Kanowna—The Great Alluvial Rush—Big Nuggets—“The Joker”—Father
Long’s Golden Sickle—Nobility Represented—Bulong.
Looking at the town of Kanowna, White Feather, at the present time, one
can hardly believe that two years ago there were 20,000 people there. It
is now a quiet settled little town, the outskirts riddled with holes,
like an immense rabbit warren. Even what was once the large cemetery is
now dug up in all directions, with just a little plot fenced in where
burials had really taken place. The other portion, which, owing to the
richness of the surrounding ground, was thrown open for digging, had, of
course, not been used for burial purposes. I first went to Kanowna in
November 1897, at the commencement of the great rush. I wanted to see
a rush on the spot, and accordingly started one morning by coach from
Kalgoorlie. On arrival at Kanowna, quite a stranger, I had to carry my
own portmanteau around and look for a hotel to stay at. There was no
sign of a man about the little town. I afterwards found that all the
men were up at the Lead, as it was called. At this time there were only
three hotels in the town, now there are more than twelve. I was fortunate
enough to secure the only vacant room in Donnelon’s Hotel; so, after
getting off some of the red dust of the 12-mile coach ride I started
for the said Lead, about half a mile from the hotel. When I first saw
it I was amazed, not only at the number of tents and bough-houses, the
thousands of windlasses at work, the thousands of men with tin dishes
washing the ore for gold, the thousands of cradles (not babies’) being
rocked for the same purpose, but at the thousands of men rushing about in
all directions in a state of wild excitement. People at that time came
from all directions to see the wonderful alluvial field—miners to take
up claims, speculators to buy out claims, men to buy gold, men to buy
ore, and plenty of people only as spectators, who wanted to see the gold
as it was washed off. In this, however, they did not always succeed, for
those men who had time to do it had made bough-sheds and pitched tents,
and had their cradles inside, where they could wash their ore in privacy,
and not let everybody know how many ounces would go to the dish. It was
my good fortune to make friends with many of the mining-parties and to
see the gold washed off, often 8 and 10 ounces to the tin dish. Many
nice little slugs were given me by those kindly miners as a souvenir of
my visit. Many days in succession I visited the Lead, as it was called;
much kindness did I receive, and many a billy of tea was boiled for my
refreshment.
At the beginning of the Lead the first claim was held by Sim and Gresson;
the latter joined the second Australian Contingent, and has since been
fighting for our Queen in Africa. George Sim, the original finder of the
rich cement ore, told me that he had worked there for 18 months, with
very poor results, and yet felt sure of ultimate success, so that he was
not surprised when one day he “struck it rich,” as the miners’ saying
goes, and since then he and his partners have been taking out cement,
full of rich gold, as fast as pick and shovel can dig, and have taken
over £10,000 worth of gold out of their ground. The next claim, held
by Morris, Long, and party, also turned out very rich. From 60 tons of
cement they obtained 555 ounces of gold, 200 ounces of this being taken
from the dish, that is, obtained merely by washing the stuff in the
dish and picking out the gold; the rest was treated at the battery. The
cement is a greenish-looking stuff, more like pipeclay than anything I
have ever seen. Most of it crumbles up in the hand when touched, and the
gold is plainly visible, but there are occasionally some hard lumps as
well. There were hundreds of other claims around here, notably that of P.
McManus, Huntington, and party. Poor Paddy McManus has since joined the
great majority. He was one of the best and kindliest of men on the field
and was regretted by all. This claim yielded an enormous quantity of
gold. Then Tassy O’Connor, Doyle, and party’s claims, called the Arctic
Circle and Klondyke, yielded the partners a fortune each. Ninety tons
crushed for Jackson and party yielded the handsome return of 497 ounces
of gold. At Casey’s Claim, the day I was there, they had just washed
off some wonderfully rich coarse gold. They had about 40 ounces of the
precious metal in a frying-pan, no other article being available to hold
it since all the tin dishes were required for gold washing purposes. Some
nice pieces of gold, running to about 27 dwts., are often found in these
dishes.
[Illustration: Deep Lead, Kanowna]
These claims, with numbers of others just as rich, were on the Main,
or Fitzroy Lead; on the right, and to the north, was the North Lead,
where more riches have been found. Eaton and party refused a large sum
for a ninth interest in their claim; they were making hundreds a week,
and none of them felt disposed to sell out. Close to this claim was the
famous Donegal. While I was there four buckets of ore were brought to the
surface thick with gold, and when washed were found to contain nearly
300 ounces. There was great excitement on the Lead that day, although
the miners keep things of that sort as much as possible to themselves.
