The black police of Queensland : reminiscences of official work and personal adventures in the early days of the colony . a stick ; another used thecradle, while the boy had the tin dish. Thecradle was placed at the edge of the water,and with short strokes rocked quickly to andfro. The upper part being a sieve allowsthe small stuff to fall through on to a lowershelf, but keeps back the pebbles, and, aswe had an opportunity of witnessing in thiscase, many a plump nugget, which the cradler picked out with the most provokingcoolness, and carelessly threw into a pint potat his feet. The boy was oc
The black police of Queensland : reminiscences of official work and personal adventures in the early days of the colony . a stick ; another used thecradle, while the boy had the tin dish. Thecradle was placed at the edge of the water,and with short strokes rocked quickly to andfro. The upper part being a sieve allowsthe small stuff to fall through on to a lowershelf, but keeps back the pebbles, and, aswe had an opportunity of witnessing in thiscase, many a plump nugget, which the cradler picked out with the most provokingcoolness, and carelessly threw into a pint potat his feet. The boy was occupied in washingthe tailings of the cradle— tailings meansthe dirt which has undergone one washingand examination. These were washed in a tindish by its being gently waved round andround in the water till everything is washedout, excepting the gold, which, owing to itsweight, remains. We had selected thiswashing, as the dirt came from a very richclaim, turning out as much as eight ouncesto the load, and gold was worth at this period;^3 Ss. an ounce at the Commercial Bank, theonly one at the diggings at the ?ft. IV] A DARK SHAFT 49 Some of the diggers on the Creek werestacking their dirt, , heaping up a greatquantity before carting it to the water. Wesaw one ordinary looking heap which an olddigger valued at about ;^ 1,000, yet no goldcould be seen in it, till washed ; but on passingthese heaps after a shower of rain, the goldwill frequently become visible. True diggers are a fine set of men, andquiet and orderly as a rule. They alwayslike to see fair play, and have certain rulesamongst themselves, which they adhere tomost strictly. While they have moneythey live on the very best of slang is peculiar, and their expressionsquaint. I was one day gazing down a dark shaft,wondering whether any one was there, andas my eyes became accustomed to the gloomI saw there was a drive at the bottom, andfancying I heard a noise, asked, Is anyone down there .* Onl
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