GETTING IN THE SCRUBBERS

Press, Volume L, Issue 8488, 20 May 1893, Page 2

GETTING IN THE SCRUBBERS

By W. E. 1.-THE CHASE.

They were noted man-gorers those skull-and-cros-tbones-branded cattle that used to haunt the scrub on Woboko Station, from the Lakes Entrance to Bairnsdale, and from Bairnsdale to the Omeo. It is just tweuly years ago. to-day since old White, the owner of Woboko, said to Bertie Single, the head stockman, " Bertie," I want you to get together three hundred head of fats and take them down to the Melbourne market, and when Bertie said "all right" a Queenslander would have thought it was as simple as going on to a cutting-out camp up North and running out the fats, but to those who were in the swim in that simple "all right," Bertie had undertaken a much bigger contract, and one which but few men in the colony would have been able to finish. The first two hundred were not hard to get for they had been handled, and branded' but there were a lot of cattle in the scrub I belting the banks of the Nicholson and Tambo that were innoceut of the nauseat- ! ing smell of burning living flesh, that told of " leather found " by the searching brand, and there was many a shorthorned Hereford hidden in the Innermost recesses of that tick and sandfly infested ti-tree that knew not the cunning of a stockman's hand, and there were the signs for the busbiman to read as he rode, for no big an tiered bullock could have worked his way along those narrow cattle, pads that wound iv and out, backwards and forwards, here and there, in one bewildering Daedalian labyrinth, and to transport these denizens of the boggy Victorian jungle to the hard macadam of the So. Kilda road was exactly the hize of the job we had undertaken, and for which we would receive 25s a week, with damper, salt junk, and tea thrown in, while Bertie drew his £2 a week with | a similar heave in of food; and If a man liked danger and excitement, and was not afraid of work, he could knock out as much enjoyment on Woboko as the.people who have their coughs and fiugeraches, comings and goings, chronicled in the papers and telegraphed round the world : The scrubbers, unseen of men, would stay in their fastnesses all d&y chewing the cud they had laid up the night before, and when the sun went down and the strident laugh of the giant kingfisher had given place to the insidious airpiercing note of the large-mouthed fiodargus, the scrub would give up its nhabitants, and wild boars with cruel tusks and restless eyes would work out on to the open, the wallaby left its rankgrowing rushes by the river bank and hopped out on to the plain to listen attentively fur danger, and would hear it, too, in the mournful howl of yonder brace of black uncanny-looking dingoes, and when these pilots of darkness had given notice that the coast was safe and the night was on, abroad forehead, covered with handsome, short, crisp, curls, part and parcel of some big Hereford bull, would force low hanging branches on one side, and a pair of placid eyes would peer forth across the plain, and if .keen sight and clever nostril detected no sign of danger, strings ot hald-faced and whitebellied cattle would wind out along selfmade pads, and gradually spread themselves out on those plains, pastern high in luscious clover and shamrock-leaved trefoil, while at the first sound of a horse's hoof or the terrorising smell of a man they would leave some coveted succulent fiat eh, or fancied acre, and stampede back nto the scrub with the noise of a far-away angry thunderstorm.

