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Ni chaid twll ail llaw yn y Canadian Gully heb swm mawr, am y gwerthent rai gan uched a mil o bunnau: gan na hoffwn beidio a gweithio ar y pryd, cytunais, yn un o wyth, i brynu twll ail llaw, a chawsom un am wyth gant o bunnau. Gofynais i Jack a ddeuai ef yn gyfranog, ond ni wyddai am beth amser y modd i ateb: ofnai wrthod, rhag y buasai dygwydd i mi fod yn ffodus fy anturiaeth, ac ofnai gymmeryd hanner fy rhan, rhag y collem yn fawr, fel, o ganlyniad, na fyddai ganddo ef arian i gofio am ei hên greadures. O’r diwedd, dywedodd y safai yn rhanog â mi, a thelais yr holl gant punt, â’m harian fy hun, am ein cyfran o’r twll, gan fyned a dechreu gweithio. |
A second-hand hole could not be had in the Canadian Gully without a large sum of money, some being sold for as much as a thousand pounds: as I did not want to stop working at that time, I agreed, as one of eight, to buy a second-hand hole, and we got it for eight hundred pounds. I asked Jack whether he would come in on it, but for some time he did not know how to answer: he feared to refuse, lest my venture succeed, and he feared to take half my share, lest we should lose heavily, and he be as a consequence unable to see his old girl. In the end, he said he should stand in with me, and I paid the whole hundred pounds, with my own money, for our share of the hole, and went and started work. |
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Holai Jack yn bryderus a pharhaus am fy ngwaith yn y twll, a oedd yn debyg o dalu ai peidio; a byddwn yn dywedyd mai drwg, oni byddai i ni gael llawer mwy o aur nag a gawsom hyd hyny; ac yn mhen yr wythnos diangodd Jack, a gadawodd i mi gymmeryd a ddeuai i’m cyfarfod: er yr ammheuwn, nis gwyddwn yn gadarnhaol y ffordd yr aeth Jack. Cyfarfyddais a’r Gwyddel, sef, yr un hwnw a gyfododd yn y cwch wrth ddiangc i dalu diolch i’r cadben am ein trosglwyddiad i’r wlad, a dywedodd y gallwn fod yn dawel am Jack, ac mai sicr ganddo ef iddo fyned i lawr at Geelong i briodi ei hên greadures, neu, fel y gelwid genym ni, Happy Jack. Wedi clywed hyny, nid oedd genyf ond ymroddi at orphen gweithio’r twll, yr hyn a wnaethom yn mhen oddeutu dwy wythnos, a phob un o honom ddeg punt yn fyr o gael ein harian allan, heblaw a gollais yn Jack. |
Jack kept asking me anxiously about my work in the hole, whether it was likely to pay or not; and I said it was bad, unless we found more gold than we had so far; and within the week Jack had absconded, leaving me to take whatever came to meet me: though I suspected, but did not know for sure, which way Jack had gone. I met the Irishman, the one who had stood up in the boat as we escaped to thank the captain for our transport to the land, and he told me I should stay quiet about Jack, and that he was sure Jack had gone to Geelong to marry his old creature, or as we called her, “Happy Jack”. Having heard that, I had no choice but to devote myself to working the hole, which we finished in two weeks, each of us ten pounds short of getting our money back, besides what I had lost to Jack. |
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Ymunais yn nesaf gyda’r Gwyddel, a thri eraill o’n morwyr, i gloddio twll newydd, yr hwn a weithiasom ddydd a nos, gan newid bob deuddeg awr, hyd i ychydig dros gant troedfedd; ac wedi ei waelodi, gwelem nad oedd y llinell yn mhell oddiwrthym, ac eto mor bell fel nad oedd dim o honi o fewn i’n terfynau ni, ond yr oedd trwy ganol y twll nesaf atom. Maintioli arwynebedd y tir, a osodai’r llywodraeth i ddynion yn cydgyfranogi a’u gilydd, yn y dyddiau hyny, oedd pedair troedfedd ar hugain pedwar ochrog, a dim ond hyny i’r un cyfranwyr. Modd bynag, wedi i ni weithio gyda’r twll newydd dair wythnos, cawsom, bob un, saith wns o aur. |
