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pp. 104-119.
“Bidding adieu to my hospitable friends at Shoalhaven, I set out on my journey back to Wallongong [Wollongong]; but not exactly by the same route, although, as a matter of necessity, I touched at the same places, for there alone could anything be found in the shape of eating, drinking, and sleeping; and everything approaching to civilization, however coarse it may be in its condition, is always acceptable to the way-worn and weary wanderer, especially if he happen to be in the primeval paths of an untrodden and uninhabited forest. Necessitas non habet legem - or, as we used to translate the axiom somewhat freely - Necessity has no legs; and when poor human nature is really hard up, as your humble servant was at that precise period, and in that particular spot, it must stump along as well as it can, and leave the more measured manner of its movements to luckier and happier times. After enjoying the soft and refreshing breezes of the ocean for an hour or so, I tramped bare-footed on the sands [Seven Mile Beach], which most agreeably cooled my feet; then plunged once more into the deep and umbrageous woods, which almost fringed the water’s edge for miles along the shore, and endeavoured to shape my course to Jerringong [Gerringong]; but the new and singular phenomena which nature spread before me at almost every turn and step I took, caused me to diverge strangely from the zig-zag, and roughly-hewn, way which travellers had formed for themselves in journeying from Shoalhaven to Wallongong [Wollongong].
“Everything appeared so fresh and gay, and so truly enchanting to my mind, which was in prime condition for observing the beauties of nature, being free, healthy, and fully flushed with the hearty breakfast which I had partaken at my friend’s, although I had seen the same objects frequently before; yet, every time that I viewed the face of nature in those deep solitudes, I could could always discover some fresh beauty, some unexpected phase of design, which gave new zest to my wandering propensities, and even added another pleasure to my existence. The morning was bright, clear, and warm; and the dew hung in pearly drops on the bushes and flowers, wetting me to the skin, as I forced my way through the tangled masses of underwood which opposed my path. Then I saw, to great advantage, the enormous web of the spider-class of Insectivoria [assumed to be insect eating], set out to catch their prey; and many of them exhibited great ingenuity in construction, besides strength and size; and far surpass our western Arachnidae in both the latter respects. These webs were very troublesome to pass through, as they clung so stickingly to the face and hands; and from their multiplicity, intersecting thorns, and bushes, and flowers, in almost every direction, you soon acquired a gummy coagulation all over your clothes, which was somewhat difficult to remove. As I brushed past one of these webs, out would come the owner, and with terrific glare scamper along the line to his hiding place, utterly staggered, apparently, at the havoc which had been committed in his house-hold arrangements. Some of these spiders are of enormous size, and peculiar colour; and like our European species, used their long antennae with amazing power and agility, whenever a victim chanced to become entangled in their springes. I amused myself with teazing them, watching their movements whenever a fly, or any other insect, attempted to cross their path; and observed that they frequently fought hard for their prey, especially if it happened to drop on the contiguity of two or more webs - a sort of no man’s land - which would immediately bring out their respective owners to the rescue, and bitter and sharp would be the contest between them for a time. At certain times of the year, the Arachnidae have plenty of food, as the air teems with insects; while, in others, there must be great scarcity, for the periodical fires which sweep across, and utterly lay bare whole districts, must completely destroy the nests, eggs, and larvae of all the insects which happen to come within their range. For miles and miles the underwood is blackened with the flames and smoke; and when not destroyed altogether, is so scorched and dried up that no insect could survive or exist, while the conflagration lasts; and, as there are thousands and millions of these insects buzzing about the long grasses and flowers, which are almost everywhere intersect the country, they are completely swept away by the ravaging element, and the balance of nature is somewhat disturbed by such irregular and fitful assailants. I say that the ‘balance of nature’ is somewhat disturbed in the Australian forests, by these destructive fires, which are frequently caused by negligence or the design of the natives; and that portion of the spider-class, which does not happen to fall a victim to the element, is almost sure to pine and starve for want of food. Many of the birds and lizards also, exist almost exclusively upon the Arachnidae, and the Insectivora, therefore, must be desperately hard up whenever a raging and destroying fire has swept over the plains, which is the nursing place of their food and existence. The musquitoes [mosquitos] I found exceedingly troublesome, especially in swampy places, and their bite is blistering and sharp in the extreme; but the ants are the most formidable of the annoying insects, which man must make up his mind to encounter in all hot climes and new countries, and they sting you with merciless pain. There are several kinds of ants - the black, the white, and the red - and one species, called the lion-ant, is a most terrible assailant whenever his anger is aroused, and that is, when you chance to trespass within the boundaries of his domain, which is somewhat extensive in the forests of Australia. You will meet with the paths of these industrious creatures in almost every part of the forest, which they they have formed with singular care and assiduity, along which they periodically migrate from one nest to another, some of the latter being of a prodigious size, and extending over a wide space. In many spots, where the ants have pursued their instinctive industry, you will find the way cleared of every obstacle, as though the hand of man had been there employed; and so carefully do they remove every obstruction to their intercourse, that scarcely a stone will be left unturned, which lies immediately in their path. I also observed a great variety of the Reptilia - especially snakes, lizards, and tortoises; some of the snake and lizard genus being exceedingly venomous [none of our lizards are venomous], but the greater part are, I believe, harmless, and all fly at the approach of a human being. There are several kinds of frogs, and some of them beautifully coloured; particularly one species, the dark green-backed kind, with brown spots and stripes intersecting his body; his belly was yellow, and his eyes were particularly bright, which seemed to open rather largely as I accidentally dropped on him [this seems to be a description of the Green and Golden Bell Frog].
