A DIGGER'S GOLD. A GOLDFIELDS STORY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2675, 21 June 1905, Page 90

A DIGGER'S GOLD. A GOLDFIELDS STORY.

Bt J. S.

(For the Witness.)

It was during the early sixties that the rush set in to Hagarty's, and those diggers who have survived the years that intervene between then and now may still recollect the sad fate that befell old Peter M'lntosh, who owned the richest claim on the field.

M'lntosh, it will be remembered, was •a quiet inoffensive old fellow, who kept his own counsel so well that no one was aware of the extraordinary richness of his claim until some time subsequent to the day on which he was found dead in his tail race. An examination of the body revealed the fact that old Peter had been cruelly murdered, a deep would, which had evidently- been inflicted by a sharp and pointed instrument, being discovered be--tweenjiis shoulders. - The sad news spread over the field with almost the rapidity of a beam of sunlight, and within less time than half an hour after the discovery of the body a hundred angry and excited diggers were congregated at'the scene of the foul deed, eagerly discussing the occurrence, and questioning each other as to a possible motiv© for such a, crime.

Not one of those present was in a position to afford a clue to the mystery, although they unitedly x*esolved to do all in their power to bring the guilty one to justice.

On the arrival of a constable from the Dunstan the body was removed to German Charlie's shanty, where an inquest ■was held, the evidence at which failed to throw light upon the darkness obscuring the murder.

The gold buyer, who paid weekly visits to Hegarty's 6tated in his evidence at the inquest that only at long intervals M'lntosh sold him gold, and on such occasions the amounts were small, rarely exceeding a couple of ounces in weight. He had reason to believe, that M'lntosh had a large quantity- Of gold in his possession. On one occasion,- when the deceased came to sell gold, he found he had not brought the parcel, which. he intended to dispose of. When the deceased was searching his .pockets to ascertain whether he had the parcel upon him he, unconsciously, I think, brought forth ' a chamois leather bag half filled with gold and laid it upon my table. Finding he had forgotten the smaller parcel he rushed from the office ■with the intention of bringing it from his tent. In his hurry he had forgotten to take the bag of gold from the office table. SVlien his back was turned I placed the gold in th« scales, and found it weighed 105oz; On his return I pointed out to iiim the' folly of keeping so much gold upon his person or in his tent. He replied to the effect' that he had it securely put away. Witness said he had known other diggers to obtain a similar amount of gold as the result of a fortnight's work on this goldfieldr He would not be surprised to learn that M'lntosh had hidden his gold somewhere in this neighbourhood. The rest of the evidence failed to disclose anything in connection with the murder, and the usual finding in similar cases was entered up.

.The -next morning the remains of Peter M'lntosh were interred in a sunny elope overlooking the creek. The claim was Bold to a party of Italians who, after starting work disclosed the fact that the "ground was extraordinarily rich, and that from the portion worked by him Peter M'lntosh must have taken fully a thousand ounces of gold.

"What did he do with it?" was the question asked on every side. He had not sold it, nor was it found amongst the articles of apparel in hie tent. He would not go to his work with such a weight upon his person. Did some person unknown, possess the old jnan's secret, and, fcnowing where the gold • was hidden, resort to cold-blooded murder to obtain possession of the treasure?