The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1896-04-30
AGAINST BUSH Fire


Ill -
ON the Ginna-gulla rum" said my host,
as he slowly slipped his glass of the
famous wine from his own vineyard.
MY eye glances almost Involuntary
over the wide prospect of rolling main
and distant wooded range which, IN
its variety and wealth, went far to
make the view from he broad YER
| anda of Maroona home station one of
the most attractive l had ever seen in
Australia. Then my eyes came back
to it's owner, looking in his stalwart
| middle-age, every inch the owner and
master Of it all. "Stockman," l said,
| i~nterrogatively. Mr.. Leslie smiled.
eyes. stockman,'' he said. 'Thirty-
one years ago l began in this country,
| as many a better man has done, with
youth and strength, a fair education
and a determination to succeed for my
stock in trade. 1t looks a longish step
from stockman at Ginna-gulla to own
err of Maroona, l admit, and the ques-
ton you asked me five minutes ago
brought back to my mind-thc first
step was Il bush fire.
81 had been fully a year in Austria
liza, and nearly all the time at Ginna-
gulla run. 1t was known pretty nearly
as often by the name of MOrrison's
run as anything else in those days,
because George Morrison, the owner,
was as well known q man as any III
New South Wales, and the run had got
It's name for sheep II O from
him.
at was on the Goth of January and
the hottest day we had yet felt. l was
off early to the western boundary to
see that our next neighbours sheep
were not on our run and both my
horse and l felt pretty we'll baked be-
fore we got back. 1t was nearly II
o'clock by that time, and a breeze had
Just begun to come up from tlfe north
east as l rode up to the home station
and jumped off, glad of the chance to
get out of the sun for a bit. l was
barely settled with a pipe, a pannikin
Of cold tea by my side and a month
old Sydney paper in my hand, when l
heard old Saunders shouting to II of
the stable hands asking if any n of
the hands had come in.
"My thoughts were not very cOmpli-
mentary as I heard the answer, and a
minute after Saunders heavy tread,
as he came around the end of the quar-
ters, looking for me. "Hillo, Dick! he
shouted. Back early, l see, as usual.
Well, it's lucky, for Mr.. Morrison left
O letter to go over to Radcliff's sta
ton to-day. Miss Margaret was going
to take it, but it's too far for her on a
day like this. You won't mind going,
like a good fellow This was just
Saunders all over, putting it like that
so that a fellow couldn't object with
out feeling like Il brute.
"All right" l replied, sulkily enough,
I dare say. 'Wallaby's pumped out
clean, though, and there's not another
horse in the stable but Whalebone.
This was satisfactory to my feelings,
for W~halebone was old Saunders ia
vorite mount, and had good times and
little work, INC | knew he'd have al
most as soon gone himself as let any
body else ride him. He didn't like it
a bit, either, but after a minute he
said, We'll, Dick, it can't be helped.
Mind you, take care of him, for l mean
to run him at Bathurst in March. That
letter has got to go somehow
"In another ten minutes l had fin
ished my tea, slowed away my news
paper to wait for better times, and
started on my SECOND ride, u matter
of q good twenty-five miles there and
back, to Radcliffe's home station. 1t
was a satisfaction to have got hold
of such a mount as Whalebone. any.
how, for he was as free as paint and
. as strong as a lion. The first thing
that l noticed was that the breeze
was blow ing up uncOmmOnly fresh. II
. | was from the northeast, too, and sc
blew nearly at right angles to my
track going to Radcliffe's. 1t WASN'T
cool, but One didn't expect that, anG
1t was much better than the stagna
|. ton of the morning. You could breath,
freely in this wind, and if it was {
bit hot, why We were used to that. As
l was crossing the first ridge l no
L ticed or looking back that Miss Nor
rison was going out for her usual ride
for l saw Jackey, her black boy, lead
5 ing her horse up to the house.
!. Il suddenly noticed a strange ant
very pungent smell.
Il looked ahead, and saw at the enc
. of the hollow what looked like a thil
. film of smoke blowing across til,
track. Nobody had ever been long il
n Australia without hearing of Il busl
o fire. Il although l had never seer
anything of the sort, | felt certain il
q moment that | was about to see |
, now. | was right. We hadn't been
: quarter of a mile from the end of til,
hollow when I first noticed the smell
of smoke, but although Whalebon,
had instantly broken into a stead,
gallop at the first alarm the wreath
of smoke were growing dark by tn
Is time we had reached the open groun,
and found ourselves exposed to tn
full force of the wind. by his tim
blowing an unmistakable gale.
at was not Whalebone's first expert
d ence of a bush fire. and the monlen
we reached the open ground he CAV
one short, uneasy sniff to windward
lie and instantly swerved off to the left
| felt instinctively that he was proba
bly, the best judge of a course undo
" the unusual circumstances in which
found myself, and | let him have hi
= head. In a moment he had quickene
his pace to the long, stretching gallo
of he race horse, and l found tina
we were dashipg across the open Ian
with the gale whistling shrilly in m
ears, and blowing rather in our favo
as we went. Away at racing speed
across the plain, the smoke wreath
chasing us in wild, fantastic curls, no,
gray and now brown, but CROWN
darker and more dense each mOmen
as we swept or before them, towar
Il place of safety.
away, the soft, springy ma q