Paving the Way. A romance of the Australian Bush

Front matter

PAVING THE WAY PRESS OPINIONS Morning Post.— 'Mr. Newland gives an account of Australian Pioneer life, weaving truth and fiction with considerable ability. ..." Paving the Way" is no less to be commended as a romance of wild adventure, told with considerable spirit.' Saturday Review. — 'As can readily be imagined, any true description of life at such a time must abound in adventure, and in this respect Mr. New land satisfies the cravings of the heartiest appetite.' National Observer. — ' It lifts the curtain from the squatter's life as few, if any, recent books have done. Ib is full, almost too full, of incident, is compacted of thrilling experiences.' Daily Chronicle. — 'Both at sea and on shore we are hurraed along from one adventure to another, until we realise that the great Antipodean con tinent is a much more romantic place than is generally supposed, while Mr. Newland, who is new to us, is certainly a very entrancing writer. . . .

An admirable present for a stirring lad.' Dundee Advertiser. — ' So well has the work been done, however — so skilful is the blending of truth and fiction — that the reader is unconsciously led to believe that he is dealing with a historic narrative. . . . The book is throughout exceedingly interesting, and is well worth careful reading.' Scotsman.— 'The author is good in narrative and description, anu both as a story of stirring adventure and as a picture of a state of life lour passed away in Australia this book well deserves to be read.' Publishers' Circular. — 'Mr. Newland has written a romance not one whit inferior to those of Mr. Bolderwood. . . . "Paving the Way" is a fine story, finely told.* South Australian Advertiser. — ' Mr. Newland has produced a work wjiich does very much for South Australia what" Lorna Doone" has achieved for Devonshire. . . .

It is evident to the reader that Mr. Newland's worl. is as truly a labour of love as was that of the Devonshire Novelist, and it is ea to predict for " Paving the Way " a distinct place in colonial literature.' South Australian Register. — ' We can congratulate Mr. Newland upon the result. He has treated a subject of entrancing interest with conspicuous success. . . . Eminently readable from beginning to end. It is full of stir ring incident, and it is writtenjn a terse and attractive style.' New Zealand Mail.— ' "Paving the Way" will amuse and probably instruct the oldsters as well as the adventure-devouriDg lad.' Darkie saw his pursuers grow less and less. Frontispiece PAVING THE WAY A ROMANCE OF THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH BY SIMPSON NEWLAND POPULAR EDITION With twenty-five Illustrations GAY AND BIRD 2 2 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND LONDON 1898 All rights reserved

Preface

As, in a work on Australian pioneer life such as this purports to be, it might be difficult to present bare facts in an accept able form to the general public, my object has been to blend truth and fiction in a connected narrative. That it partakes largely of a romance is certain, but the incidents, though so romantic, are mainly authentic; for these lives have been lived and these deaths have been died. It is not alone on the familiar ground of the Old World that heroic deeds have been performed or suffering nobly endured. To particularise too closely would not add interest to the story for the public, though it might in the opinion of those acquainted with many of the occurrences alluded to or more or less related. I have endeavoured to wound as few susceptibilities and tread on as few toes as possible ; the time has not yet arrived in the life of Australia when the historian or novelist can write with an untrammelled pen. SIMPSON NEWLAND. September 1893. CONTENTS

Part I On The Coast I'age Chap

I. The Shipwreck, ...... I ii. Ill Got— 111 Gone, ...... 7 III. The Massacre, . . . . . -13 IV. A Race for Life, . . . . . .20 V. The Whaling Station, . . . . .26 VI. The Headman's Daughter, . . . . • 3° vn. Pet to the Rescue, ...... 37 Vin. A Whale Hunt, ... ... 41 IX. Overlanding, . . . . . -47 X. A Brush with the Blacks, . . . . .53 XI. Native Obsequies, . . . . . .62 XII. Aunt Arabella arrives, . . . . -71 xin. British Justice, . . . . . 76 XIV. A Homeric Combat, . . . . .84 XV. Pet's Troubles begin, . . . . -90 xvi. The Star, ....... 98 xvii. The Noble Savage obtains some Mutton, . . . 101 xvm. A Long Ride, . . . . . .107 xix. Civilising the Blacks, . . . . .114 xx. Roland misses his Chance, ..... 122 xxi. Gathering Clouds, . . . . . .126 xxn. Darkie's Flight, . . . . . .132 xxiii. A Deed of Derring-Do, ..... 139 xxiv.

