Lost Lenore: The Adventures of a Rolling Stone Page 53

That you mayknow something of the character of these men, and of the craving theyhad for tobacco, I shall tell you what I saw some of them do.

  "Many of the wardens--as is usually the case--were greatly disliked bythe convicts; and the latter, of course, took every opportunity ofshowing their hatred towards them.

  "One morning, the gang refused to go to work--owing to a part of theusual allowance of food having been stopped from one of them, as theysaid, for no good reason. The overseer, in place of sending for thesuperintendent, attempted to force them to their tasks; and the resultwas a `row.'

  "In the skrimmage that followed, one of the wardens--a man especiallydisliked by the convicts--was killed, while the overseer himself wascarried senseless from the ground.

  "The dead warden had been a sailor, and liked his `quid.' He wasgenerally to be seen with his mouth full of tobacco, and this was thecase at the time he was killed. I saw the quid taken from his mouth,scarce ten minutes after he had become a corpse, by one of the convicts,who the instant after transferred it to his own!

  "The overseer, at the time he got knocked down, was smoking a pipe.Scarce three minutes after, I saw the same pipe in the mouth of one ofthe men; and from its head was rolling a thick cloud of smoke!

  "The fire in the pipe had not been allowed to expire; and the man whowas smoking it was one of those afterwards hung for the murder of thewarden!"

  Volume Three, Chapter VI.

  SQUATTERS' JUSTICE.

  The old convict, as if reminded by the queer incidents he had related:that he himself stood in need of a smoke, here took out his pipe. Afterfilling and lighting it, he resumed his narrative.

  "Owing to refractory conduct on my part, and a dislike to crawling forthe purpose of currying favour with overseers, I did not get a`ticket-of-leave' until five years after landing in the colony.

  "I then received one--with permission to go as shepherd to a `squatter'sstation' up the country. For acting in this capacity, I was to receiveten pounds a year of wages.

  "I found the shepherd's life a very weary one. The labour was notsufficient to keep me from thinking. During the whole day I had butlittle to do--except to indulge in regrets for the past, and despair ofthe future. Each day was so much like the one preceding it, that thetime was not only monotonous, but terribly tiresome.

  "Had I deserted my employment, I knew that I should be re-captured; anda new sentence passed upon me. My only hope of obtaining full freedom--at the end of my ten years' term--was by doing my duty as well as Icould.

  "One morning, after I had been about ten months in my shepherd's berth,as I was letting the sheep out of the enclosure, the squatter who ownedthe station, his overseer, and another man, came riding up.

  "The sun was more than half an hour above the horizon; and as I ought tohave had the sheep out upon the grass by sunrise, I was afraid thesquatter would blame me for neglecting my duty. I was agreeablysurprised at his not doing so.

  "He bade me `good morning,' lit his pipe, took a look at the sheep; andthen rode away along with the others.

  "This treatment, instead of making me more neglectful, only rendered memore attentive to my duty; and every morning for three weeks after, thesheep were out of the yard by the first appearance of day-break.

  "It was summer time, and the nights being very short, I could not alwayswake myself at such an early hour. The consequence was, that aboutthree weeks before the expiration of the year, for which I was bound, myemployer again caught me napping--nearly an hour after sun-up--with thesheep still in the penn.

  "The squatter would listen to no excuse. I was taken direct before amagistrate--who was also a `squatter'--and charged with neglect of duty.

  "The charge was of course proved; and I was dismissed from myemployment.

  "You may think that this was no punishment; but you will have adifferent opinion when you hear more. My year of apprenticeship notbeing quite up, my wages were forfeited; and I was told, that I ought tobe thankful for the mercy shown me: in my not getting severely flogged,and sent back to the authorities, with a black mark against my name!

  "I probably did my duty, as well as any man the squatter expected toget; and I had good reason to know, that I had been dismissed only togive my rascally employer the opportunity of withholding the balance ofmy wages, that would soon have been due to me!

  "The only magistrates in the grazing country, were the squattersthemselves; and they used to play into each other's hands in thatfashion. There was no justice for convicts, who were treated but littlebetter than slaves.

  "Three months after leaving my situation, I came across an `old hand,'who had been cheated out of his wages, by the very same squatter who hadrobbed me, and in precisely the same manner.

  "This man proposed to me that we should take revenge--by burning downthe squatter's wool-sheds.

  "I refused to have anything to do with the undertaking; and from whatthe man then said, I supposed that he had relinquished the idea. Thatnight, however, altogether unknown to me, he set fire to the sheds--causing the squatter a loss of about three thousand pounds worth ofproperty. The next day I was arrested and committed for trial--alongwith the old hand, who had urged me to aid him in obtaining his revenge.

  "On the trial, circumstantial evidence was so strong against theincendiary, that he was found guilty. But as he continued to assert hisinnocence, of course he could say nothing that would clear me; and I wasalso found guilty--though the only evidence against me was, that I hadbeen seen in his company eight hours before the crime was committed, andthat I had been dismissed from service by the proprietor of the sheds!

  "This was thought sufficient evidence upon which to sentence me to fiveyears hard labour on the roads--the first two years of the term to bepassed in irons!