It is reckoned that £12,000 worth of gold has been obtained from this
claim alone. The Red, White and Blue Company have also taken phenomenal
quantities of gold from their claim near the Donegal, about £600 or £700
worth of gold having been taken from the earth every week. Many of these
men who had now struck such wonderful good luck had previously worked for
years for what in mining parlance is called “tucker” (food). No doubt
pluck and perseverance are the two essentials required, and if everybody
could see the 12,000 miners on Kanowna field as I saw them, and could
hear of all the hardships that the majority of them had endured prior
to striking this rich field, no one would deny that their good fortune
was deserved. Another very rich lead was called the Golden Valley. Here
the ore chiefly obtained was that called “pug”; it proved very rich, but
there was great difficulty in extracting the gold from it until a special
process was discovered. The Death Valley and Cemetery Claims also proved
to be very rich. Enormous quantities of gold were taken from Kanowna
in 12 months; but it is difficult to obtain really accurate returns of
an alluvial field, as many miners keep quantities of their gold, while
others carry it away and sell it at different places; but I saw with my
own eyes the enormous richness of the field, and, if I never see another
alluvial rush, shall consider I was in luck when I saw Kanowna, not only
because of the information I received, the money I made by being advised
in what to speculate, but for the mere sake of seeing the place as it was
in the full tide of its golden glory. There were no very large nuggets at
this rush, but about two years before, at a place called Black Flag, one
weighing 303 ounces was found; it was called “The Joker.” In company with
it were four other nuggets and a piece of quartz containing 60 ounces of
gold. The Joker was an exceptionally bright piece of gold, three-cornered
in shape, with a bit out of one base. The other nuggets weighed 73
ounces, 51 ounces, 37 ounces, and a little over 10 ounces respectively.
All of this gold was found at a depth of 6 feet, and in the course of one
week’s work, the total weight being 537 ounces. One day all Kanowna and
the surrounding country were roused to a state of tremendous excitement
by the report spread by Father Long, the parish priest, that an enormous
nugget, weighing 1636 ounces, valued at £6500, had been found close by,
and had been named the Sacred Nugget, or the “Golden Sickle.” When the
news reached Koolgarlie and Coolgardie, parties were organised, horses
and buggies, cabs, carts, bicycles, and every other available vehicle
taken possession of, and thousands of persons started for Kanowna field.
In the meantime no authentic information could be obtained in Kanowna
as to the place from which this tremendous lump of gold had come, the
lucky finders keeping that a profound secret. However, search-parties
were organised, and set off to look for the spot whence the nugget came,
some one having given the slight clue: “It was near the Dry Lake.” Off
the parties went to the neighbourhood indicated, and a very lively drive
they had. It took an hour to reach the Lake, and there a consultation
took place. It was decided to skirt along the Lake, but nothing came in
sight except a boundless track of low bush. Another halt took place, when
a journalist among the search-party, more venturesome than the rest,
climbed a steep hill, and at once gave a loud “Hullo!” Every one thought
the object of the journey had been attained. The spy had discovered
tents some distance away. Off went the horses and vehicles at a hard
gallop. The tents were all a dream, however. There were no tents, and
there was nothing in sight. It was resolved to turn round and try in
another direction. At another likely spot a halt was again made, and here
occurred the most amusing incident. One of the vehicles had been left
by all its occupants except a lady. Everybody was engaged in individual
searching when a loud cry from the lady recalled every one to the drag.