Next I agreed with the Irishman, and three of our other sailors, to dig a new hole, which we worked day and night, changing every twelve hours, to a depth of a little over a hundred feet; and after bottoming it we saw the line was not far from us, but far enough that none of it was within our bounds, rather it ran through the middle of the hole next to us. The surface area granted by the government to men working in partnership, in those days, was twenty-four feet square, and only that to the same partners. At any rate, after working the new hole for three weeks, we each of us got seven ounces of gold. |
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Gweithiai un lled ddigrif o’n morwyr, a elwid Old Ned, gyda ni yn y twll hwn; a chan yr arferai yfed, syrthiai weithiau i feddwdod. Dygwyddodd un tro iddo golli llogell ei lodrau, trwy i un ei thorri ymaith, ac ynddi bedair punt ar ddeg: teimlai Old Ned yn drallodus pan y sobrodd, a chyfeiriodd ei hun i’r babell lle collodd ei logell, gan ddeisyf yn ostyngedig ar y bobl am ei arian yn ddidwrf, a hwythau, druain, ni wyddent ddim am ei logell na’i arian. Daeth rhyw forwr, a dywedodd iddo weled y dyn a enwai yn chwareu o gylch llogell Old Ned, pan yn y babell yn ceisio gwydraid o frandi. Aethom at hwnw i ofyn yr arian, a gwadodd eilwaith, gan ddywedyd na wyddai ef ddim am danynt: dywedasom mai gresyn oedd lladrata yr oll a feddiannai’r dyn; ac yntau, pan glywodd ei fod mor isel ei amgylchiadau, a estynodd y llogell a’r cyfanswm arian iddo, gan fynegi na buasai yn eu lladrata, oni bai ei fod wedi ei demtio dan rym dylanwad y gwlybyroedd meddwol: llawenhaodd eu cael yn ol galon Old Ned. |
There was a funny fellow called “Old Ned”, one of our sailors, working with us in this hole; and as he used to drink, he sometimes fell into drunkenness. On one occasion he lost the pocket of his breeches, someone having cut it off, along with fourteen pounds: once he was sober again Old Ned was vexed, and he directed himself to the tent where he had lost his pocket, meekly requesting the return of his money, and no trouble; but the people there, poor things, knew nothing about his pocket or his money. A sailor came and told him he had seen a particular man playing about Old Ned’s pocket, when he had been in the tent looking for a glass of brandy. We went to the man to ask for the money, and he again refused, saying he knew nothing about it: we said it was a shame to see a man robbed of all his possessions; and hearing how poor in circumstances was Old Ned, the man handed over the pocket with the money in it, claiming he should never have stolen it had he not been tempted under the powerful influence of intoxicating liquor: Old Ned’s heart rejoiced to have it back. |
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Nychwn yn barhaus dan effaith yr oerfel a gefais yn y Pwynt Euraidd, a bwriedais, ar ol gorphen y twll, yr awn gan belled a Geelong, i ymdrechu am ryw gyffyr i symmud ymaith y peswch. Cyn i mi gychwyn, pwy ddaeth i Ballarat, ond yr hen gyfaill Jack! “Lle buost ti, Jack?” oedd fy ngofyniad cyntaf; “Buom i lawr yn Geelong yn priodi Happy Jack, ebe yntau. “Pa le y mae hi genyt?” gofynais; “Mae hi yn y dref gyda’i mham,” atebodd y priod. “Wel,” ebe fi, “cefais saith wns o aur o’r twll yna, gydag Old Ned, er pan y’m gadewaist; a thebygol, gan i ti ffoi fel y gwnaethost, heb son gair, nad wyt yn dysgwyl dim o hwnw.” “O, na, na, dim gwerth dimeu; dyfod i edrych am danat a wnaethym i yn awr,” ebe Jack. Dywedais fy mod am fyned i Geelong y dydd hwnw, i geisio rhyw ymwared oddiwrth y peswch: “Myfi a ddeuaf gyda thi yno, ac yn ol, a chaiff naill ai Kitty, fy ngwraig, neu fy mam yng nghyfraith, wneuthur peth i’th chwysu,” ebe Jack. Cychwynasom ein dau i Geelong, yr hwn le sydd o Ballarat, y pellder o dri ugain milltir a deg. |
