New-York tribune., 1903-02-09
4 NFW-ZE4L4ND HOTEL.
Hosmtality IN the HiidS Of the -4nt,p-
odeS.
0d6S.

The bush hotelkeeper Is person of no snaH
importance wherever he may reside. and. III pro
portion to the distance his establishment may mo
itself from the centres of civilization. the more
varied become his functions. whether ofnclai OF
merely devoIvinE upon him from force Of custom
To class him solely ordinary server OF rheat
and drink would be to do him a wrong Whch ne
fully alive TO the exigcIcies OF his post Noald ne
the first to resent. says The London Globe For
his house humble in outward appearance though
II may be represents the sparsely scattered IN
habtants Of the surrounding country their one INK
with the busy outer world II there is news 10 the
fore. who can circulate 1T but him ShouiH ule
matter concern gossip-for even in the bush there
e sossiYo-he outvies even the traditional village
barber and has further. in mis- usual office Of post
master. a supreme advantage over the latter
worthy.
The building in which he reigns-possiby within
hail of another but, more probably. miles distant
from 7 neighbor-is impressive only by reason OF
its ignidcance. architecture is often but little
removed from that Of the lowly. everyday shan'!'
nevertheless, by the inyioable law Of the bush it
is an hotel for all that. However miniature II may
be in size a less exalted OF description would
almost certainly cause its few panks to faH. shud-
dering with to the ground For 1t represents
to all about the hub around which-slowly perhaps
the district revolves. and from far ana near the
bushmen look 10 it the centre OF their lionel!
world So little. indeed. is the establishment re-
garded by them in the light OF a mere depository
for creature comforts that the neighhors at
usually understood be served by an hotel
1t is the wayfarers. the drovers with their cat
tie the stockriders with their ''mobs' OF horses
who, passing through on their way to some dis
tant market, halt by its hosptable door for the
business of refreshment solely, and it is from these
that the news to be doled is extracted. Al
though, during the summer, such visitors may be
comparatively numerous. yet in winter, when the
roads wallow deep in mud. and the rivers are up
the travellers are few and far between the gossip
and news, in consequence. filter through III InoLe
oeo esgTe n} tnforBaIion of more vital order
Should the ford lie fathom deep below the swirl
s1res5s tbe E-ssrnine- word The very nature Of his
Office. in fact, constitutes him something OF d
Of the number of bush hotelkeepers the proper
tion OF Irish of Irish descent is astonishingly
large. So much do these preponderate. indeed thai
NAL representatives OF the class. Fine. joyial fe-
surfeit Of educat ton. but conncisseurs in human
nature. and, mercifuly. entirely unyeXed ny poll
questions of the local liquor regulations Imbued
Mn an 1e5e 6Gr 'e of areaer G or lesser
preJensions the case may be. may not be seen
homesteads between the more thrilling intervals of
training near the faraway townships. Not infre-
quently. too, he is a fancier of sheepdoss and in
his leisure hours. which. naturally enough. are
knowledge of the work expec-> / Of them Should he
prove a successful breeder his dogs will probably
OF affairs Somewhat Gibertian if the dogs be
judged from their outward appearance which
usually appears deteriorate in proportion TO the
increased extent Of their mental capabilities Occu
themselves. serve as pasti1nes without which the
winter days would be dull and dreaTry indeed
But perhaps one of the most striking traits of
the bush hotelkeeper is his inborn hospitality. a
his calling But the host of the bush goes far be
yond the ordinary commercial understanding of the
wayfarer Of reasonably friendly disposition en-
ferlng & 1 The establishment invite IT'S proprietor 70
~ dubious quality cheers, it IS seldom that the
fashion too that its refusal would be the surest
means. means Of exit from the landiords good graces
HieHing the matter from sordid point of view, it
IS difficult TO comprehend what advantage the land
pc noWeVei' uat ms poncy Is not so shortSighteo
as 1t would appear at the hrst glance, for in the
main ne thrives notwithstanding. 80 ..
the Maors closer contact Hith the centres of niyi
zaton has the eject Of rendering his f7ner Qualities
less pronounced. The hotelkeeper in the townships
is much the same as his; brethren all the world
over. Unlike the other. his horizon is bounded by
MS piafeglas;S windows and by the bottlss in his
although, becomes his situation. neither the
istics Of his rot invariably commenda ble. He
is wary bird, of hawkitke propenstties. and by
of all the incoming bushnan downward bent. with
And his especial care lie makes that the VISITORS
stay shall be neither too short nor TOO uneventful
victim Of his skilfui msnipUation remains for Want
Of the power 10 move under his roof until the last
change for the liquid that has grown ranker and
Unfortunate dupe has lost its faculty of discern
Inent Then II Is that the bushman, his trip to the
turns after a time whence he came, 2 sadder, but
seldom wiser man. HotelkeepeTs of this class.
not infrequently ill the post OF poundkeeper (for
even in the neighborhood Of antipodean townships
such inconv enient institutions are found necessary
and their neighbors wont TO assert that the
straytng propensities Of the stock in the vicinity
increase or decrease in accordance with slackness
or briskness Of the liquor business of the hotel.
There are even rurnors of surreptitously opened
gates, Of lightly conscenced BOYS bribed for the
purpose, and of many similar atrocities, but, how
il-natured these reports may be 1t is certain
that in such the pound yields revenue to its
keeper which he would be most unwilling to forego
they are, must not for moment be confoupd-
ed with those Of the genuine bush hotelkeepa
who is of necessity the friend of all in whose
region pounds unknown and who. If he would
i've at all, must render help to others he would
receive it himself
unMT NTIuS