Perhaps she had been more fortunate. “Look there!” said she; “look at
all these men running and shouting;” and lo and behold, about 200 men
were seen rushing down an adjacent hill toward the party, each with a
branch of a tree. It appeared, however, that the newcomers had only been
following the conveyances. Off went the vehicles again, down the Lake,
up the Lake, and round the Lake. Everywhere did these parties go, but
no gold or signs of habitation were seen. Father Long was besieged by
people, over 300 visiting his camp to find out where the lucky spot was,
but the priest said it was told to him under the seal, and he could not
divulge the spot. After searching all over the country near to Kanowna
no discoveries were made, and the searchers returned sadder but wiser
men. You may be sure Father Long came in for no small share of abuse from
thousands of disappointed people. The truth of this remarkable story has
never come to light, but it is quite certain that no such nugget was ever
found, no official notice of it having been recorded, and no bank ever
having had charge of it. Father Long has since passed away from earth and
nuggets, dying of typhoid fever in Perth Hospital in May 1899, and what
was his share in reporting the find will never now be known. Many people
are inclined to think that Father Long really thought he did see the
nugget, and therefore spoke of it in good faith. A version of the affair
given me by a good authority at Kanowna, after it had all blown over, was
that a certain party of men, who owned one of the richest claims in the
neighbourhood, had all the gold they had collected for some time at one
of the hotels and that one of the partners, an Irishman, placed all the
lumps and pieces of gold together in the form of a sickle, and called it
the “Golden Sickle,” the collection of pieces looking exactly like a huge
lump of gold. Father Long, being near at hand, was invited to see the
splendid specimen, which he immediately blessed and called the “Sacred
Nugget.” The partners did not undeceive him, but bound him to secrecy
concerning the names of the party who found it and the alleged locality
from whence it came. This promise poor Father Long faithfully kept,
thereby gaining for himself the condemnation of the multitude. None of
the partners were brave enough to own what they had done, and Father Long
had to bear the burden to the last.
[Illustration: Alluvial Diggings, Kanowna]
In those times Kanowna was a place never to be forgotten. At night, after
work was over, thousands of men used to flock into the little town,
and the three hotels being quite inadequate to their wants, grog-shops
existed in dozens and plied a big trade. I must say, however, that,
considering all things, Kanowna was in general strikingly orderly and
peaceful. Of course there were occasional fights. We witnessed several
from the balcony of the hotel, the only place where we could sit in the
hot summer evenings. The hotel was crowded, hundreds were unable to get
served, and men were waiting five deep in the bars; all drinks cost
1_s._ The hotel-keepers made rapid fortunes from the bars, and were,
besides, partners in claims on the Lead. Two hundred and thirty thousand
ounces of gold have been obtained from this great alluvial field. It
is well known that miners, more especially the prospectors, are very
kind-hearted and resourceful men. If they “strike it rich” they spend
money freely, and are generous to a fault to any old mates they may
meet who have not been so fortunate as themselves. It cannot be denied
that, for strong and able-bodied young men, life in the West, with its
freedom and many chances of good luck, is one not to be despised. Men
from surprisingly different classes are to be met on the goldfields, and
yet, so to speak, all classes are alike. I met during my travels on the
Lead several university men who were trying their luck with the pick and
shovel, and were not ashamed of their clay-stained moleskins. There are
a good many new chums (arrivals), easily recognisable. The nobility is
also represented; one trooper who was there belonged to a noble family
in England. Another, a sprig of Scotch nobility, was on one of the
large mines adjacent to Kanowna, and was said to be a fine fellow and
universally liked. One meets quite a large proportion of men and women
recently arrived from the old country, who seem always to make for the
goldfields by preference, while most Australians seem to love the towns
and want to stay there. There are several deep-level mines within a short
distance of Kanowna, none of them, however, calling for special mention,
with the exception of the White Feather Main Reefs, which occasionally
gives a good yield, and the managers of which look on it as having better
things still in store; recent crushings have been highly satisfactory,
and future ones are expected largely to increase the profits of the
shareholders.
Bulong is a mining township 12 miles from Kanowna, and as several good
finds have been made there, one of 500 ounces of gold, I should not be at
all surprised to hear of a more sensational find some day, followed by
the inevitable rush. The Queen Margaret Mine has given good returns, and
there are a number of men on the alluvial ground who make a good living,
and a little to spare, all the year round. The ground has not been
thoroughly prospected yet, and its worth remains to be decided. Sixteen
miles from Bulong, at Black Hills, two men, who had been prospecting,
lately came across a nice little find of 2000 ounces of gold from a few
tons of quartz. The usual subsequent rush to rich finds of course took
place. In October 1900 a large nugget weighing 13 lb. was found by a man
named Eddy, at Kurnalpi, about 40 miles from here, not 200 yards from
the place where the nugget weighing 168 ounces was found the year before
by John Symonds. Kurnalpi has been one of the richest districts of the
goldfields, and who knows how soon some still more sensational finds may
startle us all!
[Illustration: Hill End Mine—Broad Arrow]