In Hiding, ....... 143 XXV. The Pursuers baffled, . . . . .148 xxvi. Kangaroo Island, . . . . . 154 XXVII. Facilis Descensus Averni, ..... 159 xxvill. Aunt Arabella plays her Trump Card, . . . 162 xxix. Love and Pride, ...... 168 xxx. The Reverend Jeremiah utters a Word in Season, . -172 xxxi. Blighted Love, . . . . . 177 xxxil. Roland loves and rides away, .... CONTENTS VII CHAP. PAGB xxxm. A Bush Mystery, . ..... 188 xxxiv. A Fruitless Search, . . . . .193 xxxv. Dark Suspicions, ...... 198 xxxvi. Venus Victrix, , . . . . .204 xxxvil. Baulked, . . . . . . .209 xxxviii. At6 at work again, . . . . .214 xxxix. Roland surprises his Aunt, .... 219 XL. Fresh Fields and Pastures New, .... 225 xli. The Headman sails into the Unknown Sea, . . 230

Part II In The Interior

I. On the Darling, ...... 237 11. On the Queensland Border, .... 242 m. The New Cook, ...... 246 IV. A Murderous Outrage, ..... 251 V. Roland's Responsibilities increase, . . . 256 vi. A Drought and its Consequences, .... 263 VII. Bushrangers at Work, ..... 270 VIII. 'Bail up!'. . . . . . .277 IX. Miola and her Master, ..... 283 x. The Last of the Parkingees, .... 288 XI. The Doom of the Mullas, ..... 294 XII. Eros the All-subduer, ..... 300 XIII. On Board the ' Plover,' ..... 305 XIV. An Accident and its Resulu, . . . 311 XV. Roland loses a Friend, ..... 317 XVI. The Death of Captain Thunderbolt. . . .323 XVII. The Break-up of the Gang, .... 329 xviii. Ghosts, ....... 335 xix. Darkie tells his Story, ..... 343 XX. The Prize is won at last, ..... 349 xxi. The Mysterious Locket, ..... 353 XXII.

The Jew's Hoard, ...... 359 xxiii. After long Years, ...... 364 xxiv. The Bush reveals its Secret, . . . .366 xxv. Nemesis, ....... 370 xxvi. The Death of the Star, . . . . .374 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Darkie saw his pursuers grow less and less, . . . Frontispiece The two gazed at each other, . . . To face page ii A Corroboree, . . . . . ,, 19 The Whaling Station under the Bluff, . . ,, 28 Petrel and her father at the flagstaff on the Bluff, . „ 35 Native Obsequies, . . . . . ,, 69 Not for the world ! she declared. I wonder, nephew, how you can propose such a thing, . . >i 75 There stalked the big Solomon, . . . ,, 88 Petrel watching the whale hunt, . . . ,, 96 You '11 never repent buying him, sir ; and if ever your life depends on him he '11 carry you through, if horseflesh can, ..... ,, 100 Without the smallest repugnance or concern he began piling up dried wood, dead black men, and defunct sheep in a heap together, . . . ,, 131 With a heavy heart she met her lover that night at the trysting-place, . . . . ,, 181 He gazed at the letter till his eyes grew dim, . ,, 205 Death of the Headman, .... ,, 232 You damnable scoundrel, make one movement and you are a dead man, ..... ,_ 253 The two bushrangers gambling for the ' Star,' . ,, 282 Grantley drank and revived with surprising rapidity, ,, 288 The last chief of the Parkingees, ... 292 Grantley tells his story to Miss Ingleton, . . „ 316 Suddenly Jollyboy startled them by appearing in their midst, ... 3_s Roland struck out with his clenched left hand, at the bushranger's scowling face, . . . jt ,,_.

