One of them was a Scotchman, who wished to make enough capital at the mines to invest in a sheep-run; and as his countrymen are proverbially fortunate in the colonies, I think it possible he may some time hence be an Australian MILLIONAIRE. Another of these was an architect, who was driven, as it were, to the diggings, because his profession, from the scarcity of labour, was at the time almost useless in Melbourne. The third was, or rather had been, a house-painter and decorator, who unfortunately possessed a tolerably fine voice, which led him gradually to abandon a good business to perform at concerts. Too late he found that he had dropped the substance for the shadow; emigration seemed his only resource; so leaving a wife and large family behind, he brought his mortified vanity and ruined fortunes to begin the world anew with in Australia. He was the only one whose means prevented him from taking a share in our venture; but to avoid confusion, the Scotchman subscribed twice the usual sum, thus securing double Profits. The fourth was a gentleman farmer, whose sole enemy, by his account, was Free Trade, and who held the names Cobden and Bright in utter detestation.
As soon as the tents were pitched, all set to work to unpack the dray: and after taking out sufficient flour, sugar, tea, &c., for use, the remainder of the goods were taken to the nearest store, where they were sold at an average of five times their original costs: the most profitable portion of the cargo consisted of some gunpowder and percusion-caps. 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. This gave rise to no suspicion, and in the excitement of digging was quite forgotten.
About noon I contrived to have a damper and a large joint of baked mutton ready for the "day labourers," as they styled themselves. The mutton was baked in a large camp oven suspended from three iron bars, which were fixed in the ground in the form of a triangle, about a yard apart, and were joined together at the top, at which part the oven was hung over a wood fire. This grand cooking machine was, of course, outside the tent. Sometimes I have seen a joint of meat catch fire in one of these ovens, and it is difficult to extinguish it before the fat has burnt itself away, when the meat looks like a cinder.