--Access to a New Region.--The Pheasant Cuckoo.--Wild Oats.--The Unequal Contest.--The First Kangaroo.--Scenes of Arcadia.--A Hint at Cannibalism.--The Cockatoo Watch.--The Enemy put to Flight

  CHAPTER XIII. 173-186

  Rope-making.--The Cavern of Illustrations.--Ruth at the Water-pools.--Victualling the Fortress.--The Blockade.--Assault and Battery.--Bloodshed.--The Close Siege.--Prospect of Famine

  CHAPTER XIV. 187-202

  Rambles through the Caves.--Fairy Bower.--A Rough Path to Freedom.--Preparations for Flight.--The Use of the Rifle.--A Case of Conscience.--Departure.--Travelling among the Bogs.--A View of the River.--Making an Axe.--A New Plant

  CHAPTER XV. 203-216

  The Tea-Shrub.--Another Canoe.--A Skirmish with the Natives.--Wounded Heroes.--An Attempt at Voyaging.--A Field of Battle.--The Widowed Jin.--Wilkins's Sorrows.--Baldabella in Society.--The Voyage Resumed

  CHAPTER XVI. 217-228

  The Mother and Child.--The Interior of the Country.--Another Cataract.--The Pilgrim Troop.--The Difficult Ascent.--The Frilled Lizard.--The Mountain-range.--The Kangaroo-chase.--The Pass of Erin

  CHAPTER XVII. 229-241

  The Dangerous Pass.--The Coupled Travellers.--The Mountain Labyrinth.--The Emancipation of Ruth's Chickens.--A Combat _a l'outrance_.--The Ornithorhyncus.--The Forest in the Mountains.--Singing Birds.--The Laughing Jackass

  CHAPTER XVIII. 242-254

  The Tunnel through the Mountains.--The Chase of the Emu.--An Encounter with the Natives.--The Rescue of Baldabella and her Child.--Making a Bridge.--Canoes Again.--The Fishing of Baldabella
/>
  CHAPTER XIX. 255-268

  A _Cache_.--The Black Forest.--A Site for the Hut.--The Eagles.--Gerald's Accident.--A Subterranean Grotto.--The Pitcher Plant.--A Potato Ground.--The Fig-tree.--Australian Jumbles.--The Hungry Guest

  CHAPTER XX. 269-280

  The Reservoir.--The Rains.--The Native Companion.--The Employments of Prison Life.--The Unlucky Chase.--Jack's Tale of Trouble.--Black Peter's Temptations.--The Release of the Eagle.--The Rescue Party