Is that the locket ? asked Roland, ... ,, 35g A tall form, wrapped in a long cloak, stood by the window ofa cottage at Encounter Bay, . . n ,g. I ran on and on, calling and screaming until I burst a blood-vessel, ..... ,<___ Death ofthe Star, . . _ PAR T I ON THE COAST

Chapter I The Shipwreck

On one of the latter days of November 183 — , as night fell, a brig might have been seen approaching the western point of Kangaroo Island, which is now named Cape Borda, and upon which stands one of the South Australian Government lighthouses. The southern coast of the island is bold, rock-bound, and inaccessible, and long, heavy ocean-rollers break unceasingly upon it. Lying across the mouth of St. Vincent Gulf, like a recumbent lion guarding the path to its lair, the island itself seems the grim guardian of the calmer waters within. The day had been hot and sultry, and the evening set in dark and threatening ; black storm clouds rose piled one upon another to the north-west, and among them the forked lightning already began to play in quick flashes. The wind had sunk to an occasional puff, which scarcely ruffled the surface of the sullen sea ; and the sails of the vessel flapped loudly as she swung from side to side when the long rollers passed under her.

According to present ideas of naval architecture she was a clumsily built craft, broad in the beam and bluff in the bows, evidently as slow as she was strong. Immediately below her bow sprit was the roughly carved figure of a woman, to the full as buxom as the ship herself. On one side of this figure was the name Mary, on the other 'London.' Had any one stepped on deck, too, he would soon have gathered further particulars respect ing her voyage and passengers. The cry of ' Land, ho ! ' had brought her captain quickly up from below, followed by all hands. He was a man about six feet high, with a strong, resolute face, lighted up by fearless grey eyes. Earnestly he scanned through A his glass the iron-bound coast, and then, as he noticed the gathering storm-clouds, an anxious look passed over his face. ' Take in sail and make all snug aloft,' said he to the mate, who stood near, 'there's heavy weather to the nor'-west, and we must keep off the land.

I can see it's not quite a feather bed for any one to tumble into.' A handsome, bright-faced boy about sixteen years of age, with light brown hair and dark blue eyes, overheard the words. ' Is that Port Jackson Heads, captain, that you have so often told me to look out for?' he asked, with a gay laugh that showed he was a privileged person. ' No, my boy, I wish it were,' replied the captain ; ' we 've got a bit further to go before we get there ; but a storm is coming up that will push us along at our best pace. Now, tell your mother to go below, for she is not strong enough to stand a wetting, and it will rain in torrents presently.' The boy had early in the voyage gained the master's favour by his frank, fearless manner, and each day had drawn them closer together. His father, an English gentleman named Roger Grantley, had come to the owners of the Mary with the highest recommendations, and taken the best quarters in the ship for him self and family, consisting of his wife, his son, and a servant maid, a pleasant, ruddy-faced girl of nineteen, Peggy Puce by name.

Roger Grantley was a scion of an old Cumbrian family, once wealthy and powerful. The head of the house, at the time of the Derwentwater rebellion, had joined the ill-fated peer who led it, and taken a prominent part in the struggle. After fighting bravely for 'the king over the water,' he lost his head on the scaffold, and his estates were confiscated. Such is a brief summary of the decline of the race. At first the ruin seemed irretrievable, but later, by the interest of influential connections by marriage and other friends who had supported the winning side, the baronetcy and the greater part of the estates had been restored to the descendants of the beheaded rebel. The property, however, required nursing, if the Grantleys of Grantley Hall were ever to hold their heads high again, and each succeeding head of the house had devoted his energies to the restoration of its former glories.

Roger's elder brother, Sir Archibald, was no exception to this rule. He considered it much more important to build up the wealth and position of the family than to supply the requirements of members of it who were not necessary to its dignity or continued existence. For a time Roger had taken matters philosophically, and apparently meant to allow the owner of the estate the privilege of supporting him. He soon, however, discovered his mistake, as the baronet peremptorily declined this honour. This occurred at about the time he arrived at what are called 'years of discretion' — though it may be doubted if Roger ever reached that stage— and realised that he was the youngest of three sons. It then began to dawn upon him that 'something THE SHIPWRECK 3 must be done.' So he married a reputed heiress, of a family nearly as proud as his own, though somewhat looked down upon by the leading magnates of that exclusive county, and by so doing annoyed Sir Archibald, who disliked the lady, and despised the pretensions of her people.

