Lady E. Stuart Wortley, in the account of her journey in America,
mentions that she saw a man proceeding on foot across the Isthmus of
Panama, bound for the Pacific, carrying a huge box on his back that
would almost have contained a house. It was really a dreadful thing to
see the poor man, full-cry for California, toiling along with his
enormous burden, under a tropical sun, the heat of which he required
to endure through forty miles of wilderness, and no chance of relief
or refreshment by the way. Yet this serio-comic spectacle is not
singular. Multitudes seem to have gone to the diggings with every
species of encumbrance, and in a totally unsuitable garb. Splendid
dress-coats and waistcoats, boots and pantaloons, but no
working-clothes, nor implements for camping, and in many instances not
even a cloak: everything suitable for the enjoyment of their golden
promises, with nothing to assist in realising them.
Nearly the same thing has occurred in innumerable instances as regards
Australia. The men going thither must in general be shepherds or their
masters; and to be either to any purpose, they must go far into the
bush. For this they required a talent for constructing huts for
themselves and servants, and hurdles for the cattle, and consequently
tools to assist them; but they often went without either tools or
talents, and so had to pay extravagantly for very common services.
They may have had common clothes, but they had made no provision for
living far from the assistance of women; and consequently, if a
coat-sleeve was torn, it must hang just as it was; if a stocking was
out at heel, having neither needles nor worsted, nor the power of
using them, they had no other resource but to _tie_ the _hole_
together. They had no idea of washing and dressing, and consequently
must want clean linen, or stockings, and every other article of clean
apparel, till a woman could be heard of, and bribed to assist them.
The consequence was, that it was cheaper to buy new articles than
either wash or mend the old. It is doubtful whether many had not
omitted to learn to shave themselves, or to provide razors or strops,
or even scissors.
Then as to baking bread, or cooking the humblest meal, they were
equally at a loss. They seem to have had no idea of the humblest
grate, or even of a flat and easily-cleaned stone for a hearth; and
so, having kneaded their 'damper,' it is never said how they thrust it
in the ashes till it was partially heated, and comparatively fit to
be eaten. They have mutton, and mutton only; but how cooked is equally
unknown. It is not known that they have any apparatus whatever, stew
or frying pan, or even a hook and string. Yet the natives of Scotland
may have seen many things nicely baked by means of a hot hearthstone
below, a griddle with live coals above, and burning turf all round. A
single pot with water is a boiler; with the juice of the meat, or
little more, a stew-pan; or merely surrounded by fire, an oven: but it
is believed many have not that single pot. Even the cheap crock that
holds salted meat might also be turned into a pudding-dish; and such a
vessel as that which of old held the ashes of the dead, and now
occasionally holds salt, the French peasant often turns into a
_pot-au-feu_--a pot for boiling his soup--and makes that soup out of
docks and nettles collected by the wayside, with a little
meal--delicious if seasoned with salt and a scrap of meat, or a
well-picked lark or sparrow, or even a nicely-skinned and washed thigh
of a frog!
The natives of New Holland themselves get fat upon serpents
well-killed--that is, with the heads adroitly cut off, so as not to
suffer the poison to go through the body; or upon earth or tree worms
nicely roasted. The Turks roast their _kebabs_--something near to
mutton-chops--by holding them to the fire on skewers. But the
inhabitants of Great Britain, accustomed to comforts unknown to any
other part of the world, are, when deprived of these comforts, the
most helpless in the world.
The natives of Ireland might be supposed to be excellent subjects for
emigration, for at home they have often only straw and rags for beds,
stones for seats, and one larger in the middle for a table; while the
basket or 'kish' that washes the potatoes, receives them again when
boiled: so that the pot and basket are the only articles of furniture.
Simplicity beyond this is hardly conceivable: there is but one step
beyond it--wanting the pot, and throwing the potatoes, however cooked,
broadcast upon the stone-table; and this is possible by roasting
the potatoes in the embers. The Guachos of South America teach how
even the most savoury meal of beef may be obtained without pot
or oven--namely, by roasting it in the skin! It is called
_carne-con-cuero_--flesh in the skin--and is pronounced delicious.
Diogenes threw away his dish, his only article of furniture, upon
seeing a boy drink from his hand; and after this example, an Irishman
might throw away his pot; though we would not recommend him to do so.
Unless people know how to prepare food, they may starve in the midst
of comparative plenty. It is alleged--though we do not vouch for the
fact--that when wheat and maize were carried into Ireland and given
gratis, the famine was not stayed. Though they had the wheat and
maize, they could not grind them; if ground, they could not cook
them--they had neither vessels nor fuel; if vessels and fuel were
given, they were still unable to assist themselves--they had not skill
to cook them; and if cooked, they could not eat them--they had never
been accustomed to do so! Such are the effects of carrying contentment
too far: the individual becomes wholly resourceless.
We try to induce them to fish with the same results. If we give them
boats, they have no nets; give them nets, they know not how to use
them; teach them to use them, and they can neither cook nor eat the
fish; and as to selling them for other comforts, there is no market!
