Tom Hungerford.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 244, 3 October 1872, Page 9

Tom Hungerford.

A STORY OP THE EARLY DAYS OF :thij otago gobdfields.

, n jCH£PTER.,vi.-4-AjJRi Sa-cra FlmeS. • .prjiQ news of,., the (Ji^coyery u; of ;gold_ swept "ovej,'tbe .land ty£e r the Mast of; some; "fteWe 'Revival; ' The ' nun 1 els' of i&en} eveh^f •strotig men, bent beneath its force, <and, sucdumbed! tcr thantfeverr ?fnd ."frenzy ..of J thft.f hpu'rT ,~ "Reason, common sense, discretion, ,aJI ,{Jhose qualities, in fact 1 , which 1 we are supposed, to bring into use in ourcommon everyday life had, for,tnempnientjyanished--T;awal-Wwed ;Up r bj, this rapacious Eiihgerj this "thin ' sacra fames. Ho^, v indeed, could it be otherwise, with the blood so hot and the brain so, feverish? Of all unaccountable things^ surely one 'of the most unaccountable is this'sudden frenzy' that "' possesses 1 men, body and .Soul, . when ('the first sight of gold ,is seen., Auri sacra .fames/ ;< Aye, the malady was on ali< Here were runhol4ers, farmers, storekeepers, merchants^ shrewd men, sharp in " business, frantically f usning off in •search < of 1 golden nuggets'-'wheto the nuggets .lay.aroundlth'dm;readytb- their hands. Did they but (think for ( a moment before fl . they, scampered thus away,' they ' would have seen that the mutton and beef, the butter and eggs, thje^spa^es shovels, "the tea and (gugar; -they* we're turning* their backs upon would turn outricher claims than any they should find up in yonder gully. ~~But there was no method in tliiii madness. '• .. > •" TKe lawyer "tEotigEF not of. clients 'whfen he closed his office • *nofc, indeed," •that- r would have darkened hia jdoor .for. many a'iday ev-eri if f he had, ,rem,ained, but he never, gave : himself a moment's thought abput the matter bne f way or another. The doctor, in 'going to this El-Dorado, was unconscious that 1 - he should find ( himself in 1 the £ midst,jof his patients,, and on the^veiry spot where his skill,, r would be most required. ' The ploughman left his^ plough and team ! unyoked in the- turrow^ ' The clerk's ledger was left open" on his desk. The shepherd fled past his boundary, ; but his sheep were not turned back. Th« shout of "the stoelcnian would have sejllj: hisjniobs'bf. bullocks back_io their camping" "ground j but he rode past them, and 1 that shout waß ' not given. Master- and' servant, employer and employed i thought of nothing, cared for nothing -but tp reach this promised land. They jostled , past one another on the road, each one striving to reach Gabriels Griilly ( first, and, by stooping down, pick up those golden nuggets that lay scattered about up there, Bui they very sdon found out that nuggets, were not ,to be had for the mere stooping ; were sometimes not to be had by those did more than stoop — . who blistered their hands, and broke their backs,- und splashed about all day long up to' their, knees in mud and water. In a few days, or in a month at' most, the illusion vanished, and men were brought to their right minds. Some sickened under the privations and discomforts. ■ -Many wanted stamina — the bone and muscle whidh/they must have who would successfully dig and ■delve with pick and spade. ; But even 'they who had health and strength did riot all succeed. " Gold did not always come in quick enough to satisfy the impatient.' * Then too claims could' not always be had in desirable localities — in localities, that is to say, where claims were worth che having. .There .were, certainly^ some'snugj comfortable. claims along the banks of the creek, where the sinking^ was shallow and the water not more than knee -deep; where the labor was light, and a man could .earn his five or his fifty pounds a day, as the case might be ; but this- ground -along the creek was limited in extent. 'The background was not then regarded in '.a' very favorable Jight; indeed, just at first, it' was quite unoccupied. Perhaps now and then some more 7 daring 1 spirit tb'an ordinary would attempt a J^shafb " -or a " paddock "in this background ; but' the fierce rush of water soon stopped this proceeding. In this way it came' : about that, ibesides the sick 'and weakly,! r there we,re many "disappointed; men too •wio-left - the" goldnelds in those, early Just at the first, however, there was very little cbange observable in the population, as to numbers I mean. But after- a .while, perhaps in the space of a month, or it might be six weeks, "after Read's discovery, a change was -observable, .and.yery plainly observable too. It began to be pretty plainly.seen; that the new goldfield was no longer' in the hands of the "old, identity ". altogether; and-if tilings- went on rauch longer in the sam.e_w_ay, one might well doubt if jut would remain in their .hands at all 1 -*s6'on^.-iW'ild looking' fellows, raw' boned and long limbed, strangely got up lUislpuoh Jiaijs, long boqts,- red shirts, bowia-knives,-ans'revolvers-began"to, trpop,.in ,in ,tens, f/ .in .twenties,- .and,- mi fifties. They had been startled m their claims at Balla,ifat]'la'f^Hendigo, Castle- 1 maine, and Lambing, Flatjjv the news' of this discovery of gold at Tuapeka, an/J,r;fif fcar -s th§/.msnrsev .jof- „«uners, had «fcarce<3 forthwith for the " new rush," bringing with . them -their energy and experience. AjKLthis_ energy and experience soon began to work wonders. That unoccupied' groiind; lying away to the back of the creek, was no longer