For a while, however, all went fairly well. She bore him one son — the boy who was on board the brig — and two daughters. Meanwhile the baronet married, with the highly practical purpose of providing himself with an heir. In due time he begat a son, who was followed a few years later by a little girl. The second brother, not to be outdone, also took to himself a wife, who died in giving birth to twins, both boys. The successive advent of these heirs-male appeared effectually to extinguish all hope of Roger's son inheriting the great Grantley estates. Then another disaster followed. The income settled upon his wife on the security of her father's estate could no longer be paid in consequence of a claim to the property having been set up. The Roger Grantleys now found themselves reduced to the most meagre income.

Finding that nothing was to be expected from the generosity of relatives, and rendered more proudly sensitive than ever by these reverses, they determined to seek better fortune in a distant land, and ultimately decided to go to New South Wales and take up grants of land, then offered by the Government to new settlers. The daughters were left in charge of a spinster aunt on the father's side to finish their education. Collecting the few thousand pounds still left, Mr. Grantley took passage in the Mary. A bitterly disappointed, broken man, accustomed to all the luxuries and refinements of life, he deeply felt the discomforts of the small vessel, and what he was pleased to call ' his exile.' Hypochondriacal by nature, the monotony of the voyage told so severely upon him, that from the first day he languished, and at the end of three months his body was committed to the deep. ' Mentally, Mrs. Grantley much resembled her husband.

Never very strong in health, the privations inseparable from the pro tracted voyages of the sailing ships of that period impaired her spirit and strength. Like him, pride of family was her most striking characteristic, and when he died she felt isolated and alone, among people she considered vastly her inferiors. She, however, had made a sort of friend and confidant of the captain, even in this excusing herself under the unspoken plea that it was for the sake of her son. Poor woman, the traditions of the past had taught her to believe that she was almost of superior clay to the ordinary mortals around her, an idea which her training and education had served only to foster. Peggy Puce did all she could for her mistress, but they had now been five months on the sea, and the luxuries and comforts brought with them had long been exhausted.

No wonder the unhappy lady pined away day by day. The only other woman on board was a Mrs. Cantling, the wife of a young fellow going out to join some friends in or near Sydney, who were doing well, and anxious to gather some kinsfolk around them to share their good fortune and possibly relieve their solitude. The rest of the pas sengers were mostly men in the prime of life, strong stalwart countrymen, who looked fit to cope with the difficulties and dangers incidental to a new colony. There was one of quite another type, a short, spare man, whose features proclaimed his Jewish origin. With restless movements and furtive glances, he glided along the deck addressing no one. His fellow-passengers had early come to the conclusion that his occupation had been that of a money lender not satisfied with less than cent, per cent.

As a matter of fact, he had also been a receiver of stolen goods, or in thieves' par lance ' a fence,' in a low part of London. Finding things becoming too hot to be pleasant or safe, he decided to transfer himself and the proceeds of a not unsuccessful career to Port Jackson, where he confidently anticipated meeting many old acquaintances and being able to open up a lucrative business. Including crew and passengers, the Mary carried some fifty souls, many of them weary of the long voyage and eager to see the land of their adoption. Old at starting, her timbers were con siderably strained by the rough weather they had met with on the voyage, and this caused the master to view with some trepidation the tempestuous weather now threatening. Brave and skilful sailor as he was, his experience told him that their position was fraught with peril.

A dangerous coast to leeward with no safe harbour for many miles, an unseaworthy ship carrying fifty human beings dependent upon him for safety, and a furious hurricane about to burst upon them ; such was the situation he had to face. The boy had gone below with his mother, and most of the other passengers had followed his example, leaving the sailors to combat the advancing storm as best they could. In a few minutes more it came : a blinding flash of lightning, accompanied rather than followed by an awful crash of thunder, and a tempest of wind and rain. Thrown over on her side, it seemed as if the vessel would never right again ; then, slowly, denuded of all her upper gear, with masts broken off a few feet from the deck and all the boats gone, she recovered and drove on, a helpless wreck.

