by Mayne Reid
members of their bodies. The majority refused to obeythe orders of their officers--which was to reserve their fire, until ourassailants should come near.
Most discharged their guns at the enemy, while still only dimly seenthrough the mist of the morning. After firing once, they fled. In aninstant, the troopers were upon us.
A few of the diggers upon this occasion proved themselves men of heroiccourage. I saw young Ross, who commanded a company, shot dead at thehead of his men--while vainly trying to induce them to stand firm.
It seemed but a minute after the signal had been sounded, before thetroopers broke down the palisades; and began shooting and hacking at uswith their swords.
"I'm a Rolling Stone," thought I, "and do not like staying too long inone spot. The Eureka Stockade is not the place for me."
After making this reflection, I sprang over the palisades; and went offat a speed, that enabled me soon to distance many of my comrades who hadstarted in advance of me.
Amongst others passed in my flight, was Karl, the German, who stillpersevered in his determination not to desert his digger associates:since he was accompanying them in their retreat.
He had not fled, however, until assured that our defeat was certain: forI saw him inside the stockade, firing his revolver, shortly before Icame away myself.
I did not stay to speak to him: for the troopers were closely pursuingus; and cutting down with their swords any man they could overtake.
A majority of the routed diggers fled towards a tract of ground, thathad been what the miners call, "worked-out."
This ground was so perforated with holes, that the troopers were unableto gallop their horses over it. Fortunate for the fugitives that theseabandoned diggings lay so near the stockade--otherwise the slaughterwould have been much greater than it was--in all probability amountingto half the number of the men who had been gathered there.
The pursuit was not continued very far. The troopers soon lost alltraces of those they were galloping after. Some of the diggerssucceeded in reaching the bush, while others concealed themselves in theshafts of the worked-out claims; and, after a time, the soldiers wererecalled to exult over their easy victory.
The regular soldiers of Her Majesty's army took some prisoners in thestockade; but so far as I saw, or could afterwards ascertain, themounted policemen of the Colonial Government, made no attempt to capturea single digger. They showed no quarter; but cut down, and in someinstances horribly mutilated, all with whom they came in contact.
Many of the routed diggers remained concealed in the bush, and otherplaces of refuge, all that day; but, perceiving no necessity for this,as soon as the pursuit was over, I returned to my tent. In theafternoon, when quiet had to a certain extent been restored, I walkedover to view the scene of strife, and take a look at the unclaimedcorpses. Twenty-eight miners had been shot dead upon the spot; but manymore were missing--of whose fate nothing was ever afterwards known. Afew probably fell, or were thrown, into some of the deep holes, throughwhich the pursuit had been carried.
Some of the dead had acquaintances and friends about Ballarat, whoafterwards removed their bodies, for the purpose of burial.
I saw several corpses that had been collected in one place, and werewaiting for recognition. Amongst them was that of a young Austrian,whom I had known. His body had been pierced with five gun shot wounds--any one of which would have proved fatal.
There was one corpse so mutilated and disfigured with sabre cuts, thatthe features could not be recognised by any with whom, when alive, theman had been acquainted. It was that of a miner who had a family inBallarat. His body was afterwards identified by his wife, but onlythrough some articles that were found in the pockets of his coat.
I never saw, or heard of Karl after that fatal morning. Several dayselapsed; and his tent, that stood near my own, remained unclaimed by itsowner. It was still guarded by his dog, which I fed on its chain--assome of my neighbours jocularly remarked--to keep it alive, for thepleasure of hearing it howl. Karl had probably fallen down one of thedeep holes, on the abandoned diggings, over which we had been pursued.
At length, becoming weary of listening to the piteous howling of thedog, I set the animal at liberty, and on doing so, gave it a kick--thisbeing the only means I could think of, to let it know that I wished tocut its further acquaintance. It was an ugly, mangy creature; and allthe respect I felt for the memory of its lost master, could not induceme to be troubled with it any longer.