Without a knowledge of agriculture, or fishing, or even talents to
feed themselves, such men are useless in any quarter, unless as
subjects to be taught; and now at last, but greatly too late, they are
being taught, and the much-abused railway will carry their produce to
the market.
The Scottish Celt is more shifty. In the old days when he had flesh
and little else to eat, he could broil it on the coals; and a Scotch
collop is perhaps equal to a Turkish kebob. We wonder if in Australia
the long-forgotten Scotch collop has been revived? It requires no
cooking-vessels. It may be held to the fire on a twig, or laid on the
coals and turned by a similar twig--bent into a collop-tongs--or even
by the fingers.
In the Rebellion of 1745, the Scoto-Celt could knead into a cake the
meal, which he carried as his sole provision, and knew that it ought
to be fired upon a griddle; but if he had no other convenience, he
could knead it in his bonnet, and eat it raw, and go forth to meet and
conquer the best-appointed soldiers in Europe. It was only when at
last he had neither rest nor food that he was dispersed--not
conquered. A lowland Scot is better. With a dish and hot water, and of
course the meal and salt, he can make _brose_, and live and thrive
upon it.
How John Bull, who in his own country is carnivorous, and will have
his roast-pig on Sunday, if he should slave all the week--how he gets
on in a new country, is more doubtful. Very likely, having more wants,
he makes more provision for them; but as below a certain rank he is
not a writing animal, less is known of his successes or difficulties.
For our own part, we think we would have made an excellent Crusoe, and
your Crusoe is the only man for a new country.
Some years ago, we travelled over the backbone of Scotland, and
returned somewhat on its western fin, both on foot; and all our
equipments were a travelling dress, a stout umbrella, and a parcel in
wax-cloth strapped on our left shoulder, not larger than is generally
seen in the hands of a commercial traveller--that is, twelve inches by
six or eight; and yet we never wanted for anything. It is true we had
generally the convenience of inns by the way; but if by our
_Traveller's Guide_ (which we also carried) we saw the stage was to be
long, an oaten cake, with a _plug_ of wheaten bread for the last
mouthful, to keep down heartburn, and a slice of cold beef or ham, or
a hard-boiled egg, were ample provisions. Drink? There was no lack of
drink. Springs of the most beautiful water were frequent by the
roadside, and constantly bubbling up, without noise or motion, through
the purest sand, though heaven only was looking upon them; and a
single leaf from our memorandum-book, formed into the shape of a
grocer's twist as wanted, served us as a drinking-cup throughout the
journey. Had we even been overtaken by night, it was summer, and a bed
under whins, or upon heather, with our umbrella set against the wind,
and secured to us, would have been delightful. Once, indeed, we feared
this would have been our fate; for on the very top of Corryarrick, and
consequently nine miles or more from house or home in any direction,
we sprained our ankle, or rather an old sprain returned. To all
appearance, we were done for, and might have sat stiff for days or
weeks by the solitary spring that happened to be near at the instant.
But a piece of flannel from the throat, and a tape from the wondrous
parcel, enabled us again to wag; and we finished our allotted journey
to Dalwhinnie in time for dinner, tea, and supper in one--and then to
our journal with glorious serenity!
Our arrangements for the continent were equally simple. When we were
asked to shew our luggage, on entering France, we produced a
portmanteau nine inches by six. 'Voila ma magasin!' It was opened, and
there were certainly some superfluities, though natural enough in an
incipient traveller. 'Une plume pour écrire l'Histoire de la
France!'--'Un cahier pour la même!' And the intending historian of
France, even with his imported pen and paper-book, and also three
shirts and some pairs of socks, was allowed to go to his dinner, with
his _magasin_ in his hand, and start by the first conveyance; while
his less fortunate fellow-travellers had to dine in absence of their
luggage, and perhaps give the town that had the honour of being their
landing-place, the profit of their company for the night.
But what is the use of all these insinuations of aptitude for
colonisation, when there is not such another man in the world? We beg
pardon; but we have actually discovered such another, and to introduce
him suitably has been the sole aim of our existence in writing this
interesting preface. In a most authentic newspaper, we find the
following admirable history, copied from the _New York Express_:--
'A man who had been an unsuccessful delver in the mines of Georgia, on
hearing the thrilling news of the gold placers of California, had his
spirit quickened within him; and although he had arrived at an
age--being about sixty--when the fires of youth usually cease to burn
with vigour, he fixed his eyes upon the far-distant and but
little-known country, and resolved that he would wend his way thither
alone, and even in the absence of that friend, generally thought
indispensable, money, of which he was wholly destitute.
'Under such circumstances, it would not avail to think of a passage
round "The Horn," or by the more uncertain, and at the same time
imperfected route, across the Isthmus. But as California was on this
continent, he knew that there was a way thither, though it might lead
through trackless deserts and barren wastes. These were not enough to
daunt his determined spirit. He bent his way to the "Father of
Waters," and worked his way as he could, till he found himself at
"Independence," in health, and with no less strength, and with 150
dollars in his purse. He had no family to provide for, or even
companion to care for, on the route which he was about to enter. Yet
some things were necessary for himself; and to relieve his body from
the pressure of a load, he provided himself with a wheel-barrow, on
which to place his traps.
