The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-03-01
Killing an Old Man.
4 Tale OF the Ophir Gold Fields.

New South Wales, with q heart brimfull
Of hope and expectation, and pockets,
boxes and portmanteaus made Of suffi-
GENTLY capacious dimensions to hold any
amount Of the precious metal (when
found), in addition to my somewhat
scanty wardrobe.
Well do remember the packing Of
that black leather portmauteau, and the
swallow-tailed dress coat that my mother
would insist upon putting in, although,
having presentiment that such articles
Of apparel were not CONNIE IL faut at the
gold-felds, | vigorously resisted the
measure. also remember the many
dozen pairs of warm socks that had been
manufactured with sisterly affection and
gray worsted by the five girls-from
Julia the eldest, aged nineteen, down
to Susan the youngest, just turned nine.
Finally | have distinct memory of how
my maiden aunt, on the strength OF her
sixteen stone weight, jumped upon the
aforesaid portmanteau and performed a
kind of war dance thereon so as to ena-
ble Tom the groom and Mary the house
maid to strap and lock it, and how, after
many tears being shed by my father and
mother, my brothers and sisters and my
maiden aunt in particular, | was whisked
away to the railway station in order to
catch the 9:45 A. NJ. train for London.
will not dwell on the voyage out
because it was very much like other
voyages. Suffice it to say that in just a
hundred days we arrived at Sidney, the
capital of New South Wales, and here l
discovered that the favorite gold field of
the day was at Ophir, near Bathurst,
one hundred and forty-five miles up the
country. Here some tremendous finds
had lately been made, and people have
been turning up nuggets like an Irish
man shovels up potatoes.
When | look back at the splendid
Yields OF the Ophir gold fields in those
days cannot help calculating 20 for
such times as Ophir to come over again.
In due time, after fortnights jour
ney in an OK cart, which also contained
my cradle, my pick and shovel, my tent
and other camp requisites, as well as all
my personal luggage, | arrived at the
gold fields, having picked up more
strange oaths on that short journey than
| had heard during the whole of my
previous life.
Drivers say that bullocks will not go
without a lot Of swearing, and l GER
tainly believe that, after they have be-
come accustomed to it, they will not
bulge an inch for any gentle language.
| will tell you very good yarn bearing
on the point.
There was once back country squat.
ter who married religious wife from
the nearest township. torty-fve miles
distant, and one or two days later he sent
down his largest wagon and OK team to
convey his fair bride and her baggage to
his station.
Now, Tom" said he to the teamster,
"the mistress is very particular; so, for
the life of you, you mustn't let an
oath out of your mouth all the way
home. lfyou don't once offend her ears
with your usual bad language I'll give
you five sovereigns on your return.
The man readily promised compliance
with the desire, and promptly set out on
his journey. He got to the township all
right, for he threw his colonial curses
right and left with his usual volubility,
and the beasts understood the language
only too well On the return journey,
however, when the newly made wife was
on board, the case was very different.
In vain Tom hallooed at the top of his
voice. The language he now addressed
to them might have been Hindustani or
Sancrit for aught they knew to the con-
trary, and when night came on they had
only accomplished nine miles since the
morning.
The next day it was just as bad, and
at length they came TO hill, up which
they would not Co. Crack crack went
the whip, and Toms voice was used with
stentor-like effect, but still all was OF no
service; the oxen were obdurate.
At last Tom, seeing that moral suasion
was useless, approached the lady, cap in
hand, and humbly asked, "Please ma am,
will you give me leave to swear at them
there oxen? for they will never move
till | do.
Seeing the necessity OF the case, the
lady at last consented The effect was
magical. Addressed in the broad yer.
nacular OF the bush, the animals pulled
together with will, and reached the
station in no time; but whether Tom
got his conditionally promised five SOW
ereigns am not in q position to say.
! must now return to my original sub
ject; for the reader will naturally ask,
What has all this to do with the Ophir
gold fields and killing an old man 2
l found Ophir then peculiar and yet
romantic looking place. Two hills
rose in pyramid shape toward the sky,
Doth covered with gentle undulations,
both thinly timbered to their summits.
The lower slopes Of these hills were
thlokly dotted with digger's tents, and
the Summer Hill creek wound right
around their base.
At the time reached the gold fields
the diggings there were estimated to
cover an extent Of. 300 miles, though
!. Il 4 1 L II