■ unoccupied." ' .Bupwiiat lbecam, e qf , the ' water,"') our vfdll ask* "' water,' indeed ! ,Tetl these old hands F&firje.-ta&e.t for their sluieer- boxes and th'eyunderstano' f 'you';'' 1 'but they would not have, understood you' had you referred tp |itj as. , an obstacle in the way of sinking paddocks::i i [Indeed, I think, the chanoe they, would have ' laughed in your face had you mentioned the subject rt67thej^,yan"d, very likely, would, haye J asked 1 you what the 'blazes you kne^ about' it')' or, would have flung ja^mueh Jiotte,r word in your teeth in all" probability. , : . < o • . }

A strait laced man might possibly 'dbject'tb^the strongness of the language 'of this old hand j but .he could not withhold frora.him his admiration for the wonderful changes his industry and experience • had 'wrought iv -Tuapeka, You know that, previous to his arrival, the neglected swampy flat which lay behind the creek had withstood all attempts ;to work.it, but now it was paddocked. and burro'W'eci from One "end to the other. In truth, there was a rich harvest being gathered there now; richer, I think,' r than,, .in any other part of the field j and thiß being so, "jumping," of course, became a favorite pastime, as did also 1 fierce combats over every foot of ground. But this burrowing was not confined td v the flat; > If you walked up the spurs, or > along the gullies, or on the tops of the ranges -you saw they were pierGed with shafts and tunnels. The , whole neighborhood, in fact, was one large - 1 hbneycomb, 1 • through which it would not be pleasant to group one's . j way after dark ; but there were other dangers besides the chance of tumbliug into a deep "hole. I have just told you that the Tuapeka had become a laige honeycomb, and I have intimated that the human bees who formed this honeycqmb has the hum, the industry, and the energy of their insect prototypes. But they had other qualities besides. ' ' They were rough and rugged, but open-hearted and generous withal. If I had td describe' them in one word, I wouldsay they were plucky. They were just the sort of, fellows a man would like to have by him* in some fierce'struggle/'where life and death were at stake. Now the appearance j of such men on this young goldfield, could not be accounted otherwise than good ; but like all good things it had its drawback. Along with this inpouring of what was desirable there had come too, unfortunately, a great deal of scum and dirt — a great deal of dishonesty and of depravity.

These early rushes were swelled by old lags— men who valued a man's life as little as they' "did that of a dog ; thus gamblingf robbeay, and murder, every^ description of villany and crime, in fact, which one can think of, flourished side by side with industry and honesty-. Even in the open light of day, a person had to hold his own by the strength of his arm, whilst at night a man carried hisi life in his hands. Now you will see why this groping about after dark was unpleasant.

