The Man from Snowy River.
by Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson.
Preface
It is not so easy to write ballads descriptive of the bushland of Australia as on light consideration would appear. Reasonably good verse on the subject has been supplied in sufficient quant.i.ty.
But the maker of folksongs for our newborn nation requires a somewhat rare combination of gifts and experiences.
Dowered with the poet"s heart, he must yet have pa.s.sed his "wander-jaehre"
amid the stern solitude of the Austral waste -- must have ridden the race in the back-block township, guided the reckless stock-horse adown the mountain spur, and followed the night-long moving, spectral-seeming herd "in the droving days". Amid such scarce congenial surroundings comes oft that finer sense which renders visible bright gleams of humour, pathos, and romance, which, like undiscovered gold, await the fortunate adventurer.
That the author has touched this treasure-trove, not less delicately than distinctly, no true Australian will deny. In my opinion this collection comprises the best bush ballads written since the death of Lindsay Gordon.
Rolf Boldrewood
A number of these verses are now published for the first time, most of the others were written for and appeared in "The Bulletin"
(Sydney, N.S.W.), and are therefore already widely known to readers in Australasia.
A. B. Paterson
THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER AND OTHER VERSES
The Man from Snowy River
There was movement at the station, for the word had pa.s.sed around That the colt from old Regret had got away, And had joined the wild bush horses -- he was worth a thousand pound, So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far Had mustered at the homestead overnight, For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are, And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup, The old man with his hair as white as snow; But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up -- He would go wherever horse and man could go.
And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand, No better horseman ever held the reins; For never horse could throw him while the saddle-girths would stand, He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast, He was something like a racehorse undersized, With a touch of Timor pony -- three parts thoroughbred at least -- And such as are by mountain hors.e.m.e.n prized.
He was hard and tough and wiry -- just the sort that won"t say die -- There was courage in his quick impatient tread; And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye, And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.
But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay, And the old man said, "That horse will never do For a long and tiring gallop -- lad, you"d better stop away, Those hills are far too rough for such as you."
So he waited sad and wistful -- only Clancy stood his friend -- "I think we ought to let him come," he said; "I warrant he"ll be with us when he"s wanted at the end, For both his horse and he are mountain bred.
"He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko"s side, Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough, Where a horse"s hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride, The man that holds his own is good enough.
And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home, Where the river runs those giant hills between; I have seen full many hors.e.m.e.n since I first commenced to roam, But nowhere yet such hors.e.m.e.n have I seen."
So he went -- they found the horses by the big mimosa clump -- They raced away towards the mountain"s brow, And the old man gave his orders, "Boys, go at them from the jump, No use to try for fancy riding now.
And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right.
Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills, For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight, If once they gain the shelter of those hills."
So Clancy rode to wheel them -- he was racing on the wing Where the best and boldest riders take their place, And he raced his stock-horse past them, and he made the ranges ring With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face.
Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash, But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view, And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash, And off into the mountain scrub they flew.
Then fast the hors.e.m.e.n followed, where the gorges deep and black Resounded to the thunder of their tread, And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way, Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide; And the old man muttered fiercely, "We may bid the mob good day, _NO_ man can hold them down the other side."
When they reached the mountain"s summit, even Clancy took a pull, It well might make the boldest hold their breath, The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.
But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head, And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer, And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed, While the others stood and watched in very fear.
He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet, He cleared the fallen timber in his stride, And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat -- It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground, Down the hillside at a racing pace he went; And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound, At the bottom of that terrible descent.
He was right among the horses as they climbed the further hill, And the watchers on the mountain standing mute, Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely, he was right among them still, As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.
Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met In the ranges, but a final glimpse reveals On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet, With the man from Snowy River at their heels.
And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam.
He followed like a bloodhound on their track, Till they halted cowed and beaten, then he turned their heads for home, And alone and una.s.sisted brought them back.
But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot, He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur; But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot, For never yet was mountain horse a cur.
And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise Their torn and rugged battlements on high, Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze At midnight in the cold and frosty sky, And where around the Overflow the reedbeds sweep and sway To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide, The man from Snowy River is a household word to-day, And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
Old Pardon, the Son of Reprieve
You never heard tell of the story?
Well, now, I can hardly believe!
Never heard of the honour and glory Of Pardon, the son of Reprieve?
But maybe you"re only a Johnnie And don"t know a horse from a hoe?
Well, well, don"t get angry, my sonny, But, really, a young un should know.
They bred him out back on the "Never", His mother was Mameluke breed.
To the front -- and then stay there -- was ever The root of the Mameluke creed.
He seemed to inherit their wiry Strong frames -- and their pluck to receive -- As hard as a flint and as fiery Was Pardon, the son of Reprieve.
We ran him at many a meeting At crossing and gully and town, And nothing could give him a beating -- At least when our money was down.
For weight wouldn"t stop him, nor distance, Nor odds, though the others were fast, He"d race with a dogged persistence, And wear them all down at the last.
At the Turon the Yattendon filly Led by lengths at the mile-and-a-half, And we all began to look silly, While _HER_ crowd were starting to laugh; But the old horse came faster and faster, His pluck told its tale, and his strength, He gained on her, caught her, and pa.s.sed her, And won it, hands-down, by a length.
And then we swooped down on Menindie To run for the President"s Cup -- Oh! that"s a sweet township -- a shindy To them is board, lodging, and sup.