DIGGERS ON A NEW RUSH.

Colonist, Volume VI, Issue 597, 14 July 1863, Page 6

DIGGERS ON A NEW RUSH.

(From tJie Otago Daily Times.)

The; diggers on a new rush present an extraordinary heterogeneous combination of •humanity. Men of all classes, creeds, and .colors,.from the shores of Scandinavia to the of India, are here assembled, and,: wit.E'out/a great digression from the subject^, r\ve might almost say Timbuctoo was repre-., sented. Of course the greater part consists, of the bona fide hard-working, .persevering miner; but as a new lead.is such a lottery, and the least informed on mining matters are quite as likely to draw a prize as the best, every schemer or loafer in the place has what is usually termed " a shy in" on a newly discovered, gold-field. This fraternity forms a no despisable part of the community, for as the barnacles stick to the bottom of the ship, and either sink or swim with it, so does- the loafer or schemer to the new rush; and let the new discovery be where it will, even should it be across the great plains of Australia, as in the case of the Lachlan and Lambing Flat rushes, though some 500 miles I distant from "Wbodville, there we find him under precisely similar circumstances. This class may be said to consist of members" of the P.E., either of the light or heavy, : weights, or sometimes "both; defunct shanty keepers,, who have .swallowed both'profit and! principal; the imbibing,, although we plushy to say it, medical practitioner, whom no pa-' tient would dream of entrusting with his confidence, as previous to the discovery of "Woodville he had been incarcerated for medical malpractices, resulting in the death of some poor unfortunate woman; his cherry? colored hose and shivering frame. looking as if he had suddenly taken cold, shows: that he still loves his jolly god, as he importunes some previous acquaintance,.who. takes pity on his dejected appearance and " shouts a nobbier." Of this class, the prize-fighter may be said to be the only man commanding res.pect; he is generally a sort of an oracle, and considers himself an .important personage, pugilism being always in high favor on a new rush, and is oftentimes brought into request to settle disputes', in" preference to -the, slow and uncertain method of .an appeaK t'o'the "Warden".' " ' '•"'-

In several places the diggers had formed themselves into little groups, not a few watching a party of Chinamen who were just on the point of bottoming, for although the Euroj>ean miner considers it a flagrant infringement of the rights of labor to be compelled to sink his shaft a reasonable depth daily, in the case of the Celestial miiier he has quite the reverse opinion, and insists upon John going down with his claim with all due diligence, upon pain of having it jumped; by which means he gets the ground tried, and the probable course of the lead defined without any expenditure of tools or labor on his part, the Chinese being looked upon neither more nor less than as intruders, and would be missed with about the same complacency as the rats in Punedirt. These cases are generally the only chance's 1 where the European can make use of the "services of his Celestial rival, and he is ii6f slow to do it, the police not being alwa/s' able to afford " John " protection on a large' rush. " The prospector's shaft is always a favorite place of resort, and constant are theenquiries as to the course the lead is taking, the width of the gutter and the depth of the washdirt, which, as it comes up from the drives and is shot out from the bucket, is instantly pounced upon by numerous fingers, and religiously examined as to its goldbearing qualities; and the precious metal, should any be found, is faithfully returned with the dirt to the paddock; to do so beingalways considered a point of honor with the diggers.