UNKNOWN

Cromwell Argus, Issue I, 8 June 1870, Page 7

UNKNOWN

MM OF THE OPHIR GOLDFIELDS. after the opening of the of 1851 that I sot sail foi the gold-fields of New HHHwalcs, with a heart brimful of hope and pockets, boxes, and BB|Bptcaus made of sufficiently capacious EBHfcions to hold any amount of the pre- ' metal (when found), in addition to scanty wardrobe. I >ll do I remember the packing of that portmanteau, and the swalpled dress-coat that my mother would WSm jupon putting in, although, having a that such articles of apparel comma il faut at the gold-fields, resisted the measure. I also iber the many dozen pairs of warm that had been manufactured with sisBprly affection and gray worsted, by the Kve girls—from Julia, the eldest, aged Bunetaen, to Susan, the youngest, just Burned nine. Finally, I have a distinct Tnemory of how my maiden aunt, on the strength of sixteen stone weight, jumped upon the aforesaid portmanteau and per•formed a kind of war dance thereon, so as «0 enable Tom the groom and Mary the housemaid to strap and lock it, and how after many tears being shed by ray father and my mother, my brothers and sisters, and my maiden aunt in particular, I was whisked away to the railway station in order to catch the 9.45 a.m. train for London. I will not dwell on the voyage out, house it was very much like other voyages, iffice it to say that in just a hundred ya we arrived at Sydney, the capital of iw South Wales, and here T discovered at the favourite gold-field of the day was Ophir, near Bathurst, one hundred and miles up the country. Here some trenndous finds had lately been made, and eople turned up nuggets as an Irishmanhovels up potatoes. , Iften I look back at the splendid yields of ts Ophir gold-fields in those days, I cani help ejaculating, “ O-for such times at 'Jpir to come o-fer again !” In due time, after a fortnight’s weary journey in an ox-cart, which also contained my cradle, my pick and shovel, my tent, and other camp requisites, as well as all my personal luggage, I arrived at the goldfields, having picked up more strange oaths on that short journey than I had heard during the whole of my previous life. Drivers say that bullocks will not go without a lot of sv oaring, and I certainly believe thaLafter they have become accus■■Bjtfttri^lthey will not budge an inch 9BH^ r gentler language. I will tell you HEd yarn bearing on the point. was once a back-country squatter, |||||l married a religious wife from the ||BRest township, forty-two miles distant, BHhe sent down his largest waggon and to convey his fair bride, and her baggage, to his station. ||BBNow, Tom,” said he to the teamster, mistress is very particular ; so, for of you, you mustn’t let an oath out l;£$BBl mou *"h all the way home. If you offend her ears with your usual ■■HHguage, I’ll give you five sovereigns return. ” JHP man readily promised compliance BV the desire, and promptly set out on his journey. He got to the township all right, for he threw hi* colonial curses right and left with his usual volubility, and the beaqts. only understood the language too well. On the return journey, however, Vsrhen the newly-made wife was on board, the case was very different. In vain Tom halloed at the top of his voice. The language he now addressed to them might hate been Hindustani or Sanscrit for aught they knew to the contrary, and when night came on they had only accomplished nine miles since the morning. The next day it was just as bad, and at last they came to a hill, up which they would not go. “ Ckrack—crack!” went the Eised with Stenf no service—- ' moral persuaI the lady, cap iked, “ Please, re to swear at ever move till e case, the lady ct was magical: lacular of the jgether with a a in no time ; is conditionally am not in a po- . y original subnaturally ask, ith a tale of the I an old man T uliar and yet a wo hills rose in the sky, both ulations, both lit. The lower thickly dotted e Summer-Hill their base, ce, the diggings rer an extent of rfi eight months gold had been istralia.

