The day after, by good fortune, we disposed of the dray
and horses for 250 pounds, being only 40 pounds less than we paid for
them. As the cost of keeping horses at the diggings is very great
(sometimes two or three pounds a day per head), besides the constant risk
of their being lost or stolen, we were well satisfied with the bargain;
and never did mind young speculators, who five months previous had been
utter strangers, accomplish their undertaking to themselves, or less
disagreement one with another.
This business settled, the next was to procure licences, which
was a walk of nearly five miles to the Commissioners' tent, Bendigo,
and wasted the best part of Wednesday.
Meanwhile we were Seriously debating about again changing our quarters.
We found it almost impossible to sleep. Never before could I have
imagined that a woman's voice could utter sounds sufficiently
discordant to drive repose far from us, yet so it was.
The gentlemen christened her "the amiable female."
The tent of this "amiable" personage was situated at right angles with
ours and our shipmates, so that the annoyance was equally felt. Whilst
her husband was at work farther down the gully, she kept a sort of sly
grog-shop, and passed the day in selling and drinking spirits,
swearing, and smoking a short tobacco-pipe at the door of her tent. She
was a most repulsive looking object. A dirty gaudy-coloured dress hung
unfastened about her shoulders, coarse black hair unbrushed, uncombed,
dangled about her face, over which her evil habits had spread a
genuine bacchanalian glow, whilst in a loud masculine voice she uttered
the most awful words that ever disgraced the mouth of man ten
thousand times more awful when proceeding from a woman's lips.
But night was the dreadful time; then, if her husband had been unlucky,
or herself made fewer profits during the day, it was misery to be
within earshot; so much so, that we decided to leave so uncomfortable a
neighbourhood without loss of time, and carrying our tents, &c., higher
up the gully we finally pitched them not far from the Portland Stores.
This was done on Thursday, and the same evening two different claims
were marked out ready to commence working the next day. These claims
were the usual size, eight feet square.
FRIDAY, 24. - Early this morning our late travelling companion, Joe, made
his appearance with a sack (full of bran, he said,) on his shoulders.
After a little confidential talk with William, he left the sack in our
tent, as he had no other safe place to stow it away in till the bran
was sold.
