AN OLD PIONEER'S STORY

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 20, 18 October 1907, Page 4

AN OLD PIONEER'S STORY

MINING IN VICTORIA AND NEW ZEALAND. " STICKING-UP " EPISODES. I. To have been " stuck-up " by desperadoes, not once, but soveral times, in- tho early days of tho Bendigo gold rush, to have been one of tho first discoverers of gold in Now Zealand, and have framed the first mining regulations, to have spent a dreadful night in the same tent with four of the most diabolical murderers ever brought to justico, the infamous Maungatapu gang, Burgess, Kelly, Lovi, and Sullivan — these aro events in a man's life to be remembered. They are remembered well by Mr: W. W. Lightband, of Nelson, who, hale and hearty in his sevent}--fifth year, has come to Wellington for a holiday, and, after years of rural quietude, gazed lately with astonishment on tho groat crowd of Dominion Day, and. saw for tho first time electric cars. i The story told by Mr. Lightband to a member of our staff is'so crowded with events of interest and excitement as to require a volume for its due narration. It can only, bo told briefly hero in several chapters. Bendigo in the Olden Days. , Mr. Lightband came to Nelson with Ills father and family in 1542, soon, after the foundation of tho settlement. The' future town was then a beautiful wilderness, containing only a very few houses, and the Lightband family had to sleep on board tho boat, until a raupo hut was built for them in the Maori style. Mr. Lightband was still only a hoy when tho discovery of rich gold in Australia caused intense excitement in this country, and lie determined to set-out for El Dorado. But i when he arrived, alone and friendless, in Melbourne, the stories which ho hoard of tho dangers of travelling, and the state of society on the goldfields, daunted tho young adventurer for. a time, aiid he returned to Nelson. Next year, however, found him at the famous Bendigo diggings with three other Nelson moil. . Tho dangers that had deterred/him bpfore had not been exaggerated. " Sticking-up " episodes and robberies were of almost daily occurrence, and a man could hardly call his life or claim liis own. y. .' The first time Mr. Lightband was "stuckup " was on'the Kiler Plains. 1 was taking up a team of horses to Bendigo with stores," ho recalled. "I had carefully hobbled'my horses and tied .thorn to the dray for my night encampment, and was lying down myself beneath the dray, coiled up m my opossum rug. Soon I heard tho trampling of feet coming towards me. I jumped up, and called jto the intruder to 'Standi' 1 was armed with tho indispensable Colt's rovolvor, and when thoman still approached, I told liirn that no ono was going to camp with mo, and that 1 I would fire if he camo nearor. : He then feigned to bo drunk, said that he had lost his way, and swore most dreadfully at my; recoption of him. I told''him I would put a bullet into him if ho dill'not movo oft. further, and after a whilo lie went. When the sound of his footsteps had died away, I coiled myself up again in the opossum rug, and waa just dozing off to slcop when 1 was roused suddenly by a rattling of'the-dray. L jumped up, and found one of ; tho horses struggling soverely. The man had mounted it to assist him in getting away over tho plains, but had not noticed that-it was hobbled, and horse and man had fallon to tho ground -together.' I 'fired-several- shots at' him as nearly'as I could aim in tho darkness, and he scampered away. There was 110 more I sloop for mo that iiight. • - • • " Stand and Deliver!" . • i ; . "On another occasion I wals 'stuck-up' in'the Black Forest, at tho foot of Mount Macedon, a notorious place for robbers' and' bacf Characters. I was driving up the horses to fasten them by tho head for the might,, in* addition to hobbling, when I was called upon to 'Stand and Deliver I' Realising the position, I at onco drew .