With the instinct of a true sailor, the captain had held on to the wheel, and now, with the assistance of a stalwart seaman, endeavoured to keep her before the wind. The mate and half the men had gone overboard at the first shock ; the others crept back from the shattered bulwarks, bruised and half-drowned, and clung to the stumps of the masts for support against the seas that swept the deck. The blackness of darkness enveloped them in a mantle no sight could penetrate ; but, though helpless and continually drenched by the waves breaking over the ship, the brave men stuck to their posts, ever hoping that an abatement of the storm would allow them to gain some control over the wreck. When morning broke, its greatest violence seemed over, and the master ventured below. He then found his worst fears verified ; the strained timbers had THE SHIPWRECK 5 parted, and there were already several feet of water in the hold.

From the nature of the cargo he did not anticipate the brig would sink, yet it was evident that the passengers would be driven on deck. Shelterless, with the tempest still raging, what a prospect for the women and the boy ! Warning them all that in the course of a few hours, at most, they must leave their present retreat, he urged them to eat a good meal of whatever was to be had, and provide themselves with all the warm clothing available. Though the land could not be seen, the ship was drifting parallel with the coast and gradually settling down in the water, the seas still frequently sweeping over her. Before midday, the whole of the survivors were collected round the stumps of the shattered masts, to which the weaker were lashed securely to prevent their being washed away. Constantly soaked, as they were, by the blinding spray on the nearly unprotected deck of the now utterly helpless wreck, the situation appeared as hopeless as it well could be.

Night again set in upon the miserable people, collected in a shivering group on the highest part of the deck, driving they knew not whither. Suddenly, for a moment only, just before nightfall, the thick storm-clouds parted, revealing, to the west, a noble headland with a flag floating from its summit ; then the rift closed and it was lost. It caught the watchful eye of the captain, and a gleam of hope lighted up his face. ' Land, and inhabited 1' he exclaimed, and each wretch there felt less desolate when he heard that other human beings were near. Then the blackness of night and the tempest enveloped them, as they drifted, all unwittingly, past the last chance of succour. ' Friends,' said the master, ' let all who may reach land remember that at this hour we passed a high bluff to the westward, and on it a flag was plainly flying.

Probably there is a settlement near, and by following the coast-line it may be reached.' The mother heard the words and repeated them to her boy ; presently, beckoning to the master to bend over her, she whispered with a final effort, ' Save my child,' and so, with a last prayer for his safety, her spirit took its flight. All unconscious, the boy slept with her dead arms clasped round him, her words still ringing in his ears. When daylight appeared, it showed those who still survived a long line of sandhills, fringing a broad, unbroken strip of surf, towards which they were directly heading. They could distinctly hear the thunder of the waves as they beat upon the shore. Each eye was strained to find some opening in that dread line of tossing foam, but in vain ; far as sight could reach, the same inhospitable, repellent foreshore extended.

The storm had by this time abated, and, though the sea was still high, yet the sight of land had revived the courage of the castaways and awakened hopes which were all but dead in the hearts of the boldest. It was now that Captain Eli Larch proved himself a true commander. Cool and collected, with encouraging words he urged all to cling to any support avail able, until the wreck was driven as near the land as the waves could carry her. His practised eye had shown him that she must, in those tremendous rollers, strike the bottom many times before becoming fixed, and he hoped that all who retained their hold might then be washed ashore, or, as the tide fell, swim or wade to land. The boy had roused himself, and with a dazed look gazed into his mother's dead face as Larch unwound the cold, stiff arms from round him. ' Courage, Roland,' he whispered ; ' she is in heaven and suffers no more.' With a calmness that seemed almost apathy, and that is but rarely seen in the young under such circumstances, the lad kissed the set lips a last farewell, and then fixed his eyes on the shore.

