"Took! took! took!"
as much as to say"Come, off you go, you've no right here!"
After quitting this place, I followed the road for about a mile, when I again noticed the bridle track turn off from it: although I could perceive nothing to justify this, for I was then travelling on a good level road, through a thick forest that did not permit me to see very far ahead, I yet imagined that there was some object to be gained, or distance to be saved, and followed it. The cause soon became apparent. The track led into a long grassy gully, which gradually became exceedingly broken and tacky, and after about a mile brought me to the foot of an enormous rocky hill. As I looked up, I almost wished I had followed the road, so steep, so long, so rocky, and so uninviting was the ascent. But I was there, with the hill before me, and surmount it I must; so jumping off my horse, for the poor beast would have enough to do to take himself up, I hung the bridle on my arm, and reached the top after only one spell to breathe. From the summit of the hill, through a parched stony country for about a mile and a half, and I came upon the Dirt Hole, whence to Tambaroora, nearly two miles, is one unbroken line of diggings."very few and very far between"
to use the language of my informant. There is neither school-house nor school-master in the whole district, a thing the more to be regretted, since this part of the country seems to be exceedingly prolific in children. This is more particularly the case in Tambaroora, through one portion of which, the township, par excellence, -- a horseman must go at a walk, or he is sure to run over a child or a pig, these two, being apparently the staple commodities of the place. Until very recently Tambaroora has been nearly deserted by rushes to one place and another. But latterly the diggers have gradually returned to their homes, and to their wives and children, the major part of those here being married men. Nearly the whole of the huts are very comfortably built, of slab and bark, many of them being quite as neat as such homes usually are in some of the older townships. In fact, they seem to have been made homes by the diggers, who, though they may start off for some new rush, are yet sure to return to the spot, where they have surrounded themselves with comforts and convenience. For some considerable time past this district has been dependant for the transaction of business in the Police Court, upon such peripatetic magistrates as might fancy a rids of twenty or thirty miles over a rough mountain road before breakfast. The inconvenience suffered was very great until Mr. Commissioner Forster was put in the Commission of the Peace. The cases heard at the Police Court are very few, from the cause I have stated, and ere not worthy of being quoted, since they really form no guide to the character of the people. From the same cause there has been no committal for trial, for a very long time, from this district. The total number of public-house licenses issued for this district, which contains an area of some 30 by 25 miles, is 16; six of which are on Tambaroora, two at the Dirt Hole, and two at the Bald Hill. The very great amount of business appears to be doing either in those houses, or in the stores. Tambaroora Creek is situated on a table-land of even greater elevation than the Louisa, being on the summit of the ranges lying between the Turon and the Macquarie Rivers. The appearance of the country gives every token of its having been long and populously settled upon as a gold-field. The timber has been cleared away on every side, but during the temporary desertion of the locality a thick growth of saplings has succeeded. These being shoots from the old stumps, have a nondescript kind of look, totally different from anything to be met with in other parts of the bush. Short sharp hills rise upon every side, seemingly without any regular sequence of ranges, as in the lower country. All appears broken and confused, and it is made still more so by the very extensive workings that have been carried on along the creek and its numerous tributary gullies. The worked grounds consists of the bed of the creek, the bank on each side, and occasional flats, whilst many of the gullies and hill sides have also turned out very well. A lead of gold was very recently discovered running through the race-course, and now the equine arena has been to a very great extent torn up, and has given the miners more gold below the surface than jockeys have made above it. The Dirt Hole, Tambaroora, and the Bald Hills form one continuous line of diggings for a distance of about seven miles. The habitations are principally in groups or clusters, some of these groups being of a very respectable size, placed at distances of about a mile from each other. The largest of these, is one on the Tambaroora Cierk, opposite the Commissioners' Camp, containing some 40 or 50 dwellings, all well and substantially built, the majority being neatly whitewashed in front, and having well kept gardens at the back, in which not only vegetables, but flowers and trees are being cultivated. A very large number of Chinese are at work on this gold field, the population of the Dirt Hole consisting principally of these industrious people Mr. Com- missioner Forster gives them a very high character for order, sobriety, steadiness, and perseverance. They keep to themselves, are content to work on the old ground that the white digger has given up, and never trouble the Commissioner or the Police Court, One extraordinary circumstance connected with them, however, is that all their disputes amongst themselves are settled by an official of their own people, who is called, as understood it, Keying. This person rides about on horseback, richly dressed, visiting the Chinese camps in this and other gold districts, and giving judgment upon whatever cases of dispute may be brought before him. His word is law with