Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-01-15
AUSTRALIAN AIsGOEAUTs
The High Old Times When the Rich re,
azs 5s4ss84@ low WINS In Every Mans Pockox


Tlis High OLD Times when the Rich va,
low WASH Every Mans Pocket.
I've digged for gold" and I've
found gold wherever gold was to be
digged for and found = obstinately re-
marked I'm old Australian, in reply To
some 70 observations made by a New
York Sun reporter. 1--WE dieged in;
California as hard as you have, and
I've digsed for my pains, in Ireland.
when fellow sailed q hole in GALWAY;
and raised q company to pillow up the!
gold that he had sowed. But t|,.ra:
was more gold and redder gold, and
maybe better gold in Australia in 1859;
than there has been in any other part:
of the world before or since. AND;
there was more fun in gettin' the go!l'
than you could shakesa stick at. The;
harbors Of Melbourne and Sydney were!
crowded with ships that couldnt get
away because their crews had deserted.
them and run off to the diyings;and the
towns we're crowded with the sailors
and lots Of Others, too, comm back
with their pockets full-for nobody
seemed at that time to be tryin' 10
make E. fortune and 20 home. All
they wanted to do was to raise enoug},
money for good spree in one OF the
towns, and their notion OF wha, =
spree meant would, / think, have as
tonished even Californian. A dozen
times I've seen fellow walk into
liquor saloon with a. crowd behind
him, call for drinks for all the rest.
and issue q special order for dozen
Of champagne and a. tub for himself.
Selfish? Oh, no, there Was nothing
selfish about it. He merely poured
the champagne into the tub, pn;Iell of
bis shoes and stockings and was..c,,
his feet in it. OF course he was crayy.
but DOESN'T gold make nine our Of Ca,
men crazy, whether they dig it CIT Of
the earth or get it in Wall street?
Everything had to be palti for, il,
gold dust, and every bar had weights
and scales to test the value OF the
dust, which WAS then current CON.
For what a miner then paid for {,
ordinary round ofdrinks, heconid now
buy a heavy gold ring, but such ring
then would have been OF small v;.!uv
in Australia compared with the WORT.
OF a pint ofwhisky. The eccentviciti,s
of successful miners coming to the
cities to spend their gains extended 70
their clothing. Almost all of t;Ie.a
were fond of tall silk hats, but their
tastes varied as to the part Of he
hat that was most becoming, some
preferring the top and some the bot.
tom, and a common sight was a n,.,n
walking in q crowded street wearing q
highly-polished crown OF 81 silk hat
followed or accompanied, or preceded
by a man whose head showed itself
above the low wells encircling the rim
that had thus been cut OF from the
upper portion of the hat
elaborate weddings took place
every day. As often as not the bride
and bridegroom sat together on the
drivers seat Of furniture van. both
drunk, and still drinking health snt,
long life to the crowd that Was cjseer-
ing them on their way, and eAchlr..
ing jokes with the long procession t!!..i.
drove or rode after the happy couple.
don't know whether such weddings
resulted well Or not, but they wc-o
celebrated very often.
1.-THE police force of Australia wa,
ono. of the b.st in the world. It vas
very like the Royal Irish constan,.
larry. But it was all out OF town. ani
while very fair order was preserved IS
the diggings themselves, in the towns
every man seemed to be following thu
dictates Of his own free will. vhtts.'
they proved him to be saint or X
sinner"