I suffered constantly from the effects of the chill I had caught at Golden Point, and I decided after finishing the hole to go as far as Geelong to find something to get rid of the cough. Before I set out, who should arrive in Ballarat, but my old friend Jack! “Where have you been, Jack?” was my first question; “I’ve been to Geelong to marry Happy Jack,” he said. “Where are you keeping her?” I asked; “She’s in town with her mother,” replied the groom. “Well,” I said, “I got seven ounces of gold from that hole, working with Old Ned, after you left me; and I suppose, with you running away as you did, without a word, you don’t expect any of it.” “Oh, no, no, not a pennyworth; I’ve come to look for you now,” said Jack. I said I wanted to go to Geelong that day, to seek some relief from the cough: “I shall come with you, there and back, and either Kitty, my wife, or my mother-in-law will give you something to make you sweat,” said Jack. The two of us started out for Geelong, which place is seventy miles from Ballarat. |
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Wedi i ni gyrhaedd y tŷ, dywedodd Jack wrth ei wraig, a’i mham, fy mod yng nghafael oerfel trwm er ys misoedd, ac addawodd y fam y cawn ryw gyffer a wnai i mi chwysu. Gan iddi addaw mor bendant, ni feddyliodd gwraig Jack ychwaneg am y peth, ac aeth y cwbl yn angof rhyngddynt. Buom yno yng nghylch wythnos, a thrwy hyny o amser ni adawai ceg mam gwraig Jack lonydd iddi ei hun. Tybiais, ar y dechreu, fod gwallgofrwydd mawr wedi anmhwyllo synwyr yr hên wraig; ond mewn meddwdod gwallgof yr oedd hi yn ddibeidio. Yn mhen yr wythnos, heb gael dim i chwysu, cychwynasom i ddychwelyd, a daeth Jack a’i wraig gydag ef, i’r dyben o fod yn gogyddes i ni. |
When we arrived at the house, Jack told his wife and his mother I had been in the grip of a heavy chill for months, and the mother promised to give me something to make me sweat. Her promise was so definite that Jack’s wife thought nothing more of the matter, and between the two of them all was forgotten. We were there for about a week, and throughout that time Jack’s wife’s mother gave her mouth no rest. At first I supposed that a great madness had robbed the old woman of her senses; but in fact she was mad drunk without interruption. At the end of the week, having got nothing for my cough, we started out to return, and Jack brought his wife with him to be our cook. |
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Wedi cyrhaedd Ballarat yn ol, a gosod i fyny babell, aethom i edrych o’n hamgylch, ac i chwilio am gydgyfranogwyr newyddion. Daeth Old Ned, ac eraill attom, i ofyn a ymunem ni gyda hwynt i gloddio twll: gwnaethom, a chloddiasom dwll yn gant troedfedd ei ddyfnder, ond ni chawsom ddim aur wedi y llafur a’r gost fawr. Erbyn i ni orphen y twll hwn, ac heb gael dim aur, yr oedd Jack wedi torri, a chan ister ei amgylchiadau aeth i grïo tipyn. Gofynais, er yn deall, “Paham yr wyt yn wylo, Jack?” “Fy arian sydd wedi darfod,” ebe yntau. “Pa le yr aeth dy arian, mor fuan a hyn?” gofynais: “Ond yr hên briodas a lyngcodd y cwbl oll, ac nid oedd digon iddynt i’w gael,” ebe Jack, gan swnio rhyw lais go gwynfanus. Rhoddais yn fenthyg iddo bum’ punt a deugain, a daeth ar i fyny fisoedd; a dyna lle byddai ef o’r tu allan i’r babell, yn canu ac yn dawnsio, am fod ganddo fodd i gadw ei wraig uwchlaw angen, am ryw hyd o amser yn ychwaneg. |