The reader may not have forgotten, perhaps, the promise made by Gabriel Read to his young friends, when about to' part from them, that he would peg ■off a piece of ground for them' adjoin ing hiSjPwn, and -protect it if need be, during their absence. He had kept his promise ; so far, at least, as the pegging off of the claim went: His protection, however, had not been necessary, seeing that nonviolent hands had been laid upon it during their brief absence. Indeed the claim was scarcely rich enough to tempt any interference ; and, compared with those around it might have been called a poor one. • That adjoining claim of Read's, for instance, was bringing him in something like forty pounds a day, and the same amount to a young fellow, named Brooks, w.horn he had lately taken in as his mate, And Read's claim was not, a very rich one either; at all events, there were many richer ones in the gully. Then those neighbours of theirs, on, the other side, a party of old Identities, were making their twenty pounds a man, a day. . Now Tom Hungerford's party were making no. such sum as this ; taking the good days and the bad, I don't think they | maiie on an average more than five [, pound's each., Then with flour selling •at.two' shillings a poand, mutton fetching about the same sum, and, the other necessaries of life proportionately dear,, | liVing 'was, of course, a serious item of! considerations , 1 . , ; I . Just^at'. first-they felt very savage over this bad luck, bub the' feeling of disa^p'dintment' passed away befp.rej i long. The. old feverish longing was I wearing off; and the golden flakes t that, onee a had looked so gloriously bright in their eyes were losing much j of their brightness now. You see, that aching'of the arm, and straining oF'tbe back,' 'and dampness' about the 1 j Feet,, which had proved too much for so many now comers, was beginning Jtotell upon, the members of this party iroo; >nd|that/np doubt, had/much fo M'Jfji a the illusion, "Tim; IKvyer was about theonlyorie of them; a uppn. : whpmj the hard work was "not; i>eginh^g:to^tell:;?but: Tim-had been accustomed -to"nard work', 1 -'of one sort' or,,ano±.heiv"ulti bis. life. lam inclined |j to tbinky-however, - that he took m.ore #?a.n i^.ifeirisjjare ,of , tffe work j •! am , quite certain of :this,/ at all events, r it' | he head had his own way Tom Hungerford should never put spade or,pick near, the ground. It was am using, sometimes, to'watch the way -he tried to ; induce Tom to take occasional half-

hours of idleness ; the little cunningLydevised plots and stratagems he would .use .to effect"' his purpose. -And the best of the joke was 'thnft bo looked 'upon himself a* 'fii^ ade)jt at' fin'e£sej — a 'kind of sdcp/ul Macluajvelli in' his way; quite. a ( match for Joe .BrtgsWck himsolty nn deepness - and 1 slyriebs. Kind, honest Tim ! " •' '• ;, " . ( , '• Yi'rrah thHn, "Mjsther ■ Tom,"., he would say, "jis't'g'o and sit down in the -kitchen awhile, and smoke > your pipe at your* 'aise. Do now thin, agrah, and lave that little drop' of water to me. , Shure I'll, hale it'oirb in ,half ajiffey." , . '■..['' "I'm all right, Tim,". Tom would answer ; " we'll all take a week's holiday when we find that big nugget." " Wisha, thin, it's making game of me he is," and here he would bring big diplomacy into play. , "Shure,. isn't it speaking for' myself I am entirely. The divil a lie in it thin, for don't I , want to sit down myself when you come back." ~ Then, remembering his companions, he would "add; "and' there's the young gentlemen; ,t.oo; shure their mouths is just wathering for a smoke; but of course they'll wait till foil have yours first." Now this kitchen spoken of by Tim Dwyer as a place where Tom might smoke his pipe at his ease, was a rough shed; devoted to other purposes besides smoking. It wag nothing very much' to look at, with its calico roof and walls of manuka scrub ; but it was commodious, and, compared with the tents around, , might even be called comfortable ; at all events, it answered all the purposes for which it had been built, and s,o much cannot always be said for more pretentious buildings. What led. mainly 'to its erection was that the two parties— Read's and Hungerford's — thought it would be pleasanter and more economical to have something of the kind to serve as a common mess-room, where they could take their meals together. It was very pleasant, as they sat here at night around the fire, smoking their pipes and chatting with such acquaintances as happened to drop in ; and here too the Vigilance Committee used occasionally to meet, when they had anything to do.

There was a Vigilance Committee in those early days, but I'm sorry to say it did. nothing very dreadful, in the way of cutting men off suddenly, for then I should have had something to tell worth the telling. On' the contrary indeed, on more than one occasion, by stepping in at the right moment, it had prevented violence, and spared more than one cut-throat, with whom it would have gone very hard, but for the interference of this committee. Of course, the scoundrels did'nt deserve to get off free, aud people thought a little rough handling would haye done some of them good ; but Read set his face against anything of the kind. He had seen this sort of thing tried before by Vigilance Committees, he said, and knew how . dangerous was the experiment. " Bough handling" he told his colleagues, " once commenced generally leads to something worse. It is much better for üßJnot to meddle with edge tools." Accordingly the culprits were driven off the field unpunished, but with a significant warning against returning.

In this way things had gone on quietly enough for a time ; but latterly an outcry began to be raised throughout the gully, for rowdyism of the worst sort was very much on the increase. • The Commiitee foreseeing that the^time was coming, when moderate counsels would no longer be listened to, warned the Government of the danger,. • , . , .