It was time ; a huge wave caught the hull upon its crest and swept it swiftly along, far into the line of breakers ; then, in its reflux, dropped it, with a terrific bump that rent the timbers asunder, upon the sand. For a moment the wreck remained stationary, then another billow broke over her with a deluge of water that carried half the devoted people away. Another rapidly followed, and tossed her, with a fearful shock, a hundred yards nearer the land. There she stuck, sea after sea breaking over her, each sweeping more of the despairing wretches from their hold. For tunately, this did not last long ; the sea had been going down, and those on board could occasionally see the bottom when the waves receded. They were further encouraged by seeing that some of those washed away were carried far up the sloping beach by the big billows, and then were able to crawl out of their reach.

As these gained strength, they assisted their less fortunate fellows who were being sucked back again by the retreating waves. By such means, six or seven were collected in safety on the shore, while fifteen still remained alive on the wreck, but of these, four were in a dying condition from the exposure and hardships they had undergone. As the tide continued to fall, the violence of the surf subsided, and the captain fastened a line to a buoy in hopes that it would float ashore. For a time it tantalised them, passing to and fro, now as far out to sea as the rope would allow, and then approaching the edge of the breakers. Eventually it was caught in the break of a gigantic wave and hurled high up on the beach, where it was secured by a sailor waiting for the opportunity. This accomplished, Captain Larch entertained no doubt that all on board could be saved, and insisted that none but the strongest should attempt the task of passing along the line until the tide was much lower, and the danger consequently less.

The impatience to leave the brig was so great, however, that nearly all were anxious to try. A big sailor, whose strength seemed little impaired, went first ; and, though those on shore strained on the THE SHIPWRECK 7 rope, it sagged so much that he was submerged in the rough water nearly all the way. His endurance stood him in good stead, and, though greatly exhausted, he reached the land. Another immediately followed, and hand-over-hand had rapidly covered half the distance, when a fierce wave caught him in the curl of its break and tore him off. Then it appeared to the awe-struck spectators to play with him, tossing him in savage wantonness round and over, finally carrying his body out to sea. After this terrible sight, the commander had no difficulty in restraining the remainder until somewhat later when the tide had fallen sufficiently to admit of the passage being made with safety.

The sun had been shining for several hours, and under his genial warmth all had recovered much of their strength and courage. After the male passengers were conveyed on shore, the strong assisting the weak, efforts were made to save food, clothing, and other necessaries. As the water continued to go down, this was comparatively easily accomplished by running them along the line. By this time it was considered safe to land the women. The body of Mrs. Grantley had been swept away when the vessel first struck, and was seen no more. The other two women had crouched together in terror since the ship became a wreck. Sheltered as much as possible and assisted by the men, they would inevitably have been washed overboard if they had not been securely lashed to the stump of a mast. They were now carefully conveyed through the still seething surf to the land.

Last of all, the captain left the wreck with the boy clinging to him. Seth Jacobs, the Jew, had lingered till nearly all had gone, evidently anxious to reach his cabin ; but the vessel was completely waterlogged, and all his efforts were in vain. ' You must leave everything below,' said the master, observing his attempts, ' for the present, and think only of your life. If the weather continues fine we may, at the lowest tide, find the battered hull not only high and dry but drained of water, and be able to save many things.' Worn, dispirited, and exhausted, the cupidity of the usurer gave way to the instinct of self-preservation, and he made for the shore.

Chapter II Ill Got

— ILL GONE Immediately on landing, Captain Larch selected a sheltered place amid the sandhills as a camp. Here a fire was lighted at which the wet and wearied survivors could dry and warm them selves. Scarcely any food had yet been brought from the wreck, but fortunately those who first reached the land had found, when pulling on the rope, that their feet turned up numerous cockles from just under the surface of the wet sand. To half-starved men these were very palatable, and sufficient were easily obtained to satisfy the hunger of all. Fresh water was also discovered in a shallow well, evidently made by the natives, a short distance beyond high-water mark. Thankful for their rescue, and with their hunger and thirst appeased, the exhausted castaways soon forgot all their troubles in sleep.