Lost Lenore: The Adventures of a Rolling Stone

by Mayne Reid

started offfor the McIvor diggings.

  I travelled in company with several others, who were going to the sameplace--to which we had "chartered" a horse and dray for carrying our"swags."

  One of my travelling companions was drunk, the night before leavingMelbourne; and, in consequence, could eat no breakfast on the morningwhen we were about to start. He had neglected to provide himself withfood for the journey; and depended on getting his meals at eating-housesalong the road.

  Before the day was over, he had become very hungry; but would not acceptof any food offered him by the others.

  "No thank'ee," he would say, when asked to have something. "I'll wait.We shall stop at a coffee-house before night; and I'll make it a cautionto the man as keeps it. I'll eat all before me. My word! but I'll makeit a warning to him, whoever he be. He'll not want to keep acoffee-house any longer."

  This curious threat was repeated several times during the day; and weall expected, when evening should arrive, to see something wonderful inthe way of consuming provisions.

  We at length reached the coffee-house, where we intended to stay for thenight; and called for our dinners. When told to sit down, we did so;and there was placed before us a shoulder of mutton, from which, as wasevident by the havoc made upon it, several hungry men had already dined.

  A loaf, baked in the ashes--known in the colonies as a "damper"--sometea, in which had been boiled a little sugar, some salt, and a picklebottle with some dirty vinegar in it, were the concomitants of theshoulder, or "knuckle" of mutton. I had sate down to many such mealsbefore; and was therefore in no way disappointed. But the man who hadbeen all day without eating seemed to be very differently affected.According to custom, he had to prepay his four shillings, before takinghis seat at the table; and on seeing what he was to get for his money,he seemed rather chagrined.

  "My word!" cried he; "I did say that I'd make it a warning to thelandlord; but my word!--he's made it a warning to me. I sate downhungry, but I shall get up starving."

  None of us could reasonably doubt the truth, thus naively enunciated byour travelling companion.

  After reaching the diggings at McIvor, I entered into partnership withone of the men, who had travelled with me from Melbourne. We purchaseda tent and tools; and at once set to work to gather gold.

  Judge Lynch was very much wanted on the diggings of McIvor--as well asthroughout all Victoria, during the first three years after gold hadbeen discovered there.

  Those, who claimed to be the most respectable of the colonists, did notwant an English colony disgraced by "Lynch Law"--a wonderful bugbear tothe English ear--so they allowed it to be disgraced by ten times thenumber of thefts and robberies than ever took place in California--whichthey were pleased to style "the land of bloodshed and crime."

  In California miners never required to take their tools home with themat night. They could leave them on their claims; and be confident offinding them there next morning. It was not so in Victoria, where thegreatest care could not always prevent the digger from having suchproperty stolen. I have seen--in a copy of the "Melbourne Argus," ofNovember 5th, 1852--two hundred and sixty-six advertisements offeringrewards for stolen property! Yet "The London Times," November 6th,1852, speaks of these same colonies in the following terms:--"It isgratifying to learn that English love of law and common sense therepredominate."

  As most of the thefts there committed were of articles, tooinsignificant to pay for advertising their loss, the reader may imaginewhat was the state of society in Victoria at that time; and how far"English love of law and common sense predominated!"

  It was only one of the thousand falsehoods propagated by the truculentscribblers of this unprincipled journal; and for which they may some daybe called to account.

  But few of those, who committed crimes in the diggings, were everbrought to trial; or in any way made answerable for their misdeeds.Prisoners were sometimes sent down to Melbourne to be tried; but as noone wished to be at an expense of thirty or forty pounds, travel ahundred miles, and lose three or four weeks of valuable time toprosecute them, the result was usually an acquittal; and crime wascommitted with impunity.

  While at McIvor, a thief entered my tent during my absence from it; andstole therefrom a spyglass that had been given me by Captain Hyland--with some other little articles that I had carried long and far, andvalued in proportion.

