St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-10-16
BLACK THURSDAY,
THE RIDE FOR LIFE.
A TR UE SKETCH.


AS the voy ager approaches the
shores of Victoria, the first welcome
land which greets him is the bold
promontory Of Cape Otway. If it be
at night, the blaze from the lighthouse
on it's southern point sends him it's
cheering welcome for many a league
across the ocean which he has so long
traversed in expectation, and calls
forth rapturous hurrahs from the throng
of passengers who crowd to the fore
castle. If it be day, the eye rests on
it's lofty forest hills with quiet and
singular delight. These heights fully
respond to the ideal of a new land on
ly recently peopled. Clothed with for
ests from the margin of the sea to
their very SUBMITS, they realize vivid
ly the approach to vast region of
prim@val nature. The tall white stems
of the gum-trees stand thickly side by
side like so many hoary columns land,
here and there amongst them descend
dark ravines while piles of rocks on
the heights, alternating with jagged
chimes and projecting spurs of the
mountains, present their solitary mass
es to the breeze of ocean.
Amongst the rocks of this wild shore
are sea-caves of vast extent and sol
emn aspect, which have never yet
been thoroughly explored. The forest
extending fifty miles or more, in all
directions, is one of the most dense
and savage in the whole colony I'm
til lately it was almost impossible
from the density of the scrub, and
from the thick masses of vines (that
is lianas, or creeping cord-like plants,
chiefly parasitical,) which, as in the
forests of South America, climb from
tree to tree, knitting the woods into
an obscure and impenetrable shade
Excepting along the track of Mr.. Road
knights station, near the sources OF
the Barwar, through the heart of the
forest to Apollo Bay, "a distance of for
ty miles, you might cut your way with
an axe but would find it difficult to
make progress otherwise. The great
cr partof the promontory-consisting
Of steep hills covered with gigantic
trees intersected by shelving valleys,
and dark with congrcgated fern-trees,
beetling precipices, and stony declivi-
ties-affords no food for cattle. In
one day, however, known to the colo
nists as Black Thursday, hurricane
of flame opened its rude and imprac-
ticable wildernesses to the foot of man:
but presented him, at the same time,
with a black and blasted chaos OF
charred trees, and gigantic fallen
trunks and branches.
It was in this forest, in the early
morning of this memorable day, the
sixth of February, eighteen hundred
and fifty-one, that young man open
ed his eyes and sat up to look about
him. He had, the day before, driven
herd Of fifty bullocks from the sta.
ton of Mr.. Roadknight thus far on
his way towards his own residence in
the country, between Lake Coranga.
mite and Mount Gellibrand He had
reached at evening small grassy val
ley in the outskirts of the forest wa
tered by creek falling into the west
ern Barwar and had there paused fol
the night. His mob of cattle, tired
and hungry, were not inclined to stray
from the rich pasturage before them
and, hobbling out his splendid black
horse Sorcerer, he prepared to pass the
night in the simple fashion Of the set
tier on such journeys. A fallen log
supplied him with a convenient seat, {
fire was quickly lit from the deae
boughs which lay plentifully around
and his quart-pot, replenished at tn,
creek, was soon kissing and bubbline
with its side thrust into the glowins
fire. He had good store of kanga
roo-sandwiches, and there he sat will
his cup Of strong bush-tea /; looking
alternately at the grazing cattle, ane
into the solemn, gloomy, and sound
less woods, in which even the laugh
ing iackass failed to shout his clamor
GUS adieu to the falling day. Only tn,
distant monotone of the morepork-
the nocturnal cuckoo of the Australian
wilds-reached his ear; making tn
profound solitude still more solitary
He very soon rolled himself in BIZ