The Man from Snowy River

There was movement at the station, for the word ______ passed around
That the colt from Old Regret had ______ away,
And had joined the wild bush horses - ______ was worth a thousand pound,
So all the cracks ______ gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted ______ from the stations near and far
Had mustered at ______ homestead overnight,
For the bushmen love hard riding where ______ wild bush horses are,
And the stock-horse snuffs the ______ with delight.

There was Harrison, who made his pile ______ Pardon won the cup,
The old man with his ______ as white as snow;
But few could ride beside ______ when his blood was fairly up —
He would ______ wherever horse and man could go.
And Clancy of ______ Overflow came down to lend a hand,
No better ______ ever held the reins;
For never horse could throw ______ while the saddle girths would stand,
He learnt to ______ while droving on the plains.

And one was there, ______ stripling on a small and weedy beast;
He was ______ like a racehorse undersized,
With a touch of Timor ______ — three parts thoroughbred at least —
And such ______ are by mountain horsemen prized.
He was hard and ______ and wiry — just the sort that won't say ______ —
There was courage in his quick impatient tread;
______ he bore the badge of gameness in his bright ______ fiery eye,
And the proud and lofty carriage of ______ head.

But still so slight and weedy, one would ______ his power to stay,
And the old man said, "That horse will never do
For a long and tiring ______ - lad, you'd better stop away,
Those hills are ______ too rough for such as you."
So he ______ sad and wistful — only Clancy stood his friend —
"I think we ought to let him come," ______ said;
"I warrant he'll be with us when he's ______ at the end,
For both his horse and he ______ mountain bred."

"He hails from Snowy River, up ______ Kosciusko's side,
Where the hills are twice as steep ______ twice as rough,
Where a horse's hoofs strike firelight ______ the flint stones every stride,
The man that holds ______ own is good enough.
And the Snowy River riders ______ the mountains make their home,
Where the river runs ______ giant hills between;
I have seen full many horsemen ______ I first commenced to roam,
But nowhere yet such ______ have I seen."

So he went; they found ______ horses by the big mimosa clump,
They raced away ______ the mountain's brow,
And the old man gave his orders, "Boys, go at them from the jump,
No use ______ try for fancy riding now.
And, Clancy, you must ______ them, try and wheel them to the right.
Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills,
For never yet ______ rider that could keep the mob in sight,
If ______ they gain the shelter of those hills."

So ______ rode to wheel them — he was racing on ______ wing
Where the best and boldest riders take their place,
And he raced his stockhorse past them, and he ______ the ranges ring
With the stockwhip, as he met ______ face to face.
Then they halted for a moment, ______ he swung the dreaded lash,
But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view,
And they charged beneath the ______ with a sharp and sudden dash,
And off into ______ mountain scrub they flew.

Then fast the horsemen followed, ______ the gorges deep and black
Resounded to the thunder ______ their tread,
And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and ______ 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 ______ 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 ______ pull -
It well might make the boldest hold ______ breath;
The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the ______ ground was full
Of wombat holes, and any slip ______ death.
But the man from Snowy River let the ______ have his head,
And he swung his stockwhip round ______ gave a cheer,
And he raced him down the ______ like a torrent down its bed,
While the others ______ and watched in very fear.

He sent the flint-stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,
He cleared the ______ timbers in his stride,
And the man from Snowy ______ never shifted in his seat —
It was grand ______ see that mountain horseman ride.
Through the stringy barks ______ saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the ______ at a racing pace he went;
And he never ______ the bridle till he landed safe and sound,
At ______ bottom of that terrible descent.

He was right among ______ horses as they climbed the farther hill
And the ______ on the mountain standing mute,
Saw him ply the ______ fiercely; he was right among them still,
As he ______ across the clearing in pursuit.
Then they lost him ______ a moment, where two mountain gullies met
In the ______ - but a final glimpse reveals
On a dim ______ distant hillside the wild horses racing yet,
With the ______ from Snowy River at their heels.

And he ran ______ single-handed till their sides were white with foam.
He ______ like a bloodhound on their track,
Till they halted ______ and beaten, then he turned their heads for home,
______ alone and unassisted brought them back.
But his hardy ______ pony he could scarcely raise a trot,
He was ______ from hip to shoulder from the spur;
But his ______ was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot,
For ______ yet was mountain horse a cur.

And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
Their torn and rugged ______ on high,
Where the air is clear as crystal, ______ the white stars fairly blaze
At midnight in the ______ and frosty sky,
And where around the Overflow the ______ -beds sweep and sway
To the breezes, and the ______ plains are wide,
The man from Snowy River is ______ household word today,
And the stockmen tell the story ______ his ride.

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