AN EMIGRANT’S STRUGGLES.

[Concluded from No. 6.]

When we set out upon our expedition, which I have just mentioned, we had two servants with us, and as many dogs. One man carried some biscuits; another a bottle of rum, a piece of beef, and a little tea and sugar, with a couple of tea-pots. Immediately behind my house there is a fine long hill, rising, with an easy slope, to the height of five hundred or six hundred feet, and covered, like the country in general, with trees and grass. It has been the practice to allow proprietors of cattle and sheep to graze on the unlocated parts, which they were obliged to quit on settlers coming to occupy the ground. These herds were generally left in the care of one or two men, while the proprietor lived in Hobart Town; the consequence of which was, that the cattle were allowed to stray wherever they chose, and became altogether wild. This was the case where I have settled; and although the herdsmen have removed themselves to their assigned limits, the cattle are still on my ground, and have been the cause of my suffering one of the most serious inconveniences which can befal a settler. For I had scarcely arrived on my land when my working bullocks got into the wild herd, with which they continue until this day. This 59has completely baulked my agricultural projects, obliging me to perform by manual labour what the beasts of the field should have done for me. But I am again digressing, and tiring you with my misfortunes, instead of giving you an account of our journey. As we approached the river Ouse we found its banks had been lately burnt by the natives, and the grass and smaller trees were completely consumed. After some search we found a place which we ventured to wade, but it was with great difficulty we could keep our feet. Sometimes the dogs would kill a kangaroo, and as we had not time or opportunity to make use of it, the huge crows, which abound in the woods, soon hovered over the carcase in great numbers. These crows are of the same genus as your English ones, but of a different species. They are very large, and distinguished by a white ring round the eye: they have even more cunning than their brethren of the old world. The banks on the further side of the Ouse are yet steeper than on this. We continued to ascend over the burnt ground, and underneath huge trees, for about five miles, till we arrived at the stock-keeper’s hut, which we discovered by the help of the track of horses. Here we found eight men, who had been sent up a few days before to erect a hut and stackyard for the cattle. They had sheltered themselves by branches of trees, and burnt a large fire in front. They had chosen a spot beside a small spring of water, in the midst of a large valley, which was almost clear of trees. After making some kangaroo soup we again set out, and bending our course more to the north, so as to keep near the river, we arrived at sun-set on the border of a beautiful lake. It appeared about seven miles long, and proportionably broad, with two lofty islands in the midst of it. The water was very soft and clear; its bed seemed to be composed of fine sand, and very shallow. Having formed our encampment near its brink, and lighted three very large fires to keep ourselves warm, we commenced making tea. One of the party fired a shot over its surface; the discharge was succeeded by a long and lasting peal like thunder, which had a sublime effect. We therefore named this piece of water Lake Echo. We were now on very high ground, and seemed to overlook all the mountains around us. In the morning, at peep of day, we took leave of this enchanting scene, which we had admired at the two periods most favourable to the display of its beauty with the rising and the setting sun. The surface remained as even as glass, and the shadows of its banks and islands gave a soft serenity to the landscape. A fine open valley led us down to the river, but we traversed it with difficulty, for during the wet season the water had so lodged in it that it was now full of holes, and we were never sure of a step. We passed many recent encampments of the natives, and saw their fires at a little distance. As we approached the river the dog started a large kangaroo, and hunted it down on the plain. This was a seasonable supply. We immediately commenced cooking; cutting off some steaks, we strung them on a stick, and set them before the fire; when one side was done we turned the other;—this is what they call a sticker-up, and our manner of cooking them is called bush-fashion. The slang nomenclature which the convicts have imposed on this land is in many instances unpleasant and vulgar, but sometimes appropriate. Having made a comfortable meal we again crossed the Ouse, but with still greater difficulty than we had encountered the day before. The immediate space between the rivers is here still more mountainous than behind my house, and is covered with large rugged stones, and fine lofty trees. We passed several encampments of the natives. Pursuing our way, we soon came to the Shannon, which we crossed, as the eastern side afforded the best walking. Here we entered on an extensive plain, but so rough, and so obstructed with rushes, as to render our passage through it quite laborious. In one part we struck a light, and the wind blowing with great keenness, the grass blazed up in a few minutes, the flame extending for nearly half a mile. Our provisions were now quite exhausted, and we had to recreate ourselves with tea, and chat beside a beautiful cascade on the river. In these high regions we found several maple trees, with sweet unctuous juice exuding from the bark. You can hardly form an idea of the beauty of the heavens, as the vault appeared to the eye, while we reposed on a kangaroo rug on the grass, beside a large fire which illumined the trees, and with a fine sweep of the river winding its way before us, and reflecting the silvery beams of the moon. Next morning, after walking three or four miles, we killed a kangaroo, and fared sumptuously on a sticker-up. Thus refreshed, we descended towards home. We had explored in this journey a region which no European had ever seen before, and had ascended to some of the highest ground in the island. I should calculate my habitation to be nearly two thousand feet above the level of the sea, and I think we ascended as much more. You may suppose what romantic rapids and cascades occur in the course of a river which falls that height in the course of thirty miles. Just before my door I have a broad placid stream resembling a lake, over which I have made a flying bridge, by means of a rope and the elm-tree case of my wife’s piano, which answers the purpose so well that I brought over seven hundred sheep belonging to Mrs. Smith, the other day, by twenty at a time. I am completely at my own command, for if a visitor comes he must hail on the opposite side before I slacken my rope, and allow him to pull the boat over.

We have no fish in these rivers, excepting some fresh water craw-fish, such as are found in the Thames, some eels, and a small thing not worth catching. We sometimes, however, shoot a wild duck or a widgeon, which are both large and good. We have also a kind of pigeon, which is very fine eating, and many other smaller birds, besides cockatoos innumerable, both black and white, and some beautiful parrots and paroquets. But the bird which chiefly enlivens the grove is a species of magpie, which sings two regular bars of music, of the clearest and sweetest notes you can imagine. On taking possession of my grant, my plan was to build a rough hut for my servants, which I should inhabit whilst a better one was erecting for myself, but the loss of my bullocks made me fain to make the best of my first habitation. It is entirely built of the materials on the ground, excepting the nails, which came from England, and the window-frames, which were made in Hobart Town. The walls are composed of logs or planks split out of the trees, of about a foot broad, and two or three inches thick. These are sunk two feet in the ground, and nailed to a beam at the top; they are then plastered over with a mixture composed of sand, clay, and grass cut short, and the wall is complete. The roof is covered with shingles, which are also split out of the trees round the house, and have exactly the appearance of slates. I have not yet been able to make a floor, we therefore walk at present upon the bare earth. As I cannot afford to buy another set of bullocks (for they cost 87l.) I must wait patiently till I recover them when the wild herds are got in. This of course throws me into great difficulties. I have, however, upwards of one hundred sheep, two cows, and three or four young ones, a goat, and a pig, besides eight hens. These last thrive amazingly, chiefly owing to the number of grasshoppers which they eat.

I have just heard of an opportunity to send off a letter, and I therefore hasten to a conclusion. It is strange, when I reflect upon it, that any vicissitudes of life should have induced me voluntarily to undergo separation from my friends; to desert their company for 60a wild and enthusiastic scheme of emigration. Much however as I feel the deprivation of such society, I must say that I do not yet regret my coming to this country. When I consider that the people around me have mostly been convicted of heinous offences in England, I am pleased at the security we enjoy. You will, I know, rejoice to hear that I and my family are in good health; and that though so remote, I am as near to you in the alliance of friendship as ever.