ghostly horseman (1911)

7/27/2019 Ghostly Horseman (1911)

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The World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955), Saturday 4 November 1911, page 19

National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128269474

MYSTERIES OF THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH.

THE SHADOW EIDER OF THE PLAINS.

{By FRANK KEEN.)

ANT a bush dweller, through sheer

cowardice, is afraid to go out in

the night to any extent; but again

many a bush-dweller is never so

happy as when the night is inky

black, and the wind whistles,

the trees groan, and the varied calls of night

life are

heard on the plain or in the timber.Again, there is the fascination of the pelting

rain, the hurricane wind, the rush of water

courses, the vivid lightning flashes, and the

majestic roll of the thun

der over the miles of plain.

All these associations go to

make up the splendor and

grandeur of life in the

mighty Australian bush.

Then there is for the tra

veller the gleaming, leaping

camp lire by the road, the

tinkling of the stock-bells,

the clinking of the hobble

chains, the setting of the

late moon, the first flush of

dawn, and the rising of the

sun, to throw its light over

the world as another day

begins. And, writing of the

beauties of bush life, 1 am

thinking of what z. wonder

ful place It is-the wonder

and grandeur of it all. And

how expert are the bush

men of the great plains and

the timbered lands! How

?ersed in bush lore and tra

ditions!

Now, the city-dwellerknows his way about; he

may, perhaps, with ease

thread through 16 miles of

suburbs and reach a cer

tain destination; but he has

something to guide him

the landmarks, the finger

posts, and other aids. The

bushman can go hundreds

of miles with nothing to

guide him, and reach hisdestination safely. His

cleverness and his masterful

sharpness take him to the

desired point. What is

thought of the intrepid

horseman who journeyedfrom Melbourne to Cape

York Peninsula as the crow

flies, and never called at a

human habitation?

1 am just thinking of a

great bushman-a daring

horseman, a magnificentrider, who has crossed the

Great Divide. How many

wild rides nave I had with him through the

mountains and the hills, down the valleys and

over the grassy plains, in sunshine and in

rain, in darkness and in storm! And what a

rider, what a rider! I gee him now. It is a

wild night, the moon is obscured by the dark

est of clouds. They are hurrying across the

heavens. The whole eastern sky is lit up with

fierce flashes of lightning. The thunder is like



the roar of the artillery of the Nations-it is

deafening. He is mounted, and races off to-i

"

wards the mountains. And why, on a night likei

this? The love of the bush, the excitement of thei

wild night ride. How firmly he sits; never a <

movement in the saddle. A fresh horse, too. He (

Is facing towards the foothills. Hear the thud, (

thud of thegalloping

hoofs, thecrashing

of ,

branches, the snapping of twigs; see the fire(

flashing from the stones as they are struck by (

the racing hoofs. He has disappeared from

sight, almost a speck in the far distance, made

visible now and again by the lightning flash.

A magnificent rider, as skilful as he is daring,as redcless as he is brave. And what a bush

man, what a guide! Give him a horse on the

darkest pitch-black night, and face him with

a dense, dark scrub, SO

miles through, with no

track whatever, and tell

him he must be at a cer

tain tree on the far side

by daylight, and he would

come out at the tree to

thj tick of the watch!

There is a feat of bush

manship for the Austra

lian to be proud of. And

he could perform the same feat, arriving at

ihe specified point, in the darkness. The wild

est and the stormiest night mattered not to him.

And did this splendid 6ft., straight-limbed,

hearty-voieod, keen-eyed, master - bushman

have any adventures during his long and

varied career? Many, and interesting. But,

perhaps his most wonderful story of all

was that of the Shadow Rider of the Great

Northern Plains, over which come the big herds

of cat'le down to the southern markets. Mydead friend met the shadow horseman twice,and was, therefore, able to give me full parti



The Launch Overbalanced, Filled, and Sank.

culars of this most extraordinary COM. The

story of the shadow rider has been handed

from father to son, down through the long

years, but it never grows old. It Is too fas

cinating, too realistic, so faithful to the conditions and life of Australia's wonder bushlands.

And does the cheek of the youth blanch with

dread at the story? No. Inured to the

strange and weird conditions of tbe country,be accepts the story as a dutiful son, not

knowing when it may be his lot to meet with

some like manifestation of the wonders of the

great continent of Australia. I have written

in these pages the story of the Spectre Horse

man of One-tree Plain, the story of the Phan

tom Coach Horse, and the stotr~«l the Vanish

ing Steeds. This is the*

story of the Shadow

Rider of the Northern Lands-no less wonderful

and awesome than the others.

/ The Shadow Rider used to make his appear



/ The Shadow Rider used to make his appear)

ance behind parties of horsemen, either going) north homewards or going southwards in this)

particular part of the country. For years he} roamed the plains, and no one could give any

explanation of the mystery. Mounted on a

fine, upstanding horse, always to the minute as

the moonlight flooded the plain, he appeared be

hind the horsemen on their Journey, a phantom

horseman, a silent night-rider, whose horse

fell into pace with the troop la front of him.

A watch was always kept by the men travel

ling, but no attempt was made to urge their

horses faster and leave the ghostly visitor be*

hind. It was all too terrible, (hi it» appear

ance conversation was immediately husbiil,

pipes were put into the pockets, and atonjf

went the cavalcade in silence, the phaatoarider cf the plains bringing up the rear, juat

the shadowy figure of a man in ordinary bush

m&tfs dress, bestriding his mount. Roogfc,

bearded, felt-hatied, eyes straight ahead, no

cicveme&i of the body, and thus the cavalcade

journeyed, till a halt was made, and, if the

party pulled into camp the Shadow Rider

picketed itself just out from the camp, and

disappeared on the first gleam of daylight.

And if the party travelled all night, tba figure

kept pace, and similarly disappeared when the

flrat flush of light was heralded.

What stories do the bushmen tell of the night

visitor? The spirit of some

lono traveller (BOOM say),

long since dead, who cornea

to Join the bushmen as they

ride over the plain. He

can do no harm-he is hut

a shadow, a spirit, an ap»

paritioo-hut his appear

ance must be respected.

Horse and bushman come

from Shadowland!

The Shadow Rider of th#

Plains! Where does he

come from, and why does he

come? One of the moat

profound mysteries of the

Land of Mystery!

ghostly horseman (1911)

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