Читать книгу The Gold Hunters' Adventures; Or, Life in Australia - William Henry Thomes - Страница 13

Table of Contents

During the rainy season in Australia, the roads leading to the mines are almost impassable, as the soil is light and the water easily penetrates to a great depth. Teams, with half a dozen yoke of cattle, can scarcely draw a heavy cart, as the brutes sink to their knees in mud at every step, and the wheels of the vehicle are buried to the axletree most of the time. Five or ten miles per day is as great a distance as animals can travel; and even at that rate it is quite common for the oxen to give out, and be left by the roadside, a prey for dogs and other wild animals.

The natives of the island—for the race bears no resemblance to that class of people to whom we are wont to ascribe an elastic step, a noble bearing, and undaunted courage—have been known to follow a team for twenty-four hours, expressly for the purpose of picking the bones of an ox which they imagined would soon give out; and when the poor brute is left to die, they crowd upon him like vultures, and hack off huge strips of quivering fresh before his breath has departed.

In the summer season, when no rain falls to lay the dust or irrigate the earth, the streams, which, during the winter, are like mountain torrents, and sweep every thing opposed to them towards the ocean, become puny little rivulets, and as the summer advances, disappear altogether from sight, and nothing but deep gulches mark the spot where but a few months before a large body of water flowed.

Then the roads become hard and dry, and the light earth, pulverized by the numerous wheels which are continually passing over it, is taken up by the hot winds and whirled along the vast, plains, obscuring the sight as effectually as though there was a deep eclipse. The eyes and nostrils of the traveller become irritated by the fine particles, and the dust is sifted into his ears and mouth. The latter gets coated with dust, and all moisture is denied the palate. Vainly the tongue is rolled from side to side to check the burning thirst, until at last the member gets so swollen that it becomes incapable of motion, and then, unless relief is soon afforded, death ensues. Water, slimy, stagnant water, is drank with as much eagerness as a glass of iced Cochituate in summer.

The various sink holes with which the prairies abound are drained of their contents, and if the traveller is unacquainted with a miner's life, he does not wait until the liquid is strained and boiled, and thus relieved of many of its bad properties, but swallows a large quantity of the nauseous filth, and for many days after repents of his folly. He that drinks at a sink hole, and suffers long and repeated attacks of fever and ague, or dysentery, in consequence, learns to avoid it in future.

As Fred and myself were old miners, and had tramped over a large portion of California, and knew the dangers of such indulgence, we were not likely to be caught; although we had a good guide with us in the person of the convict, who really appeared to take an interest in our welfare, and gave us much friendly advice.

The sun did not set for three hours after we started, on the afternoon that we crossed the gulch; and while we found the heat growing less oppressive, we certainly did not feel much refreshed by its disappearance, as our legs, unaccustomed for many days to long walks, began to grow stiff, while blisters formed upon our feet and galled us extremely.

We would have given a small sum to have been enabled to halt for the night; but pride prevented us from asking Smith to do so. We were fearful that he would laugh at us, and we had our reputation as Americans at heart too much to let him think that we were failing even on the first day from Melbourne. But as mile after mile of ground was got over, we could keep silent no longer.

"How much farther do you intend going before camping for the night?" I asked of the convict in a careless sort of way, although I could hardly prevent limping.

"Feel tired?" he inquired, with a grin.

"O, no," I answered, with an indifferent air.

"Well, as you are not tired, and night is the best time to travel, suppose we keep on until daylight?"

"I'll be—— if I do," broke in Fred. "I've got a great blister now, on my great toe, bigger than a silver dollar, and my boot seems inclined to raise others. I'll tell you what it is, Smith, for the last two months we've been on shipboard, and not walked five miles during that time, and if you think we can compete with you as a pedestrian, you are mistaken."

Fred jerked out his words as though each step he took cost him an immense amount of pain, and I've no doubt it did. The convict laughed silently, and relieved his feelings by cracking his long whip, bringing the end of the lash to bear with great precision upon the flanks of the leading yoke of cattle, which testified their appreciation of his attention by kicking at the heads of those following; and as such playful amusement was calculated to inspire vitality in the animals, they started off with renewed speed, and Fred and myself, with many groans, limped after.

"I can't stand this," cried my companion, after a few minutes' brisk walk. "My feet are raw, and getting worse every moment. I'll try an experiment."

He sat down in the middle of the road, and while the team rolled on, jerked off his boots and stockings, and declared, as we hastened to overtake Smith, that he felt he could walk all night, and that hereafter he would go barefooted.

"Well," cried Smith, as we reached the team, "how do you feel now?"

"Fresh as a daisy," returned Fred, clapping his boots together as though they were a pair of cymbals.

"What have you got in your hands?" asked Smith; for, it being already dark, it was hard to distinguish objects at a short distance.

"My boots," cried Fred, triumphantly.

"Are you barefooted?" asked the convict in surprise.

"Yes."

"Then if you value your life, put on your boots again, and keep them on as long as you are in the mines. You are liable at any moment to step upon a poisonous snake; and if bitten, no power on earth can save you. The natives pretend to cure bites, but I have some doubts on the subject."

Smith spoke seriously, and as there might be much truth in what he said, Fred willingly complied, although he groaned with pain as he drew on his boots, and once more hobbled along beside the team.

