I know; the news articles about prospectors was a sad look at what went on during those days; I'm guessing it didn't matter where or when. But it went with our histories in Lancashire. Barb, Ontario, Canada. -----Original Message----- From: Colin Rowley via Sent: Saturday, October 3, 2015 6:48 PM To: Barb Ontario Canada ; [email protected] Subject: Re: [LAN] PENRITH HERALD, September 5,1874 / LETTER FROM THE GOLD DIGGINGS. Thanks for that. Conditions were tough for prospectors in those days. It was tough anywhere prospectors went as many had no or little bush survival skills and scant resources. every now and then road crews come across the odd shallow grave of some poor traveller from the gold rush period. sadly, remains of these poor souls rarely have any identifying features and so remain unknown. Colin On 4 October 2015 at 03:43, Barb Ontario Canada via <[email protected]> wrote: > LETTER FROM THE GOLD DIGGINGS. > > A letter just received in Liverpool from an English emigrant in Australia > gives a graphic description of the sufferings endured by those who went to > the Palmer diggings. The letter is dated Brisbane, June, and the writer > says: > > “Since the 17th of March I have been very ill, but I am thankful to say I > am perfectly recovered. Since I last wrote I have had something fearful > to > undergo, and I am one of the lucky ones to have escaped as I have. > Hundreds of poor fellows have lost their lives, and what fearful deaths > some of them have had ! Some died from starvation, some were drowned, > others were killed by blacks, and hundreds were carried off by dysentery. > Even grass and rotten horseflesh were eagerly devoured. There were three > others who started with me. One died, and the other two are now in > hospital, and it is doubtful whether they will ever recover. > > We were nearly shipwrecked, and to save the vessel we had to smother 76 > horses, among which were three of mine, worth £75. Anyhow I managed to > reach the gold field, and in one day I got > £4 10s. worth of gold,, and the fever with it. After being unable to > walk, or scarcely stand, for about ten days, I started to walk back to the > seaport – 200 miles. All the provisions I had to carry me down were six > pounds of flour and four ounces of tea – neither sugar nor anything else. > > I counted 23 fresh graves on the road, all of which had been made since I > went up about a fortnight before. Some had been travelling alone, and had > lain down and died; and there the bodies lay till the next traveller came > along, and if they were not too much decomposed they were buried. If too > far gone, a few branches were thrown over them and there they were left. > > My expedition cost me £140, and I got £4 10s. in return. > ======================================================= > barb, ontario, canada. > > > > :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: > > Buy or sell family research items on the GEN-MAT-UKI mailing list. No > fees! > > The list's administrator can be contacted at [email protected] > > :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: Buy or sell family research items on the GEN-MAT-UKI mailing list. No fees! The list's administrator can be contacted at [email protected] :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message