Such
A Man In The Bush And In The Town Is As Different As A Fish In And Out Of
Water.
Some of the finest fellows "outside the tracks" are the least respectable
in civilised places, where before long they
Can find no better occupation
than drinking, which, owing to months of teetotalism in the bush, they are
less able to stand than the ordinary individual who takes his beer or
spirits daily. And thus it is that bushmen very often get the name of
being loafers and drunkards, though on the aggregate they consume far less
liquor than our most respected citizens in the towns. The sudden change in
surroundings, good food, and the number of fellow-creatures, the noise of
traffic, and want of exercise - all these combined are apt to affect a
man's head, even when unaided by the constant flow of liquor with which a
popular bushman is deluged - a deluge hard to resist in a country where to
refuse a drink amounts to an insult. A plan recommended by some is to
"please 'em all by one jolly good spree, and then knock off and drink with
nobody." A man only gives offence who discriminates in his entertainers.
I fear I have wandered far from the subject of our journey, for Luck and I
had some time yet before us until the joys and troubles of civilised life
should be ours. The daily routine of travel was varied occasionally by
incidents of no great moment; for instance, when riding through the scrub,
Omerod, a rather clumsy old camel, tripped and fell, pinning me beneath
him, without injury to either of us; for a water bag acted as a buffer
between my leg and the saddle, and by the time all the water was squeezed
out of it, Luck had the saddle off, and I was extricated. Certainly some
camels are hard to put out or fluster; such a one was Omerod, who lay
without a kick until relieved of his saddle, when he rose and at once
proceeded to feed on the scrub.
Later, we had another instance of his stolidity; that was when crossing
a salt lake. Jenny was light and escaped bogging; not so Omerod, who sank
as far as his legs would allow, and there waited calmly until we had
unpacked the loads, carried them across the lake, and returned to help
Shimsha, who struggled violently in the sticky clay. When he was safely
taken across to an island on which we sought refuge, Omerod was attended
to. There he lay, half buried in salt mud, chewing his cud unconcernedly;
either he had perfect confidence in us, or was indifferent as to his
fate - he looked rather as if he were saying "Kismet." We had some trouble
in digging him out, during which operation Luck fared as I had done
before; he was pinned beneath the camel, waist deep in clay, and in that
position had to emulate the stolid patience of Omerod until I could dig
him out. At last they were both free, and after considerable labour we
landed on the island, camels, baggage, and all, just as night fell.
We WERE cold too, clothes and arms and faces covered with moist salt clay,
and nothing with which to make a fire but sprigs of dead samphire. A cold
night means an early start - so we were up betimes and found that the
camels, not tied, since we thought them safe on an island, had in search
of feed hobbled across the lake, and were standing disconsolate on this
sea of mud, afraid to move now that in daylight they could see their
surroundings. A repetition of the preceding day's performance, landed us
beyond the treacherous lake-bed, and the following day we were fortunate
in finding a fine rock-hole of water, which enabled us to reappear as
white men.
Mirages are nearly always to be seen on these lakes of the interior, and
from their occurrence it is impossible to determine the extent of the flat
expanse of mud. On this occasion I witnessed the finest I have ever seen.
The hot sun playing upon the damp breeze rising from the lake, transformed
this desolate sea of salt and clay, into a charming picture. The horizon
and the sky were joined by a mirage of beautiful clear water, from which
islands and hills seemed to rise; even their shadows and those of the
trees with which they were clothed were reflected in the unruffled surface
of the lake. The long stretch of sand between, gave the picture the
appearance of a peaceful, natural harbour, which the tide was about to
fill.
We were unable to pay more than a flying visit to Mount Ida, but
sufficiently long to assure us of the auriferous character of its
neighbourhood. It is quite an imposing hill, rough, dark, and rugged, and
formed as if layers of black slate had been thrown violently against each
other. It rises some five hundred feet above the surrounding country.
We needed all our time to reach Siberia, before our provisions gave out.
There we arrived in due course, passing close, on our way, to the hills
near which Menzies afterwards made his great "find."
At Siberia a Government survey party, under Messrs. Newman and Brazier,
was camped, preparatory to running a line to connect Coolgardie and the
Murchison. Bidding them adieu, we took the road to Coolgardie, and arrived
there on June 22nd after an absence of exactly ninety days, having
travelled 843 miles. The result of the journey to ourselves was nil, for
the company considered that the reef we had found was too far off, and
took no further steps to develop it. It was afterwards under offer for
13,000 pounds in cash and shares, though whether the deal came off or not,
or what the mine was worth, I am not aware.
The company's representative in Coolgardie welcomed us with great
hospitality, and invited us to tea at his camp.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 18 of 125
Words from 17349 to 18357
of 127189
