failing a long stay in that region I could go
where I thought best.

To the east and north-east of Coolgardie lie what are known as the Hampton
Plains--so named by Captain Hunt, who in 1864 led an expedition past York,
eastward, into the interior. Beyond the Hampton Plains he was forced back
by the Desert, and returned to York with but a sorry tale of the country
he had seen. "An endless sea of scrub," was his apt description of the
greater part of the country. Compared to the rest, the Hampton Plains were
splendid pastoral lands. Curiously enough, Hunt passed and repassed close
to what is now Coolgardie, and, though reporting quartz and ironstone,
failed to hit upon any gold. Nor was he the only one; Coolgardie had
several narrow squeaks of being found out.

Giles and Forrest both traversed districts since found to be gold-bearing,
and though, like Hunt, reporting, and even bringing back specimens of
quartz and ironstone, had the bad luck to miss finding even a "colour."

Alexander Forrest, Goddard, and Lindsay all passed within appreciable
distance of Coolgardie without unearthing its treasures, though in
Lindsay's journal the geologist to the expedition pronounced the country
auriferous. When we come to consider how many prospectors pass over gold,
it is not so wonderful that explorers, whose business is to see as much
country as they can, in as short a time as possible, should have failed to
drop on the hidden wealth.

Bayley and Ford, its first discoverers, were by no means the first
prospectors to camp at Coolgardie. In 1888 Anstey and party actually found
colours of gold, and pegged out a claim, whose corner posts were standing
at the time of the first rush; but nobody heeded them, for the quartz was
not rich enough.

In after years George Withers sunk a hole and "dry blew" the wash not very
far from Bayley's, yet he discovered no gold. Macpherson, too, poked out
beyond Coolgardie, and nearly lost his life in returning, and, indeed, was
saved by his black-boy, who held him on the only remaining horse.

Other instances could be given, all of which show that Nature will not be
bustled, and will only divulge her secrets when the ordained time has
arrived. It has been argued that since Giles, for example, passed the
Coolgardie district without finding gold, therefore there is every
probability of the rest of the country through which he passed being
auriferous. It fails to occur to those holding this view, that