To secure these myalls we took down sixty or seventy head of quiet cows, as dead homers as carrier pigeons, of some them milking cows, with their calves penned up in the stockyard, and as night came on turned them adrift on the flats and waited developments, and as they fed slowly homeward bellowing for their Calves, and lowing for their mates, the Wondering cleanakins would come up in a Compact body, tearing, ripping, kicking, and moaning, Working round and round them in awkward, loblolly canter, drawing nearer and nearer, then away again with heads straight out and tails straight np, but always working back to closer quarters, and then, with a stentorian snort from a hundred semi-terrified cattle, away once more, wheeling and haltering in a series of military manoeuvres, the ground ever giving out an angry, booming growl on behalf of the slaughtered clover. Nearer and nearer Still they have drawn, and now eager bulls are mingling through the herd, and it fa our time to act, for stealing in in ludian file just inside the edge of the ti-tree, and taking advantage of every bit of cover, grey tussock, and forward growing bdab, we Work quietly up and have put a Hue between the scrubbers aud their salvation as effective as the one we have been busy all our lives putting between our own. But perhaps there are more ways of being saved than one, and this the poor devils of cleanskins thought, for after one or two abortive gallops up and down the flat in search of an opening unguarded by man and horse, they struck out for the coast scrub three miles away as the swans fly. Good ox tongues were hanging out signals of distress, and heavy dragging hindquarters and heavy flanks were there before they had done more than half the distance, and we were on the point of heading them and turning them back to the cows, when they unfortunately sighted two big yellow coasters just ahead in a clump of honeysuckle and made over to them. The yellow devils, who knew the country as well as we did, turned tail and went through the timber at a ding-dong pace, to try and make a projecting poiut of coast scrub that came out and met the line of honeysuckle, while we, with shout aud Whip, cursing and.cracking, tried to keep our mob from following them, but we might as well have tried to keep back an Atlantic breaker, for, like some huge wave, they rolled on and broke past us on all sides. There was one chance left, and that was to head back the two coasters to meet the mob, and Bertie Single, who was riding Wonder, the smartest stock horse that ever brought his rider up within whip distance of a breakaway or dodged the horns of a sulky beast, took the chance.

The moon was clouded over, and It *~ not too light In that heavily-tonned hon«« suckle, but if Bertie had had dayl!*?! and open country for it he X§ Wonder could not havo left rao** ground behind them in the name tlm? and then wo could hear the crashing li timber and the oaths of an angry man/Li we knew the bullocks were itearlntj th» scrub, and if they were not turned iu«i_! of two minutes Bertie was beaten and Qui, trouble far worse than useless, for It would be many a long day before the mob »* were trying to block would work back to their old haunts again. " Well," said Napier, "I can't stand thU. You boys will have to manage without m* as best you can, while I go and give _w tie a hand," and he disappeared in ihotli_. ber. Bertie told us afterwards "he »», just In the nick of time.") But our mob stop euddeuly as the two coasters, tilth done, trot dejectedly Into the middle of them, auxious to get anywhere away from that terrible man and whip. We had kh two of the boys behind to hurry on tli* cows. Bellowing could now be distinctly heard about a milo away. The two yellow bullocks worked through the mob, took the lead and started off for the Sotunj while our mob, blown and disheartened* giving up all hopes of reaching that baton of refuge where never man could ride, po_. derously followed suit. " Two of you boys go aud look after Napier," said Bertie ; '* I saw one of thou yellow bullocks knock old Grasshopper over, and I think he must be hurt, aa ho has not turned up." We found old Grwjj; hopper first nibbling away contentedly .{ the coast, herbage, and a little further oa Dick Napier, on the broad of his back smoking away as If he'd come out f01: the purpose. "Well, did you get those tws sods in the mob all right; it sounded iikj it." " Curse your lazy soul; did you brine us up here looking for you to oak us thstf said Willie. " Well, partly, old man, and partly because I waut you to catch GrM» hopper, and give mc a lift into the eaddk That bally yellow bullock with the coc*. horn tried to let daylight In the old horse's body, and made a bone mill of him instead, for he fell on my w and broke it in two places. So If 6m* hopper isn't hurt, aud you two fellows wPJ catch him and life mo into the saddle, I'll ride to the home station and get put to bed, for the musquitoes aud sandflies aia having a rare blow-out In spite of this banisher." So wo put him on his horse and strapped his broken leg up as well as we could to keep It from swinging, RQ( | galloped away to overtake the cleansklns which we found boxed with the cow*,»__ all on the trot towards the yards. Before we reached the yard, that coc„-hor_ed bullock that had brought Dick to grief, tried twice to break away into the wonted scrub, but Bertie had open country for it now, and his whip played on the yellow beggar's hide, cutting long crackling like, strips out of it till ho was glad to niaka back into the mob again ; although before he did so he had two tries to treat Wonder as he had treated Grasshopper, but Wonder, who could dodge a mosquito or turn at full gallop on a sixpence, was not to be had, and an hour's hard galloping saw them all inside the safest yard that ever surrounded anythiug that wore bids and hair.

lI.—DRAFTING ADVENTURES.

