The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1854-09-20
The Perils of Gold Mining.

L
An intelligent correspondent Of the Will
liamsburg Times, writing from Forest
Creek, Australia, narrates the following 2
incidents, illustrative of the dangers which
beset the Australian miner: -ae
"Perhaps no death is more terrible than
that which awaits. the digger, the heavy
yellow dust, with its tempting look, keeps
the miner burrowing in the earth with
thousands of tons suspended over his
head, and by tenure less reliable than
that which upheld the sword Of Damoclss.
An acquaintance Of mine-Nutter, from
the State Of Maine-persisted in taking
ou, rich pillar from a very dangerous
hole, and succeeded; but he was not fairly
on the ground again. when fifteen or twen-
ty square yards sunk down with dead
heavy crash. Little stones accidentally
falling, and hard Jumps of dirt, have killed
those in holes, and great care is necessary
TO guard against these evils.
SAT Baalarat, where the holes are very
deep, accidents are common; one occur
red there lately. A man digging found
the bottom growing soft, but paid little At
tsntion 10 it. until his legs sunk in so that
he could not pull them out; he shouted for
his mates to let the rope down, and he fas-
tened it around his waist, but they could
not pull him up: help came and twisted
off the crank Of the windlass, then seized
the rope in their hands, but it was of no
| ayail-the water bubbled up around the
man in the hole, the quick. sand rushed in
buried him TO his waist and neck. s,ifled
his cries, and rose thirty feet above his
head. To dig him out was useless, in
fact, next to impossible. The rope was
cut. and its end pushed beneath the quick
sand. e
"In another instance, man driving
sixty feet under ground, loossned . large
stone, and found water tsickls through
where it had been, but not dreaming of
danger from water, he stuck his pick in.
when the water burst through with great
force. He had the presence Of mind to
drop his pick and turn round. The water
drove him violently into the main hole.
and, being swimmer, he KEEP, upright
into the hole until he was drawn up, when
| carelessly getting out, he slipped and fell,
losing his life by the fall.
s'But, Notwithstanding the many acci-
| dents that occur, perhaps they are not
greater Tor the persons employed than in
| any other business or traffic in life. There
| are numbers at the miners who would not
go to the bottom of some Of the holes for
all the gold in Australia; but ths great
msjority would gladly place their lives
against fortune myself for one"
IA 70 she produciiyenes., positively and
4 -
relatively. as compared with California
he says.
! 81 would not yet wish to hazard an
opinion OF the Australian gold fields, bu,
| | am convinced that almost tho whole soil
is more ,cr less filled with tho precious
metal, and that eventually, companies
assisted by machinery, may do well; bul
tho very general impression here is, thai
the richest gullies. fats, and hills, have
been worked. miner who has been
some time on the diggings. tells me thai
nearly every creek and gully in the colony
has been prospeoted-that the, last six
months moro than forty parties Of Cali
fornians have been constantly on the
search, and that the conclusion of the
| Californians is. that moro extensive fields
exist in Australia.
at is fact that the Californians are
dissatisfied, and are leaving in great Dum.
bers. and SO are the Americans generally
all dissatisfied with the gold fields. disap.
pointed in the country, and disguised with
the government. 1t cannot be denied tn Al
California is preferable to Aus,ralia-
wages are better there, and the yield o
gold gre eater, compared with the number.
digging-to say nothing Of being in de-
cent country