Dwymoon the Outlaw.

Hot Lakes Chronicle, Volume 2, Issue 125, 15 May 1895, Page 3

Dwymoon the Outlaw.

\ [BY'MAJUBA.j 1 The head station al Crevis Craels 2 was badly situated at-ouo ond of tho L . run, the reason being that Qrqyis 3 Greek was the only permanent-water. ! It had been placed thus temporarily ,- with the intention of shifting when , water had been conserved in sbine i more central position. To the south open downs stretched [ away lor a hundred miles, broken al. , intervals by flat, coolibah-lined water- -. courses, ill-defined, and holding water , only for a few weeks. For -thirty i miles Crevis Creek was permanent, ; and afforded ample country for sliep- ! herding the number of sheep then on i the run, the only drawback being that ; they had but one side of the creek on , which to :':eed, for the country to the north was almost worthless. Across the main channel lay threo miles of thick gidya, broken by numorou i bi'labongs ; then the aspect changed to a stony black gidya forest, with silver grass and stunted saltbusb, distasteful to stock, and over which tho flocks would race ir- rllowed till they ran themselves to a standstill. Sheep only settled down on it after the black gidya leaves had fallen ; whilst these lasted they seemed satislied and did well. Tho cattle, broken now to the run, wandered where they liked, usually over the creek, but after rain far across tho open. This forest land rose gradually until it merged into biykou ranges, becoming precipitous towards tho head of the creek. Here, amongst the rocks, grew only stunted ' ironbarks ' and porcupine grass—a harbour for blacks, making them bold and i - gressivq. After the murder of a shepherd and destruction (.1' his flock, the manager formed a permanent outstation there, and placed an overseer in charge. There was an awful to-do at the head station. Tho manager's little daughter—six years old—had disappeared : wandered away unnoticed after wild flowers. All the station hande and the few blacks allowed about the homestead had turned out, but after twenty-four hours' search returned unsuccessful. The blacks had found tho child's tracks crossing the creek, and had followed them on to stony country, where their keen eyes had been baffled. The father was distracted. Equally vain wire his promises and threats ; the boys only looked sullenly at tho ground and said—- ' Baal mine look-out track belongin' to piccaninny ! You feteh-im Dwymoon—budgery tracker Dwymoon '.' In despair ho at last despatched two of them for Dwymoon; bidding them promise him immunity from harm and a free pardon if be came. | Now Dwymoon was credited wit hi being loader of tho mobthat murdered Meegan, the shepherd, and drove off ' part of his Hock to'the range, whore thoy were found with legs broken to ' present them from straying until wanted for ' pahter.' No doubt he ' was not accused without reason; the : temptation to kill had been strongthe careless shepherd was such an easy prey. Whether ho was 'in it ' or not, he was absent from ' the camp ' when it was rounded up for punishment, and ' so for a time escaped the fate of his ' companions. Black as ebony, tall and lissome, he " was in physique and intelligence, above tho average; af inland natives. • None wore so clever at stalking the emu or snaring, with hair-noose, the bustard ; none so deft at fashioning with shell and stone-axe tho rude | implements of chase or warfare. At bora or corroboree he led tho dance, ' grotesquely painted and disguised, or at the tires facing tho wurlies chanted legends of battle and mystery. As for tracking, he could track like a bloodhound. For three years he had disappeared, ' lying hidden in the fastnesses of the range. Then he appeared again ; amongsl the. half-civilised blacks who hunted on the verge of the occupied country, warily avoiding the casual stockman in search of strays. The warmth of the hue-and-cry had abated; but he was still an outlaw, liable to bo shot at sight. This was the tracker whom the boys were to bring if they could. 'Piccaninny yan longa there, Dwymoon ?' said the manager anxiously. Dwymoon only grunted, and pushed the hair from his bloodshot eyes. 'Youi,' said Tandy, the black boy. 'That one got im track—baal taut fellow lose-im now!' The boys had been lucky in finding the outlaw, in a camp not many miles' from tho head station, for. like all oi his race, he was doficipni in forethought, and amongst the mob he thought himself safe. Such a man is. feared and. admired by tho other blacks. As long as he is comparatively safe he-is protected ; scouts on the outskirts of tho camp warn him of danger.' But lot him once be hotly ' hunted, and oven his nearest relatives will turn and assist his pursuers. This is tho natural instinct oi the predatory mammal ; the itch to join in the chase—no matter who the victim—is ■irresistible. I Once, after a ' dispersal' of blacks by native polico, the troopers were : round gathered round tire body of an : old- man, laughing uproariously, : Asked what amused them', one, amid bursts of laughter, pointing to tho corpse, spluttered out, ' Why, that one p'farclir belongih' to mo !!'