Four men were arrested, and tried as ringleaders in the "Ballaratrebellion." They were charged with treason--with an intent to overthrowher Majesty's Government, and take from Queen Victoria the Crown ofEngland! The Governor and his ministers wished the world to beinformed, that they had succeeded in quelling a revolution, thatthreatened destruction to the whole British empire!
They thirsted for more blood; but they did not get it. The jury, beforewhom the prisoners were tried, acquitted them; and they were once moreset at liberty.
Not long after, the licensing system was abolished; and in its stead anexport duty of two shillings and sixpence per ounce, was levied upon thegold. This was certainly a more natural method of collecting therevenue; and in every way more satisfactory. By it, the unsuccessfulminer was not called upon to pay as much as one who had been fortunate;and the diggers were no longer annoyed and insulted by the minions ofthe Licensing Commission.
Volume Three, Chapter XIII.
BURIED ALIVE.
From Ballarat, I went to the great rush at Mount Blackwood; and pitchedmy tent on a part of that gold-field, known as the "Red Hill."
Mount Blackwood was more heavily and thickly timbered, than any other ofthe Victorian gold-fields. The surface of the ground was very uneven;and the soil on the rocks of but little depth. It was difficult to finda horizontal space, of sufficient size, for the pitching of an ordinaryminer's tent; and to see such stupendous trees growing on the steephill-sides, with scarce soil enough to cover their roots, was matter ofsurprise to everybody who came to Mount Blackwood.
About three weeks after the rush had commenced--and after severalthousand people had gathered there--we were visited one night by aterrific gale, or more properly speaking, a "hurricane."
Hundreds of large trees--which owing to the shallow soil, could not takedeep root in the rock underneath--were blown down.
The night was very dark; and no one could see from what side a treemight at any moment come crashing. A space of ground, out of reach ofthe fallen trunks, was not to be found on the gold-field. Theconsequence was, that thirteen people were killed for certain; and manymore severely injured, all through the falling of the trees.
But the number of fatal accidents, caused by the hurricane of thatnight, was probably never known.
The night was one of horror and fear to more than eight thousandpeople--each of whom knew not the minute that death might be hisportion. A miner and his wife, while endeavouring to escape to a placeof safety, were crushed under the same tree. Had they remained in theirtent, they would have escaped uninjured! But what was still moresingular in this unfortunate incident; the woman, when struck by thetree, was carrying a child, which received not the slightest injury,while both the parents were killed on the spot!
The day after the storm, Mount Blackwood presented a very forlornappearance. Hundreds of trees had been prostrated by the wind; andnearly every tent had been thrown down.
Ever since that night, I can understand the fear, that some sailorsentertain, of _a storm upon land_.
I had very little success in gold digging at Mount Blackwood; but whilethere, an incident occurred that was interesting to me; so much so, asto be deserving of a place among these my adventures.
I expect to die some time; but fervently hope and pray, that myexistence may not be terminated by _suffocation_--either by means of arope, or otherwise. I profess to have a horror of that mode of death:for the simple reason that I have made trial of it, and found thesensation anything but pleasant.
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br /> While at Mount Blackwood, I worked a claim in company with three others.
I was taken into this partnership, by a man I had known at Ballarat. Hewent by the name of "Yorkey"--from his being a Yorkshireman--and was theonly one of the "firm" with whom I formed much acquaintance.
I was at work in a tunnel of the claim, where we had not used sufficientcaution in supporting the top of the tunnel with timber.
Although the shaft was not a wide one, the earth being a little damp,and composed of loose shingle, required propping up. As I had neglectedthis, about a cart load of the shingle fell down, burying me completelyunder it.
The weight upon my limbs was so great, that I could not move them; and Ilay as if I had been chained to the spot.
At the time, two of my mining partners were also below, working inanother part of the tunnel. Of course they heard the little earthquake,and came to my assistance.
The task of digging me out, proved more difficult than they expected:for there was not room for both my mates
