The Kangaroo Hunters; Or, Adventures in the Bush

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Kangaroo Hunters, by Anne Bowman
Light and limber, upwards driven, On the hoar crag quivering; Or through gorges thunder-riven, Leaps she with her airy spring! But behind her still, the foe— Near, and near the deadly bow!
Schiller, translated by Bulwer .
The rapid spread of education creates a continual demand for new books, of a character to gratify the taste of the young, and at the same time to satisfy the scruples of their instructors. The restless, inquiring spirit of youth craves, from its first development, food for the imagination, and even the simplest nursery rhymes owe their principal charm to their wonderful improbability. To these succeed the ever-interesting tales of Fairies and Enchanters; and the ardent boy only forsakes Ali Baba and Sindbad for the familiar and lifelike fictions of Robinson Crusoe, and the hundred pleasant tales on the Robinson Crusoe model which have succeeded that popular romance.
It is the nature of man to soar above the common prose of every-day life in his recreations; from the weary school-boy, who relieves his mind, after arithmetical calculations and pages of syntax, by fanciful adventures amidst scenes of novelty and peril, and returns to his labors refreshed, to the over-tasked man of study or science, who wades through his days and nights of toil, cheered by the prospect of a holiday of voyaging or travelling over new scenes.
This spirit of inquiry has usually the happiest influence on the character of the young and old, and leads them—
To know The works of God, thereby to glorify The great Work-Master.
In this belief, we are encouraged to continue to supply the young with books which do not profess to be true, though they are composed of truths. They are doubtless romantic, but cannot mislead the judgment or corrupt the taste; their aim being to describe the marvellous works of creation, and to lead the devout mind to say with the divine poet,—
Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite Thy power; what thought can measure thee, or tongue Relate thee?

active 19th century Anne Bowman
Содержание

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THE KANGAROO HUNTERS;


OR,


AUTHOR OF "ESPERANZA," "THE CASTAWAYS," "THE YOUNG EXILES," ETC., ETC.


"He faced round, and with his fore-feet—his arms I should say—he seized me, and gave me a heavy fall."


PREFACE.


CONTENTS.


THE KANGAROO HUNTERS.


The Rector and the Soldier.—The Mayburn Family.—A Mission to India.—The Orphans of Wendon.—Ruth the Unlucky.—Jack's Project.—The Addition to the Mayburn Establishment.


Insubordination of the Sailors.—Rapid Progress of the Fire.—The Boats lowered.—Ruth's Prize.—A Man saved.—Black Peter.—The Adventure of a Reprobate Crew.—A Dangerous Comrade.


Afloat on an Unknown Sea.—The insubordinate Sailor.—The Coral Reefs.—An Island in view.—The Perilous Landing.—Peter's Rebellion.—The First Night on Shore.—Ruth among the Crockery.—A valuable Prize.—The March from the First Encampment.


A Pleasant Resting-place.—The Turtle.—A Knavish Trick.—Destitution.—An Exploring Expedition.—Lake Scenery.—A Wrecked Vessel.—Strange Footsteps.—A Prudent Retreat.—Return of the Explorers.


The Results of the Expedition.—The Long Vacation.—Removed from the Landing-place.—Birds and their Nests.—Fishing.—Tapping a Cask of Potatoes.—Tent-making.—The Shell Spades.—Digging a Tank.—A Grand Attempt at Boat-building.


The Launch of the Boat.—An Alarming Catastrophe.—Disappointed Hopes.—Jack's Perseverance.—A Peep at the Old Encampment.—Black Peter again.—The Loss of the Boat.—Canoe-building.—The Luggage-van.


The Foray.—Young Potatoes.—More Intruders.—Ruth's Introduction to the Savages.—The Sailing of the Fleet.—The Desert Shore.—The Giant Ant-hill.—Once more at Sea.—A Storm, and the Loss of the Catamaran.


A Total Wreck.—An Unknown Coast.—The Green Ants.—The White Cockatoo.—Waifs.—The Gourd Tree.—The Fresh-water Rivulet.—A River Voyage Projected.


The Voyage up the River.—The Way to China.—The Note of a Strange Bird.—A Hasty Flight.—A Tropical Storm.—The Loss of the Canoes.—The Cave of the Bats.—A Toilsome Pilgrimage.


Alligators.—The Giant's Staircase.—Access to a New Region.—The Pheasant Cuckoo.—Wild Oats.—The Unequal Contest.—The First Kangaroo.—Scenes of Arcadia.—A Hint at Cannibalism.—The Cockatoo Watch.—The Enemy put to Flight.


Rope-making.—The Cavern of Illustrations.—Ruth at the Water-pools.—Victualling the Fortress.—The Blockade.—Assault and Battery.—Bloodshed.—The close Siege.—Prospect of Famine.


Rambles through the Caves.—Fairy Bower.—A Rough Path to Freedom.—Preparations for Flight.—The Use of the Rifle.—A Case of Conscience.—Departure.—Travelling among the Bogs.—A View of the River.—Making an Axe.—A New Plant.


