Old Melbourne Memories: Second Edition, Revised — John Shaqi
Old Melbourne Memories: Second Edition, RevisedBoldrewood, Rolf
History
Old Melbourne Memories: Second Edition, Revised
Boldrewood, Rolf
Frontier and pioneer life -- Australia -- Melbourne (Vic.); Victoria -- Description and travel; Victoria -- Social life and customs
Mrs. Burge, in her own words, first "med into the big room, and the
first thing I seen was this precious baby on the floor, and him with
the cradle turned upside down over him. It's a mercy he wasn't
smothered! I jostled the blackfellows, but none of them took any notice
of me. When I got outside, who should I see but that little villain
Tommy coming out of the dairy with something in his hand. I put down the
child and riz the tin milk-dish off the meat-block and hit him over the
top of the head with it. Down he drops like a cock. I caught hold of him
by the hair, and tried to hold him down, but he was too slippery for me,
and got up again. I thought worse of the ungrateful little villain than
all the rest. Many's the good drink of milk he had in that same dairy,
and now he comes an' lades on the blacks to rob the hut, and perhaps
kill poor Joe, that never did him anything but good, and me and the
baby."
Said Joe Burge--"I went into the hut quiet-like, and seeing the old
woman's monkey was up, after she got outside, gave her a strong push as
if I was angry, and sent her back to the milking-yard. She wouldn't go
at first, and I made believe to hit her and be very angry with her. This
seemed to please the blacks, and they grinned and spoke to one another
about it, I could see. I saw them carry out all the tea, sugar, and
flour they could find. As far as I could make out, they were not set
upon killing me or her. They seemed rather in a good humour, but I knew
enough of blacks to see that the turn of a straw might make them change
their tune. One fellow had my double gun, which was loaded; he did not
know much about the ways of a gun, which was lucky for us. He held up
the gun towards me, and pulled the trigger. The hammers were up, but
there were no caps on. I had taken them off the night before. When the
gun wouldn't go off, he says, 'no good, no good,' and laughed and handed
it to another fellow, who held it in one hand like a fire-stick. I saw
they were out for a day's stealing only. I thought it was better not to
cross them. They were enough to eat us if it came to that. So I helped
them to all they wanted, and sent them away in good humour with
themselves and me. By and by down comes the wife from the milking-yard,
and she rises an awful pillaloo when she sees what they had took. About
a hundredweight of sugar, a quarter-chest of tea, a half-bag of flour,
clothes, and, worse than all, two or three silver spoons, with the
wife's initials on, which she looked on as something very precious.
Master Tommy, who had put up the job to my thinking, cleared out with
them. I saw them making a straight board for the rocks, toward the lake.
I guessed they would camp there that night. As soon as they were well
out of sight I catches the old mare and ripped over pretty quick to
Dunmore. I saw Mr. Macknight, and told him, and he promised to make up a
party next morning and follow them up, and see whether something might
not be recovered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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