After breakfast we started to draft, and it wasn't a sinecure either, a3 those bl«, powerful devils came ripping and tearing along the race, blowing and suortlng like swimming horses, their horns ready to receive cavalry, or run through a foot soldier, while the man they are anxious to" gore quietly reaches for a high rail with one haud, puts one foot on the bottom rail, and makes a kick with the other one at a moving mountain of flesh about to hurl him into eternity, and when it is all over, and the dust has cleared away, the mau is still in the land of the living, and the mountain has rolled on.

And while we were busy turning a fresh lot into the race to draft, the new chum's mouth opens in wonder to see tho stockmen all upon the top rail of thefence. What could it mean? They never went up so high before. How quickly they did It, too, and why are they shouting out, " Lie down, 114 down, you fool 1 Lie down and kick 1" and, what is this great mass bearing down upon him like an express engine, blowing off steam on all sides of him at once, and those great branching horns like bayonets that always seem to be pointed at him, and has he fallen down, laid down, or been knocked down ? He .doesn't know, but lis is gradually becoming aware that the big yellow bullock is very close to him, and ten hundredweight of prime beef has surrounded him. and is performing a war dance for his benefit to the suitable accompaniment of heavily in-drawu atxl, fiercely out-blown Ravage snorts; ant, ■ chummy wakes up to the fact that be must do something, so turns round on his axis abd spurms up an incessant How o! • sand that shuts off completely tho glare t of those cruel, angry, anticipating eyesj but it is of no avail, for there if a rush like the rush of water in a sinking: man's ears, and his body is partly dragged and partly propelled towurds tho feace, where two terrible horns seem to reach tha fleshiest part of hla body in unison, aa two. stockman's boots arrive there at the same time, and above the bellowing of the bulls he hearß the sound of " Go home you d—-» young fool, or you'll get killed V So M takes his bruised body slowly and sorrow fully over wearisome sand ridges ansmall grass-grown sand dunes to where the homestead lies so peacefully sleeping; in the hollow. Of course lb was Bertie who had saved tho boy's life; it was over and always Berfcie where there was danger or diftlculty, When there was no doubt that the bullock was determined to pubh his acquaintance with the boy to an extreme point Bertie shed his coat, picked up a yarding stick, and hit the busl!j>, engaged, yellow bullock an old mm. hit on the snout. The bullock turned with a gratified bellow, made for Bertie, ami apparently caught him, but. after all, II was only a sllpped-up bullock spoiling ftfi, old coat, while the smartest stockman oft the coast was swinging himself up on tb6 cap of a gate. Do you think we could got that yellow wretch Into the race? I don't bello»e it. could have been done with a tractionengine. We turned the other bullocks out of the race back into the yard two or three times to try and get him out that way, bus he wouldn't budge a foot, but go rouna tmyard looking up at us and wait for ua to drop on to his horns like a football on to boot. We were still fooling about wit« him when old White came over from bw, breakfast in a lively-looking red shirt bbs • not the very best of tempers. " Wull, raun," said he, " are y&tf frightened of a yeller bulluk ? Go boffift to the station and mind the babies, ana. Bend the wummen over to give mc a nati&v Here, guv mc that stuck. Bill," and he proceeds to climb into the yard, "xoft better leave him alone, sir, said Bsrtw»"if you go Into the yard he'll make * colander of you quicker than a thmroiwThis is the beggar that rolled GraaahopjiS* over on Dick last night." /' " Leave the boss alone," said BUI;" »* * man wants to commit suicide the bs*» thing you can do is to let him, for yosttt. never live long enough yourself toge.tW« thanks for atopping him." The boss was as mad as the bullock pt this time, and dropped into the yard wlta the stick in hi* hand, determined to »»qw them what pluck could do. But wl»« foolhardy man and infuriated besst. stood taking one another's mea«wf e « another actor appeared on the »?6 bS In the shape of the twin bullock, who came in through tho opsj* gate to look for his mate. The bossi too* bis eye most, so he rushed up behind bus* aud inserted one horn between the boss a legs, while the other one, a backwardgrowing horn, formed a rest for Whites back, and in this natural armchair the boss was carried round the yard two or three times, a la the elephant's trunk &»« the man at the circus: but lb Is to pc taken fur granted he does not turn t' l3 double ftomersault behind the «cene» tliftt old White did when he left the bullocks horns. Bertie was en evidence as ÜB«» J * and gave a sack to the bullock togooa with thit time, whilo some of tbo other fellows helped the boss on to the fence. There wasn't a great deal of exOlteme-6 on the roads with them, with the exception of a 'possum starting them off one night, when they Mtarapeded an* levelled our; tents and about half ft mile «* wire fence. There used to be an oia paling • enclosed paddock opposite tas cemetery Iv Dandenong road thaiall drovers used to make for, w it was an easy stage from thers Into Flemlngtou yards, and In »' month from tho time we got our orders wf , bad 300 head of cattlo there. They broM the gates down about 11 o'clock, so w» decided to travel along nlowly with thero* and had a bit of sport In Wellington street with the two yellow bullocKs-. making a nip and tuck thing of it witi» some toff iv dress clothes; but the way « c vanished down a small alley where trie bullocks were afraid to follow was a signs that even a man with sandy blight coui» have enjoyed. it . We got them Into tho yards about tprw.i and started to draft off the prime at daj; break. There was a big crowd of tho grcao unwashed at the yard, for somehow it bad got about that there wew a lot of "Wobokos" to be drafted i and thaUlwaya meant fun on the cheaps

