The Hawaiian gazette., 1878-09-25
WEDNESDAY. SEPT. %. 1875.
Among the Gold Fields of Snndhursr.

Among fhe GOLD ieius OF Sunuhurst.
Especial correspondence Of the Gazstie.l
"All aboard" shouts a little man with blue
railway car ike pbial in doctors bag, and
then thrust my head out of the window like a
young kangaroo 10 zee who was looking; the
guard objected to this liberty next made
dive for the looking glass to arrange my nous
tache, and suddenly brought my eyes in contact
with lady's who with great complacency was
contemplating her feminine beauty. blushed for
nv species and behaved myself 4 snort from
the little engine and we are of from BallaIat 10
the gold fields of Sandhurst, rickety. rickety,
chiekety. chekety, click clack cling. clang, bang
wboop, and we stop with such violence, that
everybody is thrown back on his neck. The
small square black cars resembled procession
of terrapin across the prairie. The within Of our
cars needs bath, the without a coat of paint.
The doors open on each side. The seats are
ranged crossways from side TO side like the
rounds in a ladder, some are ranged around the
four sides Of the car, aud the luggage in the mid
die. The guard has to undo ten doors IN twelve
cars at every stopping. He must wear out several
gross OF keys annually as they stop about every
mile. They are too high toned to copy after
Uncle Sam. OF again, aud stop at u water tank
A prairie woman gets in with bewildering mul-
titude OF bundles and boxes in her arms with
half dozen responsibilities all about the same
siZs. For their accommodation she suggests that
q travelling minstrel take down his leg. He ex-
cuses himself on the ground that be is lame
They GIL up the vacancy 10 the middle We roll
away again and stop at a wayside village and
take on a fresh young bride, white as a snow
fake decked in blue ribbons, with half an ounce
OF Turkish red lapothecary's) on her cheeks. Gone
again mines on every hand, mines everywhere
and anywhere. nothing but mines. The earth
everywhere is rooted up ike potato patch. We
pass shafts with piles OF ore showing the track
Of the onward march Of the gold hunters, with
the foundations and old ehimneys of their camp
still marking their departure. We pass old claims
where gold was first discovered IN Victoria. At
it again we pass through wheat fields with their
green beard Just above the ground, Others with
deep beds of green thin out on the prairie. We
pass by cabins with their cabbage and vegetable
plots in front, pass hay rIcks. f-olicking colts
acres of sheep, flock after flock. as the sand of
the sea for multitude. Then the painted mau-
sions stand off in the broad level fields like white
specks. their windows abaze with sunlight, with
the clothes line Ike white banner tapping in
the distance, and the wiuGm revolving like
weather cocks.
We run into Castlemaine former mining
town of great expectations" but like that mu-
nIciDality on the Tiber. 'its glory has departed"
Alluvial dggiugs spread their naked beds over
hundred bills.
A distillery, some dead-tal hotels, peniten-
tiary, and railroad sharks that ought to be in it,
still remain to watch the lfeess town. Its de-
serted streets, empty houses, broken windows,
are as the ruins of Pompei. silent and dead
Twenty minutes for refreshments went over to
hotel, labeled with some royal cognomen, to
turn up q meal. A plate was set before me as
black as If it had served as q coal pan, with a
knife that looked as if it had come out from under
the wreck of Troy. II had run to point on one
side. the rear, out of sympathy, slauting of met it
half way. Can you see the point? 1t looked
ike a harrow tooth, ITS back was ike camels,
arched, and its centre thin as invisbity. A
fork, with two prOngs of fax hatchel kept 1t
company, one leg was shorter than the other, it
stood on one foot like cold goose, on an ice
pond on a winters day. l was favored with
spoon, galvanized and corroded until 1t was as
green as the back of frog. | was accommodated
with steak that would have required pile
driver to subdue it; it stubbornly refused to be
cOaxed or forced into separation. drank a cup
of tea but stirred it with stick. / pronounced
a parting blessing on that house. "All aboard"
gone. The road is now rugged. eraggy cut
drilled out of the rocks. We PASS through long
tunnel, during which, if that groom did not
squeeze his bride he ought 10 have bee2 dis
charged for neglect of duty. We came rafting
into kangaroo Hat, on either side log huts rock
novels, board shanties, bark novels with barrel
for chimney, stand like ant hills, sending out
streaks of smoke ike the vents of volcano, ap-
pear scattered over the red barren hills Surface
diggiugs have tunueled and spaded the ground
into the widest disorder. Five miles and we
roll into Sandhurst. Spread over the chocolate
coored hill sides, lies the city of the mines. The
tall red chimneys of the mines rise over the
naked hills like forest of flag poles. The tower
ike chimneys are as thick as masts in shipping
harbor, one long slender brick chimney lowered
into the heavens to 4 height of $50 feet
Mines without number stand in every direction
The whole surface of the ground for miles on
miles around is as naked and bare as brick
yard. The red clay hills lay off blinking in
the sun as far as vision goes. 4 terrible battle
waged one day in these rugged bills with the
miners picks and wash boxes. The city has a
pleasing appearance. A long green park with
walks and drives, set with trees extend through
the commercial center, with music pavilions on
one side, and the city school seated upon de-
Ginning hill top on the other. Its hotels are good
the Shamrock aud the Mason's rank as leaders.
1t numbers $4,000 inhabitants has an opera, aud
theatre ard three daily newspapers. Squads of
miners, heavy booted, with their picks and tin
buckets on their arms, stand at every corner
comparing notes. and anon adourning to a beer
saloon. Sandhnrst reminds one of Grass Valley
in California. 1t has upwards of 800 mines, bat
the greater number have been dug out and sus-
pended. The alluvial diggings are not now pay
ing anything having had their day. Six of the
great reefs are yielding good revenue thew ex-
pect revival in their prospects soon. The same
vein from Ballarat, am told reaches through
the country to Sandhurst. In 81 some shep-
herds first discovered gold here at Forest creek.
In 50 party Of prospectors traced the reef to
Sandhurst and struck it rich. The tidings spread
like wild-fre and tidal wave of immigration
rushed in this direction, and city sprang up as
if by magic, ] believe there are as many mines
here as there are in the remainder of the colony
In "a reehng was undeyeloped. The dggers
stuck to surface washing. They would for sport
knock of piece of quartz studded with gold,
from the reefs lying the surface but appliances
were not reachabe. and they dlsbelieved in
quartz and held to the placer beds; 90 900 mi
ming licences we're issued in Bendigo district in
- - IL