THE TWELVE APOSTLES.

Evening Star, Issue 3985, 2 December 1875, Page 3

THE TWELVE APOSTLES.

{From our own Correspondent,) In the early days of tie Arrow goldfield, when gold was easily obtained, general and extravagant indulgence in strong drink was common, and some votaries of the jolly god more infatuated than the rest entered into a compact wii,h each other under the above title. They u.reed to share their earnings, excepting so much as would suffice for food and c othiug, and to devote them to the purchase of fuewater. They had a hut at Macetown which they (termed “the dead-horse,” and in this place most of their orgies were and are (by a rtmnant, even while I write) still held. As th- so men have kept together until lately, their know'.,cl-c of the fie d has always enabled them to get Id, (s ; octally because as long as any one of them bad a payable claim the rest woul stick in to it until it was exhausted. V/uen gold faiii d they would go to thtir storekeeper, >h - W. T. Plinth ( \ man who would not sell them drink, but who would trusv them for hoots and clothing, as w t -il as food, and whom they always unde a point of paying), and get goods from him, which they would'"eh her eel! to the Chinese for a trifle, or exchange with other p ii tii a for drink, at a frigh fui discount. In consequence of these practic s the a, n.-tles have J.ail to v-r,ik thiough the hi tir \ intcia here, and in the cold water or the crc. k, in sags and almost w about shoes ; wide thr-ir general style of living aas such :hut only mo. of uon constitutions • otdd have e." U cil. :-tiil they have ad u r-d to -.heir po gia.ii.oue, . L -,d uu’e rev- r so happy wiu-u a g-o ; fi,.,- , oM *-n. hl-.u lik u t-.. iiav*- a w, ek or j va.’s rohd d inking, to which they occame .-o inured tent a IsuUie of spirits omy ,v,.i vul tor til c-* ...rinks whi c a few gallons < f ,-trong sj-ints would be swallowed in a very shorts;.ace of times, with but little other resuhs than makin them anxion-t for m re. (.me i stance out of sc .res w ueli happ-ued omy a few months ago will serve to iLn-trate the wo; lung of this silly and vicious organisation hotter th m any amoum- of desciiption. One of the apjsiles was employed to pack some giog over to the Matatupu. He was generally < mployed in packing,, ml had alwa.s pr./vud trustwoi thy. On his road he nut “ he King ”of the Apostles, who induced li rn to give a taste of the grog, when .ho pair camped on the mountain side, where they remained for three days, w'itii nothing but a few gallons of grog, which was quite finished when the owner c me to search for his man, and they begged him to go and fetch Hum some dunk. Thu expedients they have adopted from time to time to obtain drink would hli a volume, gi-dng old minors in the dark for pound notes bits of loud and tinloil for shillings and halfcrowns, shaking other drunken nun by the hcols until their money rolled outj when they would pick it up, selling their W* an 1 cloih mg, arc only a few c f those. This account is bo I:if from an exaggeration that it only faintly shadows forth tlio manner in which the piincipies of the organisation have been eairied out for numbers of years. t mly two or three of the apostle* now remain here; Hie diggings have been so thoroughly woiked out that even these can scarcely find enough gold to gi e them a u eek s spree. While a wiite two of them are drinking iu iho dead-house in a melancholy and dieary fashion, as they have bef ome so inured to drink tluvt it (loo.> not even for a, lime ; still thev will continue at it as long as Iney can get any. '(hey are ragged and haggaul, and y< t one of them offered to sell his . c at yesterday for a few shillings, although the weather is bitterly cold. Home of the apostles have ] erished from exposme and accident through drink; others have gone away. One of them is rvpoi ted to have become a Good Tempi.ir, but the king and two or three followers still remain in this aeiguboihood, while circumstances .compel ihtm fobs more sober than they used to be. The officers consist of "a secretary and “the King.” The number of Apostles lias’ always boon limited to twelve eligible swipers, having only been added to from time to time to fill vacancies. When on gold they have been known to spend L2OU in a week in fire vva er, sometaing similar to the article which exterminates the red Indian,