“Beating my way through the bushy underwood, which produced a crackling noise, whose echo seemed to startle the sunny silence of the spot, as though I were the only destructive being in the wide circumference around me, I suddenly came upon another open space, which contained some water holes; and if you had heard the flutter of birds, the scampering of animals, and the rustling noise in every direction, of something or other scudding away from me, you would never have forgotten it.
“I sat down on a clump of trees, pulled out my pipe, lit it, and smoked in quiet contemplation of the scene around me, which was full of animation and intelligence to an active and discursive mind; and when the calm had become somewhat restored, and I betrayed no symptom of existence, except the curling wreaths of smoke which ascended from my pipe, out came the animals, one by one, but most provokingly cautious, to have their feed among the young grass, which was profusely scattered over the ground, and their drink at the ‘holes,’ which had been dug, I presume, by some of the settlers, although it was in such a wild, sequestered, and unfrequented part of the forest. The birds, too, hopped down from the trees and bushes, and exchanged mutual signs of contentment, and after the strange intrusion, which I had committed on the silence of their habitations, and which must have strangely puzzled them. I felt at that moment the beauty of Byron’s splendid stanza [Solitude], which has embalmed the spirit of solitude, as it exists in thronged cities, and amidst the busy hum of men; contrasting it in a fictitious vein of irony with the cheerful and healthy communion with nature, which the mind may hold, when properly tuned, as to place and condition; but I shall forbear quoting the stanza - it has become so trite and hacknied [sic], especially amongst those who have the least opportunity of experiencing its truthful beauty and sublimity.
“At length, feeling somewhat hungry, and having taken my fill of the animated scene around me, I made my way as well as I could to the beaten path which I had quitted, but, it was a long while before I could reach it, having no clue to direct me, and the underwood, was of more than ordinary thickness and density, so that the day was far advanced before I found myself on the right route for Jerringong [Gerringong]. On I trudged, however, for some time, until I saw the sun was descending fast on the horizon; and, as there is no twilight in this hemisphere, I became somewhat anxious to reach my destined point, half regretting that I had dallied so long for the mere purpose of indulging in beautiful scenery, which I could do freely every day of my existence, in this quarter of the globe. Yet, so it was; and before I reached Jerringong [Gerringong] it was long after sun-down; nevertheless, I indulged in a comparatively comfortable sleep at the house of a freed man, who had been a convict, and who, considering his position, and the scenes that had he had gone through, was by no means a common man. Before I reached his station I was wandering some time by the light of the moon, which seemed like a large lamp suspended in the sky, and never before an Australian night to so much advantage. The heavens were beautiful and clear, and the stars were out all over the bright expanse - and so sharply defined were they on the dark ground of the sky, and of such a resplendent order, that I looked at them with an almost silent awe - the moon, too, was Queening in the ,most lustrous style, and steered her radiant course in such quiet beauty over the arched expanse of the dark, deep blue, that I could scarcely take my eyes off the enchanting scene, had not chillness and hunger somewhat dampened the poetic temperament of my mind. The stillness of the night in the forest of Australia is peculiar, and almost unbroken; except you chance to be in the neighbourhood of the wild dogs [Dingoes], which occasionally intrude on the haunts of man, especially when pressed by hunger, and then their howling is mournful and monotonous in the extreme. When in the pursuit of their prey these dogs seldom bark, but generally make a ‘yapping’ noise, something similar to that of the fox in England, when hunting down the rabbit; but, let a poor beast stray behind, when on your journey, through fatigue or sickness, and you will presently have a whole multitude of these dogs upon it, yelping, fighting, and tearing each other, and quarrelling over their victim, although a few minutes before you would scarcely have seen one in the whole range of your view. At night time these dogs drop down upon the kangaroo and the dalgoyt [I have no idea what Ward is referring to here], the latter sometimes going out to feed when the sun goes down; but the instinctive sagacity of the latter is generally a match for the dog during the day, smelling them a long way off, and conscious of their approach, these timid creatures make of with the the utmost fear and rapidity. There is an owl in these quarters which takes its nocturnal round and is abroad in search of vermin when everything else seems buried in sleepy repose, startling the ‘dull ear of night’ with its drowsy and lonely cooing; but, in general, there is an almost death-like silence pervading the nights of Australia, when you are distant from the habitation of man, and his living appendages.
“Next morning, after I had somewhat refreshed myself, I started for Kiama, which I reached about noon, rested myself for an hour or so, then pushed on to Jamberoo, where I stopped for the night. There I obtained a bed, or rather a settle before the fire, at an Irishman’s store, and a pretty comfortable kind of affair it was too; the next day I trudged on to Dapto, where I found somewhat decent quarters, and stopped all night, but the fleas were so active and industrious that I could scarcely sleep, therefore, I rose in the morning more fatigued than when I retired to rest. This store was kept by a Scotchman, who like most others in a similar condition of life had been a transport, and had recovered his liberty by good conduct and steady industry. At length I once more reached Wollongong, paid my old friend Mr. Mears [Meares] a visit; strolled down to Watson’s store, whose romantic history I have already related to you; stopped the night with him, and started the next day on my way back to the Cow Pastures, by way of Appin, where I rested for the night at old Bean’s; and on the evening of the following day, reached my destination - a little fatigued, but as sound in ‘wind and limb,’ as they say of horses, as on the day I set out on my journey. It is true that I passed two places in the forest, in one of which, a few days afterwards, the mail was robbed, and in the other, a traveller was stripped of his clothes, by the bushrangers; but the latter only look for plunder, and seldom add murder to their crimes, so that I should not have been desperately frightened at encountering one or two of those rascals, provided they had confined their atrocities to robbing me of my clothes, albeit a not very pleasant condition to be left in - stripped stark naked in the lonely wilds and forests - although I can now afford to talk lightly of the matter, seeing that all danger is over, and I am completely out of their reach.”
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