-the .revolver always' hidden in my loose ovor-shirt, and levelledit at' the man, saying: 'If that is : what you moan; I'll take my chance for it.' At-this he-'lowered his own weapon,, which looked to ino like a fowling-piece,. remarking: 'Oh,' you are not to be bounced 1' ' I replied that if' I did my duty ;L would; rid tho world of liim,, for a cowardly fellow who. would at-', tact'a boy. Ho cleared out,then, but I am, afraid that if he had como back he would have found mo very shaky after the excitement. '' ' .y "Another time, when I was returning with my mato, Mr. H; D. Jackson, from Bendigo to • Melbourne, we called at a.'small.'public-, house, or 'shanty,' to put up fOT tho night. There wero three very suspicious-looking characters in the bar, and, according to'our usual plan, wo gav'o each other warning, in Maori, to bo on,guard. All at onco r I was nudged by . my mate to follow liim, and immediately, left tho.open bar and. went into tho tap-room. There >vo wero met by .the landlord, who placed in, my hand a rovolyer, and asked if. 1 know how to use it. I was 1 taken greatly by surprise, but my mate assured mo there was need of immediate action, and, without knowing how ho got his information, I followod liim, tho directions of tho landlord being that the three of us should coyer with our weapons each _ of the three men in tho bar. Wo camo behind the bar, and did so, tho landlord ordering the three men to clear out at onco, and telling .lis to fire tho moment thoyj should', draw on', us, because ho knew them'to bo desperate robbers. They cleared , out without-further troublo. I discovered shortly afterwards that my mato had recoivod his cue of danger by means of Masonic signs mado to liim by tho landlord." Robbing tlie Cold! Escort. On another occasion Mr. Lightband and his. mato had . their attention drawn .to branches placed across tho path to form an obstruction, and saw from tho state of tho ground that. there liad beeii a confused trampling of horses. They guessed that the gold cscort had been "stuck-up," and learned afterward;? that this was indeed tho case, and that a large amount of money had been stolen. Had they arrived a quarter of an hour earlier they would liavo been in the thick of the scrimmage. The robbers, howevor, wore so -heavily loaded with their booty that they wero overtaken shortly afterwards by a pursuing party, and their plunder rocapturod. _ . , " It was a common thing to ' stick-up miners in their tents, and on one occasion upwards of ' fifty men wero separately 'stuck-up' on the saiuo night, and mado to hand over their pokl. .This organised raid was mado so quietly ,that none.of the settlement, except the victims, know what'had happened till the morning. Tho modo adopted was simply to part tlio_ tent door, level a revolver at tho sleeping inmato, and demand of him. still sleep-befogged, delivery of his gold. Taken at this disadvantage, a man had small chanco of resistance. The money was handed over without a i struggle, and the robber was on horseback and away. "Jumping" a Claim. Tho practico of "jumping claims" was also very prevalent, and Mr. Lightband told a good story in this connection. "Whilo I was working down tho shaft one day, breaking up tho hard, cenionted formation, a party of 'Tipporary boys,' as tlioy wero termed, camo to themino mouth. The.v knew that I was alono, my mato being ongaged making a windless in tho hush. Thoyj cried out to me to como up out of tho shaft, demanding what I was doing on their, claim. ■ I told them that I was in lawful possession under my miner's liccnso, and liad.no intention of ■ surrendering. Upon that ono of them descended tho shaft down the foot-holes, grabbed mo by the throat, and a severe struggle ensued. He was too much for me, being of far heavier weight, and, as a last resourco, I .let into him with my boots, which fortunately were well-tipped with iron. He released his hold and wont back up the shaft. Tho party of them on top then hold a boulder susponded over me, threatening to drop it on my head

and kill mo if I did not como out immediately. Believing that they would not hesitate to lliurder 1110, I gave up possession of the claim. . I reported the circumstances to the Commissioner, and showed him my miner's license. The only answer I got was a laugh. 'Your case is only one of many,' he remarked, Jand I have no police force equal to suppressing these 111011, so that you must take your clianco for it." Full of indignation, the young man then called a meeting of the minors, told them what the Commissioner had said, and pointed put that what was his misfortune that day might be theirs the next. The result was tbo formation of a Miners' Leaguo for mutual protection, which extended later to Ballarat and throughout the mining districts. After a fairly successful stay in Victoria, Mr. Lightband decided to return to his more peaceful home at Nelson.