"About three months ago, I was freighting a party up to the mines," said Smith, "and a youngster became foot-sore. He took off his boots, although I told him there was danger of treading upon snakes in the dark. He laughed at me; but before his mirth had ceased, he uttered a yell, and sprang wildly towards the team, which I had suffered to get a little in advance.

"When he started, I suspected the cause, and groping carefully about in the dust with my whip, soon discovered a small snake, not larger in circumference than my lash, but which I readily recognized as one of the most poisonous in the country. The natives call them capi-ni-els, or what signifies little devils. As the impudent scamp was hissing and darting out his tongue at me, I gave him a blow on the head, ground him into powder with the heel of my boot, and then passed on to overtake the team.

"It had got some distance from me; but before I reached it, my young passenger could no longer walk, and by the time I had checked the oxen, he had swollen to twice his usual size, and was lying panting by the side of the road, incapable of moving or speaking. I got a large quantity of brandy down his throat; but it had no effect, and in twenty minutes' time he was a dead man. We buried him where he fell, and I'll show you his grave when we reach it."

"I for one shall take good care to keep my boots on," I replied, after the convict had finished his story.

"Why do they frequent a road in preference to other parts?" asked Fred, who seemed to have almost forgotten his lameness, while listening to Smith's yarn.

"Because the light dust over which we are passing retains the heat of the sun longer than the soil by the road. Snakes are fond of dragging their forms over it, as it is soft, and keeps them warm during the night. I have known teams to be stopped, and obliged to seek a route on the prairie, simply because a large number of snakes were not disposed to yield the right of way.

"The first load that I ever carried to the mines, and when I was anxious to make as much money as possible in a very short space of time, I was stopped in this same way. I was jogging along one night, all alone, and urging my oxen to their utmost speed, when all at once the leaders shied out from the road, and then stopped. I cracked my whip, and roared at them frantically, but it was of no use.

"Forward they would not budge, and at last they fairly turned, and were making very good time towards Melbourne; but I soon stopped that game, and once more got them headed the way I wanted them to go. When they arrived at the spot at which they had balked a few minutes before, they went through with the same antics, and then I thought it best to see what was the matter. Walking forward, I was saluted with a hissing sound, that greatly resembled the noise which an enraged gander emits when a stranger trespasses upon his brood.

"I paused for a moment, and tried to discover, through the darkness, what occasioned the noise, but could not, although I thought I saw something moving not far from me. I retreated, quieted my cattle, took my lantern and gun, and walked back to the spot. By the light of the candle I saw about half a bushel of snakes, coiled up in a heap, and all alive with rage at being disturbed. I hardly knew what to do. There they were, and gave no indications of leaving the road; and I no longer wondered at the reluctance of the oxen in refusing to pass over them. Had they done so, it is very probable I should have lost every one of the animals, for they could not have escaped being bitten; and then they would have died in a few hours, and I should have suffered a great pecuniary loss.

"I had a quantity of fine shot in my wagon-box, which I used for small birds. I drew the charge I had in the gun, and instead of a bullet, put in about a handful of the shot, and then setting my lantern as near the mass of snakes as I dared venture, I retreated a few paces, and taking deliberate aim, fired at them.

"The charge made dreadful havoc, and dozens of them were killed and cast out of the heap by those unharmed; but instead of causing them to escape to the prairie, they only seemed more determined to dispute the right of way, and hissed and ran out their thin, forked tongues as though defying me to do my worst. Their eyes sparkled like precious stones, and by the light of the lantern I could see them change, as they moved their position to face me, and assume a hundred different hues. It was a terrible and fascinating sight, and for a few minutes I stood and watched them twist and writhe themselves into a thousand different shapes. Seeing that I should have to make a regular business at slaughtering them, I went to work after a while, and poured volley after volley into the mass, until not more than half a dozen escaped alive.

"Even after they were dead I could not get my cattle along the road until I had first taken a shovel and thrown the bodies a considerable distance from the spot. I never saw such a large collection of serpents before, and I have often wondered why they were gathered in such a mass."

"Have you ever arrived at any conclusion?" I asked.

"I have thought that they expected an attack from some enemy of the serpent tribe, and so formed themselves into that shape for resistance."

While Smith was speaking, we heard a team behind us that appeared to be tearing along at a rapid rate; and even before we could discover its outlines, we distinguished the cracking of a whip as though the driver was anxious to see how many times he could snap it in a minute.

"I hear you," muttered Smith, driving his oxen to one side of the road, and stopping them. "There is no occasion for you to make so much noise to let people know that you are coming."

Even while Smith was grumbling, a light-bodied cart, with lamps on each side, drawn by a span of horses, and driven by a man who wore a sort of uniform, whizzed past us, and by the side of the team rode two soldiers, dressed in the livery of England. They were out of sight in a moment, but they threw a jest at us as they passed, and before Smith could reply, the soldiers were lost to view.

"A hard time you have of it," cried Smith, as he started his team again.

"Who are they?" we asked.

"That is a government team, and carries the mail between Melbourne and Ballarat. Day and night they are upon the move, and only stop long enough to change horses and escort. To-morrow at this time the miners will be in possession of their letters and papers, and I need not tell you how anxiously news is looked for from home."

"But are we to keep on day and night until we reach Ballarat?" asked Fred.

"No," replied Smith, touching up his cattle. "Do you see yonder light far ahead?" he cried, pointing with his whip.

"Yes."

"Well, at that light we'll prepare a cup of coffee, and sleep until morning. Cheer up; it's only a mile distant, and there is where you will get your first view of the natives of Australia."