The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 96

"And I have an intense desire to be near an uncle of mine in Sydney.

Will you, Mr. Murden, forward my pet.i.tion for an exchange?" asked the inspector, with a smile of great meaning.

"It will give me great pleasure to undertake the commission. I have heard of some very fine specimens of gold being taken from these mines,"

the lieutenant added.

"It will give me great satisfaction to forward two pieces that I owe to our worthy chief, and will you tell him that I antic.i.p.ate obtaining a third piece after I am exchanged?"

"And what report had I better carry back to Melbourne?" the lieutenant asked.

"You can say that you gave me the necessary instructions, but there is no hope of coping with the miners unless five thousand troops, with cannon, are on the ground. That will startle government, you may depend," the inspector answered, earnestly.

"And let us keep our counsel. There is no need that we should inform our superiors that through our stupidity their well-laid plans have been destroyed, and the miners acquainted with what is in store for them. Eh, Mr. Brown?"

"Certainly not, sir," promptly responded that individual.

"Ve should lose our reputation for shrewdness if ve did," muttered Steel Spring, but his master overheard him, and gave him a kick as a reward.

And in this manner was it settled, that government should not be enlightened in regard to the information which the miners had obtained, and it was owing to the plot being overheard at our store that the people of Ballarat were enabled to abolish the odious mining tax, and to accomplish that, were prepared for the soldiers when they did arrive.

The inspector left us for his quarters, and the rest of us retired for the night, with the intention of rising early and riding out to meet Smith, who could not be more than ten miles distant, according to Murden's report.

We were on horseback about sunrise, and rode slowly out of Ballarat, leaving Steel Spring to look after the store and its effects. The miners were cooking their breakfasts as we pa.s.sed along, and the fumes of fried pork and boiling coffee greeted our nostrils at every turn.

Stretched out as far as the eye could reach were tents of every color and hue, from the new comer of yesterday to the old stager blackened by the dust and rains of nearly twelve months. We met parties of Chinese, who had been on a hunt for lizards and other insects, and to judge from their jargon, they had been eminently successful.

Two of them were staggering under the weight of an enormous snake, that they had found dead a short distance from the town, and they strung it on a pole, and were congratulating themselves on the many stews that it would make. They regarded it in the light of a present from their G.o.ds, and danced with joy.

We left the main road, and followed an almost imperceptible trail that led us in a parallel course, and within sight of the road that we expected Smith would choose for reaching the town. By doing so we were enabled to avoid the dust and confusion, and ride more at our leisure; and before we were five miles from Ballarat we were repaid for our precaution, for just as we were pa.s.sing a small clump of half-stunted vegetation we heard a fluttering of wings, and on looking up, we saw one of the largest birds that Australia can boast. It was a full-grown ca.s.siowary, and stood nearly eight feet high, we judged, with long, stout legs, black and muscular, and a foot that would cover a peck measure.

The bird's beak was like an ostrich's, stout and sharp, and its head and body greatly resembled one. The ca.s.siowary's wings were also small, and seemed as though intended to help its progress when running; for it was impossible to lift its huge body into the air with such puny ones.

The bird did not seem much alarmed at our presence, and by keeping Rover at our sides, we were enabled to examine it at leisure. After first stretching out its long neck, and uttering a peculiar whistle, the bird, after a second glance at us, continued to feed, and seemed disposed to let us continue our journey without further attention.

"It's a ca.s.siowary," Murden said, in a low tone, "and I'll give five pounds for its skin. I never saw a live one before, although I have frequently seen the stuffed one at the government house, which is valued so highly by Sir Charles Latrobe. What a prize it would be, if we only had our rifles?"

The lieutenant was right; if we had only have taken our rifles with us, we could have killed the bird from where we stood; but the distance was too great to expect a fatal result with a revolver, and we knew that if we advanced nearer it would take to flight. If we went back to Ballarat after a rifle, it was not likely that the bird would stay there until we returned, and under these circ.u.mstances we looked towards Fred for his advice.

"Let us capture the bird alive," he said, and we laughed at his words, thinking that he meant to ridicule us.

"I am serious," he said, "for I believe that it is possible."

"Let us know how," cried Murden; "and if your plan succeeds, the best supper that can be obtained in Ballarat shall reward your ingenuity!"

"For how many?" inquired Fred.

"For the party, and Mr. Brown."

"That will cost you more than five pounds; but as you are anxious for the bird, I will try and devise a way of relieving your purse."

Fred, as he spoke, uncoiled his long halter,--a rope that we used to hitch the horses to during the daytime, so that they could wander over considerable ground, and feed upon the dried gra.s.s,--and made a running knot in one end, and thus formed a slip-noose, like the Mexican's _reatta_.

"What next?" we asked.

"Why, I want both of you to follow my example, and if you get near enough to the bird, to throw the rope over its neck, and see that one end of it is made fast to the pommel of the saddle."

"Why, that is the way that the Spaniards capture ostriches," Murden said.