Having got back to Ballarat, and put up a tent, we went to look about us, and to seek new partners. Old Ned and others came to us, asking whether we wished to dig a hole with them: we did, and we dug a hole a hundred feet in depth, but we got no gold for our labour and great expense. By the time we finished this hole, without finding gold, Jack was broke, and he began to cry a little to be in such poor circumstances. I asked, though I understood, “Why are you crying, Jack?” “My money is all gone,” he said. “Where has your money gone so fast?” I asked: “That wedding swallowed it all up, and they did not have enough for it,” said Jack, in a very plaintive voice. I lent him forty-five pounds, and he cheered up for months; and there he would be outside the tent, singing and dancing, happy to have the means to keep his wife from need, for some additional length of time. |
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Yr oedd gan wraig Jack ben o faintioli llawer mwy na’r cyffredin o bobl, a blinai’r dynion ef oherwydd hyny, gan ddywedyd nad oedd angen iddo ef gadw ci, am fod ganddo eithaf gast darw! Pell yw, a phell y b’o moesau Australia! |
Jack’s wife had a head much larger than the generality of people, and the men teased him on account of it, saying he had no need to keep a dog, as he already had a real bull-bitch! Australia is far away, and so should its manners stay far away! |
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Ar ol gorphen gydag Old Ned, fel y dywedais, deuodd tri neu bedwar o fechgyn ieuaingc attaf, i daer erfyn arnaf adael Jack, ac ymuno gyda hwynt; dywedais nad boddlon genyf wneyd tro felly gyda Jac, a ni wedi bod gyda’n gilydd gyhyd o amser, a hyny trwy gymmaint o gyfnewidiadau bywyd. Haerasant mai gwell torri pob cyssylltiad ag ef mor fuan ag oedd modd, am eu bod hwy yn sicr mai eithaf lleidr oedd ef, ond iddo gael cyfleustra. Yr achos iddynt goleddu y cyfryw dyb am Jack, oedd oherwydd iddo fy nghadael gyda’r twll a brynasom am wyth gant o bunnau, trwy ddiang heb dalu ei ran, nac yngan gair wrthyf. Ymbiliais o blaid Jack, gan eu hysbysu nad oedd ef gynddrwg a’u tybiadau hwynt am dano, ac yr ymgyfranogwn a hwynt i weithio, ond na thorrwn fy nghyssylltiad a Jack. |
After finishing up with Old Ned, as I said, three or four young lads came to me, earnestly begging me to leave Jack, and join with them; I said I should not be happy to turn from Jack like that, after we had been together for so long, and through such changes of fortune. They insisted that it would be better to cut my ties with him as soon as possible, for they were sure he was a real thief, given but a chance. The reason they harboured such an opinion of Jack, was because he had left me with the hole I had bought for eight hundred pounds, running away without paying his share or saying a word to me. I spoke up for Jack, agreeing to work with them, but not to break off with him. |
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Ymunais yn wirioneddol a’r bechgyn ieuaingc, a dywedais wrth Jack am iddo ymlynu gydag Old Ned, a chyda’r lleill o’n hên gydforwyr: ac addewais, pa ran bynnag a gawn gyda’r bechgyn, y rhanwn hyny ag ef, os byddai yn golledwr, ar yr ammod iddo ef ranu ei ffawd gyda minnau, os y fi fyddai yn golledwr. Llawenhaodd Jack, a diolchodd am fy nghynnygiad a’m cynllun. |
