BLOODWORTH PROMISES TO REVEAL ALL. (see p. 308.)
THE BLACK
TROOPERS
AND OTHER STORIES
WITH FIFTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY
4 Bouverie Street and 65 St. Paul's Churchyard, E.C.
CONTENTS
THE BLACK TROOPERS—
CHAP.
I. A MEETING—THE RIDE ROUND THE RUN
II. 'OLD MAN TOBY'
III. THE NIGHT ATTACK
IV. THE CONFESSION
V. PREPARATIONS FOR PURSUIT
VI. ON THE TRAIL
VII. THE END OF THE CHASE
THE BLACK TROOPERS.
CHAPTER I.
A MEETING—THE RIDE ROUND THE RUN.
The drays with which I was travelling (it wasin the month of March, 1849) had arrivedas far as Lake Boga, on the LowerMurray River, within a day's journey of ourdestination. We had halted for the night close to asheep-station established there. In the course of theevening the gentleman in charge of it—Macfarlanewas his name—walked over to our camp; and I wasinformed by him that Mr. Stevenson, the superintendentof the run I was about to visit, had on the previousday ridden over to meet me, and had only returnedhome that afternoon. Having ascertained from himthat I was a medical man, Mr. Macfarlane had cometo invite me to his hut, and to ask me to visit one ofhis blacks, who had been wounded by a party from atribe fifty miles up the river. These men had startedoriginally for the purpose of surprising the blacks onStevenson's station; but, traces of their presence inthat neighbourhood having been discovered, they wereforced to beat a retreat. In their rage at theirdisappointment, they had resolved, if possible, toslaughter some of the Lake blacks, rather than returnempty-handed; but there also they were happilyfrustrated in their design, and only succeeded inwounding one man, whose leg they broke with amusket ball.
After this second disappointment, it was confidentlyanticipated that they would, as they generallydid when their intended surprise proves a failure,return home, and await a more favourable opportunity.But they did not do so in this instance, as the resultwill show; for I subsequently had an opportunity ofwitnessing a striking illustration of the savage andbarbarous mode of warfare of the Australian aboriginal,an opportunity not often afforded to the whiteman.
I set the wounded black's limb as well as I couldwith bark splints, and next day we started on our wayto the banks of the Murray. The drays had to crossthe river in order to reach the station I was going to.This was done by means of a pun