The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1878-09-11

sea some wandered of u fresh discoveries and
died on their way; many have made their pile
and left for parts unknown, and many remain. rs
poor as church mice; lastly, lawyers, preachers,
newspaper men and doctors, like birds OF prey.
brought up the rear. The surface mines were
exhausted, then capitalists came and sent down
shafts into the quartz beds.
From this field of tents the present city sprang
up, with its churches schools and colleges, but
its golden age is past. Many of the camps are
deserted, many OF the mills are silent and rusty.
The pits are filed with water; stamp mills shut
up and gone to decay stand as gloomy and un-
willing vestiges Of departed greatness.
Many OF the iormer streets nightly swarmlDg
with gold hunters. resembling with the dIgger's
pick, stirred with the revelry of Saturday night
are now closed up. The owls and bats unable to
longer gain sustenance in the empty warehouses
aud abandoned rickety streets in Melbourne, fol-
lowed the railroad up here and took possession
of the untenanted buildings. Cinnamon who,
like broom straw follow up the departure of CIV
iIization, have guartered themselves in some of
the deserted streets. Their joss houses red
signs and spider-legged letters upon their door
facings announce their presence and opium smoke
in unsavory odor ascends from their dens.
The Stock Exchange is mere ghost of its for
mer self. caught glimpse inside its hallowed
precincts. large man sat at long desk;
long table, with little cluster Of men huddled
away.down at its farther end deep in the mystic
ries OF stocks, shares and claims, two files of
empty chairs ranged on either side, remained as
relics of departed occupants. The little band
within looked like few mourners assembled at
the graveyard of an old family church.
went out to climb Black Hill, standing rag
ged, shattered, broken and split half in two, like
a stormed breastwork. 1t looked inviting in Its
| Iona A fact ,n llNl
Devils Hollow, is dug through the bill for half
mile, like q splintered canyon in Yosemite. On
climbing to the hilltop, fne view OF the city
and commanding prospect of the surrounding
country is afforded. Balarat lays spread out be-
low like PLAIN OF brick walls, with its heaps OF
ore rising over the city like white mounds, its
/ hosting WORKS and ladders standing like skeleton
| scatfods, with black belt of forest stretching
away in the west and far off on the south, piles
OF ore heaped along the horizon like row of
gray tents. White chalky mountains are drawn
around the east their bare furrowed sides rent,
torn and SCARED, bleaching like limestone bar
rer in the sun, the foothills overturned and
thrown into a thousand heaps. OFF in the north
| ern woods the Temperance mine Is throwing up
| shafts of white steam Northwest the distant
mountains stand swathed in clouds. In the dis.
lance the lake CLEANS in the sun like a blue
crescent. Down on the bottom of the Devils
Hollow the huts of the miners look like pigeon
houses. On looking down in its yawning chasm,
pierced with tunnels, honeycombed with pits, it
remlnds me OF an old crater on Hawaii Goats
are climbing its sides, and passing through it's
4 tunnels like ants. An arm Of the city runs up on
/ the east The miners cottages, standing in their
square garden plots. are ranged into rows below.
Just below me miner in his striped jacket sits
at his door playing CD his violin, thinking of his
old home in Wales. A stream winds its serpen-
tice way through trenches, old pits sluics boxes.
worked gravel and ore heaps. The spell of Sab
bath silence is broken only by the quackng of
flock of padding geese making their toilets in the
pool below, and the bleating Of little kids, nib
bling the young grass aud frisking over the rocks
| The scene takes me back to Mount Davidson
Virginia City. TTs II -.---i
| have inquired for the first gold discoverer
John Hargrave claims the distinction of being
the first discoverer Of gold in Victoria. But can
! didates numerous as the rival cities of Homers
birth place loudly dispute the honor. They have
not Suffers California mill-race as a witness
j. w. Esmond has won the palm of the first gold
finder, near Clunes, in 1851. But Tom Hiscock
says he is the man. Gold was first discovered at
| Balarat. at Golden Point, in 1851, by F. Brown,
who got AZ ounces 10 two hours washing.
Golden Point, Bakery Hill, White Flat, Night
ingale and Black dive ranked as leaders of the
gold drifts. Golden Point was traced for seven
miles, sold for SIS per foot, and expended $780,
900 for labor alone 10000 mining licenses we're
issued at Baarat in 1853. In 1859 24098 mi
ners were employed. IB 1868 Ballarat numbered
| 90S mining companies, with l,34T,924 shares
with capital of Clio ,579,9lI. a
In Canadian Galley gold nugget was found
valued at S27660 another was unearthed of
$4,000 value, and another lump of pure gold
was found which WIS valued at Sl9450. The
prince of finds was the welcome nugget" found
at Bakery Hill, Ballarat, at depth OF $50 feet
and sold at Melbourne for S45.625
la November, 1858, q riot broke out in Balla.
rat The miners rose in rebellion against the
collection of the oppressive mining licenses
They openly de6ed the Government, entrenched
themselves on Bakery HILL hoisted the flag of
the Southern Cross liberty, and stood their
| ground. The military surrounded surprised and
carried their works. Fifteen were killed. Martial
law was declared.
Diamonds, sapphires and other precious stones
have been found on some of the Victorian gold
fields. Hft AaeO
strolled out to descend quartz mine.
looked down small black shaft about the size of
bee gum, up whose narrow throat millions of
dollars have been hoisted from its golden stomach
below. Hot steam is putting up from the tunnels
ioi uO"u oCuoutb' sLep luIO u LleLdI UuCkeL 10
be lowered down into its subterranean caverns to
explore the underground reefs. The bucket went
up and the pulley began to creak, and, poised IN
the air, my first sensations were that was going
to be hanged. The little engine snorts, and 90
noiselessly down, down. until think am going
through to America. By and by dim lights dawn
around, and find myself on the slippery floor of
a round cave, followed out, arched, and braced
with heavy timbers overhead. The faint light of
candles. Pickering like fre-fies hanging from the
timbers seem like specks of light perched among
the rocks, burning blue and white
From this central cavern the tunnels ran off
forked and branched out like cross roads, along
whose dark granite walled passages the lights
glimmer like a dim row of ghosts. At the heels
OF heavy jolnted Scotchman from the banks of
the Tweed, start off down the main lead. STEP
ping over rocks, chips and stones pick my way
through the shadowy darkness by the hight Of
candles stuck in the rocks, and sending forth
sickly glare The water dripping from overhead
patters on the rocks, and an occasional drop
trickles down my back like an arctic message of
telegraphic ice. AS we move along the roof be-
comes as leaky as that of Comanche wigwam
Scotty experiences curiosity to harvest my phi
vate opinion as to how many blasts of Gabriel's
horn would be necessary to wake man at the
| great day, If he were buried in this tunnel DO
not alarm Yourself abOut not being called in time