The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-15

! 'the fields, 'toe-pick miners walked the
valleys and the ravines hunting for mug
SelS on the surface; perhaps on no hun
uISd 9elos IN the world were SO many and
valuable nuggets ever found than on
, 1neSe ne1ghobring fields of Ballarat and
DsesaT1lSo, IN 'aAe colony of Victoria.
ioe-plck miners were those without
tooi, or pan, who simply walked about
lne Held and picked up the yellow ..peb-
Dles as they could find them among the
SAND and stones which they scattered
with the toes of their shoes. They kicked
for gold, strange to say they were highly
rewarded for their silly effort-slIy from
a miners standpoint. A singular exam
pie of the luck of these '.toe-Dicks'' was
young lover who had heard the mar
Vicious stories of gold at Ballarat He
was new chum," but ne had a sweet
neart- One morning he babe her fearful
face goodby. picked up big lemonade
bottle, and left Geelcng for the fields so
miles up in the Black hills, promising her
that he would return and marry her as
soon as ne had picked up the lemonade
bottle full of nuggets which. he assured
her. wouldn't be much longer than it
! would take him to walk there and back.
BOTTLE FULL OF GOLD.
Reaching Ballarat the young enthusiast
began kicking UP the stones and dirt
about in Sarch of his treasure No more
earnest or persistent miner "dished'' un-
der the rod of Mt. Buningyong where the
rich lind was first made. He had no
tsnt; 50 he slept in the open. with his
{
out. On the sixth Sunday he walked into
the home of his sweetheart and handed
ner a yellow lemonade bottle. The vir-
gin nuggets made it yellow. It was full
of gold. $4,000 worth. The couple married
and upon this foundation built their for
tunes in GeelonS. where they now live.
drawn them back 10 their native heath
in England. Facts like these set the pub
lie mind mad.
KICKING FOR GOLD.
In less than Is months from the sem
sational find az Buningyong $4,000 people
tented ON the Ballarat field. picking dish
ing or kicking for gold From that day
less than 10000 miners on the field. There
are now nearly 100000 people in the city
of Ballarat living on the hundreds of
niF@s Of drives beneath 1t. The Band and
Albion claim alone having nearly 100
miles of drives and shafts nearly 5000
feet deep So mad was the rush and so |
eager the crowd that no one thought of |
ticking time to build a house. For years |
until the alluvial country was imrneas-
ably turned over or pegged into fixed /
claims and the Bendgo rush" diverted /
tine stream-the city of Ballarat was a |
camp of white tents. The first brick |
chimney was a curiosity. 1t still stands
The gold escorts which brought the
fabulous treasure into Melbourse gave
that 100 miles of country the aspect of a
military patrol Every tongue told of
the new Eldorado. but no one told of the
I
and no one found his head cool enough |
to figure out the loss an alluvial field
was 10 the country. Men foolshly sold
their farms. stock, stores, boats. jewels
or whatever and rushed pell nell TO
this excited canvass city, half prepared,
and either ate and tramped out their
gold in search of more gold, or had it
taken from them.
A MILLION DOLLARS A DAY.
The cost of living in such an inaccessi-
bic place was. all told. about $40 per .
tay. Thus 10000 miners were putting
j, 000. 600 a dav in the ground and taking
tut less than 900. But no one thought I
IF that. Men everywhere were making
'ich finds. and the gold escorts were car
wing away large amounts of gold. These
we're inflammable facts, which lured {
lew batch, and painted new yellow hope [
o the erstwhile unlucky digger. Bendigo ,
vas % miles away, and was as rich nearly
IS BaHarat, while nuggety patches
.hained the road between at Marlboro. ]
sluneo, Cuswick and other places You I
ouid almost speak from man to man S
long the whole distance for men q
ramped back and forth excited by each c
lew sensational find passing the news u
long Every hill and dale was alive b
With men in search of the craYed metal. 2
When the whole country had been I
urned over and "dished the real min c