Well, I got back to my abode about one 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and after a hasty meal, not wishing to lose a whole day, 1 went to my claim, and set to for a three hours’ dig. Strange to say, I had not been at work five minutes when I came across a very pretty little nugget, of about the size of a walnut, and a few minutes later picked out another as large as a crab-apple. I was about to pocket this latter, when I looked up and saw one of the assassins gazing down on me. “ Lucky broad grin, that in my prejudiced mind seemed to say, “ Aye, but it will bo mine before long.” “Pretty well,” I replied brusquely; and he walked away. I found no more nuggets on that occasion ; and at five o’clock I knocked off and made my way to my tent, where, alter a good wash, I pulled an old gin case outside, sat down upon it, lighted ray pipe, and coolly awaited the arrival of my visitors. I had not long to wait. I presently observed two strongly-framed men strolling leisurely in my direction, as though merely sauntering at random through the diggings. As they came opposite to me, one of them started, and addressing me, exclaimed, “ Hollo, Ted, how long have you been at Ophirl and where did you hail from last V and stepping up, he grasped me warmly by the hand. Seeing what was expected of me, I heartily returned the pressure, saying, in a loud tone, “ Why, about three weeks. But when did you leave Sydney ? Come in, man, and bring your friend with you. Old friends like you and me should liquor up before questions are asked and answered,” and inside we all went. One of the two men that we wanted to catch was an eye and ear witness of the whole scene, but it was so naturally enacted that no suspicions that my two acquaintances were detectives could have entered his head. I found that each of my visitors was armed with a revolver and a pair of handcuffs. They were both strong, powerful men, and more than a match for the others in every way. The plan, however, to make all things certain, and to prevent any unnecessary spilling of blood, was to wait until the ruffians were in their beds and asleep, when we were to steal in and try to handcuff them before they could wake up. We had to wait many weary hours for the time to arrive, but at last the snoring commenced in earnest, and this was the signal. Handcuffs in hand, the detectives crept into the adjoining tent, I following them, with my revolver levelled, in case that one or both the rascals should wake up and be too quick for them. They did not wake up, and the irons were clasped around and locked on their wrists without their even twinkling an eyelid. But now they were roughly awakened, and the senior officer said, “Tom Jackson and Ben Wilton, I arrest you for wilful murder. , You must both of you get up and come along with us. lam Detective Sinclair, of the New South Wales police.” I never saw two men so struck with consternation and surprise as were these two worthies. At last one of them gasped out, “ Murder ! Wilful murder ! Detective Sinclair ! Why, you must be all mad !” “The evidences of their crime are in their tent, remember,” I said to Sinclair, nudging him with my elbow. “ Let us search for the limbs of their last slaughtered victim.” The hint was promptly acted upon. We seized spades and picks, and in ten minutes every inch of the ground covered by the tent was turned over to a yard in depth. No old men’s legs were found, but we were not to be daunted, and proceeded to ransack the tent all over, still without any old men’s legs turning up, though we spied two fine hind legs of kangaroo hanging up in an obscure corner. “ Well, are you satisfied ?” asked one of the prisoners. “ Are you convinced that you are on some wild goose chase 1 If so, take these cursed irons off and begone.” “ No, we are not convinced,” said Sinclair, with some asperity. “ This worthy gentleman,” pointing to me, “ heard you confess last night to having murdered no less than eight old men, and such crimes will have to be accounted for. He heard you confess, too, to having hid the legs of your last victim in this tent; but doubtless you have this day removed them to some more secure hiding-place.” « He told you that, did he 1 —the young donkey!” screamed one of the accused, with an hyena-like'laugh. “And so we have, too, ‘ old men’ kangaroos,—and there are the legs we spoke of hanging up in that corner, ready for to-morrow’s pie. Ha ! ha! ha ! he hits brought you on a fool’s errand, sure enough,” and the roars of laughter he indulged in fairly shook the tent. Both detectives looked fearfully annoyed, and yet they could not help laughing. Without a word to me, they took the handcuffs off the men and returned them to their pockets. Then Sinclair said, “What will you take to keep this matter secret 1 You see, through this unfortunate new chum’s blunder, we shall get laughed off the diggings, unless you choose to be I merciful. I’ll give you a five-pound note