  "I now despaired of ever seeing home again; and became, like many otherconvicts, so reckless as to have no thought for the future, and not tocare whether my deeds were right or wrong.

  "Had I acted as many of the very worst convicts are in the habit ofdoing--that is, fawning upon the overseers--I might have regained myliberty in two years and a half; but I never could crawl, or play thehypocrite; and all the less so, that I knew my sentence was unjust.Neither could I allow the ill-usage of others to pass without complaint;and frequently did I complain. For doing this, I had to serve the fullterm of my sentence, while others, much worse than myself, by using alittle deception, obtained their liberty on `tickets-of-leave.'

  "After the term of my transportation had expired, I was no better thanmost of the `old hands.' If I have not committed all the crimes ofwhich many of them are guilty, the reason is, that I had not thetemptation: for, I acknowledge, that I have now completely lost themoral power to restrain me from crime.

  "I happened to be free when gold was discovered in New South Wales; and,of course. I hastened to the place. After the discovery of the richerdiggings here, I came overland to try them.

  "In my gold seeking, I cannot complain of want of success; and I havenot spent all that I have made.

  "I am thinking of going back to England--although my visit to my nativecountry cannot be a very pleasant one. I have, probably, some brothersand sisters still living; but, notwithstanding the strong affection Ionce had for them, they are nothing to me now. All human feeling hasbeen flogged, starved, and tortured out of me.

  "Sometimes, when I reflect on the degradations I have endured, I amashamed to think of myself as a human being.

  "When I look back to the innocent and happy days of my boyhood--of whatI aspired to be--only an honest, respectable, hard-working man, when Icontrast those days, and those humble hopes, with the scenes I havesince passed through, and my present condition--my back scarred withrepeated floggings, and my limbs marked by the wear of iron fetters--Iam not unwilling to die.

  "I am glad to learn that a change has been made in the mode of punishingcrime in the mother country. It has not been done too soon: for, bad asmany of the convicts are--who are transported from th
e large cities ofthe United Kingdom--they cannot be otherwise than made worse, by thesystem followed here. A convict coming to this country meets with noassociations, precepts, or examples, that tend to reform him; but, onthe contrary, every evil passion and propensity is strengthened, if ithas existed before; and imbibed, if it has not.

  "Having told you a good deal of my past, I should like to be able to addsomething of my future; but cannot. Some men are very ingenious ininventing food for hope: I am not. I don't know for what I am living:for every good and earnest motive seems to have been stifled within me.Hope, love, despair, revenge, and all the other mental powers that moveman to action, are dead within my heart. I having nothing more to tellyou of myself; and probably never shall have."

  So ended the sad story of the convict.

  Volume Three, Chapter VII.

  RAFFLING AWAY A WIFE.

  Our claim on the Avoca "lead" turned out to be worth working; and we hadfive or six weeks of hard toil before us. My mate continued temperateand industrious; and we got along together without any misunderstanding.

  One day we were informed by a man passing our tent, that a veryinteresting affair was to come off that evening--at a certain grog-shopnot far from where we lived.

  My partner was strongly advised to be there: as there would be aspectacle worth witnessing.

  "Shall you go?" I asked, after the man had gone.

  "No--not alone," replied he, "the place has a bad name; and I know thatone of the parties concerned in what is to take place is a bad bird.You go along with me, and you'll see some amusement."

  "Have you any idea what it's to be?" I inquired.

  "Yes. I think they are going to have a raffle."

  "A raffle! There's nothing very interesting about that!"

  "That depends," significantly rejoined my partner. "Supposing it is awoman that's to be raffled for?"

  "A woman to be raffled for!"

  "So I believe. There is a Hobart Town man here, who has a young wife,with whom he has been quarrelling for the last month. He has found outthat it is impossible to live with her any longer; and is going to puther up to be raffled for."

  I had seen a negro slave disposed of in this fashion in the city of NewOrleans; but had never heard of a man raffling away his wife; and theoddness of the thing determined me to go. Having signified my intentionto my mate, he promised to take me to the place, and also take care ofme while there.

  The reader may think his promised protection unnecessary--after myhaving managed for so many years to take care of myself. But I knewthat amongst "old hands," the protection or friendship, of one of theirown "kidney" was worth having; and I certainly would not have gone,without some one to introduce, and look after me--one such as my miningpartner, who knew their ways, and would give them to understand, that Iwas not to be molested.

  At that time on the gold-field of Avoca, there were probably about tenmen to one woman; and a man, who was so fortunate as to possess a wife,was thought to be a very lucky individual indeed. Any woman, howeverugly she might have appeared in other lands, would there have passed fora Venus. Knowing this to be the state of things, I was not surprised,when, on reaching the grog-shop with my companion, we found a largecrowd of between thirty and forty men assembled around it. In one wayonly was I astonished; and that was, that the majority of those presentwere not "old hands," but rather the contrary.

  This observation was also made by my companion, who shook his headsignificantly, but said nothing.

  I did not understand what meaning he intended to convey by thisgesture--at least not at the time.

