The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-22
ONE TOUCH OF NATURE.
How % English Miners Tramped
Eight Miles to Hear Lark Sing.
From the Indianapolis News.

From the indianapolis News.
M one should think that he knows all
.bat il is to be homesick until he has
.nrned his back not only on home, but
leo on native land. Here are a few Incl
dents that fell under my own observation
4 s,,riny-a soiourn in Australia. We were
Old digging on the river Lodden, and
Rod been hard at work for many months.
~ those early days nearly all the men on
nat particular '.diggings'-as indeed on
III the gold felds-were British subjects,
ojtber from the ''old country itself, or
i trom some of the North American colo
Iies. hut my own innate" just then was
New Yorker, young married man
named Wells, who by dint of looking a
hundred times a day at the heavy finger
ring which held small daguerreotype of
his far distant wife, managed to fight
down his home longing as successfully as
snv bachelor of US although that is not
s,ying much. On certain morning-it
VAS nv turn to cook and ] had risen
half hour before my partner-when l
Looked into our little tent to announce
breakfast | found Wells crying like a
Sabv and on inquiring the cause learned
tbat during the night, for some inexplica-
ble reason, the counterfeit of his wife's
featrres had vanished so completely from
the rings medallion that not trace of
the picture remained hence the poor
fellows grief and home sickness preyed
mon him so terribly that for two whole
DAYS he was actually incapacitated for
work.
About a month after this rumor cir
culated through our camp that an immi-
grant lately from England, and located
some distance farther down stream, had
brought with him an English lark. The
news spread far and wide, from river to
hill and from hill to gulch, and when the
do " to n m
see the precious songster we found fully
900 rough bearded, tender-hearted men
eongregated. about the lucky owners
tent, listening enraptured to the old
familiar thrill of the birds sweet carol.
Many of these hardy diggers, great, strong
fellows, whom no danger could appall,
had tramped twenty miles simply to see
and hear a common lark solely because it
came from their own island home" and
twas nothing less than pathetic to OBJ
serve how deeply each one was affected
by the liquid, musical notes, calling
wildly to mind never o-be-forgotten Joys.
Tbave reason to know, however, that this
sentimental indulgence cost not few of
the sturdy Britons many an hour of lost
time in the following week. This little
incident has been told with some varia-
tons from this; but was there as an eye
witness, and the facts are as here stated.
may add that l saw the owner of the
his prize.
One day-it was in 1858, | think-a
number of US set off across the ranges on
visit to the postoffice at Castlemaine,
about eight miles from our own diggings,
in the always present hope of receiving
home letters. Oh, those monthly trips!
Shall ever forget theml Each step of
the thither journey made light and buoy
ant bv fond anticipation, each foot of the
return seeming, only too often, a furlong
in length, dragged out in the WEAKNESS
of disappointed hopeSl We were party
of twenty, all stout young fellows under
30 years af age, and we went over the
quartz-strewn hills and through the
shadow valleys, all clothed with gorgeous
profusion of strange shrubs and flowers
and saw myriad birds of brilliant plumage
from the tiny parroquet to the great
crested cockatoo, fitting about from tree
to tree, while overhead shone the daz-
cling rays Of an Australian sun, our
spirits rose to the point of ecstasy, and
each one of us felt sure that this time he
would certainly receive the long expected
miSSive.
Cheerfully then, we trudged along and
at last came to the brow of the nights
overlooking the commissioners headquar-
ters, and there, on level space in front
of the tents, about one third of a mile
from US, were drawn up, in their scarlet
uniforms and with flashing arms, some
two hundred men of the British Eortieth
regiment of the line
Up TO this moment none of us were
aware that single English soldier was
in the colony, and the effect of this un-
suspected sight was simply astounding.
Almost so suddenly as if we had run
against stone wall, our little crowd
came to dead halt, and while for time
not word was spoken, each man sought
to read in his comrades eyes an amusing
thought to his own overpowering emo
ton.
AS we stood in kind of dazed bewilder-
ment the splendid regimentaI band struck
up, and, most strangely, the musicians
selected as the first piece, Home, Sweet
Home!" Then, indeed, 1.-THE fountains of
the great Deep were broken up, and we,
roughly clad, clay -begrimed miners, threw
ourselves upon the ground, totally over
come by the rush of tender memories
awakened by the familiar old air. while
boyish tears, of which all forgot to be
ashamed, trickled down each suuburnt
cheek.
For nearly an hour, until the band had
gone through its whole repertOry, we lay
there hushed and silent, but oh with
such unuttera bic thoughts of far away
homes and loved ones, never, perhaps, to
be again seen. By and by we rose and
wandered slowly down the slope toward
The large canvas tent which then served
as postofice While we were taking
our places in the rear of the long line of
anxious diggers waiting their turn at the
wicket, young fellow of our company
wlstfully said: ooh, boys, bow shall we
i've through 1t If we don't hear from
homeF' and the question found echo in
each expectant heart. But, alas! only
three men Of our twenty received letters
that day, and the homesick youth was
not one of them.
As we sadly walked back to camp our
party more nearly resembled funeral
procession than SQUAD of usually reck-
less miners-the three fortunate individ-
uals considerably restraining their ex-
poerant JOY out of sympathy for the luck
less seventeen.