Across the , stony surface went • Dwymoon, followed by tho manager and the boys. Sometimes, whero rock gave place to'soil, ho would stop to point out a scarce discernible impression, or lift, with'a grunt, a sh-m of ' tho wild heath to'show whero it had • been broken. On thus, stolid and - silent, until .the shadows, deepened • and the blue abovo changed to a soft tint of amethyst. ■ Darkness at length 1 compelled them to stop until day should ' again enable them to follow. Strange that so young a child should I travel so far over rough country. . Hope and fear impel the lost one to keep moving until exhausted nature steps in. "Nut so with tho young of animals ; instinct teaches them to stay -whoro lost, for to that'place tho dam will surely return. Slowly the hours passed .to tho anxious father, straining his oars to catch the faintest sound, until ho could 1 fancy that he heard his child's distant ovy. It was only the. whistle of a porcupine borno on the wind from an adjacent ridgo'. Tho blacks gathered round a fire of sticks and talked in subdued tones until the small hours, when thoy fell into heavy slumber. '.'-'.•:.- manager, at the first sign of dawn, ■•roused them. To his consternation and despair Dwymoon was missing. JcLmA. " o deserted when, perhaps, only a mile ~7." two separated them from iho lost one ! iCWt though the distance might be, what cwtainty was there of success unless by traiV'i'- ? And the blackboys—could thoy or would thoy continue ? They had already declared they could not. (There is a general belief that all blacks arc trackers. All blacks can track on good country ; but on difficult ground only tho cleverest and most practised can follow a trail.) However, something must bo done. Dwymoon had gono, and that was an end of it. The-boys then, urged by their master, threw themselves out fan-like, and began laboriously to pick up the trail. The father, anxiously scanning the ground, was roused by a shout from one of tho men, and looked up. Across tho rocks came Dwymoon, his whole aspect : ' mged and his features relaxed for ihu first time in a broad grin. J 'ercked on his shoulder was the missing child, laughing ivitb delight, her hands buried deep in his curly mop of hair, Dwyniooi] had been aware, when darkness compelled him to abandon the track, that tho child was not far ahead. Seized by a sudden freak he crept away in the night to where ho , could pick up the trail afresh, and when daylight enabled him, followed it to where ho had found her. And tie child—sho was none the worse for her wanderings. Water was plentiful in tho gullies, the nights were mild, and on every ridge grow the low blackberry peculiar to that region. Tho outlaw was made much of after t;ho return to the station, but received .ill advances towards friendship witii stolid indifference The gift of ; toni-tinr-cn ' n-,,,.1/1 ~ "i.:... /- i ...t_ i.„ ,, „„ ivt - llt iuijtjt u, J( lUiv UUjJpJ for a while ; tho weed lasted he smoked continuously. All day he would sit on a log near tho stockyard, silent and almost motionless ; more like a chained eagle than anything elso. Clothing seemed especially irksome to him. Tho manager had a letter to send to tho Overseer at the head of tho creek. who had heard nothing of the child being lo&t and found. The hands at the station were busy. Why not send Dwymoon? His 'long legs would make light of the intervening thirty miles. At sunrise ono morning then, Dwymoon, with the letter stuck in the end of a cleft stick, started on his journey. Day,was drawing to a close. Round thowatorhole at tho out-station a. flock of galahs circled with noisy chatter. l-he air, heavy and oppressive, indicated a change. Not a cloud was visible ; but as tho sun sank in tho west three spiral shafts of light shot up 111 tho eastern sky, and simultaneously, from tho forest across tho creok, broke tho scream of a stormbird —prophetic of rain. The overseer, wearied with a long ride, entered his hut and threw himself upon tho bunk. ' On the shelf beside him lay a long cavalry pistol, capped and loaded. He closed his eyes and fell into a dozo. Dwymoon, letter in hand, suddenly darkened the doorway. Tho sleeper turned and awbko. He saw not the letter in t' upraised hand of the native; h saw ODly what seemed to him a startling sight. D,. 3 moan Lho outlaw—i >wymoou the dangerous—had caught him' napping and held him at his mercy ? Could he yet avert tho tardy spear ? With a jerk ho swung himself upright on to tho edge of tho bunk, caught up the pistol and fired. Forward on to tho earthen floor fell Dwymoon, shot through tho heart. The letter, impelled by tho force of his fall, fluttered across to tho feet of tho overseer. Bewildered, he picked it, up, and broke the seal. It briefly informed I him oi the details of the loss and recovery of the child, and wont on to say that tho bearer, Dwymoon, had been pardoned, his outlawry removed, and that for tho future ho" was to be al owed to ' come in.' . Poor Dwymoon ! Ho had indeed ' come m.' . A largo public meeting at North Sydney resolved, ' That it is imperative to appoint a Royal Commission to re_-opon the Dean case,' and a committee was appointed to collect funds for tho purpose of "'further investigation. Every pers n-m flu's district should sent copy Jot' tho Now Zealand Cookery BOOK horrfuonds, A mono usoful proscn could out he fouud.—Anvv