The Tea-Shrub.—Another Canoe.—A Skirmish with the Natives.—Wounded Heroes.—An Attempt at Voyaging.—A Field of Battle.—The Widowed Jin.—Wilkins's Sorrows.—Baldabella in Society.—The Voyage resumed.


The Mother and Child.—The Interior of the Country.—Another Cataract.—The Pilgrim Troop.—The Difficult Ascent.—The Frilled Lizard.—The Mountain-range.—The Kangaroo-chase.—The Pass of Erin.


The Tunnel through the Mountains.—The Chase of the Emu.—An Encounter with the Natives.—The Rescue of Baldabella and her Child.—Making a Bridge.—Canoes Again.—The Fishing of Baldabella.


The Reservoir.—The Rains.—The Native Companion.—The Employments of Prison Life.—The Unlucky Chase.—Jack's Tale of Trouble.—Black Peter's Temptations.—The Release of the Eagle.—The Rescue Party.


The Approach to the Prison.—Baldabella's Stratagem.—The Release of the Captive.—Wilkins's Tale of Trials.—A Well.—The Potato Crop.—The Flying Opossum.—The Salt Plant.—Preparations for a Siege.


Peter's last Stratagem.—Firing the Fortress.—The Watch-tower.—The Welcome Rain.—The close Siege.—The Conflict.—The Defeat of Peter.—The Fortress abandoned.—Once more on the Road.—Resting in the Wilds.


A Bark Sledge.—The Friendly Tribe.—The Wild Melon.—A Nocturnal Alarm.—The Wombats.—The Bivouac on the Heath.—The Savages again.—Away to the South.


The Dry Wilderness.—Despair.—The Coming-down of the Waters.—The Discomfited Savages.—Hunger and Thirst.—The Footsteps in the Mud.—A Pond.—The Talegalla and its Nest.—The Valley of Promise.—The River to the South.


Boat-building again.—Unlucky Ruth.—The Woods on Fire.—Dangers on Land and Water.—The Wounded Girl.—A Home among the Mountains.—The Bottle-tree.—The Bee-hunt.—Bean-coffee.—The Lost Hunters.


The Search for the Lost.—The Fig-tree.—Signals.—The Wanderers found.—The Wounded Boy.—The Sufferings of the Thirsty.—The Rescue and Return.—The Kangaroo Conflict.—A strange Meeting.—The Bush-rangers.—The miraculous Escape.


The Eagle's Eyrie.—The Chaotic Solitude disturbed.—The Voluntary Prisoners.—The Report of the Spy.—The Foe at the Gates.—A Traitor in the Camp.—Dispersion of the Invaders.—A lucky Escape.—A pleasant Voyage.


The Cookery disturbed.—A Signal-rocket.—A Surprise and Capture.—Pillage.—The Taste of Gunpowder.—A Fatal Explosion.—The Contrivances of Necessity.—A Region of Famine.—Renewed Hopes.—An Unfair Advantage.


A Seasonable Supply.—Visitors in the Night.—Captivity.—An Old Acquaintance.—The Ranger's Settlement.—An Embassy to Daisy Grange.—Jack in a New Office.—The Grateful Native Woman.—Davy's Compunction.—Bush-ranging Life.


A Proposal of Marriage.—Bill's Rejection and Revenge.—Pocket-picking.—Jack's Return.—Black Peter again.—Bush ranging Merriment.—A Flight in the Dark.—An Emu-chase.—The disappointed Hunters.—Pursuit.—A Stratagem.


The Sentinels in the Trees.—The End of Bill the Convict.—The Bush-rangers deceived.—A strange New Animal.—A Bloody Conflict.—The Mountain-pass.—The Fruit of the Acacia.—The Travellers in Custody.—The Court of Justice.


Travellers' Wonders.—The Detective Force.—A Trap for the Rangers.—The Skirmish and the Victory.—Daisies in Australia.—The Constancy of Susan Raine.—The Trial and Sentence of the Natives.—Peter and his Colleagues.


A Chase over the Mountains.—The Frightful End of the Bush-ranger.—Ruth's Opinion.—The Cereopsis.—A Description of the Colony.—The Dingo.—The Cattle at Home.—The Park.—The Arrival at Daisy Grange.


The Comforts of Civilization.—Susan Raine.—The Hamlet and the Church.—Plans for the Future.—Mrs. Edward Deverell.—The Beauties of Daisy Grange.


END.


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Английский

Год издания

2013-08-14

Темы

Animals -- Juvenile fiction; Siblings -- Juvenile fiction; Voyages and travels -- Juvenile fiction; Natural history -- Juvenile fiction; Survival skills -- Juvenile fiction; Kangaroos -- Juvenile fiction; Shipwrecks -- Juvenile fiction; Frontier and pioneer life -- Juvenile fiction; Prisoners -- Juvenile fiction; Australia -- Description and travel -- Juvenile fiction

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