New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-11-02
i TraolsaI5| ne Bush.

TRACKS 4 as Bush
aro n;snr non Ss sp station distant rom syd
ney about $50 miles The man had gone one aiter.
noon in search Of horse that bad sfrayed. Not
having returned at night OF the next morning, the
NATURAL Conclusion vas that he had been lost in the
huah. At once called IN The aid Of the blacks, and,
sffenied ~ two European servants, (stockmen,)
headea shs expediton. The chief difficulty lay in
Qettinr % The man 5 track and several hours were
s s object mas sve a me-
They Described large circles round the hut whence
Tie Man had taken his departure, and kept on ex
tcndinF them until they were satisfied they had the
pronsf footprints. The track once found, half o
dozen Of the blacks went of like q pack of hounds.
Now and then, in the dense forest through which we
wandered in our search, there was check in conse
q1enca Of the extreme dryness Of the ground; or
the wind had blown about the fallen leaves of the
gigantic gum trees which abound in those regions I;
but for the most part the course was straight end
We had provided ourselves with flour, salt, beef,
tea, sugar, blankets and other personal comforts.
These were carried on a horse which small black
boy, Of about IA years Of age, rode in rear On
had gone down, and then pitched our camp and
waited for daylight. With their tomahawks the
blacks stripped of large sheets OF bark from the gum
trees, and cut down afew saplings. With these we
partly for boiling the water for tea and partly for the
purpose Of keeping off the mosquitoes. During the
night, we had very heavy storm of lightning and
thunder, accompanied by torrents of rain. This,
cult, as the rain was sufficiently heavy to wash GU,
the footprints Of man, had any such footprints beer
previously perceptble. When the sun arose, how.
ever, the blacks seemingly without difficulty took
the track and followed It at the rate of two and
half miles an honr until noon, when we halted tC
take some rest The foot of civilized man had never
before trodden iii that wild region, which was peopled
only with the kangaroo, the emu, the opossum, and
wildcat The stiffness was awful; and, ever and
anon the blacks would cooey, "a hail peculiar to the
miles OFF, but-and we listened each time with in.
tense anxiety-there was no response.
at about halfpast in the afternoon of the
second day we came to the spot where the blacks ex
pressed by gestures, that the missing stoekman had
sat down !; and, in confirmation of their statement
they pointed to q stone, which had evidently been
lately removed from its original place. inquired
BY gestures whether we were near the lost man but
the blacks shook their heads and held up two fin
gers from which Cleaned that two days had elapsed
since the man had been there. At we came to
another spot where the missing stockman had laid
down, and here we. found his short pipe broken. Il
would be difficult to describe the satisfaction with
which Ieyed this piece Of mans handiwork. It re-
freshed my confidence in the natives power of track
and made me the more eager to pursue the search
with rapdity By promises Of large rewards, quick
ened their movements, andwe travelled at the rate
four miles an hour. We now came upon a soil coy
erred with immense houlders. This, fancied, would
impede, If not destroy, the track but this was mol
the case 1t is true could mot travel fast owe,
these large round stones but the blacks never once
halted, except when they came to spot where they
satisfied me the stockman himself had rested. None
but those who have been in search of a fellowcrea
ture under similar circumstances can conceive the
anxiety which such search creates. could not
help placing myself in the position of the unhappy
man who was roaming about as one blindfolded, ana
probably hoping on, even in the face of despair
Again we came to forest of huge gum trees. e
At times, the gestures Of the blacks while follow
ing the footprints Of the stockman indicated to me
that he had been running. AT other times they imi
tated the languid movements of a weary and foot
sore traveller They knew exactly the pace at which
the poor fellow bad wandered about in those untrod
den wilds; and now and then, while following in his
wake and initiating him, they would laugh merrily
They were not little amused that should be angry
at and rebuke such demonstration. N
4 The sun went down. and our second days search
was ended. Again we pitched our camp and lighted
fires. We had now travelled about thirty miles from
the station, and the blacks, who had now got beyond
the precincts of their district became fearful of meet
ing with some strange tribe, who would destroy them
and myself Indeed, if / and my European compan.
ions had not been armed with gun each, and plen.
tiful supply Of ammunition, my sable guides would
have refused to proceed any further. +
/ All night long / lay awake, imagining hoping
fearing, and praying for daylight; which at last
dawned. Onward we went through a magnificent
country, beautifully wooded and well watered by
streams, and covered with luxurant pasture-ai
waste land, in the strictest sense of the term Al
about 10 we came to valley in which grew mum
Der of wattle-trees. From these trees q gum, re
sembling gum Arabic in all its properties exudes in
the season. The blacks pointed to the branches
from which this gum had recently been stripped, and
indicated that the man had eaten of pink grub as
large as silk worm, which lives in the bark of the
wattletree. Luckily he had with him a cIasp-knife
with which he had contriyed to dig ont these grubs
which the blacks assured me were a dainty; but ]
was not tempted to try them. 4 49, :, +
Onagain putting the question to the blacks whether
we were near the man Of whom we were in search
they shook their heads and held up two fingers. We
now came to clear, shallow stream, in which the
blacks informed me by gestures that the missing man
had bathed but he had not crossed the stream, as
his track lay on the bank we had approached.
After travelling along this bank for about three
miles, we came to a huge swamp into which the
stream flowed and ended. Here the footprints were
plainly discernibe, even by myself and my European
companions. ! examined them carefully, and was
panied to find that they confirmed the opinion of tie
blacks-7namely, that they were not fresh. Pre-.
sently we found the mans boots. These had become
too heavy for him to walk in, and too announcement
to carry, and he had cast them off, Not far from the
boots was red cotton handkerchief which he had
worn round his neck on leaving the station. This
too he had found too hot to wear in that oppressive
weather. and had therefore discarded it.
Following the track, we came to forest of white
gum trees. The bark of these trees is the color Of
Tcam and the surface is as smooth as glass On the
his knife the following words: l
" Oh God have mercy upon me IT. BIZ "a
How ervent and sincere must have been this PRAYER
in the heart to admit Of the hand carving ii upor
| that tree
Towards evening we came to a tract Of country al
barren Us I'M. me acscs. cS."een oaiIo anu ,uez ~,
the soil not sandy and it was covered with stone
Of unequal size. Here the miraculous power of th,
| black mans eye astohnded us more than ever. Tn
reader must bear in mind that the lost man was nov
walking barefooted and tenderfooted and woul,
naturally pick his way as lightly and as cautiously
possible Nevertheless, the savages tracked his cours
with scarcely halt.
Again the sun went down, and again we formed
our little camp on the slope of hill, at the foot
which lay lagoon, literally covered with wild duck
and black swans. Some of these birds we shot 70
food, as it was now matter OF prudence, if not @
necessity, to husband the flour and meat we ha
1 brought with US. 7 ~
4 Another sunrise, and we pursued our iourne,
4 Towards noon we came to belt of small mountains
composed chiefly of'black limestone. Here th
blacks faltered; and, after long and animated dis
| cussion amongst themselves-not one word of whic
Enthusiastically signiied to me that they had los
the track, and could proceed no further. This wa
not disposed to believe, and imperatively signale
them to go on. They refused. then had recours
to promises, kind words, smiles and encouragin
4 gestures. They were still reeusant. then loade
i my gun with ball, and requested the stockmen to d
the like. threatened the blacks that would shoe
them, il they did not take up the track and pursu
it. This alarmed them; and, after another discusso
amongst themselves, they obeyed me, but reluctant
and sullenly.
| One of the stockmen with much foresight, SUI
gested that we ought to make sure of two out Of I'll
six black fellows; for, if they had a chance, the