  I afterwards got back the glass by the aid of the police; and verylikely might have had the thief convicted and punished--had I feltinclined to forsake a good claim, take a long journey to Melbourne, andspend about forty pounds in appearing against him!

  As I did not wish to undertake all this trouble _pro bono publico_, thecriminal remained unpunished.

  Becoming tired of McIvor, I went on to Fryer's Creek. I there met witha fellow-passenger from California--named Edmund Lee--with whom I joinedpartnership; but after toiling awhile without much success, we proceededto a large rush at Jones' Creek--a distance of thirty-five miles fromFryer's.

  We started in the afternoon; and stopped the first night at a placecalled Castlemain.

  That evening I saw more drunken men than I had met during a whole yearspent in the diggings of California--where the sale of intoxicatingliquor was unrestricted, while on the gold fields of Victoria it wasstrictly prohibited by law! Indeed, about four hundred mounted troopersand policemen were in Castlemain at the time, for the purpose ofmaintaining "English law and order;" and those selling intoxicatingdrinks were liable to a fine of fifty pounds or imprisonment, or both!One vice, so prevalent in California, was not to be observed on the goldfields of Victoria. In the latter there were no gambling-houses.

  After leaving Castlemain, we walked about twenty-five miles; and stoppedall night at "Simpson's Station."

  On this pasture I was told there were sixteen thousand head of sheep.

  Before reaching Simpson's, we passed a station, on which the sheep wereinfested with a disease, resembling the "shab." Carcasses of the deadwere everywhere to be seen; and those, that were still alive, werehardly able to drag along the few locks of wool clinging to theirsky-coloured skins!

  On Sunday, the 14th day of August, 1853, we reached the diggings onJones' Creek, where we found about ten thousand people, but no placewhere we could procure a meal of victuals, or a night's lodging!

  That the reader may have some idea of the hardships to which diggerswere then often exposed, I shall make known of the manner of our life,while residing at Jones' Creek.

  We first purchased some blankets; and with these, some poles and piecesof string, we constructed a sort of tent. At none of the stores couldwe find a utensil for cooking meat; and we were compelled to broil itover the fire on the end of a stick. Sometimes we could buy bread thathad come from Bendigo, for which we had to pay six shillings the loaf ofthree and a half pounds weight! When unable to get this, we had topurchase flour at a proportionate price, knead it into dough, and roastit in the ashes.

  There was no place of amusement at Jones' Creek; and a strong policeforce was stationed there, to suppress the sale of liquors; or, rather,to arrest those who sold it; and also to hunt diggers for what wascalled the "Gold Licence."

  The precious metal at this place was found very unevenly distributedthrough the gullies; and while some were making fortunes by collectingit, others were getting next to nothing.

  The gold was found in "nuggets"--lying in "pockets" of the slate rock;and not a fragment could be obtained till these pockets had beenexplored.

  The day after our arrival, my partner and I marked off two claims.Being unable to hold them both, we took our choice of the two; and gavethe other one away to some men, with whom we had become slightlyacquainted.

  The top earth from both claims was removed--disclosing not a speck ofgold in that we had retained, while twenty-four pounds weight werepicked out--without washing--from the claim we had given away!

  Lee and I remained at Jones' Creek three weeks, worked hard, madenothing, and then started back for F
ryer's, where our late partners werestill toiling.

  On our way back we halted for dinner--where some men with a dray load ofstores,--on their way to one of the diggings, had also stopped for theirmid-day meal.

  We had neglected to bring any sugar with us; and wished to buy some forour coffee. The men with the dray did not wish to sell any; but weinsisted on having it at any price.

  "We'll let you have a pannikin full of sugar," said one, "but shallcharge you ten shillings for it."

  "All right," said my companion, Edmund Lee. "It's cheap enough--considering."

  The man gave us the sugar; and then refused to take the money! He wasnot so avaricious, as we had supposed. He had thought, by asking tentimes the usual price, to send us away, without being obliged to partwith what he might