these people, and no appeal is made from his decisions. I received this account in Tambaroora from the best authority, but must say that I did not obtain elsewhere, any hint of the existence or labours of such a person. In connection with the Chinese, another question has arisen. The licensed publicans complain that whilst they pay a license for selling liquors to the diggers, a very large proportion of these diggers -- the Chinese -- go and obtain their exhilaration or excitement in houses that pay no license, There are known to be some twenty opium tents on these diggings, the owners of which pay nothing to the State, whilst they rob the regular trader of his custom. I suggested that an opium smoking room should be attached to each public house, and then the publican would have an equal chance with the contraband dealer of being some fine-day convicted of manslaughter should an enthusiastic smoker take a whiff or two too much. But seriously speaking, does not this quarrel over the right to poison human beings say more than could be urged were a volume written on the subject of intemperance. There was, throughout these diggings, evidence of great life and activity amongst the miners. The racecourse and several new flats were being worked; besides which, very extensive preparations had been made in the expectation of a fall of rain. Dams had been erected on every side for sluicing, and for sup- plying puddling machines. Of these last; there are no less than 25 in this district, the majority of them being on theTambaroora and Bald Hills. The country, however, has been without rain for many months, and the only, supply of water, even for domestic purposes, has to be taken from the old deserted-holes; where it has fortunately been stored. This is perfectly thick with the red earth of the diggings, and is only fit for use after being cleared by alum. The consequent is that the water is hard and of a very disagreeable flavour, and in my humble judgment cannot be very conducive to health. The yield of gold latterly has not been very great. The want of water has prevented very much stuff that would pay for sluicing, from being washed; whilst the preparations for the winter campaign, by the erection of dams and pug mills, has tended for the present to keep down the average. There have been some good finds latterly, but not very extraordinary ones. I heard of a party of four sharing £17 between them for a week's work; and of two men on the racecourse who took out 12½ ounces in the same time. I was assured, however, by very many that the general average was from 6s. to 7s. a day. Several told me that they would not stop a day longer when they could not make the latter wages; whilst others equally as seriously asserted that they did not believe there was a man on the place making more than 6s. a day. The people of Tambaroora have recently had a meeting on the subject of the lately passed Gold-fields Management Act. Of course they objected to everything therein contained, and amongst other things to the charge for a business license I was speaking to one of the great guns at that meeting on the subject of this charge, of course arguing in its favour. He frankly admitted the force of all I said, and confessed that he had all along taken my view of the case. I then asked him how it was that he had been a party to that meeting."Oh !"
he replied,"we must do something to keep the people awake; besides if we did not have a meeting now and again, and make a noise, Tambaroora would be forgotten."
I then wished to know how it happened that a man like Mr. Dailey, with whom the diggers must be so little acquainted, had been selected to present and support their petition."There it is again,"
my friend answered,"we sent it to him because we thought he knew less about the matter than our own member, and would, consequently, make more noise over it."
There was wisdom in this, and I at once discovered that the Tambaroora folks were men of the world. The sinking is very much the same throughout this district, being through a sound red gravelly earth, to a depth of from 12 feet to 20 feet, the greater run of holes being about 15 feet deep. The gold is found in a gravelly drift lying on the face of the rock and in the interstices of the layers of schist or slate. The diggings on the Pyramul Creek are mostly on Mr. Suttor's purchased land, and in the vicinity of his head station. A great deal of work has been already done here, and the yield has hitherto been pretty regular, paying about 8s. a day. Owing to the gold being so much distributed there have been no instances of any large find; though some of the older diggers are under the impression that they are on the tail end of the run of gold, and that by following it up some rich hauls will be made. Preparations were making for constructing dams and erecting puddling machines, by the use of which the yield will be much increased. Here, as elsewhere throughout the Western District, the want of water is a considerable drawback to the digger, preventing him from washing up much stuff that with plenty of water would pay for Sluicing, and rendering him consequently unsettled and less anxious to stick to his work. Opossum Creek lies away to the N. W. of the Tambaroora, on the table land of the vast ranges that overhang the Macquarie, and at even a higher elevation than the central diggings or this district. It is an exceedingly rough and broken country, and has not been for any great length or time worked as a gold field. The deposits of gold here are exceedingly patchy and irregular, the gold itself being coarse and nuggetty. No nuggets of any extraordinary size, however, have been found. Some parties have been very successful, but the success has not been general, and the number of miners has latterly somewhat fallen off. Here also the scarcity of water is a great drawback to the lull development of what is likely to prove a rich spot.