■ ■ - Thit every vantage place exhibited J8 *?* _ 0 * bummers, spielers and bell- * * mcd trousers gentry* who had turned ft_m railway carriages, old boilers, ° 3J anted houses, and low cribs for an - ol ? B iUmine's sensation. Nor were they For our old theatrical _is*P**' ll Apples, oranges, and lemonade," y and cried his trade up and down the P* the oaiy unbroken promenade there I * C ! " Apph' s ' oranges, and lemonade ; ***%'** oranges, and ." "New, my Bertie, "you get cut of this ft l ' .-in*» you want the hora of a bullock "Who the devil are V> h pLta th» man. " I don't know you ? _° B .vT;nk Ire been fourteen years in D'J e and don't know what bullocks ti«** y 4 D nle-s oranges, and lemonade— H*' oil—" "Loot out! Look out! *PP'* S '»" .creamed th« larrikins, and X * a * , !_r« sliPOtd through a inanhok-. It 810 Iff two or three rime* with great c* o , t 0 the delight of the upper ten ; s o«**"' ' s ue boy and tho w w if _ K ai_ bQ' !t r o ii Yellow Coast acqu_ia- * B * h hounded out into the narrow ttEC8 i« view of something to keep "" "« m practice wish. The receding j,u Dor-», l ; e4 oranges.and lemonade," fctt _*i l- big basket of golden fruic and witi } _«f lemonade glinting off the beams criS ri-»g sun fulfilled his desires. I» «"n the upper ten ".f? ''Look out Bauaner*!' "True y eile o n-t^M l " "S'elp mc Gawd, Ban-B-anan'ers walked on as calmly users- -il-tivas the man who saves his *n-confident!} Mercantile Bank, 8,0 . ae3 i a a oranges, and" the crash " App «f'broken Rlass and ruined fruit on, 'hantfw the tornado has swept upon merchant,«»"£ him down like a nine--1 B - MW Thri_Sn«? -own the elevated un--Ipm 3(or roUing sunstreaked 1 washed, «*_* l fruit of the Hesperides, ) ffiKrv g elr g leUnade f » tv-M." said the übiquitous Bertie as fee nulled The sadder and wner merchant _?«£__• manhole, "yon may have been Sre fourteen y*a»: you may know what v uJt« arc and now you have a very J__fidea what a large cock-horned skull £»_ed yellow devil from the ti-tree suri Saaaed "flats and the breaker-bound coast «f Woboko is." Yes. those are his horns; that one on «,» rizht is the one he drove through tho tauKr's Ivn S' tbat d! } rk stai»tbat is not on the Other one speaks for itself. 'I he »rift »y» my tastes are morbid—maybe the* are!- Argus.