In reality, I agreed with the young lads, and I told Jack to stick to Old Ned, and our other old fellow sailors: and I promised that whatever share I got with these lads, I should share it with him, if he were the loser, on the condition that he should share his luck with me, if I were the loser. Jack rejoiced, and thanked me for my offer and my plan. |
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Gan fod y bechgyn a minnau yn myned i linell ddyeithr i dyllu, yr oedd genym fantais fawr o gael twll ar y wythïen aur, am nad oedd yno ond ychydig o’u cyfeillion a’u hewyllyswyr da i’w hadnabod. Cymmerasom dri o dyllau, dau wrth ochrau eu gilydd, a’r llall ychydig ar wahan oddiwrthynt; eithr ni wyddai namyn un neu ddau o’u cyfeillion anwylaf fy mod i yn perthyn dim i’w cydgyfranogiad, canys anghyfreithlon yno yr ystyrir fod gan neb fwy nag un twll ar yr unrhyw adeg. Gan hyny, myfi a ymgedwais yn un o’r tyllau fy hunan, am chwech wythnos, ar le a elwir Gravel Pitch Lead, Ballarat; ac nid oedd arnaf eisiau gweithio nemawr yno, yn rhagor na’i gadw yn fy meddiant, at gael gweled a oedd ar y llinell ai peidio. Felly, gwilio y tri thwll yr oeddem lawer o wythnosau. Yn ystod yr amser hwn, cyfarfyddais yn fynych a dynion, a rhai o honynt yn dyfod ataf, i’m cyhuddo o wilio’r twll yn anghyfreithlon, gan ddywedyd y cymmerent hwy yr unrhyw oddiarnaf, am eu bod hwy yn sicr mai nid yr un hwnw yn unig a feddiannwn, ond y bod genyf gydfranogwyr hefyd mewn tyllau eraill yn y gymmydogaeth honno, gan ychwanegu, iddynt hwy sylwi nad oeddwn yn tyllu braidd ddim, ond ei wylio’n unig trwy yr holl wythnosau; eithr pan eu cymhellwn i brofi eu haeriadau, nis gallent. Yna, dygwn yn mlaen ddernyn o reswm, heb wirionedd yn sail; sef, fy mod yn tyllu’n araf, oherwydd i’m cymdeithion oll fyned i’r goedwig bob dydd i barotoi digon o goed yn gynnalbyst i’r twll, ac y tyllem i’r gwaelod ar unwaith, pan oll gyda’n gilydd o ddifrif. Gweithiais fy nhwll, beth bynag, i ddyfnder oddeutu deg troedfedd. |
As the lads and I were going into a new line to dig, we had the great advantage of getting a hole on the gold vein, there being only a few of their friends and well-wishers there to recognize it. We took three holes, two beside each other, and the other a little away from those; but only one or two of their dearest friends knew that I had anything to do with their partnership, since it is considered illegal there for any one to have more than one hole at a time. For that reason I kept to one of my own holes for six weeks, at a place called Gravel Pitch Lead at Ballarat; and I did not want to work there any more than I had to to keep it in my possession, and to see whether it was on the line or not. So we were watching over three holes for many weeks. During this time, I often met men, and some of them came to me, who accused me of keeping watch on a hole illegally, saying they should take that hole from me, as they were certain that was not the only hole I owned, and that I had partners in other holes in the vicinity, and adding that they noticed I was doing hardly any digging, only keeping watch through the weeks; but when I challenged them to prove their claims, they could not. Then I gave the excuse, without foundation in reality, that I was digging slowly so that all my friends could go into the forest each day to prepare enough wood for timbering the hole, but I should bottom it as soon as every one was together in earnest. I worked my hole to a depth of about ten feet however. |