A Trader's Tale

By “Borneo’’

IWAS in West Australia in the first flush of the boom. Gold was easily got and for a mate, I had an old Corn ish miner, Jimmy Acton.

I was only 25, and my mate gave me a straight tip, right away, as to hospital ity and the big heart. This was his creed: Never let a man pass your tent without asking him in and giving him a feed—damn the expense!—and if a man is sick, lend a willing hand.

Acton died of fever, in Cue. This hos pitality came back to me, shortly after his death, a thousand fold. What does the Holy Book say: Cast your bread upon the waters, etc.? Well, I found it, all right.

I had just come off Lake Austin, had finished my claim, and was sleeping alongside a well, 40 miles away. In the early morning, I was shaken out of my sleep by a red-headed Irishman (whom I had nursed through a bout of fever 12 months before out at Lawler’s).

“Hello, Jim”, said he. “Come with me”.

We went 100 yards or so away from the well and the company. “What do you think of this?” he said, showing me a great, red handkerchief, full of coarse

quartz gold. There must have been 60 to 100 ounces.

I opened my eyes wide and questioned him where he got the gold. “Mum’s the word. I have struck it rich, a great alluvial patch. You can come with me.

Its three days’ travel from here, and you can peg out the next claim to mine”.

I got, right away, into the nearest township, and stocked up flour and bully beef. We set out on our hike, and I got m next claim but one.

The first run out of my shaker, I got a 2°z. piece. My first day’s work was i lB <??• of Pure, solid gold. That night.

I shifted my pegs backwards—that was the rule with men on the ground—and. in three weeks’ work, this friend of mine put me into the way of making £1,860. That was the actual money I got for this melted gold in the city of Perth, besides paying my way.

I was unable to do more than three weeks’ work, as the find got abroad, and m no time there were 350 to 400 men on the field, and all the available ground was taken up. The money soon ran through my young fingers.

AFTER that, I made another nice lit tle bit of money—partly wages, after prospecting on my own, working in one or two fairly rich mines—one mine, in particular, named “Star of the East”.

She was a dandy reef, 11 ft. wide and, on the hanging wall, a white buck quartz. 2 ft. wide, with a band of gold 4 inches wide running through from the shaft to the fourth and fifth stope.

My work was in one of the stopes.

It was a real, heavy, tiring job. All the men who worked on the gold had to strip naked in the changing house at the end of the day, and walk into an other shed to get their ordinary clothes to go home in.

IHAD had my fill of mining, so after getting well away with my bit of savings, I started work on a farm, think ing that would be the best way of leav ing underground work alone, and so live the open-air life. But working out-doors in three shifts is a real corker, a bit of slavery. No sleep in the day. Too many damned flies and, when Saturday comes to an end, a man is all in.

Anyhow. I did four months on a West Australian farm, milking cows, looking after 17 windmills, 60 pigs, 500‘ fowls and 1,700 sheep, doing also a bit of cooking, and all without a woman mate.

I told the boss: “I’ve had enough, I’m going into Perth”.

Said he: “All right, but don’t leave me. Go and have a fly, then come back”.

I sure went on the fly.

I got to Perth, and not long after I saw an advertisement in the paper:— “Wanted: A married couple for a sta tion”. Here was my chance.

I applied for the job, and got it. I had no woman, but that did not bother me. I made up my mind that the first woman I could get hold of I would take, and we would go as man and wife.

I got the job on a Monday, and the agent told me I would have to go off to the “station” by Thursday morning’s train, leaving at 8 a.m. I said: “All right—l’ll be there”.

He also said I looked a likely looking man, “but how about your wife?” He would like to see her. Was she a good cook and laundry woman? I said: “Top notch, Al”. The only thing was that she

was at the moment working in the city, while I had been away on a farm. But he need not worry about her—we would be off on Thursday.

He sent a wire, and a buggy was to meet the train at 10 o'clock Thursday night, the “station” being 14 miles from the railroad.

ALL was settled. I had the job to go to, but no “wife” to keep me com pany.

Monday, no luck. Tuesday, no luck.

On Wednesday. I met my fate. I was walking along Murray Street, and a woman, passing along, smiled at me. We shook hands, and I asked her to come and have a drink. After a drink we strolled down the street to a restaurant, and had a good meal. The girl, aged about 25, was evidently hungry, and did full justice to the meal.

We went into the park, facing the Swan River, and, after a good talk. I asked her would she like to go with me to a job on a station.

“Well”, said she, “you look a decent sort, and I’ll trust you. I’ll go”.

I told her “50-50”. The wage was £3 a week.

She roomed in North Perth. Getting a spring cart, I loaded her boxes and my own. and off we went and booked ourselves in a big boarding-house in William Street, as Mr. and Mrs. John ston.

We caught the train. No plans for the future—just off to a station to work and save money. We arrived at the small township at 10.30, found the boss wait ing for us, and arrived at the station in the wee hours.

At 5 a.m., there was a knock at the door, and the missus told me where the cows were. We got along fine and suited well our respective jobs. Mine was cow boy; kill two sheep a week; chop wood; and general—no real hard work and plenty of good food. Annie (that was her name) was a real good cook. It was funny at first; not knowing one an other. She would ask me how I liked my chops? I think the missus heard her asking me about my tastes. Anyway, we were married to our job, and that kind of marriage suited us fine.

Everything went along well for awhile, and then Annie found she was to be come a mother. I took her down to a nursing home in Perth. Annie died m the nursing home.

I told her I would marry her, but she said, time and again, “No”. She would wait till she got through her trouble But I think she had a presentiment that this would be her end, and there was no need of any ceremony and swearing to hold together.

That’s nigh 40 years ago. Since then, I wandered far and wide before settling down in the Islands, but I have lived my life alone. No other woman ever shared my life like my chance find in Perth.