"Precisely," returned Fred, "only they have to ride many miles over a sandy soil before the ostrich will consent to be taken; and it strikes me that we can imitate those same Spaniards, and even if we can't get near enough to cast our reattas we can try the effects of a shot."

"By George, I'm in for the sport!" cried Murden, and he commenced preparing his rope in a manner similar to Fred's.

In a few minutes we were ready, and rode off a short distance, and then gradually closed in until the unconscious bird was surrounded. I then allowed Rover to start, and with a low bay he dashed towards the ca.s.siowary.

The latter, when the dog was within a few feet, stopped feeding, and seemed to be somewhat astonished; and just us the hound sprang upon his intended victim, the bird turned tail to, and started on a run, in the direction of Fred.

The animal made awful clumsy work of running, and yet it got over the ground in a surprisingly rapid manner; and although Rover exerted himself to the utmost, he had some difficulty in gaining on the chase.

We hallooed the hound on, in hopes that he would seize the bird by one of its legs; and in fact, just as he was about to, the ca.s.siowary suddenly stopped, raised one of its huge feet, and with a vigorous kick sent Rover rolling head over heels.

The dog got up and looked somewhat astonished, and then recommenced the chase with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.

The bird continued its irregular course, lifting its huge legs in a slow and mathematical manner, yet running with great speed, and seeming to care no more for bushes, and such like obstructions, than an elephant.

As I said before, the bird's course led directly towards Fred; but upon getting sight of him as he sat on his horse with rope in hand, it changed, and fled towards me, plunging its long neck, and uttering a short whistle, as though blowing off steam. Even while running, the short, stumpy wings were used to aid its flight and steady its body, which rocked, and rolled, and swayed to and fro like a ship in a head sea.

"On, Rover, on!" we shouted, and the faithful dog strained all of his energies to overtake the chase, and when he again got within a few yards of it, up went a claw, and we could hear the powerful blow that descended upon the dog's head, and sent him rolling over and over again, and this time a slight yelp told that he was somewhat hurt.

"Look out for him!" shouted Fred and Murden, spurring towards me, but there was no necessity to caution me. I had my rope all ready, and when the bird was near enough, I whirled it over my head _a la Mexicano_, and let it fly at the long neck that was stretched out to its fullest extent.

The cord fell directly upon the bird's body, but was shook clear in an instant, and its course was changed; and instead of seeking to pa.s.s me, it turned and ran towards the lieutenant, who was laughing most heartily at our attempts to imitate the cattle drivers of Spanish climes.

"Look out!" shouted Fred, but the warning was unheeded, and before the lieutenant could command his presence of mind the bird charged upon him, startled his horse, and the next moment the officer was thrown to the ground directly in the path of the ca.s.siowary.

Luckily Murden struck the ground face downwards, and before he could turn over the bird was upon him. With one vigorous jerk of its beak on that portion of his anatomy where the flesh is supposed to be firmest, he tore away cloth, and perhaps an inch or two of skin; for at any rate we saw the lieutenant clap his hand upon his wound, and when he withdrew it, blood dripped from his fingers.

"D----n the ca.s.siowary!" Murden roared, struggling to his feet, and rubbing his bruised limbs; but we did not stop to hear his complaints, for the bird was going off like a frightened deer, and if we expected to make a prize, there was no time to lose.

We struck our animals, and they followed the object of pursuit at the top of their speed, yet for the first five minutes we did not gain an inch; and even Rover, who had joined in the chase with renewed vigor found that he had got his match for once.

At length we got clear of the dried gra.s.s and bushes, and entered upon the prairie, that was as smooth and level as a house floor, and then we began to gradually gain upon the huge bird in spite of its immense strides.

Our course led directly towards the main road, and we could see a dozen teams leisurely pursuing their journey, and we hoped that the drivers would head the bird and cause it to turn towards us, when an opportunity would offer for a shot, for we began to give up all hope of making the capture alive.

We flew over the ground as fast as the horses could stretch, and the animals seemed to enjoy the sport equally as well as ourselves; in a few minutes we saw that the teamsters were watching the chase, and that a number of them had got their guns in readiness to give the bird a shot in case it went near enough to their carts. That was something that we did not desire, as we wished the honor of making the capture; and had we been disposed to trust to our revolvers, we could have wounded the bird when it unhorsed the lieutenant and left him sprawling in the dirt.

The eyes of the ca.s.siowary were as sharp, however, as our own, and seeing the danger in front, slackened its speed as though uncertain what to do, and we took advantage of the hesitancy to urge the pace of our horses to the utmost, and gained so rapidly that Fred determined to try his reatta. He whirled it over his head in true Mexican style, and threw it, but the Mexican science was not in the act; it struck upon the bird's back, and then slipped to the ground.

Nothing daunted, Fred gathered up his rope again, and by the time that it was in his hand the chase suddenly stopped, raised its long neck, and attempted to pa.s.s between us, and again seek refuge amidst the gra.s.s that was growing in profusion on our right.