'It must not be supposed that our hero was ignorant of the large
number of emigrants that was moving over the plains, and it is quite
probable that his sagacity was precocious enough to look ahead at the
result of attempting to carry forward such ponderous loads, and such a
variety of at least dispensable things as the earlier parties started
with. A detailed list of the 'amount and variety of goods and wares,
useful and superfluous, including many of the appendages of refined
and fashionable life, would astonish the reader. Our hero was not in a
hurry. He reasoned thus: "The world was not made in a day; the race is
not always for the swift." He trundled along his barrow, enjoying the
comforts of his pipe, the object of wonder to many, and the subject of
much sportive remark to those who were hurried along by their fresh
and spirited teams on their first days.
'Many weeks had not passed, however, before our traveller had tangible
evidence that trouble had fallen to the lot of some who had preceded
him. A stray ox was feeding on his track: the mate of which, he
afterwards learned, was killed, and this one turned adrift as useless.
He coaxed this waif to be the companion of his journey, taking care to
stop where he could provide himself with the needful sustenance. He
had not travelled far before he found a mate for his ox, and ere long
a wagon, which had given way in some of its parts, and been abandoned
by its rightful owner, and left in the road. Our travelling genius was
aroused to turn these mishaps to his own advantage; so he went
straightway to work to patch and bolster up the wagon, bound his
faithful oxen to it, and changed his employment from trundling a
wheel-barrow to driving a team. Onward moved the new establishment,
the owner gathering as he went, from the superabundance of those who
had gone before him, various articles of utility--such as flour,
provisions of all kinds, books, implements, even rich carpets, &c.
which had been cast off as burdensome by other travellers. He would
occasionally find poor worn-out animals that had been left behind, and
as it was not important for him to speed his course, he gathered them
together, stopping where there was abundance of grass, long enough for
his cattle to gain a little strength and spirit. Time rolled on, and
his wagon rolled with it, till he reached the end of his journey, when
it was discovered that he had an uncommon fine team and a good wagon,
&c. which produced him on the sale 2500 dollars.
'Being now relieved of the care of his team, and in the midst of the
gold-diggings, he soon closed his prospecting by a location; and while
all around him were concentrating their strength to consummate the
work of years in a few months, he deliberately commenced building,
finishing, and, as fast as he could, furnishing, a comfortable cabin.
His wood he gathered and regularly piled in a straight line and
perpendicular by the door, convenient as though the old lady had been
within to provide his meals. He acted upon the adage, "Never to start
till you are ready." Now our hero was ready to commence working his
"claim;" and this he did, as he did everything else, steadily and
systematically.
'He may yet be seen at his work, with the prospect--if he lives to be
an old man--of being rich; for in the last two years he has
accumulated 10,000 dollars.'
Need we add a word? This is decidedly the kind of man for
emigrating--or, indeed, for remaining at home. We, being of his own
character, can conceive his delicious nights of camping out, his head
under his wheel-barrow, until he arrived at the dignity of a wagon;
his principal luggage being perhaps a coverlet, to preserve him from
the cold in sleep, and a gun that unscrewed, and its appendages, to
provide him a fresh bird or beef. It is very probable that he sought
neither of these, but was contented with something concentrated and
preserved, and thus feasted; and with a drink from some delicious
spring, or from a bottle--that could not be broken--supplied at the
last spring he had passed, lay down conscious of his progress, well
satisfied with the past, and hopeful of the future.
On his arrival at his destination, his conduct is equally exemplary.
Every one should provide for the preservation of life and health as
first measures; and if not done at a rate which future exertions are
likely to render profitable, why make the expenditure? Now, many
are in all these new adventures expending on inevitable
necessities--having made no previous provision for them--such sums as
render all their exertions hopeless; while at the same time they are
sacrificing health and strength.
The government of Australia has certainly been very successful in
preserving order at the gold placers there, and has given its sanction
upon moderate terms; for here, we believe, gold and silver mines are
_inter regalia_, and could have been entirely seized by the crown. We
sincerely trust it will appropriate the great and unexpected revenue
thence arising in improving the roads through this magnificent
country, and providing shelter for the traveller; for at this moment,
many of the roads being over the steepest mountains, and the gradients
unmitigated by cuttings, or any other act of engineering whatever,
they are all but impassable, and are travelled with the greatest
torture to the unfortunate animals concerned. It was the reproach of
Spain, that though in possession of South America for centuries, she
had formed few roads; and that the few formed were bad, and the
accommodation in their neighbourhood of the worst description--often
open sheds, without food or furniture, or indeed inhabitants; or if
inhabited, with only stones for seats, and raised mounds of earth for
beds. Even now, in little more than half a century, things are better
in Australia than this, at least wherever government has extended. But
there is a vast deal more to be done; and it is a pity that in the
first place suitable schools are not formed for the persons intending
to emigrate, and opportunity given them to do so, without the
degradation of crime, and the expense and disgrace of conviction.