In some places the horses had to climb over logs
under water, sometimes they had to swim, but in the end they all
arrived safely at the hut. They were very cold, and ravenously
hungry; and while their clothes were drying before a blazing fire,
they drank hot tea and ate up every scrap of food, so that Scott was
obliged to accompany them to the next station for rations. He left
the gin behind, having no anxiety about her. While he was away she
could feed sumptuously on grubs, crabs, and opossums.
In March, 1852, when everybody was seized with the gold fever, Davy
took it in the natural way. He again left Port Albert without a
pilot and went to Melbourne to resign his office. But Mr. Latrobe
promised to give him a salary of 500 pounds a year and a boat's crew
of five men and a coxswain. The men were to have twelve-and-six a
day and the coxswain fifteen shillings.
By this time the gold fever had penetrated to the remotest parts of
Gippsland, and from every squatting station and every lonely hut on
the plains and mountains men gathered in troops. They were leaving
plenty of gold behind them at Walhalla and other places. The first
party Davy met had a dray and bullocks. They were slowly cutting a
road through the scrub, and their team was the first that made its
way over the mountains from Gippsland to Melbourne.
Pages:
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414