Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-08-09
GOLD FIND In AUSTRALIA.
THE WILD EICf3 !fWENT OF 4 SCR.iM-
Bile FOR Claims.

How They are Pecg"d 0ut and How Dis-
putes are Settled without Resource 70
Deadly Weapons Combines Made 70
Hold Sections Pegged Gat-5her a erC.-
ing n Claim 20 Preserve Ownership.
When gold is discovered. the fact is in
dicated by hois -ing Il red lag, insurma-
tion is given a. the nearest lanuoHlcs,
and an officer sent down to report Gu the
prospt cts. Ii they are good, a warden Is
appointed; after a time the district is
proclaimed as gold field zen any man
may come along and PEE out certain
section OF the land and dig for gold, pro-
vided he has paid the government the
sum of ten shillings for doing so for one
year.
The warden's chief duty is to issue
these licenses, decide between rival up-
plicants for claims, and take magisteral
charge OF the district. Although no man
is recognized as being in possession OF
ground before proclamation is made, the
man who gets bis pegs in and keeps
them there has the best chance of get
ting ultimate possession. 4 man who
tries to mark out Il scetion single-handed
stands poor chance OF succeeding even
supposlng he got his pegs in, for, before
the warden, he would be overwhelmed
by the weight of testimony against him
of his neighbors, who would swear he
wasn't there at all Hence, experienced
miners always form Il party Of four or
more, and having once located a claim,
prepare to hold it, ''vi ct armis," against
all comers. In this relation it may be
observed that the persuasive argument
OF the siX-shooter and bowie knife is very
seldom brought into requisition in the
colonies. 1t is against the law to have or
carry such weapons, either concealed or
openly and since it is not customary to
carry them, they are seldom brought
into use.
When dispute occurs-and the Aus
tralian is sufficiently pugnacious-a ring
Is formed, it is seen that both combat
ants receive fair play and the question
at issue is decided in the good old fash
ION known to our fOrefathers, by dint OF
personal prowess and skill in the use OF
the hands
1t was more than week after my ar
rival that due proclamation of the field
was made, says a correspondent of the
PiJtsburg dispatch" but in the mean
while the miners had not been idle, and
the whilom cover of the kangaroo.
wallaby, and brush turkey was changed
into the habitat of man. street ran
the length OF the gully, bordered on
either side by shanties made of rough
timber and the bark of the blue gum.
At one end stood theater, and at the
other church; there was a bank ana
postotlice and stores. A town had sprung
up as II from the ground, and by the
eventtul day OF proclamation not a
likely piece Of ground was left unclaimed.
and 5000 people had squatted in and
around a. NJ fgNt ( T..
As high noon of the fatal day drew
near, the air was filed with excitement
The firing OF a gun was TO indicatesthat
the moment of interest had arrived /
took up a position near the center OF the
gully, where the anxiety to secure
piece of ground was keene5t. Every
claim hereabouts had its score or more
claimants, each prepared with his
wooden peg when the decisive momens
should arrive. Every party had Us
member at each corner prepared to ac,
in concert; it was necessary that the
four pegs should go down at the sumo
time. Very silent and determined be-
came each group as the hour approached,
and the scene, few minutes before
noon of that day, was certainly an i'm
pressiye one. No man could tell but
fortune lay under his feet
Suddenly the report of shot rang out
on the still midday air. AS If struck by
a tornado, the various groups fell to the
ground to drive in their pegs. In an in
slant shouts and imprecatiuns rose from
the struggling groups at each corner, as
every member of them pushed and JOS
tied, and strOve TO get peg into the
ground at the same time and spot as a
dozen others. Conceive hundreds OF
squirming, gasping, struggling knots OF
humanity, composed of units kneeiHg,
bending, and lying prone on the ground,
trying to reach one small spot, resem.
bling nothing so much as Il scrimmage
in game of football, but more deadly
In earnest, and some notion may be-
gained of the scene spread over tho ex-
tent of the field. The excitement was
terrific. Men strove and fought as if
their future happiness depended on the
result One man had his ear pegged TO
the ground and another had his hand.
Others had arms and legs seriously in
jured, while some were unrecognizable
in feature after the struggle on the
ground. But just as suddenly the ex-
citement abated.
Tapes were produced, and after care
full measurements had been taken, the
claims we've left in possession of those
"AN9N INS9 Nclt utdLcbJ lub proper
mark, subject Of course, to the decision
of the warden, after Il proper survey.
Then the work of opening up shafts
was commenced, but not as rapidly as
would be supposed. Under the law regu-
lating gold-mining operations, claim
was held to be abandoned if not worked
for twenty-four hours. Accordingly at
II o'clock every day men issued from
their tents with shovel on shoulder,
and proceeded 10 theirrespectiye claims.
A stranger arriving at this moment
would wonder at the air of activity
which pervaded the place.
Every man stepped on to his ground
and commenced to throw up the clay,
but when he had continued nc this hard
task lOr about i've minutes, as if by
common impulse, every miner began
to shovel the clay back again in an I'M
hurried and solemn manner, and then
walked off to h.i tent to enjoy his pipe
and ease after the laborious effort This
was termed "shepherding' a claim, or
working 1t to preserve ownership.
The Tal Of Meteorio Iron.