Page:The Eureka Stockade.djvu/19

9 Get a tolerable young pig, make it stand on his hind legs, put on its head a cap trimmed with gold-lace, whitewash its snout, and there you have the ass in the form of a pig; I mean to say a "man;" with this privilege, that he possesses in his head the brains of both the above-mentioned brutes.

VIII.

LUDI BALLAARATENSES.

was advancing fast to glory. Each day, and not seldom, twice a defy, the gutter gammoned and humbugged all us "vagabonds" so deucedly, that the rush to secure a claim "dead on it" rose to the standard of "Eureka style;" that is, "Ring, ring," was the yell from some hundred human dogs, and soon hill and flat poured out all spare hands to thicken the "ring."

By this time, two covies-one of them generally an Irishman—had stripped to their middle, and were "shaping" for a round or two. A broken nose, with the desired accomplishment of a pair of black eyes; and in all cases, when manageable, a good smash in the regions either of the teeth, or of the ribs—both, if possible, preferred—was supposed to improve the transaction so much, that, what with the tooth dropping, or the rib cracking, or both, as aforesaid, it was considered "settled." Thus originated the special title of "rowdy mob," or Tipperary, in reference to the Irish. Let us have the title clear.

The "shepherding," that is the squatting by one man—women and children had not got hold of this Dolce far niente yet—the ground allotted by law to four men; and the astuteness of our primitive shepherds having found it cheap and profitable to have each claim visibly separated from the other by some twenty-feet wall, which was mutually agreed upon by themselves alone, to call it "spare ground," was now a grown-up institution. Hence, whenever the gutter, 120 feet below, took it into its head to bestir and hook it, the faithful shepherds would not rest until they were sure to snore in peace a foot and a half under ground from the surface, and six score feet from " bang on the gutter."

This Ballaarat dodge would have been innocent enough, were it not for "Young Ireland," who, having fixed head-quarters on the Eureka, was therefore accused of monopolising the concern. Now, suppose Paddy wanted to relish a "tip," that is, a drop of gin on the sly, then Scotty, who had just gulped down his "toddy," which was a drop of auld whisky,