  From the appearance of the crowd collected round the grog-shop, I had nodoubt but that I should be well rewarded for my trouble in walking tothe place. I could see that some pains had been taken in selecting thecompany: for it appeared to be composed of that class of young miners--known as "fast," and "flush"--that is with money to spend, and thedisposition to spend it.

  The woman who was to be disposed of was in the room, seated on the edgeof a table, and swinging her legs about with perfect nonchalance. Oneof her eyes bore, in distinct characters of a purplish hue, someevidence of a very late disagreement with her husband, or some one else.She seemed much pleased at the commotion she was causing; and quiteindifferent as to its results. She was about twenty-three years of age;and rather good-looking.

  The husband was about forty years old; and was a vulgar looking wretch--even for a "Vandemonian." His features were twisted into a disgustingleer, from which I could well fancy they were but seldom relieved.

  I was not surprised at the woman seeming pleased at the idea of partingwith him. My wonder was, how he had ever been allowed to obtain thepower of disposing of her.

  There was not a man in the room, or perhaps on the diggings, that anycreature entitled to the name of woman, should not have preferred, tothe ugly animal who claimed to be her husband.

  I could perceive from the woman's behaviour, that she possessed aviolent temper, which to an ignorant brute of a man, would no doubtrender her difficult of being managed. But there appeared to be nothingmore against her--at least, nothing to prevent a man of common sensefrom living with her, and having no more serious misunderstandings, thansuch as are usually required to vary the monotony of connubial life.

  The business of getting up the raffle, and carrying it through, wasmanaged by a young man, who played the part of mutual friend--theproprietor of the article at stake, being to all appearance too drunk,or too ignorant, to act as master of the ceremonies.

  After a sufficient number of persons was thought to have arrived uponthe ground, it was decided to go on with the business of discovering: towhom fate should decree the future ownership of the woman.

  "Gentlemen!" said the mutual friend, rising up, and placing himself upona chair, "I suppose you all know the game that's up here to-night? Ibelieve that most of you be aware, that my friend `Brumming' here, can'tagree with his old woman, nor she with him; and he have come to theresolution of getting rid of her. He thinks he'd be better off withouta woman, than with one, 'specially with one as he can't agree with. Andshe thinks any other man be better than Ned `Brumming.' Such being thecase, they think they had better part. Now, `Brumming' wants a littlemoney to take him over to the other side; and to rise it for him, hisfriends have been called together, and his woman is going to be put upat a raffle for fifty pounds--twenty-five chances at two pounds achance. Mrs Brumming is willing to live with any man, as will supporther, and use her kindly. Who is going to help poor Ned Brumming? Whatname shall I first put down on this 'ere paper?"

  "Dirty Dick," "Jack Rag," "Hell Fryer," "Shiny Bright," and severalother names were called out--to the number of twenty.

  It was then announced that five names were still wanted to complete thelist.

  "I'll take a chance," said a man stepping forward to the table, wherethe names were being written out.

  The individual thus presenting himself, bore every evidence of havingobtained a passage to the colonies at the expense of his nativecountry--about twenty-five years before.

  "What name shall I put down?" asked the youthful master of theceremonies.

  "Jimmy from Town."

  "Jimmy from hell!" screamed the woman. "You had better save your moneyJimmy from Town. I wouldn't live with an old beast like you, if youwere to win me ten times over."

  The prospect of losing his two pounds, and gaining nothing, caused theold convict to retire, which he did, apparently with no very good grace.

  "We must pay something for this entertainment," whispered my mate; "Iwill go halves with you in a chance."

  As he said this, he slipped a sovereign into my hand.

  I did not fully understand what my partner meant. He surely could notbe thinking of our winning the woman, and owning her in partnership, aswe did our mining claim?

  But as he had said something about our paying for the entertainment--andhaving trusted myself to him before I came away from my tent--
I gave thename of "Rolly," to the manager of the raffle, and put down the twopounds.

  Two others then came forward, took a chance each, and paid their stakes.There were now only two more "tickets" to dispose of.

  Amongst the first who had entered their name upon the list, was a youngminer, who to all appearance, took a greater interest in the proceedingsthan any person present.

  I saw the woman give him a glance, that might be interpreted into thewords, "I wish _you_ would win me." He appeared to notice it, and takethe hint: for he immediately entered himself for another chance.

  The remaining share was then taken by somebody else; and the ceremony ofthrowing the dice was commenced.

  Each was to have three throws, taking three dice at each throw; and theman who should score the highest number, was to win the woman.

  A name would be called out, as it stood on the list; the owner of itwould then come forward, and throw the dice--when the number he shouldscore would be recorded against his name.

  All the numbers made, chanced to be very low, none of them reaching overthirty-eight--until I had finished "tossing the bones," when I was toldthat the aggregate recorded in my favour was _forty-seven_.

  I felt as good as certain that the woman was mine: for the chances weremore than a hundred to one against any of the five others who were tothrow after me.

  The young fellow who had paid for two shares, looked very blank: hisremaining chance was now scarce worth a shilling.

  "I will give you fifteen pounds for your throw," said he, addressinghimself to me.

  I glanced at my mate, and saw him give his head a slight