The Vigilance- Committee had been called into existence,- in- -the -first instance, chiefly for the r purpose of framing temporary regulations for the proper working of the new field. There were twelve members in all. Read was, of course, a member ; so, too, .were "Fitzherbei-t and ; .Hungerford ; and the remaining nine elected were all "old identities." Read, I need scarcely say, was the mos.t useful and experienced member of ,the lot ; and, indeed, I don't know how they could have got oh without him, more especially when disputes had to be settled.

Now, the settlement of disputes, of any kind, is not a pleasant thing, as we know, even under favorable circumstances ; and if the circumstances are 1 unfavorable, of course, the unpleasant- | ness is all the' greater. ; But I doubt very much', if ok 'any possible ' occasion^ the can be more unfavorable 1 than when the subject of of dispute is ,about mining. A man who undertakes this kind of work, on the'first -starting of a goldfield, must put up w;th being" jostled , and hustled, about by scores Jof_ angry diggers ; he must bear, being, sworn at with great round oaths ; .and. his nerves must be ! strong enough to stand the devil's tattoo belli 1 * 1 plk^'ed upon picks and •shovels, ■ near his head. I doubt very-. pxueh;., indeed,., if. the unpleasfintne^.of:the,ita^k: qaa be, matched in our practical every day life.

Of couw'se, ,(byv : d&xwing on oui.imaginations, we, pigjit. place a man in' as uncomfortable' -a, position. For instance, if a man were to sbep in betweeQ two rival motions in Donnybrook <vc\ ; . old . days when* Connybrook was in all its glory, and were to attempt to settle the matter in dispute, whilst shillelahs were flying about his head, I can fancy he would feel anything but ' comfortable. Though even then, mind you, I think

the 'advantage would he with Donnybrook. The, blow from a good shillelah wotrld-'be' painful no doubt: but the blow from A pick or sho>vel would be a different thing altogether. Then as to swearings why, bless you, the oaths a score or two of angry diggers will throw about tthem broadcast,., would make ihe hale oft Donny brook Irish?' men stand on end. . - Of course, no man in his common senses,, would think "'of intefering in this Donnybrook dispute ; but men have tjO interfere j every' hour. .of the day in those mining questions. Commissioners had to do so, and when there was no officer, then it had to be done by somebody else, generally by body of men such as this Tuapeka Vigilance Committee, I nave been speaking of. Soon after that intimation, as to the approaching danger that was feared, had be,en forwarded to- the, Government, a gentleman was sent up from town to take charge of the field temporarily, until a permanent officer should be appointed. This happened towards the end of July ; but some days previous to its happening, a new goldfield had been discovered.

The lack of profitable employment for men of small means in the.Eeefton district is driving many to desperate resources. A complete Eoper River rush is setting in, though on what possible ground it is hard to a&y, and a very large number of miners are leaving to try their fortunes in the new El Dorado. Amongst them are many of the most valuable class of diggers, men who have saved a few pounds, ahcl could afford to prospect or open up new ground. Distance seems. to lend' enchantmenfTo the vie.w in this- -case/ and a fair stampede is setting in.. T.'Ti An Adelaide telegram, crated August 28th, states- that letters from Port Darwin [ say there is a payable g^ldfield there if provisions! were only cheaper^' r ",1 __"_!" ."_ " Why were Adam and Eve'turnecTout of paradise ? " demanded a school-board • luminary. The child questioned hesitated a moment, and then fixing her eyes on her examiner, replied," Probably they were turned out because they couldn't pay their rent." . j The antipathy of the Scotch people to reading sermons is well kno wn. At Kircudbright, at an inauguration, an old woman on the pulpit stairs asked her companion if the new minister was a reader. "An' how can he read, woman ?" was the reply, "the puir man is blin' ! " To which the first made answer, "I'm glad to heer o ' t ; I wush they were a' Win' ! " The efficacy oiHolloway's Pills in the cure of confirmed asthma, as instanced in the case of Mr Henry Fluke, of Killilea, who had been afflicted with this most distressing complaint for more than seven years, during which period he had ti-ied almost every variety of medicines without obtaining the least relief: in fact, he continued to get worse until he took Holloway's Pills, which inestimable medicine soonrestored him to robust health, and the enjoyment of the most perfect, freedom in breathing. These Pills are a never-failing remedy for old coughs, colds, and all diseases of the chest and lungs, whether the patient be young or aged.