I lost ao time in pitching my tent and « making «it a claim, and twenty-four hours ' lat«r I wti as hard at work as the rest of then. ,v | My tomwas pitched in close proximity to one occvned by two strong, burly fel- ! lows of thiold convict class, or. at least such I sot tern down to be, on account of ( the odd wa in which 1 fancied each of , them lifted \e left leg in walking, a peculiarity appeuining to most men who have ' been accustcied to perambulate in leg irons for an lengthened period. These men were alwys very civil to me, and of | course I was .Iways very civil to them ; J and yet, someW or other, I contracted a ' dread of them,vhich I could neither overcome nor conut; and when sometimes * one or the came, pipe in mouth, to .* the edge of the jt, and asked me how I was 1 getting on, I us 4 to fancy that it was only done to see wheter I was turning up anything good, and consequently worth rob- 1 bing ; and I usedio conceal my gold in all - sorts of out-of-theway places, in order to ‘ elude their suspend designs. ' One night I herd a horrid revelation | that confirmed allmy suspicions against these men. And nw I come to the very ' subject matter of m story. I have said that ly tent adjoined that of my two mysterious acquaintances; in I fact, the canvas of ae teat touched that of the other; and fain my tent I could * hear the con versa tiorcarried on in theirs 1 very plainly. I had aever before listened to their discourse, bu one night, just as I was retiring to bed, Ikeard one say to the 1 other, *• Yes, this lit.s knife did for him ; * I killed the old man Mth one blow, sir.” 1 The horrible admision staggered me, 1 and I felt that I must isteu to the end of their discourse now, a whatever risk to 1 myself; so 1 glued mysar to the canvas, ' in time to hear his mat rejoin “ Did you ' now 1 And did the oldfellow resist you T' ' “ Faith and he did,” eplied the assassin. ! “ He grasped me till he marly pressed the life out of me, and tried bo rip me up with 1 his spur; but I drove th knife into him 1 up to the hilt, and ther I cut his head off.” “Bravo, Charlie!” criecthe other; “ that makes the seventh old nan we’ve killed since our arrival in the cdonies, don’t it 1" “ No, the eighth. Dm’t you remember the blackfellow 1” wasthe reply. “ Oh, ay, to be sure, yoi’re right,” said the other ; “ but what haw you done with ] the illustrious dead in bis present in- ( stance 1” i “ Why, I left the body ii the bush, with s the exception of the legs, vbich are here in ’ the tent.” The conversation hero ceased, and was 1 not resumed ; in fact, a stertorian snoring 1 soon told me that it was ray improbable ] that it would be so for the nght, at least; 1 so I crept into my bed, not o sleep (how j could I, with so horrible a discovery 1), but i to reflect upon all that 1 had leard. I “ The eighth old man thej had killed, ■ and one of them an unfortumte blackfellow. Oh, the wretched mis?reants!” I i muttered to myself, and then my mind wandered away, and I wondered why it was that they always murdered old men— : how it was that their victim tiled to rip up his murderer with a spur, such an ex- ! traordinary weapon of defence, and what ’ on earth had induced the assassin to cut off t his last victim’s legs and bring them into hia tent. Latterly, however, I did sink : into a disturbed, unrefreshing sleep, and was afflicted by a frightful dream, in which I fancied that one of my next-door neighbors was kneeling on my chest, and cutting my throat from ear to ear. My dream had some slight foundation, for I was awakened by a rough hand shaking me by the shoulder ; and my eyes, on opening them, rested on the roughly-bearded face of the very man I had been dreaming of. I was about to scream “ murder !” for I thought that my last hour was come; but glancing around, I saw that it was broad daylight, and that the fellow was merely asking me for a match to light his pipe with. This I immediately gave him, and ho went away with a muttered expression of thanks. That day, instead of going to work, I set out for the tent of the police commissioner, and after a long walk succeeded in reaching it. I had to wait a long time before I was granted an audience; but when I was ushered into the presence of the dread functionary, and told him as succinctly as possible the circumstances of the case, and how I had heard the rascals confess their numerous crimes, and particularly their last murder, the proofs whereof were within their tent, the enthusiasm of the commissioner was fully aroused, and ho felt as anxious for their capture and punishment as myself. He suggested that two policeman, disguised as diggers and well armed, should come to my tent on the pretence of paying me a visit as old acquaintances, and that after it was dark, and after the two murderers had turned in for the night, we should rush into their tent and secure them. This was an exceedingly feasible plot, and I heartily entered into it ; so I minutely described the position of my tent, and to make it still more easily discoverable, promised that a bright red pockethandkerchief should be hanging on some ! conspicuous part of it, as though to dry; and having made all these arrangements, j I took my leave;

out of my own pocket if you will keep this unfortunate affair dark." “ I will supplement Sinclair’s offer with the largest of the nuggets that I dug up to-day," I said, feeling that if being laughed at was the general dread, I stood in the worst position of the trio. “ Hang your bribes !’’ was the retort. “ I would not give up the chance of circulating so glorious a yarn for ten times the value of what you offer. However, I will tell it as leniently as possible. And as for this new chum," turning to me, “ when I first came to the colonies, I and my mate were both of us green enough to have made 'just as stupid a blunder ; so I can’t blame him. Come, let us sit down, and have a drink all round of real old Jarnaica rum, of which wo have an unbroached keg in stock.” The invitation was readily accepted, and we kept it up until daylight with songs, grog, and toasts.' So ended the tragedy of “ Killing an Old Man,” which I now learnt was a name universally bestowed on a large mala kangaroo. These animals, when attacked, are very ferocious, and if they cannot get away, and are engaged at close quarters, they will clasp you with their short forelegs, and pressing you tightly against their chest, will raise one of their strong hind legs, which is armed with a terribly long, strong, and knife-shaped spur, and rip you right down with it, causing almost instantaneous death. When hunted with dogs, the “ old man” will generally, when once at bay, disembowel two or three of his canine adversaries before he is dragged down and dispatched, and the human foe is often served in the same manner. These two terrible murderers, as I thought them, turned out to be two right good fellows ; one had been a cornet in a crack cavalry regiment at home, the other a curate of the Church of England. We soon became sworn friends and partners in what afterwards turned out to bTf? a wellpaying claim, and in the year 1867 we all returned to Old England—rich men.