The Australian Crusoes; or, The adventures of an English settler and his family in the wilds of Australia . dothe large lakes, the sources of several of them, supplymuch. Scarcely a fish, indeed, is to be found in the lakesof the colony. There is plenty of wild fowl at the lakes;I have seen flocks literally of thousands of wild ducks onone of them. But to return to my Journal. Thus, in May, 1824, all things prospered with now the uniform life which I had led for some years,experienced a great change. Just before the winter, thatis, toward the end of May, 1824, we were sitting roundour c
The Australian Crusoes; or, The adventures of an English settler and his family in the wilds of Australia . dothe large lakes, the sources of several of them, supplymuch. Scarcely a fish, indeed, is to be found in the lakesof the colony. There is plenty of wild fowl at the lakes;I have seen flocks literally of thousands of wild ducks onone of them. But to return to my Journal. Thus, in May, 1824, all things prospered with now the uniform life which I had led for some years,experienced a great change. Just before the winter, thatis, toward the end of May, 1824, we were sitting roundour cheerful fire, and the servant had with difficultyborne in a huge log to replenish it; it was about nineoclock, and quite dark, when the barking of the dogsannounced the arrival of a stranger; he was on horseback,as we could hear from the sound of the horses hoofs onthe hard ground. He was quickly shown into the house,and according to the custom of the colony, food anddrink were placed before him ere he was troubled withany questions. But he was eager to communicate thetidings with which he was BDSHRANGERS AEIiOAD — THE ALAKvI. StautliiNG Outcries. 117 Information had been received by tbc government ofthe escape of a body of convicts from Macquarie Har-bour, who were spreading consternation over the districtof Pitt Water, where they had plundered and ill-usedmany settlers, and where they had been joined by fur-ther bands of convict servants. Our guest was in hasteto communicate the intelligence to the resident magis-trates, as it was thought likely that the band of bush-rangers would turn their steps to this district, as beingunprotected, and abounding to the west in places ofconcealment. We were still in earnest conversation on this alarmingnews, and I was hastily revolving in my mind the bestmeans of guarding against an attack, when loud cries,seemingly for help, from the opposite side of the river,on which a new settler had lately fixed himself, causedus suddenly
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