Much Was Said And Written At The Time
About The Scores Of Dead And Dying Men And Horses Who Lined The
Roads - Roads Because There Were Two Routes To The New Field.
There may
have been deaths on the other track, but I know that we saw none on ours.
Men
In sore straits, with swollen tongues and bleeding feet, we saw, and,
happily, were able to relieve; and I am sure that many would have died but
for the prompt aid rendered by the Government Water Supply Department,
which despatched drays loaded with tanks of water to succour the suffering
miners. So the fortunes, to be made at Siberia, had again to be postponed.
Shortly after our return to Coolgardie a "gold escort" left Bayley's for
the coast, and as a guardian of the precious freight I travelled down to
Perth. There was no Government escort at that time, and any lucky
possessor of gold had to carry it to the capital as best he could.
With four spanking horses, Gordon Lyon as driver, three men with him on
the express-waggon, an outrider behind and in front, all armed with
repeating rifles, we rattled down the road, perhaps secretly wishing that
someone would be venturesome enough to attempt to "stick us up." No such
stirring event occurred, however, and we reached the head of the then
partially constructed line, and there took train for Perth, where I
eagerly awaited the arrival of my old friend and companion, Percy Douglas.
He meanwhile had had his battles to fight in the financial world, and had
come out to all appearances on top, having been instrumental in forming an
important mining company from which we expected great things.
PART II FIRST PROSPECTING EXPEDITION
CHAPTER I
THE RUSH TO KURNALPI - WE REACH QUEEN VICTORIA SPRING
Shortly after Lord Douglas's return, I took the train to York, where
"Little Carnegie," who had formed one of the team to draw the gold-laden
express waggon from Bayley's to the head of the railway line, was running
in one of Mr. Monger's paddocks. The Mongers are the kings of York, an
agricultural town, and own much property thereabouts. York and its
surroundings in the winter-time might, except for the corrugated-iron
roofs, easily be in England. Many of the houses are built of stone, and
enclosed in vineyards and fruit gardens. The Mongers' house was quite
after the English style, so also was their hospitality. From York I rode
along the old track to Southern Cross, and a lonely ride I had, for the
train had superseded the old methods of travel, much to the disgust of
some of the "cockies," or small farmers, who expressed the opinion that
the country was going to the dogs, "them blooming railways were spoiling
everything"; the reason for their complaint being, that formerly, all the
carrying had been in the teamsters' hands, as well as a considerable
amount of passenger traffic.
I had one or two "sells" on the road, for former stopping-places were now
deserted, and wells had been neglected, making it impossible, from their
depth, for me to get any water. I was fortunate in falling in with a
teamster and his waggon - a typical one of his class; on first sight they
are the most uncouth and foul-tongued men that it is possible to imagine.
But on further acquaintance one finds that the language is as superficial
as the dirt with which they cannot fail to be covered, since they are
always walking in a cloud of dust. My friend on this occasion was
apostrophising his horses with oaths that made my flesh creep, to help
them up a steep hill. The top reached, he petted and soothed his team in
most quaint language. At the bottom of the slope he was a demon of
cruelty, at its summit a kind-hearted human being! I lunched with him,
sitting under his waggon for shade, and found him most entertaining - nor
was the old pony neglected, for he was given a fine feed of chaff and
oats.
In due time I reached Coolgardie, where Lord Douglas and our new partner,
Mr. Driffield (since drowned in a boating accident on the Swan River),
joined me. They had engaged the services of one Luck and his camels, and
had ridden up from the Cross. The rush to Kurnalpi had just broken out,
so Driffield, Luck, and I joined the crowd of fortune-hunters; and a
queer-looking crowd they were too, for every third or fourth swagman
carried on his shoulder a small portable condenser, the boiler hanging
behind him and the cooler in front; every party, whether with horses,
carts, or camels, carried condensers of one shape or another; for the
month was January, no surface water existed on the track, and only salt
water could be obtained, by digging in the salt lakes which the road
passed. The nearest water to the scene of the rush was a salt lake seven
miles distant, and this at night presented a strange appearance.
Condensers of every size and capacity fringed the two shores of a narrow
channel; under each was a fire, and round each all night long could be
seen figures, stoking the burning wood or drawing water, and in the
distance the sound of the axe could be heard, for at whatever time a party
arrived they had forthwith to set about "cooking water." The clattering
and hammering the incessant talking, and the figures flitting about in the
glare, reminded one of a crowded open-air market with flaring lamps and
frequent coffee stalls. Kurnalpi was known at first as "Billy-Billy," or
as "The Tinker's Rush" - the first name was supposed by some to be of
native origin, by others to indicate the amount of tin used in the
condensing plants - "Billy," translated for those to whom the bush is
unfamiliar, meaning a tin pot for boiling tea in, and other such uses.
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