d not have reached by a
long way the indiscriminate slaughter that was supposed to go on in the
bush. The people who used to hold their hands up in horror--righteous
horror had the tales been true--at the awful cruelties perpetrated by the
prospectors, based their opinions on the foolish "gassing" of a certain
style of man who thinks to make himself a hero by recounting dark deeds
of blood, wholly imaginary. I remember reading a letter to a friend from
his mother, in which she begged him to take no part in the "nigger hunting
excursions" that she had heard went on in Western Australia. Poor lady!
she need not have disturbed herself, for such things never existed, nor
had her boy ever seen a black-fellow, except round the slaughter-yards of
Coolgardie!

No luck attended our search in the Mount Margaret district, and we shared
the opinion of everybody there that it was a "duffer," and after events
had proved what that opinion was worth. Travelling and prospecting as we
went, we at last succeeded in finding a reef which we thought was worth
having.

May 30th. We made camp amongst some auriferous hills in what is now known
as the Niagara District, and within a few miles of a spot where,
subsequently, a rich find of gold was made. Since the natives were known
to be troublesome in this locality, we adopted the plan of one stopping
in camp whilst the other prospected. Formerly we had considered it safe
for the one at home to be within reasonable distance of camp, but now,
when semi-civilised natives were prowling about, it was unwise to leave
the camp at all. Luck found gold first, but in so small a vein of quartz
that we did not consider it worth working. The next day, however, we
"got colours" in a fine big reef, and, moving our belongings to its
vicinity, started prospecting the outcrop. Everywhere we tried we found
gold sprinkled through the stone like pepper, and by "dollying" obtained
good results. Satisfied with the prospect, the next thing to be done was
to cross-cut the reef to ascertain its thickness and character below the
surface.

Fortunately water was close to hand, that is to say three miles away, in a
creek since named "Dingo Creek." From there we packed water back to camp,
as often as we required it. Our luck in securing game had now deserted us,
and we had again to fall back on our nearly diminished stock of mince.

After a week's hard work we found that with our limited supply of tools,
without drills an